I don’t know about you but I’m not the sort of person who can buy a family sized chocolate bar and then meticulously eat one piece each day, before then putting it back in the fridge. Although I do try and eat healthily the majority of the time, my brain somehow convinces me that the rather ‘unhealthy’ things I’m putting into my body, just don’t count.
If I’ve had a bad day, or similarly, if I’ve had a successful day and want to reward myself or make myself feel better, I won’t feel guilty in tucking in to a cheesecake. I’ll go out for a run, just so I can have a large popcorn at the cinema (I’m pretty sure that’s not a good compromise – but I guess it’s better than nothing). In fact, I’ll eat just about anything if I can find an excuse for it.
A video my boyfriend found recently brought to life (quite hilariously) exactly what goes through my mind every time I try to justify eating something I perhaps know I shouldn’t. Bizarrely, this video has actually been produced as KFC’s new social media campaign, in a bid to target women (check) and in order to go viral (check), however there is no actual reference to the fast food chain in the video at all.
According to Jennelle Tilling, the vice-president for marketing at KFC, the video is their ‘first major social campaign to provide a light-hearted mechanic to engage directly with young adult females and to change their perception of KFC’. In order words, they are fed up with the brand being associated with fat males (yes, this is an over generalization, I apologize) and would prefer to engage with a younger, female market who calorie count, but who also make justifications for being a little unhealthy at times.
I have personally never eaten at KFC as far as I can recall, and don’t really find anything on their menu appetizing (sorry!), but I definitely have warmed to their brand after seeing ‘It Doesn’t Count If’, as Jenny Bede (who stars in it) really brings to life everything women say and do to try and justify our naughty snacks.
Although the Grilled BBQ Rancher range (which the video primarily stands to promote) ranges from 159 calories to 190 calories, which is pretty good for a fast food chain (before you get excited, please bare in mind, the majority of the BBQ Rancher Range is salads with a bit of sauce) – I can’t really see myself heading off to KFC just yet. I think the video is a really good start in turning around KFC’s target audience and bringing in more women, however there are some other issues they need to tackle first – perhaps starting with the decor?
Anyway, so the video in question got me thinking about what I do to try and justify eating things I really shouldn’t, so as well agreeing with EVERY justification in the video (see below) – here’s my list.
1 – It doesn’t count if you’ve had a bad day. If I’ve had a bad day, chocolate is the only thing that can repair the damage. Or ice cream. Or sweets. Or cheesy pasta. Or Nutella on toast.
2 – It doesn’t count if it’s part of a Sunday roast. It must be healthy because the whole family is eating it. Plus, roast’s include a lot of vegetables. In my eyes, having apple crumble and custard after a Sunday roast also doesn’t count. Just because, it’s Sunday!
3 – It doesn’t count if it’s in the Shapers range at Boots. They are made specifically to be healthy right. So having three 99 calorie Shaper’s Boots chocolate bars, is much healthier than having just the one bar of galaxy? mmmm….
4 – It doesn’t count if it’s got salad on the side. Even if the salad just sits there, looking at you. It still balances out the meal and makes it less naughty than it actually is. Think Wagamama’s Katsu Curry, yes the sauce might be 800 calories, but the salad definitely lessens the calories a little, even if it does lay untouched.
5 – It doesn’t count if the diet starts Monday. You can always fix those extra chocolate caramel digestives by starting your healthy eating regime, next Monday. Or the Monday after. Or perhaps the Monday after that…
6 – It doesn’t count if it’s homemade. Because obviously, you know exactly what’s in it (yes, all 100g of Sugar and 40g of butter) and there’s none of those nasty preservatives!
7 – It doesn’t count if you’ve had a good (or slightly good) day and are rewarding yourself. Getting that piece of coursework done definitely deserves a reward. In the form of a takeaway pizza.
And here’s the rest –
(if the video doesn’t show up, please click here to view it).
Whilst there is perhaps no real point to this article, apart from a whinge about KFC and a list of the things my brain does to justify treats, what I’m trying to say is – although dieting and being healthy is a serious matter, there is a funny side to how the majority of women’s brains work. Men don’t seem to have the same ability to pick up a tin of beans (or INSERT FOOD ITEM HERE) and scour the packaging for the calorie content, when most of the time, we’re just going to eat it anyway. Men don’t reward (or make themselves feel better) by eating chocolate in the same way women do and in fact, looking at it from a birds eye point of view – it’s actually quite funny. What do you think? If you have any other justifications for eating chocolate, sweets or other treats, I’d love to hear them!
