Humor and Sarcasm as Weight Loss Motivators

Although I’ve been looking into whether or not weight loss TV shows can play a role in motivating people to lose weight, I stumbled upon a blog with another interesting take on what can motivate people to lose weight. Geoff Williams, like many Americans, made a new years resolution to lose weight, and he knew that he would need some extra motivation to work out and eat healthy. There are different motivating factors for each individual, and Geoff decided that saving money would be his motivation to lose weight. He created “The Money Diet,” and recorded all the foods he resisted buying, then calculated how much not buying junk food and fast food saved him. Although this may not be saving much in the long run (organic and healthy food tends to be more expensive than fast food), it makes the weight loss tangible in a different way. Plus, money is usually a much better motivator than salad and the treadmill.

What I found intriguing, along with the use of money as motivator, was the overall cynicism and sarcastic attitude that the blog took on. Most diet blogs are meant to be motivating, and in order to inspire others, you often must be inspired yourself. But, if we’re being serious with ourselves, thousands of people pledge every January first to lose weight, and yet the waistline of our country seems to be growing every year. This overall skepticism and the use of self-deprecating humor allow Geoff to relate to others out there. Most of are not able to achieve all our goals, especially when they require a complete lifestyle change. Eating healthy and exercising are hard habits to get into, and it can be discouraging to go to the gym and jump on the elliptical next to the gorgeous, perfectly toned girl who doesn’t sweat, or to completely change your eating habits and not see immediate results. This cynicism draws an audience in and makes them wonder if this “money diet” is something that can work. If it works for Geoff (and it has for 4 weeks), then maybe it will work for others out there.

Like many (or should I say most?) Americans, I'm going to go on a diet, starting today, Jan. 1, 2010. And I'm going to stick to it this time.
If no one believes me, I understand. Even I don't entirely believe what I'm writing right now.

From the beginning, Geoff makes it clear that although he is making a pledge to himself and his audience, if he is being completely honest he doesn’t know if he will be able to stick to it. It’s the same for many Americans every year, and I am totally guilty of this too. We make pledges to lose weight, to exercise, to eat healthy, but it is so much easier to go to the drive thru, to sit on the couch, and to avoid the scale. Geoff is also able to acknowledge his shortcomings in a humorous way. While many fast food companies are trying to include healthy options in their menus, this isn’t the reason most of us are going there (I’m usually in the drive thru with a serious craving for fries and a shake). We know that those options would be better for us, but the temptations are too great, and Geoff sums this feeling up perfectly.

(And, yes, I know that McDonald's has salads and I'm envisioning the email I'm going to get from their marketing department, but historically, my willpower in bypassing the non-healthy fare for the healthier stuff isn't that great ...take that as a culinary compliment, McDonald's).

In this first post he is able to map out what his plan is, why he thinks it will work “I'm thinking that if I can start training myself to say, "Hey, don't buy that eighty-nine-cent candy bar," when I'm at, say, a Walgreen's (no offense, Walgreen's), and I jot down that 89 cents in a journal, maybe I'll start to see some progress, not just on my scale, but in my bank account, too,” and some of the fears he has for why it won’t work.

As the diet continues, Geoff is able to praise himself for what he has done right, while also coming to grips with the realities of dieting and weight loss. He knows that all that old food will still be calling out to him. He also knows that his weight loss is not going to be as dramatic as all the reality shows make it seem. Weight loss is a slow process, especially when factors like work, family and the junk food that we are constantly surrounded with come into the mix. Geoff is not only able to relate to the audience, but he is able to make the audience laugh.

It's slow progress, yes, but I'm at least convinced that this diet is working. Granted, nobody's going to make a reality TV series based on my diet experiences. I did have a comical moment when I went to the gym the first week, climbed aboard one of those StairMaster-like contraptions and almost fell off. Maybe there would be some melodramatic footage if someone filmed me every time I went through a McDonald's drive-thru to buy my kids the occasional Happy Meal or ice cream. I'm sure that I look like a tragic romantic figure every time I pass by the posters and pictures of McDonald's Angus burger.

-Angus, I only met you several months before I began this diet. Angus, I hardly knew ye.
-"Dad, would you stop kissing the menu?"
-Angus, call me--
-"Dad!"

With this scenario, the temptations of dieting are exaggerated. The angus burger becomes an old lover, someone you shouldn’t be seeing but you just can’t resist. Food has taken on a persona, and when it is taken away from you food really can start to have this effect.

With his blog Geoff is able to add humor, realism, and a touch of sarcasm to the issue of weight loss. He relates to others in the same situation, but also gives people some motivation. Geoff is not only losing weight, but he is also saving about $100 a month. And that adds up fast.