The Haiti Diet :: Lose Weight Fast

Given the developed world's preoccupation with (and apparent willingness to spend money on) diet and weight loss books, videos and classes, it occurs to me that perhaps I should get myself a car on that gravy train.

I know a simple diet plan that results in fairly rapid weight loss. Of course, it also results in poor nutrition, but from what I have seen of other such plans, this outcome does not hinder sales. People desperate to lose weight are always looking for the quick fix to shedding pounds -- a pill, a product, a fat farm, eating the 'right' combinations of foods or so-called 'miracle' foods with negative calories.

Doctors generally suggest that those who are overweight simply eat less and exercise more, but this method is so simple, and so inexpensive that, they must reason, it cannot be effective. So here's my idea for the Haiti Diet (copyright Karen Zabawa 2006).

So my idea is to write the diet book. That done, I would design a 2-3 week tour to Haiti where guests can live, and eat, with a typical Haitian family. Of course, having adequate funds, the guests could afford to buy potable water, which they could share with their host family. So, too, would guests have the means to purchase rice, beans and oil, as long as there is stock available and the shops are open. The host family should be able to provide bananas and mangos in season. This could be a win-win situation for guests and hosts. The guests experience rapid weight loss, and the hosts experience weight gain. Walking long distances to market over hilly gravel roads would take care of the required exercise.

Of course, this diet plan cannot be sustained long-term without serious health risks such as malnutrition and susceptibility to infection and disease. Since it hinders normal growth in children, it should only be followed by adults.

If the Haiti tour is a success, then I could add new tours to other destinations, perhaps to Ethiopia. I most likely would collaborate on the book and tours with long time Haiti Diet follower Sharon Gaskell (no, not the Sharon Gaskell of Coronation Street fame, the one from Canadian charity Starthrower Foundation).

And in this spirit of win-win, we could donate the proceeds to Starthrower Foundation.

The Thing about Haiti . . .

It's easy to write about Haiti, or Ethiopia, or any country beaten down by poverty, massive debt and civil unrest. All a writer has to do is transcribe the words of the people who live there. There's no need for any special writing tricks or tools. The stories stand on their own.

What is difficult about reporting such stories is to limit yourself to "just the facts, ma'am," without editorializing. It's immoral for writers to feather their portfolios with the misery of others. Then, the writer becomes the focus. The worst offenders, usually via television commercials or 'special reports', show images of desperate people, usually children, to raise funds. My friend who does aid work calls that Hunger Porn, and it's as despicable as the other kind.

Maybe the case could be made for using such images if all funds actually went to the implied beneficiaries. But before you open your wallet, check the charities' budget for admin, training and program costs. Chances are, you'll be surprised at how small a percentage is allocated to those who are supposed to be receiving them.

I was reminded of this the other night, when I was reading my copy of The Best American Travel Writing 2001, which includes a story called Desperate Passage, by Michael Finkel. Finkel joined a boatload of Haitians heading from Haiti to the Bahamas, with a view to going on to the U.S. This story was first published by The New York Times Magazine, June 18, 2000. It's a chilling account, all the more powerful, I think, for Finkel's simple, eloquent reporting. Google "desperate passage' -- you may still find an online version.