While we’re getting open about the deeper matters of life, I must confess another addiction that I have struggled with over the years. I get often sucked in by click bait. If I am not careful I can spend an hour reading through “Where Are The Actors From M*A*S*H Now?” For the longest time, it was the same deal for weight loss articles. “Three Secret Foods that Guarantee Weight Loss” or “The Seven Minute Workout that Will Take Inches Off Your Waist” were often irresistible to me. However I now have stronger convictions than ever that not only are these predatory articles a complete waste of time, they actually harm their readers. But why?
They sell fantasy
Human beings are given to magical thinking. That means that we tend to like “silver bullets” and “secret formulas.” These online articles are packaged as such in the form of easy, straightforward answers to life problems. The trouble is that most the solutions to our troubles are not straightforward or easy. Yet if we hear a beautifully spun tale that entices us, we can be sucked into all manner of trickery.
When it comes to online weight loss articles, the goal is usually just to capture eyeballs. Sometimes there is a product to sell such as “raspberry ketones” or “ginkgo biloba”, but typically the purpose of the article is to grab your attention so that you will simply click. Every time you click, the website owner gets a little richer.
There is also a constant parade of bloggers with online products to sell. Over time they test different types of weight loss articles or headlines to see which will rope more eyeballs. They learn how to promise just the right thing so that you chose to purchase their wares, and that right thing is almost always a magical fantasy. Abs. Impressing your old classmates at the 20-year reunion. Happiness. Sex. There are many narratives they use to get their hooks into us. They are just like “get rich quick” hucksters, except that instead of promising lifestyles of the rich and famous (I know I’m dating myself) they make you daydream about your brand new and magical life as a skinny person.
They never address your actual problem
Most of these articles either give you the same standard (and tired) advice or some outlandish solution. I don’t have time to dignify the outlandish stuff with another line of text. However, most of the standard advice such as “exercise more” or “create a calorie deficit” or “keep a food journal” never gets to the root of YOUR issues with food.
And how could they address your issues, anyway? They don’t know you. That is one of the reasons why I write my blog for a very narrow demographic. My focus is on Christ-followers with a good deal of weight to lose (50+ lb.) who also struggle with yo-yo dieting and who are finally ready to do the inner work needed to make permanent changes. Those not in that demographic will not be well served by my content. They are not my concern. I am betting on the idea that if you have found this blog and it is resonating with you, then you need specialized help. You definitely would not be well served by “Five Skinny Recipes to Make You Beach Ready By Summer!”
They feed the knowledge fallacy
Let me get to why I think that these online weight loss articles are actually harmful to us: they feed a certain mode of thinking that keeps us endlessly trapped in a cycle of misery. I call this the “knowledge fallacy”. This misguided way of thinking causes us to say to ourselves, “If I keep searching and can just find the perfect solution to my weight issues, then my problem will be solved”.
So we search high and low. We buy book after book. And yes, we click the bait, hoping that maybe this article will contain our weight-loss Shangri-La. Alas, this is a troubling and sometimes endless search that leads to….just more searching. Often despair.
Along the way, we sadly become diet experts. We can describe every diet. We can tell you the fat grams in every food. We can describe the narrative that weaves its way through every weight loss book. We get filled to the brim with (often competing) knowledge about how to lose weight. In this, we are not unlike the Pharisees whose knowledge level far exceeds their level of obedience.
The truth of the matter is that you don’t need all of that knowledge. Really. None of it works and all of it works. It is truly not about the diet or the trick or the fact.
Go to the Word of God
My conviction is that all of the answers you truly need can be found in the pages of Scripture. The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and can produce faith in you just by hearing it (Romans 10:17). The teachings of Jesus, if we actually live them out, will work powerfully in our lives to transform us. And this will set us free.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
You may ask, “If I am not supposed to rely on online articles to help me with my weight issues and instead focus on the Word of God, how am I supposed to do that?” That is a fair question. How do we apply the Bible to our lives in order to solve this problem of excess weight? That’s the topic for next week, but you will have to click the bait to get it 😉
” My focus is on Christ-followers with a good deal of weight to lose (50+ lb.) who also struggle with yo-yo dieting and who are finally ready to do the inner work needed to make permanent changes. Those not in that demographic will not be well served by my content. ”
I’m not in your demographic, Sean, but every article you write has something meaningful to ponder…Your focus on living spiritually, not worldly, applies to many other aspects of life besides weight loss. Thank you for your insights and your vulnerability. Those click-bait articles ensnare me too when I’m looking for excuses to procrastinate!
Thank you, Marilyn. I agree. I am pondering an upcoming blog entry that I want to call “The Trojan Horse” because I view weight and food issues as a gateway into the throne room of God. Weight struggles may not be ubiquitous, but our need for Jesus is!