Diet and Nutrition

7 Celebrities Celebrating Weight Loss Success This Spring

Most Americans make the same promise to themselves at the new year, and it doesn’t matter if you live on Main St. or Hollywood Blvd. We all want to lose weight, look fitter, and feel stronger, and the celebrity set isn’t any different from us, except that they do it under the watchful guise of millions. That’s why we want to celebrate the weight loss efforts of a few of these stars.

As we close out the first quarter of the year, several have posted positive returns on those weight loss resolution investments!

CeeLo Green is down more than 12 pounds toward a 50 pound goal since launching the new year as a spokesman for eDiets. When we spoke to the company’s marketing team earlier this year they said CeeLo’s goal was to improve his health and not fixate on a number. The meal-delivery service seems to be a perfect addition to this busy singer’s life. (more…)

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Health Buzz

How Engineering Tasty Low-Fat Foods Makes Things Worse

We recently wrote about the science of mouthfeel and how food manufacturers engineer what we eat to not only taste great, but entice our senses through the texture of the food. Sometimes, food makers face challenges posed by highly publicized campaigns against certain ingredients, one of which brought on the low-fat diet phenomenon.

Demonizing Fat Created a Bigger Problem

One of the bigger problems in human nature, which has manifested itself in the world of diet and fitness, is that we tend to overreact to information. For instance, we hear that saturated fat is bad for us, then instead of simply moderating our intake, we obsessively avoid it altogether or feel guilty when we can’t adhere to unrealistic expectations.

Decades ago, as the public became increasingly weary of saturated fat, manufacturers had to artificially engineer foods to retain their appeal. So what happens? They replace naturally-occurring fats with man-made substitutes that are just as bad, or worse. (more…)

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Jason

A Healthy Gambling Problem: Why Weight Loss Betting Sites Work

A diet is never easy, that’s why we have an entire website dedicated to helping you tackle the pesky four letter word. So rejoice, frustrated dieters, for recent trends suggest you don’t have to lose your sanity or money trying to tackle your weight loss goals. In fact, a study by the Annals of Internal Medicine found that financial incentives were a significant tool for getting people to lose weight.

The science is fairly simple: out of the three dieting control groups they tested, the two that had the potential for monetary rewards fared better than the group with none. The control group that lost the most weight was the one that stood to make even more money if their fellow dieting teammates failed to meet weight loss goals. It’s no shocker that Americans will do just about anything to make a buck, and this study is all well and good for the few lucky people chosen, but how does it affect you?

There are legitimate and reputable websites dedicated to a phenomenon called “weight loss betting.” It’s a lot like betting on a horse race, except the betters are the horses and they control the outcome. Better yet, it’s legal, and you have the capacity to gain money while you lose weight. (more…)

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Patrick

Dr. Jason Cleveland Followed His Own Medical Advice to Lose 60 Pounds

It was around the age of 9 that Dr. Jason Cleveland of Lake Worth, Florida, started to develop a weight problem. Eating too much and choosing poor quality food were his primary downfalls – a result of poor eating habits he learned from his parents. Cleveland, now 42, doesn’t necessarily fault his parents. However, he does admit they simply didn’t know much about proper nutrition for kids – a problem that’s becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society.

This poor nutritional foundation ultimately resulted in Cleveland reaching his highest weight of nearly 250 pounds. It wasn’t until attending a wedding in May 2024 that he realized it was time for a change. “I had to have my entire tuxedo enlarged to wear. I am a wellness practitioner, and I could not believe how far I had fallen,” he said.” The next day I started my quest.”

To lose the weight, Cleveland adopted an 80% diet-20% exercise motto – a plan he created years earlier for patients at his practice. “I do not start any of my clients on exercise until they have lost a significant amount of weight for fear of injury,” he said. After losing the first 40 pounds, Cleveland began cardio only – something as simple as jumping rope. (more…)

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Dana

Melissa Joan Hart Lost 20 Pounds With Nutrisystem, Becomes New Spokeswoman

Melissa Joan Hart is about to explain it all for Nutrisystem. Hart, beloved 90’s actress, has been named the new spokeswoman for Nutrisystem. Millennials will remember her days starring in cult TV classics like “Clarissa Explains it All” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” but now the writer, producer, director, singer, and mother of three is adding “brand ambassador” to her resume.

Nutrisystem, a meal delivery weight loss system, has experienced a surge in relevance in recent years. Once a staple on the QVC home shopping network, the company began selling its merchandise at Costco stores in 2024. In 2024, Nutrisystem breakfast and snack foods could be found on the shelves of Kroger grocery stores.

Nutrisystem has been widely praised as effective and affordable, so it makes sense that the company chose one of the most affable and innocuous celebrities since Lawrence Welk. Since giving birth to her third child, Hart has lost 20 pounds on the diet. In a press release, Hart said, “The program is really delivering results for me and I look forward to long term success, staying motivated and helping others do the same.” (more…)

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Patrick

Fuel Your Kids With Better Sports Practice Snacks

Spring sports are a great way for kids to enjoy the warmer weather and get active. What is not so great are some of the snacks that are provided after practice or a game is done.

