Diet and Nutrition

Gastric Bypass Surgery Cuts Death Risk

There may be some negative preconceived ideas about weight loss surgery, the thinking being that it’s an easy way out or that it’s giving up on yourself. No matter what your views are on the subject, there’s one thing for sure: it saves lives.

According to a new study from Sweden, obese people who have gastric bypass surgery performed are less likely to die from heart attack and stroke than those who take part in conventional treatment for their weight issues. The 4,000 Swedish patients who participated in the lengthy study were recruited between 1987 and 2001.

One of three weight loss surgeries were performed: They either had gastric bypass, banding, or vertical banded gastroplasty. Taken together, they all lost between 16 and 23 percent of their body weight over the time of the study. (more…)

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Jason

Fresh Diet Partners with HINT Water and Jessica Smith for a New Year’s Deal

Just in time to help you stick to those goals you’ve been considering all week, three names are coming together to offer a New Year’s Weight-Loss Resolution Kit, full of all the food, fitness and even some freebies you need to stat 2024 on the right foot.

Announced today, Fresh Diet, a leading meal delivery diet program, and HINT Water, a flavorful unsweetened and no calorie beverage, are joining forces with beloved fitness expert Jessica Smith, creator of the 10 Pounds Down DVD workouts. Together you’ve got a package of quality products that can lay the foundation for the success you’ll enjoy all year long.

When you order The Fresh Diet’s 31-Day Premium Plan, you’ll receive more from HINT Water and Jessica Smith to round out the kit. In addition to the standard meal plan, Fresh Diet will throw in an additional three complimentary meal deliveries, a six day supply of HINT Water, a DVD from the 10 Pounds Down. It’s just one order that will deliver all you need to get started. With the premium plan, you receive 3 meals and two snacks for each of 31 days. You get to select what you want to receive, and get to call out dislikes that can be taken off of your menu. “With our state of the art website you can choose all of your meals a month in advance by simply logging into your The Fresh Diet Account,” says the product description. (more…)

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Natalie K

Diet Coke Addiction Has One Man Seeking Rehab

by Kelsey Murray

I have often joked that I am addicted to diet soda. I turn to the tasty beverage to get me through my work day and then have another one after work each day. It tastes good, has no calories, and gives me a little caffeine rush that I have come to depend on to get through my busy days. While diet soda isn’t healthy in the least, when I compare myself to Darren Jones, a 38-year man from the United Kingdom, I have nothing to worry about.

Jones drinks 42 liters of Diet Coke every week, and in an effort to help himself kick the habit, he wants to check himself into rehab. He spends £100 each week on his habit, and it is damaging both his own life and his relationship with his wife.

“I believe what I have is an actual addiction and I start to worry if I’m getting near the end of the bottle,” Jones said. “If I can’t get in touch with [my wife] Paula to get me some more I start to panic – it’s like a drug or alcohol addiction.”

Jones started drinking soda when he was 13-years old and worked in a local market. Since then, his habit has evolved into drinking the equivalent of 18 cans of soda every day for the past 10 years. He used to drink regular Coke but changed to diet when he started to gain weight.

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Posted on January 4, 2024 by Health Buzz

Measure Waist Size Not Weight for Better Health

The beginning of January is often considered the season of weight loss due to the many individuals who choose to embark on this type of mission as soon as the new year begins. In fact, fighting the battle of the bulge is one of the most common new year’s resolutions set year after year. And although it sounds like a good idea at the time, very few people actually follow through with this sort of resolution. In fact, a third of individuals will give up on their lofty weight loss dreams by the end of the first month.

This year, instead of focusing on becoming thin, why not focus on improving your health and shrinking your waist instead. Although it may seem weird to focus on the size of your waist this year, it’s often considered a better indicator of health and it’s quite common for individuals to achieve an appropriate waist size before they notice numbers changing on the scale.

The fat that collects around your middle can often lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes if too much is present. Although you can’t specifically target this area of your body and only lose weight here, individuals often see their abdominal fat stores shrink by 10-30% when they lose as little as 5-10% of their overall body weight. This means that your waist measurements may fall into a healthy range even before you hit your desired weight. (more…)

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Kati

Demi Moore’s Raw Diet Prepares Her for Role in Lovelace

By Arleigh Aldrich

Demi Moore, set to turn 50 in 2024, will play the role of feminist and activist Gloria Steinem in the upcoming film Lovelace.

