I saw the headline earlier today about some guy who lost 27 pounds on a "Twinkie" diet.  

This afternoon I read the full story — the guy was a nutrition professor:

Twinkies. Nutty bars. Powdered donuts.

For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals. To add variety in his steady stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Haub munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos, too.

His premise: That in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most — not the nutritional value of the food.

The premise held up: On his "convenience store diet," he shed 27 pounds in two months.

Also his "good" cholesterol went up, and his "bad" cholesterol went down.  He also reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.  His body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9 percent.

Still, he can't wholeheartedly recommend his "diet".  Eating processed junk foods will increase your likelihood of diabetes and cancer.

But the point he was trying to make, and he seemed to prove is, that we don't necessarily have to eat grains and dirt to lose weight.