Sweet Tooth Sweet Life

A Love of Food, Fitness, & Fashion

  • Home
  • About
    • Sponsorships
    • Contact Me
    • Everything NASM
    • Wedding
      • Courtney & Jay
      • Getting Ready
      • Ceremony
      • Wedding Party
      • Flowers
      • Decorations & Details
      • Reception
      • Honeymoon at Sandals Grande St Lucian
    • Q & A’s
      • Q&A’s – Round 1
      • Q&A’s – Round 2
      • Q&A’s – Round 3
      • Q&A’s – Round 4
      • Q&A’s – Round 5
  • Pregnancy & Babies
  • Meal Planning
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
      • Breads & Muffin Recipes
      • Breakfast
        • Coffee Recipes
        • Egg & Omelet Recipes
        • Oatmeal & Buckwheat Recipes
        • Pancake & French Toast Recipes
        • Smoothie Recipes
      • Cookies/Cookie Bars
      • Cakes/Cupcakes & Frostings
      • Dinners
        • Chicken & Poultry Recipes
        • Beef & Pork Recipes
        • Seafood Recipes
        • Crockpot Recipes
        • Meatless Recipes
        • Pasta Recipes
        • Pizza Recipes
        • Soup/Stew/Chili Recipes
      • Pies/Trifles/Truffles/Candies/Crisps
      • Salads/Sides/Odds & Ends
  • Favorites
    • Shop
    • Blog Love
    • Fashion
    • “Just Because” Posts
    • Workout & Fitness Posts
    • Cody Posts
    • Restaurants (local and travel)
  • Workouts
    • Workouts
      • Circuit Workouts
      • 20-30 Minute Treadmill Routines
      • 35-55 Minute Treadmill Workouts
      • Upper Body Workouts
      • Lower Body Workouts
      • Walking Treadmill Workouts
      • Elliptical Workouts
  • Resources

“The Big Junk Food Test”

By Courtney 24 Comments

Since yesterday’s “Twinkie Diet” post attracted so much attention, today comes a follow-up post of sorts that I thought you might all find equally interesting…

source

Coincidentally, I happened to by reading my November issue of Glamour magazine yesterday, when I came across an article that quickly caught my eye:

“The Big Junk Food Test”

In the article, 31-year old Beth Shapouri agrees to follow 1 week of a very unique “diet” –

**Eat only the foods she sees on TV for one week.**

Staying within a limit of 2,000 calories a day, Shapouri began filling her meals with anything she found on TV:

    • Dulce de leche doughnuts
    • Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
    • Subway Steak & Bacon Melt
    • Cheetos
    • Jimmy Dean Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuits
    • Totino’s Pizza Rolls
    • Nutrigrain Bars
    • V8 Juice
    • Arby’s Jr. Deluxe Sandwiches
    • Olive Garden’s Parmesan-Polenta Crusted Chicken
    • Frosted Mini Wheats
    • KFC fried-chicken meal
    • Starbursts & KitKats

The main premise of the article was to show the negative effects of a diet that consists mainly of foods that are advertised on TV. While many of these foods were packaged and processed, some of the foods also came from chain restaurants.

source source

However, what I found most interesting in this article, which was missing from the Twinkie Diet article, is a timeline of how Shapouri felt from the beginning of Day 1, until the end of the week.

This seemed to be a common question that was brought up by many yesterday who read the Twinkie Diet article:

“Even though he lost weight, he couldn’t have been feeling well??”

So here are some recaps from Shapouri as to how she felt each day of her week-long “Junk Food TV Diet”:

Day 1 – A morning doughnut gave instant energy, but left her “ravenous and headachy” by 11:30 that morning. After consuming the Wendy’s salad seen above (which has 39 grams of sugar!!), she became too tired to complete her afternoon workout.

source

Day 2 – She added protein to her morning meal to try to head off an energy crash which worked better. After eating the pizza rolls (seen above) for lunch, another headache sets in. After consulting a doctor, she finds out that the chemicals in the food, combined with a lack of vitamins and nutrients, are the culprit of her headaches and exhaustion. Her afternoon workout “felt like an eternity.”

source

Day 3 – Her depression from the lack of fruits & veggies in her diet causes her to sneak bites of her friend’s fresh sandwich. After consuming a heavy meal at the Olive Garden that evening, laden with cheese, she found herself in “a fat-and-cream-induced coma” just minutes later.

source

Day 4 – She can’t get enough water at this point…all of the salt in the foods is leaving her parched. She also determined that she had 2 hunger modes: (1) desperately starving, and (2) uncomfortably stuffed. Another phone call to a doctor helped her understand that the excess fat was making her feel fuller, but since she was consuming more sweets, her blood sugar was spiking & crashing…usually around the time the full feeling wore off.

