Diet & Fitness News - January 2007

Archived Story Links

1. Researchers Warn Milk Eliminates Cardiovascular Health Benefits Of Tea


2. A New Fat Replacement For Trans Fat Raises Blood Sugar In Humans, Study Shows


3. Experts 'Weigh In' On Popular Diet And Exercise Myths


4. Half Of Americans Metabolize Sugar And Fat Differently Which Can Increase Diabetes Risk


5. New Food Pyramid Offers Building Blocks to Good Nutrition


6. Whittling away those last 5 stubborn pounds


7. Latest dieting trend: Wishful thinking


8. For weight loss that really counts, count calories


9. The healing power of honey: From burns to weak bones, raw honey can help

Part 19: When Should You Work Out?

When you decide to get serious about your body and take responsibility for the extra pounds you’re carrying, the common question people ask is when is the best time to work out? I’ve been experimenting with this in an attempt to answer the question for myself, and here’s what I’ve learned. ...more

It's Official - I've lost the first 20!

There's something energizing when the scale shows you're 20 pounds lighter than when you started, and it's wonderful! The ironic thing is last night I had a little "cheat treat" of plain yellow cake and I still went over the top! Once in awhile, a "cheat" actually helps because you're throwing your body a curve ball - it's getting used to certain foods at certain times, and it becomes quite efficient by adapting. By throwing a cheat in, you trick your body with the few extra calories and a food it doesn't see on a regular basis. Of course it's a celebration for your tongue, too!

"I keep losing weight, but it keeps finding me!" Here's hoping the curse is broken! :)

Part 18: What I don’t like about the new Bob Greene diet

Like many people, I parked myself in front of the TV to watch the unveiling of the new Bob Greene diet on the Oprah show. I am naturally skeptical when it comes to big hoopla unveilings, especially when associated with the word “diet”. I felt like I had lost a perfectly good hour of my life watching an infomercial for one of her friends’ products.

As the curtain lifted on the “Bob Greene supermarket”, I was shocked at the kind of choices he put his name on and tried to claim were healthy. A few months ago I would’ve agreed he was right with some of them, but since then I’ve learned how to look at food from a non-diet perspective while achieving the dieting results. Sadly, I’m noticing more and more how difficult it is to believe anyone when it comes to bad dieting advice – especially when they’re branding products and making statements on how this is going to pay for their kid’s college tuition. To hear that statement come out of his mouth was at least honest, but told me not to trust the content. ...more

Confirmation On Soaking Salty Foods

A good friend of mine was reading "Swinging Away In The Salt Trap" and came across my statement about soaking salty foods in water. Here's what he had to say:

Reading the article on blood pressure reduction where you mention soaking salty food in water for half an hour reminded me of my growing up years when my mother fixed bacon for breakfast, she boiled it for a couple minutes before putting it into the frying pan. The bacon was cured with lots of salt on it for a few days before it was smoked. Boiling it took out the salt that stayed right there in full force and effect of frying. It turned barely edible meat into tasty bacon. When you looked at the water after the bacon was taken out, it was white and the pan had a coat of salt on it as well.

Part 17: The Mind and Body Connection

I’ve often read that people fail on diets because they stop exercising or because they can’t control their caloric intake. To some degree these factors do contribute to it, but they’re not the actual downward spiral that tanks a diet; these are symptoms of a greater problem called YOU.Normally I don’t care for Oprah Winfrey, although many people I know admit to following her like a cult, but I decided to watch it the other day when Bob Greene was on promoting his “New Life Diet” just in case I could learn something from him. I disagreed with his choice of many “diet” foods and thought his recommendations to be a bit unsound, however, he was correct that the mind and body connection is crucial to success in this venue. ...more

Part 16: How To Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

In a recent email exchange with a friend, we were talking about soaking salty foods in a water bath for a half an hour before consuming them. She’s quite petite and has about eight pounds she’d like to lose, but I tease her and ask where she’s hiding it since she’s quite beautiful. In the ensuing emails, I realized I hadn’t passed down any information in regards to blood pressure since I wrote about removing excessive salt from my diet. So I decided it might be time to update my progress and pass on the information I’ve learned to you. ...more

Part 15: It’s A Move It To Lose It Kind Of World

I must confess I love watching (or should I say listening) to infomercials for a variety of reasons. One, it reminds me of my own stupid purchases. As Robin Williams joked in his “Live On Broadway” special, “You should take the ab belt that shocks you’re a** and wrap it around your forehead, turn it on and repeat to yourself, ‘I…will…not…buy…stupid…sh*t…again!’” Two, when I don’t want to watch anything but I want background noise, I tune them in. Three, when I want to see the latest tripe or fine tune my ears to get past the dieting lies, I go search them out so I keep up to date on the emotional pitch being used by advertisers.

It’s therapeutic to admit to one’s own dumb purchases that play on your emotional desires, so let me slide back the confessional curtain and step inside and admit to my stupidities. ...more

Part 14: Weight versus Fat and Why It Makes A Difference

For lack of a better word to adequately describe the action, I’ve been on my diet for 46 days and have lost a total of 16.5 pounds and 3% body fat. I don’t like to use the term “diet” anymore because I think most people understand diets make people fat instead of thin.

Diets are by nature, a temporary change in behavior; if they were anything more, so many people wouldn’t name weight loss as the top New Years resolution. The fact we as a nation keep finding our collective waistbands expanding instead of shrinking should validate dieting makes a person fat. ...more

Part 13: The “Special K” Santa Claus and New Years Resolutions

Once in awhile, the advertisers come up with something funny instead of downright dumb, and this time the Special K cereal has got the post holiday edge that’s sure to tickle any funny bone. If you haven’t seen the ad, it’s worth paying attention to when the commercials come on!

A child is slowly wandering down the stairs and notices a big red robe with some white fuzzy trim on it. In her innocent glee, she cries out “SANTA CLAUS!” The camera angle dramatically shifts to a shot from inside the fireplace, revealing it’s not Santa, but Mommy. To paraphrase, the advertiser’s line reminds the person about all the holiday cookies she ate, and then kicks into the Special K diet pitch. ...more

Part Twelve: The Spirit Is Willing But The Flesh Is Weak

The most frustrating thing that can happen when you’re in training of a goal has got to be an injury. It breaks the momentum in one’s routine, causing you to slow it down or forces an all out halt to it. Not only does it screw up your training, it monkeys around with the emotional side of your life, working to bring you back down to the lazy, self-defeatist you were before you started off with gung-ho.

I had been faithfully walking, and I had completed at least thirty miles on foot when the front of my ankle began to hurt. My feet were covered with blisters, so I decided it was time to take a day off from my usual five mile hikes. It didn’t bother me much sitting out one day, but then my foot was still quite tender, so I took a second day off. The third day was to be a problem of a different sort.