Jezebel
I was watching the Biggest Loser on Tuesday at the gym, (Is it masochistic to watch a weight-loss show while working out? Sadistic? Just ooky? Whatever. I digress.) and I noticed a commercial for Extra! Gum, touting it as "the long lasting 5-calorie snack" that will "take you from 'nice gut' to 'nice butt.'" The ridiculousness of the fact that five calories now equals a "snack" notwithstanding, the Los Angeles Times discussed earlier this week whether the conclusion of the ad — that chewing gum helps you lose weight — holds water. The bottom line? "If you're counting calories, a stick of gum is miles better than a Twinkie." Basically, if gum can stop you from binging on high calorie foods, then yes, chewing gum can help you lose weight (you know, when gum isn't causing you to have explosive diarrhea). What's misleading is that the trainers on the Biggest Loser have also been shilling Extra gum as a weight loss aid.
According to the LAT, the Loser brass has been encouraging contestants to chew it because "gum can curb appetite, prevent snacking and provide an edge in the weight-loss game." It might be true to an extent, but the contestants on Loser are also exercising several hours a day and being fed incredibly healthy food in a controlled environment. The fact that they're losing a ton of weight? Yeah, it's not the gum.
Chewing gum is also a weight-loss strategy among some of the women interviewed by Allure for an article called, "Junk-food dieters fake their way to skinny." Kate, a 32-year-old advertising executive, chews an entire 18-piece pack of Extra a day to avoid snacking. Other women interviewed for the piece swear by Diet Coke, Starbucks, Tasti-D, and those apocalyptic 100-calorie snack packs as weight loss helpers. "Many believe ingesting a few artificial ingredients is a small price to pay for being able to eat the things they love while staying as thin as a Pringle," according to Allure. Um, no shit? Basically, these women are counting calories and sometimes rely on processed foods to do so. How is this newsworthy? Eating fewer calories will always make you lose weight, even if those calories are spent entirely on sugar-free Jell-O. When your paramount goal is to be skinny, not healthy, you're going to resort to whatever measures possible to reach your goal. That said, I will give up diet coke when they pry it out of my cold, dead hands.
Chew Gum To Lose Weight? [Los Angeles Times]
Junk-food Dieters Fake Their Way To Skinny [Allure via MSNBC]
Earlier: Annals Of Anorexia
100-Calorie Snacks Are The Downfall Of American Civilization
Comments
This commercial made me want to stab someone. Gum does not equal a snack.
Okay, but just give me half a stick of gum. I had a Breath Saver before and am absolutely stuffed.
"If you're counting calories, a stick of gum is miles better than a Twinkie."
Yeah, but a frozen Twinkie is so good it can be used as currency. And you can't say that about any freakin' gum!
Er, it's not a snack if you can't swallow it. Or, if swallowing it results in a tummy lump.
Also, shit, gum is bad for your toofs. Eat some carrots or something.
Unless of course you chew 500 pieces of gum, because they last 30 seconds and your still ravenously hungry.
GUM IS NOT A SNACK!
GUM IS NOT A SNACK!
I would chew a lot more gum if it didn't make me toot more than Dizzy Gillespie.
I TIVO the Biggest Loser. Of the two hour broadcast, after cutting out recaps, product placements and commericals, it's about 25 minutes.
I know the strike hurt, but goddamn NBC. That is just lazy.
I just eat paper.
Things that will also help you lose weight:
not eating
getting mono
tapeworms
dysentery
...yeah, I still prefer eating food.
This might be a weird Rhody thing, but I think gum is so fucking gross. Have an altoid when you want something minty, that way the rest of humanity doesn't have to watch you chomp away. Yuck.
I gave up my beloved Diet Coke but I don't recommend it. Withdrawl is a bitch. It's all that brendastarlet's fault.
True story, my stomach growled as I read this post, so I pulled out a pack of gum and I'm now chewing it. My stomach is still growling.
plus, gum doesnt curb your appetite, it makes you hungry cause youre chewing and your stomach is all "yay food" and then nothing comes down and your stomach gets ANGRY.
smoking curbs your appetite!
SMOKING
18 pieces of gum in a day? My tmj is acting up just thinking about that.
The only thing that works for me in between meals is almonds and diet cherry vanilla dr. pepper. I don't know why, but that combination is a life-saver at work everyday.
@Archetype: it's not a snack if you can't swallow it.
Since Jez is packed with fuckin' dykes, we have no idea what you're talking about.
@Lady Skittlehattington's Publicist: YES! THIS IS IT! This is your CotD! I CAN FEEL IT!
