Diet and Nutrition

Police Obesity: An Arresting Development

Hey, drop that doughnut, officer! That’s the message (sort of) from dietitian Rana Parker to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The image of the carb-addicted pudgy police officer seems to be counter-intuitive, considering the physical nature of the job. So, the LAPD proudly boasts that they are hiring a dietitian to help slim down their force, and reverse the trend of expanding waistlines.

The LAPD has been facing a shortage of recruits, so they’ve relaxed their body fat limits to 22 percent for men and 30 percent for women.

As may be expected, there has been some resistance from the not-so-thin Blue Line, but there have also been some welcoming arms, and more importantly, successes.

Parker’s presence has helped some officers drop weight, which should make a stressful job less weighty. The common joke of the police officer in front of a 7-11 munching on a doughnut and sipping coffee makes for an easy laugh, but it’s not the whole story. While, there may be some truth to the stereotype, the obvious problem is that when you combine odd and long hours with a stressful profession, it’s a recipe for dietary disaster.

I applaud the LAPD, as one of the best ways we can honor the service of these heroes and heroines is to help them fight a battle some of them are losing – the battle of the bulge.

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Jason

Is Food Addictive Like Drugs?

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve posted pieces on public health policy as it relates to full-disclosure of restaurants’ nutritional information. The publicity and efforts are slowly revving up, as it becomes more and more evident that unhealthy food is a serious concern in society.

If you come to the table of discussion with an open mind, you can see how, in essence, there is little difference between junk food and some of the “milder” drugs. In fact, there are rumblings to consider junk food as legitimately addictive. Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute are saying their findings “could provide the basis for new policies aimed at treating fast food more like cigarettes.” Anyone who has had a bag of Doritos can attest to the addictive nature of unhealthy snack food. There are also some expert calls for tempering the junk-food junkie connection argument a little.

“Overeating and drug addiction may converge on some of the same neurons,” says Endocrinologist Barbara Kahn. “but other pathways are also involved. And from a biochemical point of view, the two are not the same thing. Drug addictions are much stronger.”

It is a political tightrope, for sure. Most people don’t want government acting as a nanny to its citizens, but at the same time, there can be some reasonable compromises, such as taking soda and candy out of schools (we limit adolescent access to other things) and printing nutritional information on restaurant menus.

Adults don’t need parenting, so I certainly fall on the side of consumers needing to be the ultimate decision-makers, but they do need to have the ability to make those decisions as informed as possible.

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Jason

South Beach Diet SUPERCHARGED!

Just recently released is the newly expanded South Beach Diet. I’m so happy to report that this latest book, The South Beach Diet: Supercharged Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life, has added a strong exercise component to its traditional diet. The diet hasn’t changed per se, but the menus, recipes and food selections for Phase 1 and Phase 2 have been enhanced. I myself have never done the South Beach Diet, but I was speaking yesterday to a registered dietitian about the diet’s components. She gave a big thumbs up to Phase 2 and Phase 3, but felt that Phase 1 was a bit too strict to do for 2 weeks. Three days seemed a more appropriate time span according to this diet expert.

Regardless of what you think of the South Beach Diet, it seems like the Supercharged edition includes a more practical and longterm approach to keeping weight off. That’s great news because most diets fail since there are little lifelong lessons built into their program. If you love the Supercharged version, there is also a Supercharged Workout DVD that goes along with it.

Posted on May 10, 2024 by heather

Low Carb Breakfast in Bed

Don’t forget to pamper mom on Sunday! Start Mother’s Day with these delicious low-carb waffles with homemade low-carb syrup. They’re super easy to make and taste fantastic- and you won’t jeopardize all the hard work she’s put into her diet.

Low Carb Waffles

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 4 Tbs. butter
  • 1/4 cup oat flour
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form soft peaks
2. Set aside
3. In another bowl, cream the butter until fluffy and beat in the egg yolks one at a time
4. Add the oat flour and sour cream and mix well
5. Add a little water, if needed, to reach desired consistency
6. Stir in the vanilla and salt
7. Fold in the egg whites
8. Bake in a preheated waffle iron
9. Serve with blackberry syrup, maple butter or low carb maple syrup

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Natalie K

South Beach Diet and Your Sugar Addiction

I’ve not tried the South Beach Diet, but I know of a lot of people who have and I’ve read a lot about it. What struck me as being particularly fascinating about this diet is the emotional effects that come from removing sugar, mostly refined sugar, from someone’s daily repertoire of eats. I myself have sworn off of sugar for small bouts of time and I must admit, I’m cranky, at least for the first few days of my abstinence. I have serious sugar withdrawal symptoms, usually in the form of mood changes. When this has happened, it catches me in my tracks and makes me wonder how much of a sugar addict I am?south beach diet

I’ve heard that in the Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet when you are requested to remove all sugar from your diet, that a similar withdrawal occurs with mood changes and serious sugar cravings that appear to wane as you move forward in the diet.

