by OneMoreBite | Sep 13, 2004 | Weight Loss Tips
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
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.
by OneMoreBite | Sep 11, 2004 | Weight Loss Tips
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.
by OneMoreBite | Sep 8, 2004 | EFT Weight Loss
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.
by OneMoreBite | Aug 30, 2004 | Drugs & Herbs
Researchers indicated 39 percent of test subjects lost more than 10 percent of their body weight during the one-year study compared to 12 percent of patients on placebo. This is significant as the lead researcher in the study, Luc Van Gaal, associate professor of endrocrinology at University Hospital in Antwerp said, “A 5 to 10 percent reduction of weight leads to a reduction of risk factors by 25 percent to 30 percent.”
Patients were also put on a low calorie diet, so how much effect the pill had is impossible to know, which is the bottom line for any weight loss pill, potion or powder: You still must make a change in your eating habits. No pill can do it all. Despite that disclaimer, the world awaits the first truly useful diet pill and perhaps rimonabant, to be sold under the name Acomplia, will be the one.
While you’re waiting for that magical pill, why not try these 3 easy tips to pulverize your cravings by BodyBuilding.com.
by OneMoreBite | Aug 26, 2004 | Diet Plans
Stop right there for a moment and think about this: In this and similar studies where the effects of eating certain foods are tested, subjects are reporting their own results and compliance. In other words no one is monitoring study participants to see whether they are really eating what they have been asked to eat, or whether they are getting the exercise they have been asked to get. Some may be exercising much MORE than was reported for instance, which would certainly affect results.
The findings at the end of 12 weeks were that the placebo group lost on average just under half a pound. Again, note that this group received no grapefruit, and was asked not to diet but to get 30 minutes of exercise three times a week and they STILL LOST some weight! The group receiving the extract lost 2.4 pounds, the grapefruit juice group lost 3.3 pounds, and the fresh grapefruit group lost 3.5 pounds.
Once again, if the group receiving the grapefruit juice lost 3.3 pounds compared to the group who ate the grapefruit whole at just .2 pounds more, that seems close enough to state that grapefruit is helpful but the extra time and effort to eat the whole fruit isn’t worth it, yet, the study goes on to state additional health benefits derived from eating the whole fruit.
Once again, elaborate studies are required to try and prove what makes good common sense: Eat the foods the earth provides in as close to its natural form as possible and you’ll be the healthiest. Fruits, vegetables, grains in their denatured form (freshly ground wheat as opposed to white flour stripped of all nutrients for instance).
I’m not a health food freak, but I do promote eating more fruit. It’s naturally sweet and delicious (helping with those sugar cravings). Unless you are diabetic or have some other reason to monitor your intake of natural sugars, eating fruit before meals definitely helps in the weight loss game.
“Eat fruit before any meal and you will lose weight,” said Julie Upton, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman. “The fiber fills you up, and fruit has fewer calories than other foods.” One half a grapefruit has just 60 calories, no fat, and six grams of fiber.
Don’t like naked grapefruit? Sprinkle on Splenda if you must, but eat your grapefruit! Slowly you can wean yourself from the habit of sweetening grapefruit, just use less and less sweetener until one day you say, “My, oh my, it tastes quite delicious just as it is!”
P.S. Certain medications SHOULD NOT be taken at the same time as grapefruit. Be sure to check on any meds you take. A good place to check your meds is DrugDigest.com. Go to “Drug Interactions” use the drop down box to find the drug or drugs you want to check, and make sure the box “Check food interactions” is also checked. For instance the drug Lotrel, prescribed for high blood pressure, DrugDigest.com states, “Do not significantly increase grapefruit juice intake while taking this drug, or avoid grapefruit juice if possible,” so if taking Lotrel, skip the grapefruit idea. It’s important to always check any medications you take to be sure you don’t reduce their effectiveness by other things you regularly consume.