source

Day 5 – Shapouri woke up “foggy” and soon begins to notice that “easy” tasks were making her overly anxious. Not only that, but she became a self-proclaimed “klutz” (i.e., increase in typos, motor skills were uncoordinated, tripping over her own feet in Zumba class…) A third phone call to the doctor informed her that all the fat, sugar, and salt in her diet were overstimulating the release of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. When the levels dropped, she became “anxious, unfocused, and uncoordinated.” The doctor followed up with saying that experiencing changes like these can happen after just one meal. ALSO by Day 5, some added fiber was needed…a Fiber One bar + Activia yogurt did the trick.

source

Day 6 – She gained 1.5 pounds and had incredibly swollen hands, feet, and belly. Her mood was starting to take a turn for the worse, and her typos were not improving.

source

Day 7 – Very interesting. Shapouri ate the same doughnut as on Day 1, but this time, it was not as sugary tasting. Apparently we get used to sweet flavors (and salty flavors) fast. This is why so many food companies now make “super-flavor-blasted” products…they need to keep the customers coming back for more. By day 7, she now has no problem finishing big portions, her headaches are gone, and she isn’t as thirsty. Unfortunately, this meant that her body was beginning to adjust to the TV diet. Scary indeed.

source

Talk about interesting, right??

Shapouri said it took her three days to lose the extra bloat, and at least a week to get back to feeling satisfied by her pre- TV diet portions.

So while these findings may have been different from those of the Twinkie Diet, at least here we can see just how quickly the side effects of eating poor food choices can wreak havoc on the body. I can’t say I’m very surprised; I can only imagine how she must have felt after a week of eating all of this food, and I would think that Haub had to have felt the same way. I know how I feel after eating just one meal of these foods, let alone a whole week! :shock:

Question for the Morning:

What are your thoughts on THIS article??

Share This:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Yummly (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on StumbleUpon (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

November 10, 2010 Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: glamour, side effects of eating poor food choices, the big junk food test, Twinkie Diet

About Courtney

I'm a working mom of two beautiful little boys, Lucas and Alex, and I began writing Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life in April 2010. I enjoy chronicling my love of food (healthy and indulgent!), baking, motherhood, fitness, fashion, and everything in between!

« New Accomplishment, New Gadgets, & A New Dinner
Tops is TOPS! »

Comments

  1. Di @ http://thetreadmilldiaries.com/ says

    November 10, 2010 at 7:09 am

    This article is more in line with what I'd expect. My experience is that my food choices either power me when good or drain/drag me down when bad. And the effects are pretty immediate. Here's to good food!
    Reply
  2. Mackenzie says

    November 10, 2010 at 8:11 am

    This is the sad part.. so many people are used to eating this way that they dont even realize how good they could feel if the just chose to be healthier. I was amazed at the amount of energy and how awake I felt when i started eating right again and I can def feel a sugar crash from even one small dessert. Its sad that the food industry is so greedy that they will kill our health to make a buck..
    Reply
  3. Savannah P says

    November 10, 2010 at 8:46 am

    Yikes, how scary is this. I know that went I took my diet holistic and started staying away from the sugary processed goods I actually started being able to feel a weird coating on my tongue/smell the chemicals when I walked through the aisles of the grocery store. It seriously grossed me out!!!
    Reply
  4. Amy @ Second City Randomness says

    November 10, 2010 at 9:13 am

    Yep... ...all I have to say is that sounds about right. I wish the twinkie guy would have included a little more about this in his study.
    Reply
  5. Katie H. says

    November 10, 2010 at 9:15 am

    Ick... so gross. It is interesting to see how quickly her body adjusted to the fat and sugar in the foods. Yikes!
    Reply
  6. Lauren says

    November 10, 2010 at 9:15 am

    Yikes.. that is so frightening. Its also why I tend to avoid fast food or restaurants in general unless I know what I'm getting is uber-fresh!
    Reply
  7. Lisa says

    November 10, 2010 at 9:18 am

    Wow, that explains why it is so hard to get back on track when I've been eating "bad." They have already got me sucked back in to my old habits. Thanks for sharing!
    Reply
  8. Meg says

    November 10, 2010 at 9:54 am

    I read this article too! It's scary because some people actually live like this and wonder why they have no energy, even though they may seem "healthy". It's really eye-opening.
    Reply
  9. Ashley says

    November 10, 2010 at 10:06 am

    If you like these studies, you should check out the book 'The End of Overeating' by David Kessler. Talks about how the food industry entices us to overeat by layering sugar on salt on fat.
    Reply
  10. Lindsey says

    November 10, 2010 at 10:12 am

    Reading her diet makes my stomach hurt! It makes me wonder, though... How many people who are on anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants would feel better WITHOUT the meds and WITH a healthier lifestyle? It's scary how quickly we can succumb to unhealthy lifestyles! Thanks for such an interesting post!
    Reply
  11. Melissa says

