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Oprah's lemmings now belong to Dr. Phil

HarryKeogh

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so Dr. Phil put out a diet book this week. It has shot up to no.1 on the bestsellers list.

ok, so no big deal, we all know diet books are big sellers

...but has anyone seen Dr. Phil? Granted he's not obese but he's a burly man, certainly not thin, has a nice spare tire going.

fat people should not write diet books just like i shouldnt write books on how to be a bodybuilder or how to improve your golf game. what are his qualifications to give diet advice? sure, emotional problems are a cause of weight gain but how do you take this advice from a man who is overweight?

but he sees an opening to make a truck load of money and he jumps in. and hundreds of thousands of people follow. the book, from the two reviews i've read, seems to be his pop psychology turned into such brilliant ideas as throw out your fat clothes so you arent tempted to gain weight back (because i guess, you'll have to be naked for the rest of your life)

call my cynical but i just see this as effort to fatten bank accounts instead of an effort to help slim people down.

ok, end rant.
 
Harry, I'm overweight, so you and I should be co-authors on a diet book for weightlifting golfers. Make a truckload ourselves, split 50-50???
 
Who cares about her lemmings, I want to know about her hampsters.
 
Dr Phil and Oprah compete for ratings here. Their programmes on on two different channels and their timeslots overlap.

I'm sure that "change your life" TV has benefited many people and motivated them to get off their butts and actually do something about the challenges in their life rather than just whining about them, but people hanging on every word uttered and written by celebrity gurus drives me nuts (I guess Oprah can't write another diet book with much credibility given the fact that she's regained a great deal of the weight she lost a few years ago).

It's one thing to look around for new ideas about how to approach a problem, it's another entirely to depend on someone else to write a complete step by step guide for you to follow, especially on an issue such as obesity where in the absence of a medical cause the solution is pretty well known - expend more calories in activity than you consume in food.
 
I have had a bad feeling about Dr. Phil since the first time I ever saw him. I simply instinctively am suspicious of his motives and do not trust his expertise.

I find most of his advice trite, superficial and often lacking in genuine compassion or understanding.

I can't help but expect him to end up embroiled in some controversy soon (but that is not a psychic prediction, unless it comes true. Then I'll say I got the message from speaking with the dead ;) )
 
Zep said:
Harry, I'm overweight, so you and I should be co-authors on a diet book for weightlifting golfers. Make a truckload ourselves, split 50-50???
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sorry, i'm currently writing a chick tract on how weightlifting golfers are going to drink from lakes of fire for eternity. i'd hate for there to be a conflict of interest.
 
I"m really disappointed in all of you. Someone comes along with a solution to a problem and all you can think to do is dump on him.

Have any of you actually watched his shows on weight loss?

His strategy is a totally new approach than what has been out there before.

I'm very skeptical, since none of you seem to know what you're talking about.
 
New Ager said:
I"m really disappointed in all of you. Someone comes along with a solution to a problem and all you can think to do is dump on him.
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my point is if he has a solution how come it doesnt work on himself?

i guess he hasn't read his book yet.
 
New Ager said:
I"m really disappointed in all of you. Someone comes along with a solution to a problem and all you can think to do is dump on him.

Have any of you actually watched his shows on weight loss?

His strategy is a totally new approach than what has been out there before.

I'm very skeptical, since none of you seem to know what you're talking about.
Click to expand...

Solution? I will admit I have not watched a lot of him. That, however, is because the little bit that I have watched was giving me a severe headache due to rolling my eyes over his meaningless psychobabble BS.

Also, his approach to weight loss may indeed be very new and unique. That means nothing though, because it is a logical fallacy to assume that because something is new that it is necessarily true.
 
New Ager said:
I"m really disappointed in all of you. Someone comes along with a solution to a problem and all you can think to do is dump on him.

Have any of you actually watched his shows on weight loss?

His strategy is a totally new approach than what has been out there before.

I'm very skeptical, since none of you seem to know what you're talking about.
Click to expand...

How'd he get around the old "consume less calories than you burn" bit?

I admit to not paying Dr. Phil any attention.
 
HarryKeogh said:
sorry, i'm currently writing a chick tract on how weightlifting golfers are going to drink from lakes of fire for eternity. i'd hate for there to be a conflict of interest.
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Conflict of interest hasn't stopped any other diet book authors or holy rollers, so why is it a problem for you? :)
 
New Ager said:
I"m really disappointed in all of you. Someone comes along with a solution to a problem and all you can think to do is dump on him.

Have any of you actually watched his shows on weight loss?

His strategy is a totally new approach than what has been out there before.

I'm very skeptical, since none of you seem to know what you're talking about.
Click to expand...


I watched his weight loss special. What's so new about his approach?

First, most of it is just plain old behavioural management that's been around for many many years.

Second, even the best behavioural management programs only work for a small proportion of people in the short term (for instance, in the largest studies only about 27% manage to quit smoking) and for most of these people the benefits are lost by one year.

Why didn't he review any of this evidence? He's a psychologist. He is certainly aware of it. :mad:

This morning Howard Stern was laughing at the way the promo pictures of Dr. Phil are stretched so that he looks thin. Gave me a good chuckle. :)
 
HarryKeogh said:


my point is if he has a solution how come it doesnt work on himself?

i guess he hasn't read his book yet.
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Better take another look again. Dr. Phil is in pretty good shape for someone 54.
 
New Ager said:


Better take another look again. Dr. Phil is in pretty good shape for someone 54.
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He is?

I did a quick search on celebrities born in 1948/9 and I don't think he is (at least in comparison to the list below, and none of them is trying to be a weight loss guru (except Richard Simmons who was born in 1948 and also is in better shape than Dr. Phil):

Prince Charles
Mikhail Baryshinkov
James Taylor
Steven Tyler
Ted Nugent
Garry Shandling
Samuel L. Jackson
Michael Richards
Richard Gere
Bruce Springsteen

:roll:
 
New Ager said:


Better take another look again. Dr. Phil is in pretty good shape for someone 54.
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he most certainly is not. we must have different opinions on what constitutes "good shape". i will admit he is in good pear-shape

this is what gets me with this sort of blind devotion, all a Dr. Phil or an Oprah have to do is write a book or recommend one (whether it be a classic or drivel) and it will instantly become a best-seller. Apparently, there are people out there who are hanging on their every word (or to coin a phrase used in an article in "the onion"..."patiently await instructions") and seem to buy whatever they say.

And Dr. Phil knows this. It comes across to me as insincere effort to help people. Was any of his research (has he ever done any?) prior to his gig on Oprah based on weight management techniques? I've read a few reviews of this book and they all seem to say it's the same stuff we've heard before just repackaged. Do people consider this before purchasing his book?

If you think Dr. Phil is a good family/ relationships therapist that's fine but that doesn't mean he's an expert on everything. I personally would not buy a book written by someone i admire on a field i dont think theyre qualified in. I will not buy Carl Sagan's Guide to Fashion or James Randi's Feng Shui made Easy
 
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