Moore is most notably recognized for her roles in Ghost (1990) and G.I. Jane (1997), among many other films. Most recently she’s made headlines for her divorce from Ashton Kutcher. One question you might ask yourself if you were to watch all her movies back to back: Does this woman not age?

Having almost completed half a century of life with three kids and a successful film career, Moore doesn’t look a day over 30. So what’s her secret?

Moore has been outspoken about following a strict raw food diet and practices Bikram Yoga, more commonly known as hot yoga. With the raw food diet, she eliminates preservatives and many toxins. Some of the benefits include little (or no) cellulite and she can still enjoy a bowl of pasta!

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Posted on January 3, 2024 by Health Buzz

Celebrities We’d Like to See Lose Weight in 2024

By Arleigh Aldrich

As much debate as there is out there about the weight of celebrities, there’s no denying some of our most beloved of actors, comedians, and singers need to hone in their eating habits. Here are a few celebrities we love that we want to see eat healthier and lose some extra pounds in 2024.

Christina Aguilera

Undoubtedly one of today’s most powerful voices, Christina Aguilera has been in the public eye since her teenage years, and as is the case with any star, so has her weight. The pop star has had many weight fluctuations throughout her career, although they haven’t been as extreme as others. We want to see this beauty in her best shape in 2024.

Melissa McCarthy

Most recently seen in Bridesmaids but most well known as Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls, Melissa McCarthy is one of the most lovable (and most hilarious) actresses out there. In an interview with Anderson Cooper on his daytime talk show McCarthy said “It’s a work in progress,” also mentioning how hard it is to balance two kids at 41 and manage her weight. Her priorities are elsewhere for now, but hopefully the actress can make time for her body in the new year.

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Posted on January 3, 2024 by Natalie K

Special K Aims at Long-Term Weight Loss Management

box of kellogg's cerealYesterday, Kellogg’s Special K launched a new campaign and tools to accompany their weight-loss challenge in an apparent effort to reposition the brand. In addition to the cereal, Special K foods include bars, crackers, chips, water mixes and protein shakes. The Special K Challenge has not changed nutritionally, but now the site and mobile app provide those who sign up with more tools to track their weight loss and stay accountable.

A new angle of the campaign is to help women feel more “body confidant” and in control of their weight. However, both Special K products and the Special K Challenge have come under criticism by health experts. The challenge itself can be extremely low in calories, consisting of two Special K meal replacements, two Special K snacks and one healthy meal per day. The current campaign is focusing on messages of empowerment and long-term health, rather than simply focusing on the scale. Although such a message is noble, the company seems to be trying to position these products as part of a long-term weight management program, when really the Special K Challenge is a crash diet that’s low on nutritional value. Although fairly low-calorie, most Special K products contain high amounts of sugar and are generally too processed for us to considered them really healthy.

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Margaret

80/20 Principle May Not Be Rigid Enough for Successful Weight Loss

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could ditch the food rules, eat what you want, and still achieve a healthy weight? Well, it may be possible. That is, if you follow the 80/20 principle.

The 80/20 principle is a guideline that encourages individuals to eat healthy 80% of the time while leaving 20% leeway for those less healthy choices. This allows you to incorporate all the foods you love into an eating plan, even the worst of them, (Twinkies, anyone?) without feeling guilty. Although this sounds too good to be true, many nutrition experts have found that this concept has helped many individuals fight the battle of the bulge over time, yet knowing a little nutrition know-how and keeping yourself accountable is pretty much essential if you want this concept to guide you towards better health.

First, you have to realize that this principle is a general guideline and not a precise equation that should be used at every meal. Instead, it suggests that if an individual gives their best and eats as nutritionally as they can, successfully sticking to this plan 80% or more of the time will result in success. Or in other words, you don’t have to be a perfect eater to successfully reach your healthy living goals.

And that’s a good thing according to nutrition expert and author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN. Zied who says that “by giving people permission to indulge in small amounts of nutrient-poor but delicious foods like candy or cookies, they may feel less deprived and perhaps it will motivate them to try to include more healthful foods in their diet.”

