(I sent this one to my mailing list on my Simple and Effective Diet website at http://www.simpleandeffectivediet.com, but figured it's applicable here as well - so am sending it to you guys as well. Enjoy!)

Well, it's been a long, long hiatus for sure - especially for those of you on the Simple and Effective Diet mailing list. Lots and lots of things going on over the past year, the main ones (the topping on the cake, really, in terms of volume) being a move back to India from the sands of Oman (a country that didn't particularly suit us) a few months ago, new fitness routines (of course!), a new manual on developing your shoulders - and most importantly, the birth of my baby girl a little more than a month ago. More than enough to keep me busy for a few months, if not more!

And as if that "ain't" enough, there are more major changes galore - all very exciting and I'll hopefully be keeping you posted on all those through the blog/email.

(Side note: For those of you that haven't already, you might want to sign up for my newsletter on my other "main" site http://www.rahulmookerjee.com - the blog/list there is update far more frequently than on this particular site. Worry not - I don't plan on forgetting about this particular site - quite the contrary - but as of now, I've been updating the other one a lot more frequently, so you might want to sign up for the mailing list on that one as well).

Anyway, so I was surfing the Internet looking for some decent burger joints (don't ask, long story there) and up pops this URL that claimed the owner of the "Heart Attack Grill" is "proudly displaying dead customer's remains" to it's customers, and is apparently doing quite well also.

Hmm, gotta check THIS one out, I thought. Some loons in this world for sure (no disrespect meant to the Heart Attack Grill management!), but I've never quite heard anything like THIS before.  .  .

So, I did some research - and it turns out that this restaurant DOES exist - in Vegas - which given the "theme" of the joint doesn't surprise me. It's basically a burger and fries joint for the obese - extremely obese, at that. Some "attractions" here include "quadruple bypass burgers" (which supposedly contain 10,000 calories per burger), french fries prepared in pork lard (not kidding), calorie laden milkshakes, beer and more - in short, a perfect invitation to obesity and a heart attack if one eats these regularly.

Oh, and lest I forget, the waitresses are dressed up as nurses, and apparently "spank" those that are unable to finish their portions. The owner of the joint wears a doctor's white lab coat and makes it a point to warn all and sundry that his food is BAD for you, and those that manage to finish the quadruple bypass delicacy are put into a wheelchair and wheeled out to their vehicle by the "nurses".

And to top it all off (no pun intended), those over 350lbs get to eat free there - no questions asked.

Now, as of late the owner of the joint has apparently been marketing his business by displaying the "remains" of a customer than apparently died while eating a meal at his restaurant, and that has obviously got some folks more than a bit agitated.

Some folks are asking if it's "right" to serve such unhealthy food.

Some are pondering the ethics of the situation, as in, "should he really be marketing himself this way"? "Doesn't the man have a sense of responsibility?"

Well, I'm not really going to get into the ethics part of this - but I'm going to say this - ethics aside, what is REALLY, REALLY pathetic is that folks still GO to this restaurant and eat there - despite it being openly (some would say shamelessly) billed as serving possibly the unhealthiest food you can eat. Despite folks dying while eating that sort of food on a daily basis. And despite knowing fully well that partaking of such food is an invitation to health  problems, even if you exercise on a regular basis (unless your Michael Phelps who reportedly needs around 13,000 calories per day, but I doubt most of us fit that bill).  

Now, before some of you guys jump on me for saying this, let me make it clear than I have absolutely nothing against a decent hamburger/fries meal. I actually love grilled meat, and I also enjoy the occasional cold beverage along with it, so I'm certainly no "purist" in that regard.

But, I also believe in the concept of personal responsibility - something that seems to be lost to many folks. I mean, allowing oneself to balloon up to over 400 lbs or more isn't exactly being responsbile with your own body - and stuffing oneself silly when one weighs that much with unhealthy food is the same as a slow, drawn out suicide - nothing less than that.

We hear a lot about ethics, and while the provocateur of this particular joint seems to specialize in guerilla marketing (to say the least), what about the folks that continue to eat there?

I mean - the guy's openly telling folks NOT to come to his joint since the food is so unhealthy, and yet folks keep coming - where's the logic in THAT?

And while coming once "just to try it out" might be one thing, there are apparently "regulars" who eat there on a regular basis as well (hey, it's "FREE!" for those of us over 350lbs). Yikes!

I could go on and on on this topic, but it's sad that it's come to this, to be honest. When did the concept of a "good hard days work" followed by a nice, hot dinner along with beverage of choice get replaced by unlimited gluttony and zero physical exercise?

Anyway, my advice to those that continue to enjoy that type of food on a regular basis would be to: -

- At least get on a decent fitness program and lose some of that excess weight, even if doing ONE pushup is a current impossibility right now. The routines in Fast and Furious Fitness will help these folks whittle away the lard in record time: - http://rahulmookerjee.com/index.php/articles/83-fast-and-furious-fitness-the-book

- Ditch the fries, shakes and bread - fatty meat is bad enough, but the rest is just empty calories times 10. Seriously.

- Make a will (if you have loved ones). Chances are that even intense training won't get you in the sort of shape you need to be to "digest" this sort of swill on a regular basis.

- And last, make a drastic change in your eating/lifestyle habits - this is probably the best suggestion, but one that a lot of folks are averse to, since it actually involves some effort and responsibility on their part.

And as for the owner of the Heart Attack Grill, well, I'll say this - he's sure found a marketing tactic that (unfortunately) works - and who are we to condem him for that? His marketing might not "sound" ethical, but neither are the "healthy" offerings dished up by Mc Donalds and KFC - both contributors in a big way to the epidemic of obesity sweeping across the globe. At least this dude is honest about the fact that he's concerned about the money coming in, but also wants folks to know just how unhealthy society in general has gotten - and that to me isn't a bad thing.

Sometimes some nasty medicine is "just what the patient requires" (to paraphrase the late Steve Jobs). . .

And that, my friend, is what I think of that - I'm off to eat some grilled chicken breasts myself shortly!

Best Regards,

Rahul

P.S. #1: - You can sign up for my Simple and Effective Diet list (that I spoke about in this email) right HERE: - http://simpleandeffectivediet.com/index.php/free-newsletter.

P.S. #2: Stay tuned for more MAJOR changes coming - changes you guys will certainly enjoy as much as I will!