Jons Top 10 Health Related Pet Peeves
10. Restaurants that bribe kids
Restaurants who bribe children with toys to bring them in the door with their family to eat their food. My nephew a few weeks ago went to McDonalds to get this “Cars” blue car and guess what, the following week McDonalds releases a red one - guess who was begging to go BACK to McDonalds so they could get the red one 
Anybody who markets to children should be ashamed of themselves… when your food is so bad that you need to bribe kids to eat it - and so unhealthy that just about every “health advocate” would prefer to eat the dirt from the soles of their feet then what you offer as food - it’s time for a new business plan.
9. “Weight Loss” Personalities
“Weight Loss” Centers who use people with deep seeded problems to get customers in the door. Kirstie Alley has had weight issues most of her life, yes she WAS beautiful (who isn’t when they are young) but using a known cocaine addict who is still obese telling people with weight problems “hey, I did it” send the wrong message and doesn’t make much sense neither. If you want to succeed in achieving your weight loss goals - model yourself after “skinny” people, not screwed up ones.
8. Phony Diet products
Diet plans that promise “up to” (usually in fine print) 7lbs weight loss in 7 days, I hate to burst your bubble but the weight you will loose is WATER weight, anybody can loose 7lbs in a week, stop eating and drinking - it may also kill you but at least you didn’t waste your money. The healthiest amount of weight to loose in one week is no more then 2 lbs (and that’s pushing it), making any large shifts in weight (water, fat or muscle) is a guaranteed way to gain the weight right back plus a little more bonus.
7. Using carb depleted spokespersons
Exercise systems from reputable companies to “as seen on TV” products that show commercials of once obese people transforming their body into human anatomy charts. Listen, the amount of diet and training required to get to that level of “cutting” is incredibly difficult not only to get to but also maintain. It’s also unhealthy to walk around with such a low “carbohydrate depleted” body fat percentage because the body NEEDS fat to keep things running in between meals - think of fat as the bodies battery when no energy is around. Yes, they should be congratulated for getting to that level but lets be realistic here, I bet if you met them a few weeks after the show was tapped, that 6-pack has lost much of its definition. Very few people would have the mental and physical fortitude required to get into the shape portrayed as a direct result from using any type of equipment.
6. Before and After pictures
Just about every health product uses these to promote their products - I have yet to see one with the SAME lighting, angle and facial expression. Usually the “before” picture has low light, the person looking unhappy and depending on the product, the lighting used to enforce the bad areas then the “after” picture usually has a completely different angle, BRIGHT lighting and a happy face on the person (and with make-up). Of course they look better - but it has nothing to do with the product!
5. “Weight Loss” Centers
“Weight Loss” Centers such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers etc… charging people hundreds of dollars a week to eat processed foods without a strong educational and exercise program is a fantastic way to keep obese people for life. People will loose the weight and guess what, once they get off the calorie restricted diet it comes back with a vengeance - these centers “allow” people to loose weight simply because the amount taken in is usually below the amount burned by the individual. Why people PAY to eat LESS I still do not understand… in my opinion, “Weight Loss” Centers are in the same league as cigarette companies - same business plan and motive with little regard for their customers well being.
4. Herbal or Natural products
These products promise everything from a cure for cancer to extreme health… they usually promote some exotic product found where no man has ever been and say that “clinical studies” prove they work. Ask them for a copy of the study and you will get a blank stare. If you read the fine print, it will say something to the effect that “the FDA has not evaluated said product”. In other words, the health benefits from their product are probably equal to that of eating a vegetable (at best). The reason why “herbal” or “natural” is seen on everything these days is because there is a loophole in the FDA regulations which means they don’t need to go through clinical trials before they go to market essentially because their main ingredients are considered no stronger then a placebo. A rule of thumb is that if something is potent enough to actually work, 99.999% of the time it’s only available by prescription.
3. Fad diets
Why people fall for these every 2-3 years is another one of those mysteries that have eluded me so far in my life. They DO NOT work (long term), are usually very unhealthy (ei: Atkins) and cost you a little fortune. Save your money, eat whole foods that are unprocessed and you will always eat very well and have no problem maintaining the body that is right for you. Promise your body you will not follow any more FAD diets!
2. Cell phones
This is a bit of a stretch but I believe cell phones where invented by the devil himself, go anywhere - airports, public transit, restaurants, hotels, theaters, beach and no matter how hard you try your luck - there will always be at least one person talking on their cell phone - how does this affect my health? When you cannot enjoy the moment and unwind in public, stress levels are not allowed to dissipate - instead of being in the moment, you are forced to be inside of somebody elses. When somebody is talking loudly over the crowd, it cannot be ignored. We wonder why our lives are so crazy everyday… the infernal cell phone is squarely to blame in my opinion 
1. Environmental Degradation
There is a very real link between the environment we live in and our general health - why our “leaders” cannot open their eyes to this and take real action to not only change things for our generation but the generations to follow is unconscionable. I am not talking about Global Warming specifically which is the buzz word of the 21st century - it’s only a symptom of a far larger problem - people still don’t seem to realize that pollution doesn’t abide by any borders, China is quickly becoming the worlds largest polluter, the United States (todays larger polluter) believes in an “wealth before health” policy and even Canada has outpaced the United States in terms of net increases of pollution. What am I doing to do about this? Stay tuned… but change must always starts with Responsibility, Awareness & Education.
The Bottom Line
Pet Peeves are like weeds, get rid of one and two new ones pop up in its place
