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The Slimming Pool Weight Loss Blog: Hey, I was Eating That!

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Canada Says No to Low Carb

Starting next year food labeling in Canada will not be allowed to have any claims regarding low carb at all, including in the product's name. Smaller companies are being given until 2007 to comply with the labeling laws. This is because Health Canada has taken the stance that there is no scientific evidence that supports low carb. Speaking on behalf of Health Canada Carole Saindon said, "There was--and still is--no reason from a nutrient point of view to be concerned with the amount of carbs that we eat."

This is sure to cause an uproar amongst the hundreds of manufacturers currently bringing new low carb foods to market. Recent studies showed that at the six month's point the low carb diet was more effective but during a 12-month study those early gains were lost and all was even once again. No matter which approach, all dieters ended up with about the same amount of weight lost overall.

It's interesting to note that "low fat" is considered okay in Canada as are "low calorie" and "low sodium." Why they decided to pick on low carb, I don't know but I'll bet it's got Atkins Corporation a bit riled. Stay tuned. The gloves are off.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Thursday, September 30, 2004

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You Must Have Chocolate Diet: The Chocolizer!

Here's some more marketing genius, The "Chocolizer." Get this, they claim "each capsule provides the equivalent satisfaction of two large chocolate bars or three cups of chocolate milk." Oh, really? That's swell, but how's that supposed to help when most people don't recognize whether they are satisfied and instead eat until they are stuffed? They'd have been better off if they'd said each capsule provides the equivalent overfull feeling of an entire Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, three helpings of two kinds of pie and assorted cheese balls while waiting for the whipped cream. Now that people could relate to.

They go on to state, "Made only from cocoa beans and shells." Um, excuse me. Shells?

OMG, this morning is ripe for ripoffs: Here's one I just spotted: 90 Lbs 8 Sizes in 90 Days. I see this one is "As seen on TV" so maybe you've seen it. Maybe you've even ordered it. Here's a tip: Stop falling for these absurd claims. Put logic to the test. Would an average person lose 90 pounds in 90 days if they ate nothing at all? No, they wouldn't.

These folks are selling empty promises and you end up with nothing but a slimmer wallet. I know, it's hard to resist the allure of easy weight loss, but this is just ridiculous.

Here's what works: Cut back on quantity by starting to eat one-fourth less than you usually do. That's not so much, one-quarter of a sandwich you cut away and give to the dog, or wrap in foil for a snack later. Three-quarters of a sandwich is likely still going to satisfy you, and then a few hours later when you get a little hungry, voila! You can finish the sandwich then. Perfect. Sure you ate the same amount but spacing out what you eat makes much better sense than eating the whole sandwich now, then having something else like a candy bar or chips in a few hours when you get hungry, and you will get hungry every few hours (most people do anyway). That's a pretty normal cycle. Think in terms of a mouthful or two, rather than a barrel full.

I eat half a sandwich now, when I once thought that was the craziest idea in the world. Try it and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised and find yourself letting go of a few pounds without much effort at all.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Thursday, September 30, 2004

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Monday, September 20, 2004

Mental Toughness for Weight Loss or Bully?

I had an e-mail with a link to something called Mental Toughness, so I checked it out and I cannot believe it. If you don't already disparage yourself enough, this is the program to get. It apparently is based on the premise that if they tell you how bad you are, you'll start to feel bad enough to decide to make a change.

For instance, here's a headline: "It's not the diet that's failing...It's YOU!"

Nice but wrong. Temporary diets do not work and never will. Nothing but what you do regularly is going to have a lasting impact, so to tell someone that it's not the diet but them is flat out stupid. Who in their right mind needs someone to tell them they are a failure? Apparently these folks get people to pay them money for this, under the guise of "mental toughness." That's not mental toughness. Mental toughness is learning to stop speaking in a cruel and disparaging manner to yourself. It is taking responsibility for your actions, yes, but not belittling yourself over a lapse in your eating plan. We are human beings here folks, not robots. Geeze.

So, a quick glance through the rest of his sales letter tells me that I'm fat, I'm lazy, I didn't stick to the last diet or I'd be thin, I'm delusional about how I really look, fat is ugly (so I guess that makes me ugly?), and that I should grow up. Does anyone like being treated like this?

It gets better. Clicking on the "Sign me Up. I don't want to be fat" button, I see this course is $497! Holy rip-off Batman!

Maybe I'm wrong and people like being treated this way, but frankly, I think it's horrible. The real problem with diet plans like this is that they perpetuate the illusion that unless you are perfect, you will not succeed. Oh, really? I'd love to meet these folks on the street. Chances are they are not perfect specimens themselves. No one is. Bet they're real fun to live with too! LOL.

You'll make the best progress in your weight loss efforts by allowing yourself a lapse when it occurs. It's no big deal. Just get right back in gear the next time you eat. One lapse does not a whole-day-lost make, unless you let it. It's when you feel you've failed that the, "I might as well just eat everything now since I already blew it," syndrome begins.