I wonder too, how many South Beach Dieters have banned white sugar from their diet all together? If you’re out there, I’d love to hear from you and find out HOW you did it and how it’s working for you. It’s always been a distant dream of mine to squash my love of sugar for good, but as of today, it’s still just that – a dream.

Posted on May 8, 2024 by heather

City Planners Need To Step Up

There are many reasons why modern people are fatter on average than ever in history. For instance, food has become less and less natural. In the last century we’ve gone from having fresh milk delivered to our doors, to chemically-treated milk that is shipped from God knows where. Corporate food sources.

People used to walk to their neighborhood grocer or produce stand that was supplied by local mom and pop farmers. Now food travels across the country – even the globe – before it gets to your dinner table. It doesn’t stay fresh by magic. It has to be preserved for a longer shelf life.

Then there is the “dilemma” of modern conveniences. What did people do before computers, phones, and televisions? If it wasn’t engaging friends and family in conversation, or reading a book, they were probably tending to responsibilities that included physical work outside the home.

Modernization comes with all kinds of wonderful amenities, but it’s often at the expense of our health. How we address our national health care needs is a political debate for another time and forum. But nobody can argue with the philosophy that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

One such preventable measure is zoning cities to be “walkable” again. People still need to want to be active, but if you present them the ability to get around by foot (and gas costs going through the roof), you can hope that they learn the good old fashion art of putting one foot in front of the other.

“Any city built in the 1800s is likely to be walkable because everyone who lived there walked. Cities like Boston, Manhattan, Washington D.C., inner Baltimore, Savannah, Charleston, are all very walkable,” says Jim Sallis of San Diego State University.

One West coast exception is Portland, Oregon where the city has long been pedestrian-friendly.

The moral of the story is that a public investment can make a world of difference in the health of its citizenry.

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Jason

Work your way slim with Bob Harper

Who out there feel like their butts get a little bigger by the time they leave the office each evening? With tinkering away on your computer all day long and an office kitchen full of cookies and donuts, it’s no wonder staying in shape is tough to do when you work in front of a computer all day long.bob harper

That is why I love this new creation by “The Biggest Loser” trainer, Bob Harper. He paired up with MSN to create a website that is devoted to helping all of us stay in shape as we work. We’re not talking about getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the gym before our 9 a.m. meeting, but rather simple and effective exercises we can do from our computer chairs or in our offices in under five minutes!

5 Minute Office Workout has 22 webisodes, Bob drops in on various offices around the country and talks to them about their exercise goals and their eating habits. From gently berating workers who keep stashes of chocolate in their desk drawer to encouraging fast-food lovers to opt for the healthier versions of typical fast-food fare, like tossing out the bun on their burger, Bob does a great job at inspiring and informing you. His message is realistic, motivating and best of all, quick! Check it out – Bob Harper’s 5 Minute Office Workout.

Posted on May 7, 2024 by heather

First Week’s Biggest Loser Loss = 3.5 Lbs

It’s been one week since I started The Biggest Loser Diet. I’m a bit hungry, but 3.5 lbs lighter. As hungry as I was at times, I was hoping for a little more loss, but I’m satisfied!

Looking back over the week, it wasn’t hard to stick to the plan. As with any meals on a specific plan, there are winners and losers, but I was overall pleased with the food and adding a little sea salt or coarse pepper helped pep up several of the meals. The hardest part for me was making sure I stayed with safe and nutritious snacks. It would be great if The Biggest Loser plan sent along additional information on the best snacks that would work with meals supplied.

During the week, I stayed strictly on the diet, just adding one or two pieces of fruit, a green salad (with a tsp of light dressing) and eating a few almonds if I was really hungry. When we were off the the plan on the weekend I basically stayed low-cal when we went out to eat. Gotta love Applebee’s Weight Watchers menu! I had the Steak & Portobellos, then splurged with Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake for dessert — total calorie count was 550.

Breakfasts
As a rule, the breakfasts were not my favorite meal of the plans. I don’t care for the Honey Oat Waffles or the “cinammon roll”. I did like the Quaker Oats oatmeal that was enhanced with a special sweetener and blueberries (supplied by TBL).

Lunches
Lunch meals were usually the same size and close in calorie counts to the dinners, the exception was the Vegetable Soup that logged in at 140 calories, but it was also my favorite food of the week.

Lunch Menu

Calories

My Score

Chicken in Thai Curry 430 7
Chicken in Bourbon Sauce 265 7
Savory Vegetable Soup 140 9
Blackened Chicken Breast 265 8
Tilapia in a Hollandaise Sauce 355 7

Dinners
As shown in a previous blog post, the dinners and lunch foods all came in separate bags for the veggies and meats, that were combined after being cooked. This helped keep flavors separate and vegetables crisp and colorful. The dinners ranged from okay to pretty good, with the tasteless grilled turkey breast and squash puree at the bottom of my list. I felt generous giving it a four!

Dinner Menu

Calories

My Score

Chicken in Marsala Sauce 420 5
Beef Pot Roast 530 8
Bali Chicken 385 7
Herbed Cod Fillet 300 *
Grilled Turkey Breast 310 4

Cooking
I didn’t see much difference between boiling the bags of food or microwaving, although one time a boiled bag apparently had not been sealed properly and it made quite a mess. When cooking two meals, I’ll probably continue with boiling in a big pot, but when I’m making a single lunch meal — I’ll stick to the microwave.

