"There are no bad foods, just bad portions"

This is one of my favorite stupid diet-related bits of advice that is going around. Are you kidding me?

I heard this said this morning on the Today show by some diet "expert". Oh, how I hate that saying. It's such a counter-productive, feel-good, dieting-isn't-that-hard type of saying that gives people false hope. Let's think about this for a moment.

• Ho-hos?
• Chocolate chip pancakes?
• Cheese fries?

Yes, these are outrageous choices, but I routinely ate these (in vast quantities) a couple of years ago. While it is technically true that certain portion sizes of the above wouldn't be harmful, let me make two points:

• The portion size might be reasonably described as miniscule — maybe a quarter teaspoon of any of the above wouldn't be too harmful. But, and to my second point...
• Who could or would eat such small portion sizes? Can anyone honestly say that they could open a pack of Ho-hos and eat one tiny small bite and leave 1 and 15/16 Ho-hos in a bag to be eaten over the following 31 days? Go ahead and raise your hand. I'll wait.

I'm not even going to argue about hi-carb foods that I think are disastrous but that most people would eat without a second thought -- potatoes, rice, beans, bread, pasta. Just focusing on the above foods and the acceptable portion sizes it's pretty clear that the above guideline doesn't contain much information that would help the dieter reach his/her weight loss goal.

Or become truly healthy.

If you're serious about losing weight and/or achieving true health, then I recommend that you revise the above guideline to "There are lots of bad foods that I should avoid. I also need to watch my portions if I'm serious about losing weight."

It's your choice what you put in your mouth. Become an informed consumer. Decide what foods are appropriate for you on your diet and stick to it. Monitor your progress and revise your food choices and volumes as necessary. Be ever diligent. Continue for 100 years or until you die.