Weight Loser Blog

McDonald’s just recently announced that they have switched completely from cooking oil containing trans-fat. They have been making this big switch over the last few months, but now all resturants in the United States and Canada have trans-fat free foods.

This is good news, but still doesn’t mean its healthy to eat McDonald’s everyday :P Get back on your diet! :D

An Independent study conducted recently found that the diet menus in restaurants actually contained many more calories and fat than what was actually advertised. They tested 23 meals from a number of restaurants such as Chili’s, Applebee’s, Macaroni Grill, and a few others. The study found that 78 percent exceeded the fat limit listed and 69 percent had more calories than what was advertised! Outrageous!

I don’t know about you, but I love places like Chili’s and I love to eat healthy…but this makes you think twice about getting diet food at restaurants.

Check out the full story at ABC News:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=4909235&page=1

A friend of mine just sent me this link to a Japanesee website that is selling these weight loss sunglasses. Apparently the glasses give everything a blue tint, which is supposed to be the least appatizing color. I believe red and yellow (McDonalds colors) are both very appatizing colors.

These glasses are supposed to make food and sweets look less appatizing, so you don’t eat as much. I wonder if it actualy works? At least you will setting a new trend!

Here is the site that is selling the glasses, it is not in English, so you may want to have it translated with something.

http://www.yumetai.co.jp/shop/g/g08426000000/

I just saw this news artcile over at CNN on how to make a good healthy salad and I though it was really interesting.

Here the major tips from the article:

• Add fruits, nuts, and other healthy incredients.
• Use vinaigrette dressing.
• Onions can help fight diseases.
• Add protein such as fish, chicken, or cheese.

Here is the full article:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/07/cl.salad/index.html

Nintendo recently released Wii Fit, a video game that lets you perform various exercieses and workouts while trakcing your progress. I heard about this game all over the news recently and I found it to be really interesting.

Check out this video review of the game, it seems pretty cool! If you are interested in getting it though, you will have to have the Nintendo Wii console to play it (its about $250).

The Zone diet is a diet popularized in books by biochemist Barry Sears. It advocates consuming calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat in a ratio of 40% / 30% / 30%. Some nutritional experts, including some of Sears’ former colleagues, have criticized his conclusions from the scientific evidence, contending that he has distorted or exaggerated the meaning of much of the basic research. They point out that no direct studies to verify his conclusions have been performed.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

The Western pattern diet (also called Western dietary pattern or the meat-sweet diet) is a dietary habit chosen by many people in developed countries, and increasingly in developing countries, characterized by high intakes of red meat, sugary desserts, high fat, and refined grains. It also typically contains high-fat dairy products, high-sugar drinks, and eggs.

The term is used to describe this pattern of diet in medical literature, regardless of where the diet is found, and is contrasted with diets which have higher levels of fruits, vegetables, poultry and/or fish.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

The Weigh Down Diet advises using spirituality to avoid overeating and has sold more than 1.2 million copies. Since that time she has written Rise Above and a devotional book called Exodus.

Shamblin teaches that there are two very different needs in each person; a need for food and an emotional need. According to Ms. Shamblin, people should only eat when they feel real, physical hunger and stop when full; prayer and Bible reading will fill emotional needs instead of food. Overeating is equated with greed. A core principle of the Weigh Down Diet, when people feel an urge to snack but are not experiencing true physiological “hunger”, Shamblin encourages participants to read the Bible instead.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

Very low calorie diet (VLCD) is a diet with very or extremely low calorie consumption per day. It is defined medically as a diet of 800 calories per day or less. VLCDs are formulated, nutritionally complete, liquid meals containing 3350 kJ (800 kcal) or less per day. VLCDs also contain the recommended daily requirements for vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fatty acids and protein. The VLCD products are usually a powder which is mixed with water or another low calorie liquid.

Because of the extremely low calories per day, a VLCD diet cannot be used by children no matter how obese.

A VLCD should never be undertaken without medical supervision.

Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming.

Various polls have reported vegans to be between 0.2% and 1.3% of the U.S. population, and between 0.25% and 2.24% of the UK population.

Vegan diets (sometimes called strict or pure vegetarian diets) are a subset of vegetarian diets, which are credited with lowering the risk of colon cancer, heart attack, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, prostate cancer, and stroke. Properly planned vegan diets are healthful and have been found to completely satisfy nutritional needs in every stage of life, including during pregnancy and lactation. However, poorly planned vegan diets can be low in levels of calcium, iodine, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Vegans are therefore encouraged to plan their diet and take dietary supplements as appropriate.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

The Subway diet involves replacing two meals each day with subs from the Subway restaurant chain. It gained publicity during the 1990s as part of an advertising campaign by the chain. Dieters can choose from the “Eight Under Six” section, which contains subs with 6 grams of fat or less. Jared Fogle is credited with starting the diet when he successfully lost a lot of weight by eating the subs daily. He became famous because of his story and now works to help others lose weight following the same diet plan.

