A Little Dieter's Rant

Today I saw something that drove me nuts, so forgive me as I rant a bit!  You may recall that my husband is a fitness model and that he is drop-dead gorgeous.  I might be biased.  But his day job is far less glamorous, indeed, he drives a forklift in a warehouse.  Lets just say the guys he works with exemplify why everyone thinks Wisconsinites are beer-swilling rednecks.  Drinking is a pasttime for most blue-collar folks in this neck of the woods.  And we've got the physiques to prove it, yah der hey!  From time to time, my husband will be approached by the guys (and some butch women, unfortunately) who work with him, for diet advice.  This usually equates to my husband telling them they have to give up their 6-pack-a-day-Mountain Dew habit and quit drinking beer.  That is usually the point where peels of laughter can be heard as the offended beer-guzzler walks away in disbelief and disconnect from the problem at hand.  The sentiment is usually something like, I asked you to make me look good, not turn me into a princess.  Oh, there will be some who will brag to him about how they have started a diet, and feel very proud as they eat their processed bologna on mushy white bread sandwhich in front of him.  Some people have absolutely no concept of how to eat healthy, and that is not a dig, it is actually quite astonishing and a little bit sad.  I feel myself wanting to spill my knowledge all over these people. 
Today was just such a day when I came across just such a case.  I was reading a weight loss blog, as I like to do, and the blogger was going through her successes as of late, a little bit of running etc.  Then, at the end of the blog, she posts a photo of what she had for dinner after her run, a greasy, breaded, deep-fried fish dinner.  OK, I am human and I eat garbage sometimes, but she actually proceded to pat herself on the back for not eating the fries, and for staying under her alloted calories for the day (she's one of those Weight Watchers followers).  Now, I am never one to knock a weight-loss program, but I'm sure it is not the intention of the developers of WW to have their dieter eating such crap and still considering themselves "on plan".  If that were the case, you could eat a Big Mac meal and a slice of cake and if you are still under your calorie allotment, it is a healthy diet and you will lose weight.  Yikes!  What are people thinking?  Yes, she ran before eating it, but that doesn't burn nearly as many calories as people think it does, and any cardiological benefit she may have produced would surely be wiped away by the trans-fat laiden garbage she ate afterwords.  I am all for eating a treat/cheat now and then, but I call it what it is.  Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh, maybe she truly doesn't understand what that piece of "fish" is doing to her body.  It is really sad because if she eats like that she probably won't find out until she has a coronary episode.  She'll be one of those people in shock, saying,"I don't understand how this could happen, I am a runner".
I think the saddest thing about it is, people like this concentrate so heavily on numbers/calories to the exclusion of their health.  Yes, I get the idea behind the have-anything-you-want-but-do-it-in-moderation- thinking, they are aiming at having people not bingeing on stuff because of feelings of deprivation.  But what it is doing is allowing people things that are not good for their health as long as they don't eat enough calories to gain a pound.  So what we are seeing as a result is people compromising their health for a few pounds lost.  To me it is sad.  And to say something would be looked at as rude/judgemental.  So I will not say anything, but I don't think I'll read that blog anymore.  I don't want to get attatched to her personality and hope for her only to see her health fail her in the end.  Here's hoping someone shows her the way.
I probably sound like a pompous ass for saying that, but I honestly don't know how else to feel about that.  I have spent years researching weight loss/health, and I probably have more useless information that useful, but if you are really ready to make a change, shouldn't it begin with a foundation of knowledge? 
OK, off my soap box!  Week two's workouts are all done, and I am feeling mighty fine!  Big changes are bound to happen with my squeaky clean diet and my consistent training.  I am looking forward to fall, because it's my favorite season, but also because I know I will look and feel even better, and I'm actually getting really excited for my next semester at college.  I'm still dreaming of moving, still dreading winter, but all things are better when you feel vital!
Hope your week is on track to finish strong!