    November 10, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Reading this just reminds me that I need to eat well consistently. I eat healthy all day long, exercise, drink lots of water, etc. But around 7 or 8 at night, my sweet tooth kicks in & I devour cookies, brownies, ice cream, you name it, in unhealthy quantities. It always leaves me feeling awful, but it's a bad habit I can't seem to break. I need to work on this!
    Reply
  12. Lisa @ I'm an Okie says

    November 10, 2010 at 10:43 am

    very interesting and I believe every word!
    Reply
  13. Molly says

    November 10, 2010 at 10:54 am

    ah this is so crazy. i have realized since cutting back on somethings that arent as good for me, that the taste sensation when I DO have them are so much more noticable. Like Skippy peanut butter...I can almost feel the sugar underneath my teeth. I prefer natural peanut butter so much more now.
    Reply
  14. Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun says

    November 10, 2010 at 11:07 am

    That's a really cool spin on it! Thanks for sharing it. And yea...I imagine I would feel like total crap eating all of that, well, total crap day in and day out. Blah! Although then again that may be because I don't eat that way. Interesting that she got so used to it. And scary!
    Reply
  15. Shanna, like Banana says

    November 10, 2010 at 11:28 am

    With all my work travel lately, I've been eating very abnormally and not as healthy as I normally do. It has resulted in me feeling the same way: starving or stuffed. There is rarely a happy medium and I despeartely want to get back to normal eating.
    Reply
  16. Samantha Robertson says

    November 10, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    Did the article say what her diet was like BEFORE she started this one? I do my best to eat fresh foods, but when it comes down to it, most of my diet is convenience foods due to time constraints (frozen fish, frozen veggies that I roast or steam, sandwiches made with packaged whole wheat bread and deli meats), packaged hummus, etc. I try to buy all natural products when I can, and buy meats without nitrates and nitrites but I know it still has to have SOME kind of effect on me.
    Reply
  17. sonal chopra says

    November 10, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    We have been eating out more often lately and I can totally related to the stuff you mentioned.. thanks for sharing, it's time to hit the gym for me :)
    Reply
  18. Megan (Braise The Roof) says

    November 10, 2010 at 1:00 pm

    Hmmm really interesting story, and definitely a little more than scary. We all know that processed foods aren't good for us but I think this just goes to show how much they can affect how we feel and function.
    Reply
  19. Melissa (MelissaLIkesToEat) says

    November 10, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    Ugh....that made me feel nauseous and I wasn't even eating that food. Our bodies were not designed to handle all of that chemical crap. I do believe "everything in moderation" but a whole week of that stuff is disgusting. :)
    Reply
  20. erica says

    November 10, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    very interesting! i find myself feeling a lot like how she felt....anxious, tired, workouts feel like an eternity....i need to start eating better.
    Reply
  21. Julia says

    November 10, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    After reading this I crave veggies and fruits that much more! I can't imagine going through those mood changes and finding myself unable to finish even the simplest of tasks in my day. I just hope people take these kinds of experiences into account when trying to improve their own eating habits instead of simply forgetting come lunch or dinner time.
    Reply
  22. theprocessofhealing says

    November 10, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    All i can say is wow.. and how SAD it is that some people's diets actually look like that!
    Reply
  23. Jaclyn says

    November 10, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    I read that Glamour artcile too - before the one you mentioned yesterday, actually - and found it very interesting as well. I totally agreed with the bit about sugar/fat/heavy foods making you lethargic and crash...but then craving them, the more you eat them, the author of the article getting used to high sugar and high fat meals and not feeling so full toward the end of the experiment... goes to show that we can get used to a particular diet.. so why not a healthier one? I also found it interesting some of her initial side effects: migraines, etc. While she said she did gain weight, i think both articles explain that while yes, calories in versus calories out is what inevitably effects the el bees, brain and physical function is HIGHLY affected by WHAT you put into your body!
    Reply
  24. CaSaundra says

    November 12, 2010 at 9:02 am

    Funny you mentioned this--I just ripped it out of my magazine on Monday and gave it to my Marketing prof, he loves all things about food/marketing!
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sweet Tooth Sweet Life
Court Profile CircleI'm Courtney, a 30-something wife and working mom living in upstate NY. I'm a food lover, fitness enthusiast, baker extraordinaire and lover of all things sweet.
  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • A Little Living Room Makeover
  • The Five F’s {3/12}
  • My Last 10 Favorite Amazon Purchases
  • Fun Facts Friday – The Five F’s

Courtney’s Recipe Picks!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Subscribe to Sweet Tooth by Email!

Instagram

Instagram did not return a 200.

Follow Me!

  FitFluential Is Fitness Found 
  
 

Categories

Archives

Disclaimer

I am not a registered dietitian, or certified fitness expert. The purpose of my blog is to share my own personal knowledge, opinions, and experiences with food, fitness, and life. My Privacy Policy can be found HERE.

Content Marketing Editorial Calendar For WordPress

WordPress Support & Maintenance provided by WP Site Care

· Copyright © 2023 Sweet Tooth Sweet Life ·