Kids do need to refuel after practice, but healthier choices can be made than the snack cakes and soda that are usually made available. Registered dietitian Mary Hartley, our resident nutrition expert, recommends fruit, yogurt, hummus with pita and vegetables, or healthy homemade muffins as wholesome foods that make good after-practice snacks. She warns against soda, candy, chips and other processed foods that contain a lot of sugar and fat. Though eating something after practice is an important step in refueling the body, it shouldn’t take priority over hydration.

After a long practice, it is most important for kids to rehydrate. “Water is fine, but if heavy sweating is an issue, have a sports drink,” said Hartley. She also recommends chocolate milk as a good drink for refueling muscles because of its ratio of carbohydrates to protein. Chocolate milk can also be a good substitute for sugary snacks by providing kids the nutrition they need and satisfying a craving for something sweet. (more…)

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Elizabeth

Breakfast Proteins Fill You Up, Suppress Appetite

In this fast paced age of instant gratification, young people are skipping breakfast in favor of checking their Instagram while they scramble to get to school or work on time. A new University of Missouri study aimed to quantify the nutritional benefits of the most important meal of the day. Moms in Missouri rejoiced, students were ecstatic for the free grub, and the results were just shy of major significance.

Twenty obese college girls were fed a breakfast high in protein (sausage and eggs), a normal protein breakfast (cereal), or no breakfast at all. Participants were given coolers full of unhealthy snacks to measure their appetite later in the day. While that may have been a misstep by the scientists considering Cheetos and Little Debbies are awfully tempting to any starving college student, the breakfast protein experiment did yield minor results. Researchers found that the more protein consumed during breakfast led to higher appetite satiety and decreased hunger later in the day. (more…)

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Patrick

Sugar and Salt: The Battle to See Which Kills More of Us

A recent study found a correlation between how high a nation’s sugar consumption is and its type 2 diabetes rate. Now researchers are taking it a grim step further by estimating how many deaths can be directly attributed to sugary drinks.

Researchers at Harvard have linked sugary drinks to the deaths of 25,000 Americans every year and 180,000 deaths worldwide.

“We know that sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to obesity, and that a large number of deaths are caused by obesity-related diseases. But until now, nobody had really put these pieces together,” said Gitanjali Singh, the lead author of the five-year study and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.

soda and chips

In a not-so-shocking development, The American Beverage Association issued a critical response to the study’s findings.

“It does not show that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages causes chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer – the real causes of death among the studied subjects,” the industry group said in a written statement. “The researchers make a huge leap when they take beverage intake calculations from around the globe and allege that those beverages are the cause of deaths which the authors themselves acknowledge are due to chronic disease.” (more…)

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Jason

Chia Bar Battle and a “No Bake Cookie” Chia Bar Recipe

Not all chia seed bars are made equal. We realized this in a recent taste test where we faced Health Warrior Chia Bars with Chi Innovations Chi Bars to see which one came out on top.

So what’s the big deal about chia seeds? For starters, one 16 ounce bag contains the same amount of Omega-3 fatty acids as 10 pounds of salmon. Yes, 10! As Health Warrior points out, Omega-3s are essential for brain function and cell and tissue growth. One pound of chia seeds also contains the same amount of protein as three pounds of tofu, and the same amount of fiber as four pounds of oatmeal. That’s a lot of nutrients in a tiny package.

Our competitors both tout the superfood chia seed as their star ingredient, but beyond that the two brands are worlds apart. Let’s dig into what makes them unique. (more…)

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Dana

Food Blogger Spotlight: Ashley M. of Never Homemaker

Sometimes you “meet” a blogger online and instantly know you’ll be fast friends. Such was the case when I came across Ashley’s blog, Never Homemaker. Her blog name was clever, the content was intriguing, the recipes made me drool, and she and her family were as cute as can be.

If you stop by Ashley’s blog expect to find fitness and running inspiration, tasty and healthy recipes, and glimpses of her life as a mother to her adorable toddler daughter, Ada.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ashley about her blog and her approach to living a healthy, happy life. Here’s what she had to say.  (more…)

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Dana

President Obama Signs Monsanto Protection Act Into Law, Angering Protestors

monsanto

  • On Tuesday, President Obama signed a spending bill, HR 933 continuing resolution, into law. Included in HR 933 is the controversial Section 735, the provision now know as the “Monsanto Protection Act.”
  • The Monsanto Protection Act effectively prevents the federal courts from halting the sale or planting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered (GE) seeds and crops regardless of what health consequences may result from the consumption of those products in the future.
  • A major concern is that not enough research has been done on the health risks of GMOs and GE products. If health risks were to become apparent in the future, the Monsanto Protection Act would remove the judicial power to prevent companies from selling them. (more…)
Posted on March 28, 2024 by Elizabeth