I've seen plenty of food and nutrition films. Weight loss films? Mostly TV shows not movies. Follow Me is a film that focused on long-term weight loss. What I learned from Follow Me had little to do with what they think the film was trying to say.
Tony Vassallo comes across as a nice guy. Vassallo tells us about how he lost 130 pounds in 2010 and maintained that weight loss. Vassallo is convinced we will be similarly inspired if we hear stories of long-term weight loss. Follow Me features 15 other people and their stories about long-term weight loss.
There are some major issues with Follow Me as a weight-loss documentary.
- You don't actually learn how they lost the weight. The testimonials are presented in an infomercial dynamic without the occasional interruptions featuring a toll-free number.
- These people were addicted to food. They substituted their addiction to food with another addiction. Great for you if you are, as Vassallo notes, "one percenters." One person in the documentary pointed out that they call us "one percenters" but anyone can do this. If you aren't one of the "one percenters," you have little to no chance of success.
- We see Vassallo about to dive into a healthy salad at a restaurant. He seems less than excited about what is in the salad. Vassallo isn't crazy about tofu but it is in the salad. I asked Vassallo in the Q&A about how the taste buds go from what he was eating before to that salad. He didn't give an answer that remotely fit the question. That may also be because he is a "one percenter."
Weight loss and addiction do sometimes come together in a Venn diagram but the addiction element can be exaggerated unless you are a "one percenter." You might think you're addicted to carbohydrates or sugar; chances are you aren't literally addicted.
That is the concern about Vassallo's concept. This sounds good to the average overweight person. Just will yourself to eat better and you'll eat better. If that works for you, but 99% of the people will fail.
There is a disconnect between most people and those people that always like kale and think kale is amazing. Their enthusiasm can rub off; you want to like kale as much as this person. Switching your taste buds is a positive step. Doing so with the enthusiasm of a Stepford cheerleader isn't realistic for the majority.
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Vassallo figures that when we hear the stories of these 15 people, we'll be convinced that we can do the same weight loss and keep the weight off. The 16 stories, including Vassallo, are a small drop in even the "one percenters." The 16 anecdotal stories, vague as they are, delve very little in finding the secrets of long-term weight loss.
The film falls into the trap of an easy solution to weight loss. The true reality is that weight loss takes time and effort. One thing you learn from their stories is that they tried several times to maintain a long-term weight loss. You don't learn much from their stories. You would be better off watching a documentary on the mistakes people make in trying to lose weight. You can learn something from those people. One percenters? They don't have much to teach you unless you are one of them.
video credit: YouTube/Tony Vassallo
photo credit: Follow Me film
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