Diet and Nutrition

Cold Weather. Warm Food.

Is it just me but for those of us who live in cold climates, do you also have cravings for warm food while rejecting the idea of eating a cold salad or sipping a glass of iced tea this time of year? As I delve more into the study of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of health and healing, I find that some of its main principles, such as how our eating patterns change from season to season, are right on target with what I am experiencing. In the summer, my body can’t get enough of leafy salads, fresh fruit and the occasional soft serve ice cream cone, but when the first snap of winter hits, my taste buds quickly switch to begging to be fed with warm bowls of soup and cups of hot tea with threads of steam hovering over it. According to Ayurveda, we should combat the coldness and dryness of winter by opting for food choices and lifestyle changes that employ the opposite qualities. So my insistence on warm food or perhaps your need to slather yourself in rich lotion each morning to thwart off the dry skin that winter also brings is not that far off from what the ancient Indian sages recommended thousands of years ago.

The 8 Must-Have Foods

So many health foods, so little time. Do you want to kick it up a notch? There are plenty of healthy foods, but there are some that you should try to eat every day. Their heath benefits are so powerful, so essential, you need all you can get. Here’s a well-illustrated article on the eight most important foods to your optimal well-being.

Weight Watchers… for Men

The diet season is in high gear. So, the airwaves are filled with diet programs and products proclaiming that they’re the best solution for you. One of the commercials in heavy rotation right now comes from Weight Watchers. “Stop dieting, start living” is the commercial’s slogan. It cautions viewers about all the crazy schemes to help you lose weight, pleading with you to stop dieting. I don’t know why Weight Watchers doesn’t consider themselves a diet, but in any event…Weight Watchers has been around for a long time, so they must be doing something right. Most likely it’s how they structure their point system and in-person meetings. As in most dieting, Weight Watchers has generally been a lady’s destination. But the company is out to change that. NutriSystem has hit the male market hard, and so Weight Watchers is following suit. As you might suspect, they try to cater to men’s stubborn eating habits. Men want their burgers and pizza, and there’s not much you can do to change that. So, these foods are marketed, just in a sensible way. Weight Watchers is sure to point out what sets them apart, which is that you eat “real” foods, not the prepackaged variety.I don’t know how successful the program has been so far, but it seems like an uphill battle to get guys to join a structured diet plan, especially one that entails keeping track of food points. For more on the program, check out our formal review of Weight Watchers for Men.

Biggest Loser: Episode 3

It seemed like tonight’s episode of Biggest Loser: Couples finally got a little juicy. It’s like the past two weeks have been this careful dance where everyone is just trying to feel out themselves, their teams and competitors to see how this whole thing is supposed to work. Tonight was that first glimpse of the drama that only reality TV can spawn. Scripted TV? Nah- who needs it?

The orange team has been this sort of silent giant. Not too in your face, not really in the shadows and then they go and dominate at both of the past two weigh ins. They were rewarded tonight for that feat… with a hike up a mountain! No pain, no gain I guess. At the top of the mountain were three envelopes, Gameplay, which they chose. Inside gave them an extra vote at this week’s elimination. They passed up Luxury- which would have given them and a team of their choice massages for the week and Family- a 24 hour visit with the person of their choice. They ended up not even using the extra vote, so I say the reward was a wash. I’ll take a massage- for each day of the week- any day of the week.

It was an incredibly emotional week for the pink team. Bette-Sue, who I’m seriously starting to pull for- she’s a wild one!, had this revelation while walking with 20 pound weights. Two weeks ago she was 22 pounds heavier, so she was essentially walking around with the weight she’d lost. Pretty powerful. Jillian encouraged, more forced, Ali to come to terms with the emotional reasons for her weight and being on Biggest Loser. Ali and Bette-Sue met to discuss Ali’s years of pent-up angst, abandonment issues with her mother. It ended up in a tearful, positive hug and kisses from Jillian. Yah! The “Bully” kissed them both on the cheek. SHE HAS A HEART!

I liked the challenge this week. Dirty, messy and mean- it was all about strategy and for the first time the black team did not win. Grey came out on top. Relay race through a muddy pond, carrying medicine balls, place them in any other team’s bucket, first team with 8 balls is out. Last team standing wins. Definitely called out the teams people have issue with- white and orange were out first, followed by black and yellow- and then I guess the “good guy” teams. They won immunity- but like the orange team, didn’t end up needing it at the vote.

Alright- the juicy part. Weigh in was so exciting tonight, but I’m going to cut to the chase and just say that I really thought the white team, with Neill and Amanda, was going to pull through. I thought they were going to blow everyone away at weigh-in, but sadly they did not. Up against purple, in their third straight appearance in elimination, the white team was unanimously asked to leave tonight. UGH! I am so sad. Amanda- total power player, she could have taken it all the way home. Neill- MAN! What is up?! Just quit touching the treadmill already. I was torn on the elimination because you’ve got purple team on one hand who has been in every single elimination and on the other the white team who keeps trying to give it their all, but everyone’s mad at Neill. Three strikes rule doesn’t apply here.

I was glad to hear that Neill and Amanda are sticking with the plan at home, playing with their son more easily with the 20-some additional pounds they’ve both lost since leaving Biggest Loser. Great try guys! Keep it up.

Now, if this post could get ANY longer… this Saturday and Sunday the Biggest Loser Million Pound Match Up is stopping in Wichita, KS. I’ll be covering the entire event- inside and out- and be back next week with the scoop on that.