Without feeling like you must be perfect you give yourself permission to be human. Pull yourself up and stand tall. I believe you deserve better than what "mental toughness" is offering.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Monday, September 20, 2004

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Sunday, September 19, 2004

Losing Weight Before Weight Loss Surgery

Obese Man Loses More Than 370 Pounds
More and more the severely obese are losing to become candidates for weight loss surgery. This presents a dilemma in that to quality for the surgery you must demonstrate that you have tried and failed to lose weight via conventional means, yet if you are too heavy, you are required to LOSE WEIGHT before having the surgery.

Patrick Deuel who started at 1,072 pounds is currently on target for weight loss surgery having recently lost more than 370 pounds. How'd he do it? He's an in-patient in a Sioux Falls hospital, eating only what he's given, and at 1,200 calories basically being given a starvation diet. In Deuel's case I'd say this is probably about all he can do to save his life, and therefore is justified.

Sometimes a liquid diet, or a diet that supplements liquid nutritional drinks (such as Carbs Away Shake) with some whole foods is a great way to get started, especially if you have more than 100 pounds to lose.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Sunday, September 19, 2004

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Friday, September 17, 2004

Weight Watchers - Core Diet Plan

In a feeble attempt to appeal to dieters who liked the idea that they could eat all they want (calories don't count) Weight Watchers announced the introduction of the Core Diet. What is the Weight Watcher's Core Diet plan, you ask?

It's a non-dieting approach. Learning to stop eating when you are satisfied is key, and a list of foods to eat is given. Great. What else? Nothing, outside the usual meetings where everyone parades up to be weighed.

I have been promoting the non-dieting approach for a long time and I've come to the conclusion that more people would be helped by what I have to teach by my giving them guidelines such as what's best to eat, in what quantities. Weight Watchers has done this successfully for years, and many many people have lost weight with their plan. Many others simply rejoin Weight Watchers for another go-round after the weight comes back, but that's another story.

The Core Diet consists of foods you can eat. Nice. I love when they tell me what I can't have (that's why I don't like those good food/bad food plans). Next they say, certain foods are not allowed because they are "trigger" foods such as white rice, some breakfast cereals and nonfat yogurt packaged with fruit. Excuse me? How do they know my trigger foods? None of those are trigger foods for me. And nonfat yogurt with fruit? I eat that almost every single day plus grapenuts for texture. It's an excellent food. Do they not know you can buy yogurt with live beneficial bacteria and no added sugars? I suppose not.

Okay, so they are making an effort. My only problem with this is that Weight Watchers is not equipped to teach people how to deal with the emotional aspects of weight loss and that is what they must do to be successful with a non-dieting approach.

Frankly, if you know how to stop eating when you are satisfied (not full but satisfied - there is a big difference), you won't have a weight problem, and probably would never join Weight Watchers.

If you could join Weight Watchers Core Diet together with a plan to learn how to stop emotional eating (such as the One More Bite Approach) and learn how to know when you are satisfied, as opposed to when you are full, then you would have a winning plan.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Friday, September 17, 2004

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Wednesday, September 15, 2004

The Chocolate Diet

I came across an ad that said, "The Chocolate Diet," and so naturally, I checked it out. The site had pictures of nice chocolates, and then something about how nanotechnology had created some nifty new way of making it so you needed less sugar, blah, blah. This led me to believe they'd have chocolates to order, right? Wrong.

They are selling the same, tired chocolate powdered drink diet. Yuck. What a let down.

Then, while searching to see what else was new in the dieting world, I came across the Pasta Chocolate Diet. Checking into that I see they recommend popcorn as a snack, three times a day. Shouldn't it be called the Popcorn Diet?

Getting back to chocolate, I live similar to the principals in, Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet: A Memoir With Recipes, by Lora Brody. In it she explains how she loves chocolate and has a little every day. So do I! Well, not every day, but most days. As I still have one chocolate left from my Christmas box, I wouldn't say I'm obsessive about it, but I do love good chocolate, and I maintain my weight so they can go hand-in-hand.

My Chocolate Diet
Hershey's Kisses have about 25 calories apiece, so if you want, take four Kisses and attempt to let one melt in your mouth - no biting. See if you can, it's not easy. Make four Kisses a snack, make an effort to let them melt and it'll take you 15 minutes to eat them; meanwhile your hunger pangs are long gone and your craving for something chocolate is satisfied.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Wednesday, September 15, 2004

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Monday, September 13, 2004

Even Diet Pros Can Get it Wrong

I often sign up for the "free information" offered on websites for weight loss, just so I can see what they do, how whey do it, and whether I like it. Today I signed up for a Free Fitness Assessment on a page testing headlines for Denise Austin's latest web site. All was fine and well until I got to her suggested menu for the day.

Typos include the following for my recommended breakfast: Strawberry-Banana Smoothie: In a blender, process until smooth 1 small ripe banana, (pay attention closely here) 12 cup strawberries, 12 cup fat-free milk, 12 cup low-fat plain yogurt, 2 teaspoons honey, and 1 or 2 ice cubes. She goes on to add two pieces of wheat toast with 2 teaspoons of trans-free margarine. Ick. Why not butter - margarine sucks, and two teaspoons of it? Why on earth would you want any of it? It's not exactly a healthy fat and at 100 calories per teaspoon you just wasted 200 calories for nothing. Who knows if that was also a typo.