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Posted on January 3, 2024 by Kati

Steve Wynn May be Off His Vegan Diet

Rumor has it that hotel developer billionaire and staunch vegan Steve Wynn has fallen off the vegan bandwagon.

Wynn became a vegan in June 2024 after watching a documentary on his yacht in the French Riveria. After eliminating meat and animal byproducts completely, over the next year, Wynn made it his mission to spread the word about the benefits of veganism, and even went so far as to provide a promotional vegan book and the accompanying documentary on DVD to his nearly 10,000 employees.

Some say his zeal for the vegan diet borderlined on obsession. Wynn has said in interviews, “The notion that you need animal food as protein is one of the great conspiracies of (expletive) by the government.” After decided to turn vegan, Wynn returned home and hired vegan chef Tal Ronnen to add vegan options to his hotel menus. His Christmas card even encouraged his loved ones to lower their cholesterol.

In May, he apologized for “preaching” at the Viva Las Vegan, an event he coordinated along with Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit. “This is a matter of fundamental survival and continued vitality of our society and our population,” he told the Viva Las Vegan audience. “It is not some kind of fringe activity for tree huggers.”

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Posted on January 3, 2024 by Kelly

Packaged Foods Falsely Marketed as Weight Loss Aids

If you’ve turned on your TV in the past week you’ve no doubt been inundated with ads and messages from some of the biggest packaged food marketers around. The New Year is like Black Friday for the billion-dollar weight loss industry, as this is the best opportunity to catch new dieters. Marketers from commercial diets to pills and yogurt want your attention, and your dollars, as you make an effort to stick to a resolution to better yourself; a resolution that for most people has to do with losing weight.

As you start making changes this week, be a conscious consumer and don’t accept those advertising claims at face value. The more Yoplait, Diet Coke, and frozen foods you toss in your cart, and eventually in to your mouth, the more you’ll continue to fall short of your goals.

Yes, the package says they’re healthier. It even says things like fortified, low-calorie, natural, or a host of others that they get away with via some tricky loopholes in food labeling. They’re nothing more than a clever disguise.

“These foods are ‘nutritious’ because they are fortified by adding a few nutrients,” said Mary Hartley, RD, our resident dietitian. “Because so many other nutrients are removed during processing, they pale in comparison to natural foods. The foods do not contain any particular ingredient to promote weight loss; rather, it is either the small portion, or single serving, or boring repetition recommended by the manufacturer that relatively reduces calorie intake.”

Those fewer calories you’re consuming are also empty calories, meaning they’re void of nutrition. So you’re feeding your body unnecessary calories and not getting anything else out of it.

Some of the biggest culprits falsely advertising their weight loss capabilities, include Special K, Yoplait, diet soda, Slim-Fast, and Lean Cuisines. Continue reading to see why they’re on our list, and what the healthier alternative is.

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Posted on January 3, 2024 by Natalie K

Phase Diets Increase in Popularity With the New Year

With the new year upon us, you may be considering a wide array of diets to help accomplish the healthy living resolution you will soon be setting. Although it seems like endless diet possibilities exist, most are built around similar principles. Some involve strict, automatic changes to your current way of eating while others involve a progression of stages. Although diets that work in stages might seem like a better option than a one-step plan, they too often result in only short term weight loss success.

For example, take the newly launched PINK Method. This diet is a phase diet – one that involves multiple stages of eating behavior. Those who embark on this diet will find that they must first start with the PINK Reset – a short term detox diet that is meant to jump-start your metabolism. This stage of the diet is then followed by the PINK Primary stage where participants are given a little more leniency, but still must follow a fat-fighting diet that reintroduces the body to high-energy foods. After this stage is complete, dieters will then move on to the last stage of the diet where weight management becomes key. As you can see, this progression hopefully leads to a lifetime of dietary changes after a rebooting of the system takes place.

Other diets are similar. Both the 17 Day Diet and the South Beach diet work in much the same way. Although each of these diets has the potential to result in successful weight loss, more often than not, this success is short lived because of how hard  it is to move beyond the strict early phases. Failure to comply with these stages often results in feelings of discouragement, guilt, shame, and failure. Instead, individuals who attempt to utlize these types of meal plans should focus on what they can do in the early stages instead of what they can’t do. Even if an individual is unable to comply to all the rules, many of the small changes they are able to make will have positive long-lasting effects on overall health. (more…)

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Kati