Exercise
Along with dieting, I also did a few more sessions of exercise (power walking) than I normally do. Probably not as much as I should do, but that will increase this week if we don’t have too much severe weather.

Customer Service Problems Continue
My customer service problems apparently were not resolved. After being promised delivery WOULD NOT occur on the weekend, you guessed it. Boxes of food did not arrive until Saturday and although the foods were still frozen solid, the dry ice had all evaporated. If I quit using The Biggest Loser and switch to another meal plan, it will because the delivery day problem cannot be resolved.

I also had a friend who called about starting the plan, got cut off while actually setting up her order and had problems getting re-connected, so she decided to wait a few weeks before trying again. Certainly not a good thing.

Today it’s onto Week 2! I’ll keep you in the loop as to how it’s going.

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Barb

The Mexican Obesity Crisis

Those of us in the U.S. are reminded of our country’s obesity problem nearly every day, but rising obesity rates are not uniquely American. In fact, a few years back, there was a phrase coined by the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify a worldwide epidemic – globesity.obesity

We only have to look at our neighbors to the south to see that we are not alone. Mexico ranks right up at the top with the U.S. in the worldwide rankings of the most obese countries on the planet. In fact, the country’s Health Secretary, Jose Cordova, has expressed his concerns about the impact of his country’s growing diabetes epidemic. Pfizer’s launch of its Exubera inhaled insulin product in Mexico last year shows that there is a real demand, and a real obesity problem.

There is a growing polarization in worldwide nutrition. That is, there are the millions of starving people in third world and developing countries, and then there are the more than one billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of whom are obese.

In a country that has a significant issue with poverty, it seems to baffle the mind to think that Mexico could be amongst the heaviest populations in the world. According to the World Bank, extreme poverty has been cut from about 24 to 17 percent of the general population and from 42 to 27 percent in rural areas. This is accounted for by an expanding economy, boosted largely by free trade agreements such as NAFTA. Not to mention an estimated $20 billion that is remitted from Mexican workers in the U.S.

Economic issues still come into play. British newspaper The Guardian reports that 80 percent of Mexican schools don’t have access to drinking water. This is made up for by substituting soft drinks. Mexico is one of the world’s largest consumers of sugary carbonated drinks.

So maybe it comes as no surprise that companies like Pepsi and Coca Cola are trying to step in and play the good guys by advocating healthier living through exercise with school kids. Don’t expect them to plop down any money to help find ways to get clean water in schools.

Figures from a 2006 national survey stated that more than a quarter of Mexican children between five and 11 are too heavy – a 40 percent increase since 2000. It also revealed that 72 percent of Mexican adults are now over overweight or obese, which is slightly higher than in the U.S. That’s one statistic that Mexico would prefer not to compete with us on.

Check out Shaq’s Family Challenge to learn more about getting your entire family in shape- no matter where you might call home.

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Jason

Healthy Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Do yourself a favor- don’t sit back and watch everyone else have all the fun today just because you’re on a diet. Be sure to make a healthier choice than babysitting the queso bowl or going for thirds on fried tacos and sopapillas. Try one of the many recipes that offer lower calories, fat, and carbs for many Mexican food favorites.

These are the top Cinco de Mayo recipe picks at DietsInReview.com.

Low-Carb and Weight Watchers Margaritas

Margarita Chicken – with 1g Carbs, 1g Fat, and 128 calories

Chicken and Red Chili Tamales – No guilt here, just 9g Protein, low calories and low fat. (more…)

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Natalie K

Low-Carb and Weight Watchers Margaritas

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo without crashing your diet. No fiesta is complete without an icy cold margarita, and these two recipes will give everyone a reason to say cheers! You can serve this low-carb or Weight Watchers margarita alongside any of our delicious Mexican recipes with a healthier spin.

low carb margarita recipeLow-Carb Margarita
This classic margarita has less than 3.1 grams of carbs.

Ingredients

  • 1 jigger (1.5 oz) tequila
  • 2 Tbs. (1 oz) lime juice – fresh or bottled
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp. orange extract
  • 1 Tbs. artificial sweetener (i.e. a liquid, carb-free brand)
  • Ice – small handful
  • Margarita salt or kosher salt

Instructions

  • Wet the rim of the glass and dip into a small plate of salt.
  • Combine all ingredients
  • You can either serve it over ice, strained into the glass, or blended in a blender

weight watchers margaritaWeight Watchers Raspberry Margarita

A refreshing twist on this Mexican cocktail has only 4 Weight Watchers Points.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sorbet, margarita- or lime-flavored
  • 3/4 cup seltzer, lemon-lime
  • 1/3 cups raspberries
  • Shot of tequila

Instructions

  • In a blender, combine all the ingredients
  • Puree until smooth
  • Pour into a tall, chilled glass
Posted on May 4, 2024 by Natalie K