When Fogle was a junior in college, he weighed in at around 425 pounds. He worked selling adult videos, where he got no exercise, thereby achieving his excessive mass. His roommate, a pre-med student, became concerned with Fogle’s health and encouraged him to schedule a visit with his doctor. Upon visiting the doctor, he learned that his health was in serious danger if he did not start losing weight fast. After trying unsuccessfully many times to lose weight, Fogle wanted to try something new. He came across a Subway restaurant near his college apartment and decided to give the sandwiches a try. He walked 1.5 miles each way and stopped eating breakfast and started replacing lunch and dinner with subs from the restaurant. He also ate baked potato chips, which are offered at Subway, and drank diet soda. After years of consuming nearly 10,000 calories a day, Fogle cut his daily caloric intake down to approximately 900 calories. The drastic changes made in his diet helped him to shed 245 pounds in just a year. Eating Subway sandwiches helped Fogle to finally lose a significant amount of weight.

Not long after his incredible weight loss, Fogle ran into a former college dorm mate who barely recognized him. The man, named Ryan Coleman, wrote an article in the Indiana Daily Student about his weight loss. The article was discovered by a reporter for Men’s Health magazine who included the diet in an article titled “Crazy Diets that Work”. It was then discovered by a Chicago Subway owner, Bob Ocwieja, who went to Richard Croad, the creative director at Subway’s Chicago advertising agency with the diet idea. The two men thought that it had some potential and decided to promote it. Croad and the owner of his ad agency, Bary Krause, sent an intern looking for Fogle, and after finding out that he did exist and his story was true, they decided to go to the Subway marketing director to see about promoting the diet nationally. The marketing director disliked the idea and told the men that the diet would flop. He felt that a fast food chain promoting healthy eating would not go over well in the American market. Croad and Krause decided to run a regional advertisement to test the idea, paying for it themselves.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

The Stillman Diet was created by Irwin Maxwell Stillman, M.D. in 1967. It’s an early form of the high protein and low carbohydrate diets. It differs from low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Plan in that it is also a low-fat diet.

It’s an extreme ketogenic diet used for rapid weight loss.

The diet includes lean beef, veal, chicken, turkey and fish. Eggs and non-fat cottage cheese are also included as are spices, tabasco sauce, herbs, salt, and pepper. Condiments, butter, dressings and any kind of fat or oil are not permitted. Tea, coffee, and non-caloric soft drinks can be consumed, but only in addition to the 8 daily glasses of water required. It’s also recommended that dieters eat 6 small meals per day instead of 3 large ones.

Much of the early weight lost in the diet is previous water retention. Once the dieter returns to eating carbohydrates, some weight gain usually occurs due to a return of some normal water retention.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

The Sonoma Diet was developed by Connie Guttersen and is a derivation of the Mediterranean diet. The diet plan consists managing portion sizes and eating approved foods centered around 10 items known as the “power foods”. According to the creator of the diet these foods were chosen for their nutritional value and intense flavors. The power foods are:

* Whole grains
* Almonds
* Bell peppers
* Tomatoes
* Broccoli
* Grapes
* Spinach
* Blueberries
* Strawberries
* Olive oil

Similar to the Atkins Diet, Zone diet and South Beach Diet, the Sonoma Diet has three distinct stages known as waves. The first phase which lasts 10 days is the most restrictive phase with the smallest number of foods allowed with the smallest portion sizes. During this stage sugar intake is greatly reduced. During the next wave a wider variety of foods are allowed and weight loss slows to a more gradual pace. Wave two continues until the target weight is reached. Wave three is known as the maintenance stage with a wider range of foods being allowed including the occasional dessert.

This diet is not classified as a low-carbohydrate diet or low sugar diet. People following the diet are allowed to eat whole grains, breads and cereals during all three stages of the diet. The plan does recommend avoiding white flour, saturated fats, and recipes with additional sugar. One of the tools used to teach portion management is plate size. For breakfast the diet recommends using an 18 cm (7 inch) plate and for lunch and dinner a 23 cm (9 inch) plate is recommended.

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

Slimming World is a British company which runs over 5,500 weight loss classes a week across the UK. Adults who are seven or more pounds overweight may join a local Slimming World class and pay a weekly fee to attend classes. In 2007 the cost on joining was £10 and the weekly charge £4.50. Slimming World calls its diet plan “Food Optimising.”

Classes are led by self-employed consultants. In October 2007 there were over 2,500 Slimming World consultants running groups across the UK. At each class members are weighed and the loss or gain is shared with the group. At no time is a member’s actual weight mentioned. During classes members also share tips, experiences, and ask for advice. Prizes are given for the “slimmer of the week” and “slimmer of the month.”

Other Top Diets

• Nutrisystem
• Medifast
• South Beach

Consultants do not have quotas to meet for total weight loss among their membership.

Slimming World was founded in 1969 by Margaret Miles-Bramwell, who serves as chairman. Caryl Richards has been managing director of the company since 2001. Slimming World has 215 employees in its head office.

The Shangri-La Diet is a book by Seth Roberts, then an associate professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and presently emeritus professor. The book outlines a method of natural appetite suppression that can lead to substantial weight loss.

Roberts developed the Shangri-la diet (perhaps more accurately referred to as a weight-loss method because it doesn’t involve a specific eating plan) in his own attempts to lose weight. He believes that traditional weight loss methods ignore a vital physiological element: the body’s set-point. This is a theory that says the human body attempts to attain a certain weight at any given time, and will increase or decrease hunger to attain that weight. In the book Roberts says: “The bigger the gap between your set point and your weight, the more hungry you will be”. Traditional diets fail because the participant lowers their weight without lowering their set point which, combined with the fact food intake is dramatically reduced during dieting, means the participant becomes extremely hungry as the body attempts to climb back to the weight it thinks it should be.