@JessicaLovejoy: Backstairsly: A frozen twinkie?! I have never heard of those! Interesting!
@CaptainHangNail: Oh, are you on that new Japanese diet?
Awesome. I've been waiting for those poor gum companies to get the opportunity to remove the "this is not a meal" sticker. It's not a meal, it's a snack.
My dad occasionally does the Big Red chewing gum diet. True story.
Chewing gum makes you swallow air, which then makes you bloated.
so... if you're hypoglycemic and have to eat every 3 hrs to avoid passing out... gum is not a good idea. you actually need to snack, or you'll faint. but they never take that into account in those weight loss shows, do they?
Ok, I don't know about anyone else but when I'm hungry and I chew gum it make me ... hungrier! My body's like how dare you chew and not actual swallow anything? I think this is counterproductive.
@NotAPrettyGirl: It's a regular Twinkie, just stick it in the freezer. It's weird how such a simple thing can take something to next level. It's like mixing chemicals! (Sorry, I've been watching too much Breaking Bad.)
@JessicaLovejoy: Backstairsly: frozen twinkie? i know a girl who knows a girl who got a frozen twinkie stuck in her cooter. IN THE SCHOOL BATHROOM!
@JessicaLovejoy: Backstairsly: The proper way to eat a Twinkie is deep fried and covered in chocolate sauce. What's this "frozen" crap?
@h_a_l: Same here. My jaw and head would be aching for days if I chewed 8 pieces of gum in a day, let alone 18.
@blondegrlz: Yeah, those people who claim that chewing gum & sucking on hard candy will make hunger cravings go away are stark, raving lunatics. The only thing that makes my hunger cravings go away is eating food.
@JessicaLovejoy: Backstairsly:
FROZEN twinkies?? Ooooohh thanks for that great idea! I freeze my chocolate and I just love it!
@JessicaLovejoy: Backstairsly: Heh. Well, semen is far to calorie-rich for me. I'd rather have a Coke.
noooooooooooo you dont understand how much I hate being around people chewing gum especially when they do it with their mouths open (would you chew food like that? NO)- it makes me so crazy and just gets right under my skin - I sometimes have to literally walk away from people on the subway. Why are they encouraging people to eat more gum - aaaaagggghhh
Gum is a great snack! All you have to do is snort a bump, chew a piece, and have a cig! You'll be a Skinny Bitch in no time.
Ooh, and it's a workout too! You can build your JAW muscles.
Also, should I be ashamed of the 100 calorie pack of popcorn I just consumed? They're much better as a snack than an entire ginormous bag of microwave popcorn.
Isn't chewing gum actually supposed to make you hungry? Because all that chewing action tells your stomach, "hey, food is on the way!" so your tummy starts getting the digestive juices going to prepare for the onslaught.
@JessicaLovejoy: Backstairsly: I wish you hadn't told me that because now I want one :( And I have neither a twinkie nor a freezer. PS Breaking Bad is the best show ever.
This commercial makes me want to gouge someone's eyes out. Gum is not a substitute for a healthy snack, assholes.
I think a more accurate way to look at the gum-as-snack thing is that it may help you not eat a real snack of actual food when you are NOT hungry, but are munching for other reasons.
I chew gum when I study because otherwise I grind my teeth down to nothingness. Or when I'm hungry but not hungry enough to overcome my laziness to get my ass off the couch and scavenge. Double Bubble takes the edge off my sweet tooth.
@jenndavo: While standing next to an ambulance.
@Lady Skittlehattington's Publicist: "I had a mochaccino, 3 peanut butter m&ms... I feel like such a heifer!"
It also makes your jaw muscles tight and over-tense, which can lead to speech issues and tension headaches.
Thanks, college Voice and Speech for the Stage classes!
God get me off of this planet
I'm chewing on the top of a water bottle right now.
@nadarine: But having a tapeworm is like having a little guardian angel living in your stomach, eating everything so you don't have to!
@h_a_l: My doctor in high school actually prescribed gum-chewing for my TMJ. He said it would help, so I got to carry a note that said "Blondegrlz is permitted by her doctor and the administration to chew gum in class". It certainly didn't make me skinny.
@nothanks:
My hubby is like you. I can't ever chew gum at home or around him ever. Not that big a deal to me, but he runs away from gum-chewers.
@HardHeartedHannah: you owe me a coke!
Yeah, I've got your low calorie snack..right here.
@blondegrlz: Water helps with that. I drink quite a bit to kill hunger pangs. Of course then I'm always going to the toilet.
@NefariousNewt: We don't have EMT stations in Texas, son. We just park the ambulances right next to the Black-Eyed Pea and WAIT.