There have been several “weight loss is impossible” or similar articles in the New York Times lately. And yeah, I know the stats. Most people who “try” to lose weight don’t succeed. Of course, most people who try to lose weight do that like I try to fly to space by flapping my arms really hard, but there you go.

But that doesn’t excuse shoddy science and disgraceful reporting like this.

Never trust anyone trying to shill a book, or hawking a weight loss program. Notice this cat is trying to do both. His main concern is your wallet and relieving you of its weight. I don’t feel like wasting my life by linking to papers and studies and results, but suffice it to say that though calories in, calories out is not the only story in weight loss — the body is more complex than that — most of what Ludwig is saying is either refuted by science (the FA favorite misdefined “starvation mode” doesn’t really exist), used misleadingly, or the effect is so small that it doesn’t matter for most people.

There’s no easier sale than something someone is yearning to buy anyway. That’s what this guy is peddling. Always be wary of that, even if there is some valid science behind it (in this case, there is little to none).