Diet and Nutrition

A Pet’s Food Preferences: Do They Mirror Yours?

Cat and dog owners are often described as if they are distinctly different people. I don’t know that it’s been studied to great depth, but my own anecdotal view is that there are only stereotypes that don’t represent the full scope of pet owners’ personalities.

However, Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire has studied how pets take on the personalities of their owners. And he came up with some strong evidence. (Maybe that explains why my pug is a bit shy and a worrier… but I digress.) (more…)

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Jason

Girls – Your Big Fat Boyfriend is a Must Read

For any woman who has gained 5, 10 pounds or maybe even more after finding the guy of your dreams, you must read the book, Your Big Fat Boyfriend. It is a delightful but informative guide on how to stay thin (or get thinner) even if your guy is a pancake-eating, burger-chomping, sweat pant-loving couch potato!

Author Jenna Bergen arms you with oodles of information on what to eat, why to eat it and why and how to exercise. Rather than telling you to give in to your boyfriend’s less than healthy ways just because you love him, she encourages you to become accountable for your own health (and size) by learning the self rewards of healthy eating, consistent exercise and all of the goodness that flows from these essential healthy lifestyle behaviors. (more…)

Posted on December 26, 2023 by heather

What Everyone Needs to Know About Carbs

I recently composed an article with all the information you need to know about protein. As we enter the most popular season for dieting, I wanted to arm you with the good side and bad side of carbs, before you fall into one of those low-carb fad diets and refuse to ever eat bread again! You might be surprised to learn that there are a lot of healthy benefits to eating the right kind of carbs.

Benefits of Carbohydrates

  • When you eat a carbohydrate, your body breaks it down into a simpler form known as glucose.
  • Glucose (for immediate energy) and its storage form glycogen (reserve energy) provide about half of all the energy muscles and other body tissues use (the brain depends 100% on glucose for its energy). The other half of the body’s energy comes from mostly fat.  We now know that carbohydrates aren’t all good or all bad. Some promote health while others, when eaten often and in large quantities, increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease. (more…)
Posted on December 26, 2023 by Kinsey

Making Your New Year’s Resolution Manageable

We all know that New Year’s resolutions have an extremely high rate of failure. Life change is tough work and many people set very ambitious goals. Life will get in the way one way or another. Too often people allow slip ups or breaks to discourage them to the point of giving up, and by March we’re back to life as it was the previous year. How can you successfully take advantage of the new beginning of a new year?

One of my favorite examples is the story of a woman who drank sweetened tea throughout each day, until her doctor diagnosed diabetes and instructed her to drastically limit her intake of sugar. Going from a tablespoon of sugar per glass of tea to unsweetened tea could be a change drastic enough to cause distress, defeat, and hopelessness. One sip and she’s likely to think unhelpful thoughts like “I can’t do this” or “I’ll never get used to this,” and resign herself to drinking her sugary tea. Instead, I would encourage her to swipe just a few granules of sugar off the top of her tablespoon before adding it to her tea. (more…)

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Wake Up America!

Several studies have been published over the years about the epidemic of obesity taking over America. One study stated that the percent of overweight people jumped nearly ten percent from the 80s to the 90s. Experts from similar studies state that America’s overweight population (ages 15 and up) is currently at 65 percent, while 31 percent is obese. These are scary facts and we as a nation we need to do something about this epidemic. It’s predicted that by 2024, 85 percent of America will be overweight. According to Forbes.com, America is currently ranked the ninth overweight nation in the world. (more…)

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Matt

10 Holiday Diet Tips You Should Probably Ignore

I recently received one of those forward emails, and it was one of the few I actually took the time to open and read. I thought it would serve well as our Christmas post. We’ve shared a lot of holiday dieting advice to help get you through the season – hopefully you’ll be able to indulge today without thinking twice. By no means do we want to take some of these diet “tips” too seriously, but what fun is it if we can’t poke fun at ourselves or the situation sometimes? Happy holidays from all of us at DietsInReview.com.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the holiday spirit.  In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls. Aren’t carrots for Easter?

2. Drink as much eggnog as possible. And quickly. It’s rare. You cannot find it any other time of year except now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it.  Have one for me. Have two.  It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. (more…)

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Natalie K

Does Jennifer Connelly Have an Eating Disorder?

I’ve always admired Jennifer Connelly as an actress, and well, a stunningly beautiful woman. Her latest film is the big budget sci-fi remake, The Day the Earth Stood Still. And it nearly did just that when I saw her make her entrance for an interview with David Letterman.

I’ve discussed actors and their obsessive dedication to gaining or losing weight for roles before. But a cursory look at her future roles doesn’t seem to call for an emaciated look.

If she is battling anorexia, it initially took me by surprise, because I thought that it usually afflicts people at a much younger age, even if it is an ongoing battle through a person’s life. It is most common in young women, health experts say, but it’s not impossible that it can happen with older people as well. Jennifer Connelly just turned 38 this month.

I’m obviously not making a diagnosis, but she certainly doesn’t look healthy.

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Jason

Should There be a ‘Secretary of Food’ for the Obama Administration?

Obama has completed his cabinet choices and Tom Vilsack was named Secretary of Agriculture. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times thinks that the incoming Obama administration needs a Secretary of Food rather than a Secretary of Agriculture. With less than two percent of all Americans engaged in agriculture, and last I checked, 100 percent still needing to eat, maybe there’s some merit to this thought.

Kristof argues that the Department of Agriculture focuses on representing the farm lobby instead of people’s nutritional health needs. (more…)

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Jason

Introducing the New Weight Watchers Momentum Program

Momentum is no longer available from Weight Watchers, as of November 2024. All Weight Watchers members now follow the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program, the biggest update to the plan in 13 years reflecting current research.

Just in time for New Years, Weight Watchers has recently launched a new program called Momentum to help you lose weight, stay in control of your hunger and keep cravings at bay.

Using the trademarked Weight Watchers Points System, Momentum centers around fueling your body with fiber-rich foods, lean proteins and good fats. Certain foods like those high in fiber keep us feeling full longer because it takes longer for the body to digest them. We fall into problems when we’re dieting when we starve ourselves and let our blood sugar drop. Our knee-jerk reaction then becomes to reach for a quick fix like foods that contain white sugar or refined flours or even the fast-food drive-thru. (more…)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by heather

Can a Shirtless President-elect Obama Inspire Others to be Fit?

THIS is going to be our President!

The Internet is abuzz with recently released photos of a shirtless president-elect Barack Obama as he swims in Hawaii. I just came across the buzz and my first reaction was: WOW!

From Clinton jogging to McDonald’s to George W. Bush clocking a few miles, I can’t really say that a president in recent history has made me take a second look. Until now. (more…)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by heather

Stress: The Ugly

Have you ever known someone that seems to always need to one up you on their stress? It was too common in graduate school to hear a conversation something like this:

“I have a test tomorrow and a ten page paper due.”

“I have two ten page papers due Friday and two tests this week.”

“Well, I have to work 15 hours, read 100 pages, and write my research proposal this weekend.”

School is an easy example, but people everywhere in all situations do the same thing, trying to one up each other. Are we really competing over I’m more stressed than you are?!? I will let you win because I want to avoid all the negative effects of stress. We seem to want others to validate our stress rather than our health. (more…)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Brooke Randolph