Soup’s Up

While it’s still cold outside, you can enjoy big steamy bowls of soup. There’s nothing better than curling around a bowl and getting all cozy. Soup can be deceivingly good for you though. Bob Greene, Oprah’s favorite diet guru, offers a few healthy tips for making the most of your favorite bowl of soup.

Straight from Bob’s Best Life, here are some simple things to keep in mind the next time you enjoy your favorite soup: For a one cup serving it should have less than 100 calories, 3+ grams of fiber and less than 600 mg of sodium.

Take the guesswork out and look for Bob’s Best Life Progresso Soups at the grocery store- Chicken and Wild Rice, Chicken Noodle, Minestrone and more. Or, try some of these tasty soup recipes at Diets In Review.

Huh? I can eat AND be hot? Sign me up!

Just saw on the Today show these two hot chicks, who by the way WERE hot, told the world they wrote a book about How to Eat Like a Hot Chick! Love their message, especially about taking time to enjoy what is on your plate, and not rushing through and eating guiltily to the point you barely taste it.

Experts have shown that slowing down and celebrating what is on your plate will increase satiety and reduce the need for extra calories. Seems like a good reminder, and one I wanted to share with you.
How to Eat Like a Hot Chick

The Race for Weight Loss Pill Supremacy

The 2024 presidential race is heating up. Similarly, the race to come up with the latest and greatest weight loss pill is heating up this year as well. Interestingly, new drugs may someday compete with the weight loss seen with surgery. Needless to say, billions of dollars will be had.

Research Shines Favorable Light on Sun Exposure

Sometimes health news can be frustrating. Eggs are bad for you. Eggs are good for you. Fat is bad. Fat is okay, carbs are bad. Well, now research is shedding new light on the health effects of sun exposure. It says that moderate sun exposure outweighs the risk of cancer. I doubt this is an invitation for bringing back the tanning oil.

Biggest Loser: Episode 2

What a show! Whew! Thank goodness for TiVo because I zapped the commercials to get through ALL THE CLIFFHANGERS. I laughed, I cried, I got mad. For Biggest Loser’s second episode, this one had it all.

Jillian and Bob opened the night with a one-two punch- they were joining forces and creating the dynamic duo. Since the teams were in couples, they wanted to couple up. All of the teams will now be sharing both trainers. There was a “Holy &*%$” heard from Kelly on the yellow team. I think it’s a great idea. Who couldn’t benefit from the unique expertise of them both. Granted, once you get a look at the weigh-ins, it might not be working.

They are interesting. Bob said it best when he called Jillian the craziest person he’d ever met. I cannot fathom having her screaming at me. That’s what some people need to get it in gear I guess.

There were a few challenges facing the nine remaining teams tonight- see-saws, buffets and emotions. All three were running high. The see-saw was the big challenge for this week. They had to do 100 reps, up and down. First team to complete each received a calling card to phone home. Any walls that were left came crumbling down, everyone was crying. And why not, a lot of those teams have young kids at home who they hadn’t spoken with in two weeks. Just like last week’s hot air balloon race, the black team brought it home. The twist was that they were given six more cards to give to three teams. They chose to give the teams with children the opportunity to call home.

Amanda, of the White team, literally took one for the team as everyone was cussing Neill this week. He just didn’t seem to pull his weight or want to be there and she’s been working SO HARD! They hoped that call to their little boy would help him to get his head in the game. That and a pep talk from Jillian look like they did it.

The teams were given what I would have thought to be their toughest challenge yet- FOOD! Send me outside by myself with tables full of hot barbecue, M&Ms, corndogs and pop and expect me to just twiddle my thumbs and walk away? Ha! Of the 18 people on Biggest Loser, only three of them took the bait. Amazing. White team stayed strong and didn’t take a bite. Brown, Yellow and Black each gave in- but only one member of each team ate something. What’s more interesting was that with all the hot links, hot dogs, chicken wings they each went for the sugar. Everyone ate cake and cookies and candy.

This week’s weigh in was a bit of a disappointment. Episode 1 had teams losing upward of 40 pounds. Tonight, the Orange team one for the second week in a row with a total of 16 pounds lost. Mallory of the brown team was the only person to add a pound. Amanda didn’t lose a single pound. It was heartbreaking to see how much she’s given this and not make any sort of change in the scale. On the flipside, Neill aggravated a few contestants by dropping six pounds. I gained a ton of respect for Amanda tonight as her only reaction to the weigh-in was a disappointed shrug and “I’m really proud of Neill.” His weight loss saved them from elimination.

Even more heartbreaking tonight was watching the Brown team go home, rather than the Yellow. They were amazing people- you could tell they were just so genuine and strong for one another. The follow-up looks like they’re sticking with the program and they look fantastic!

I’m anxious for next week as it looks like conversations are getting a tad heated between contestants.

Want to Add 14 Years to Your Life?

There are many roads that lead to the same destination of optimal health. But it can be boiled down to these basic elements of your lifestyle.

Bad Food: Cheap and Easy

As if eating healthily isn’t enough of a challenge, it’s getting more and more expensive to buy healthy foods. And of course, the bad stuff is getting cheaper. It’s one of the few negative side effects of being in a consumer-heavy capitalist society. We demand more, more, more for less, less, less. If companies are to make profits, they need to make as much as they can for as little as possible. That’s why it’s not any surprise that our imported products from China are tainted. Cheap labor and lack of government regulation has a funny way of producing negative results.

If ever there was a product you should “splurge” on, it’s your food.