Whoa, Denise, I never said I was making smoothies for 12! Holy smokes. Obviously this is in error, but do you trust a website that is asking you to join and pay money, when they can't even get the simplest information correct? Where's the editor when you need her?

I'm sure they'll work out the kinks before this is launched into prime time. I think all the menus in the world are useless unless you intend to continue allowing someone else to dictate what you'll eat at any given time. Learn by suggested menus what are reasonable portions and then prepare the foods you like. I generally eat a bowl of cereal most mornings and I almost always think back to the, cereal, milk, fruit, coffee, toast breakfasts that were recommended in the 60s as being "a balanced breakfast." Sure, it was balanced. They pretty much threw in a little bit of everything.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Monday, September 13, 2004

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Saturday, September 11, 2004

If Americans Eating Healthy - Why So Fat?

A recent telephone poll conducted in August by Zogby International, and commissioned by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston revealed that 70% of Americans say they are careful about what they eat. Yet 56% of these same people admitted to being overweight.

These polls really measure the ability of people to be truthful. Think about it. If someone calls you and asks, "Do you make healthy food choices?," Are you going to say, "No. I eat crap and nothing but crap," or are you going to say, "Yes, I think I make good choices. I try to eat healthy, blah, blah, blah." People are going to lie. Ask them if they are overweight and 56% say yes, when the statistics show that closer to 70% of the population are either obese or overweight. Someone is not telling the truth.

They might have had a better result had they asked these folks what they actually ate. How often do you eat out? How often do you cook fresh vegetables at home? How often you do you eat fruit?

Many health experts believe that Americans think if they eat some healthy foods that their overall diet is health, and that's simply untrue. The fact is, unless you eat healthier foods the majority of the time, you'll be overweight. Case closed.

Where To Find Healthier Foods?

If you want to get more healthier foods in your diet, shop the outside aisles of the store. The produce, meat, dairy counters. Go down the frozen food section and stock up on frozen vegetables and find entree meals with less added sugar and fat. Cook at home at least once a week and

Limit bakery visits to once a week or less. Avoid the inner aisles as much as possible where they offer meals-in-a-box and pre-packaged cookies, crackers, Little Debbies, etc.

If you eat cookies every day, wean yourself down to no more than a couple of times a week. You can change your eating habits by making small changes, but it starts in your head. Take a close look at what you're eating now and then make a few changes. Once you are used to those changes, make a couple more. Slowly, over time you can begin to eat a healthier diet.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Saturday, September 11, 2004

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Wednesday, September 08, 2004

Fatty Acids, Health Claims - A Good Match?

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the pool, now the government has decided to "allow" health claims for fatty acids. So if you were getting tired of seeing "low carb" on everything, now you can look forward to seeing contains EPA and DHA! Wowee!

Said FDA commissioner Lester M. Crawford, "The new qualified health claim for omega-3 fatty acids will empower consumers with more information to help combat this disease and improve their health by identifying foods that contain these important compounds," Crawford said. Uh, right.

That brings us to the question of farmed fish. There will probably be a lot said about the question of the viability of the omega-3 fatty acids in farmed fish as opposed to wild fish. Here's what CNN's medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta had to say on the subject in a Nov. 7, 2002 interview:

Gupta: "One of the important things about fish in the wild is they eat a lot of smaller fish, who even eat smaller fish, who eat algae. This algae is really good ultimately for the fish; and for you when you eat it, because it has what is known as omega-3 fatty acids. That's an important name to keep in mind, because that's the fatty acid that's good for you; it can actually lower your cholesterol. You'll find a lot of that actually in wild fish.

[Additionally] there are 10 times as many PCBs in farmed fish. Basically, that's a reflection of how much pesticides, antibiotics, other contaminants are used in raising these farmed fish. There's higher pesticide levels in the farmed fish."

Gupta went on to say, "You actually have to give them antibiotics [farmed fish]. And a lot of the PCBs and toxins are all part of the farming process that are used to try and keep these fish free of disease."

Nice, huh? PCBs? Toxins? Yuck. Thanks, but no thanks.

So, yes, omega-3 fatty acids are a good thing, but don't be fooled. Farmed fish is NOT equal to wild fish. Wild fish is clearly marked as being wild, while farmed rarely is marked at all. Farmed also usually has an unnatural pinkness to the flesh as they die it pink, so if you think it looks "better," think again. Lest you be fooled, Atlantic salmon is farmed, BTW.

You can order wild fish through many sources including Ed Kasilof Seafoods, RainCoastTrading, and Alaska Fisherman's Catch.

Posted by OneMoreBite-Weightloss on Wednesday, September 08, 2004

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		Kathryn Martyn Smith, M.NLP Body Mind Therapy, Weight Loss Coach 210 NW 78th Street Vancouver, Washington 98665 360-695-3184

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