i hate how many of my girlfriends are signing up for weight watchers every january. they probably lose 10 or 15 pounds, then fall off the wagon. all they talk about are "points" and fat-free this and sugar-free that. they tell me about every component of their nutritionally void meals with a hungry gleam in their eye. they are obsessed with food, like someone whos been in a POW camp. they tie their emotional well being to how many points they ate that day, then feel depressed, despondent and hopeless when, come march, they are off the program. they are ashamed that they "failed" (again) so they keep it all a secret. i hate watching them spiral up and down, emotionally and weight-wise, for the first three months of every year.

an old friend just proudly told me about her first meal on The Program this morning- one cup of skim milk, one cup of cheerios, one slice of whole wheat toast with 1tbs peanut butter. then, one of her other WW friends talked her out of the peanut butter because "it has too many points."

they dont strive for strength, speed, health or long life; they want to be skinny. they want to look 20 again, erasing all evidence of their child rearing and aging. they just want to look like the airbrushed woman on the cover, and as long as their goals are that unrealistic and that unattainable, they will continue to feel like failures and i hate that. they are wonderfully beautiful, strong women who deserve health and vitality. ive mentioned paleo to them, but they are set in their ways. i hope someday they will hear me.

ETA: i have a friend who i have been trying to convince to go paleo, who is obese and MISERABLE and tired. i sent her all the info, she was psyched. on facebook she posted a picture of her dinner- a hugel pile of pasta, meat sauce and garlic bread. i said, "so much for paleo, hu?" and she replied, "Yeh i did it for almost three days and felt so sick by the third day. Very lethargic and my tummy was upset. I have to have carbs (as in grains) I just dont think its for me but i wanted to try it to see. Moderation is key...its just a matter of being able to apply that discipline ...the battle for most of us. But when i couldnt go to the bathroom i know its not good for me. I cant say whose way is right or wrong. Weight is an issue for alot of us...i am hypoglycemic..i could feel my sugar was extremely low and was shaking headache dizzy...once i had some sugar it was like someone flipped the switched. Im sure what i was experiencing was a combination of detox symptoms..but im not one who really eats meat..and i dont eat fish..except maybe some shrimps once in a great while. Im trying to incorporate a variety but within moderation. I did however, use whole grain pasta, organic beef and tomato sauce and some spices. The garlic bread was not though..but i just had one piece and cut my spaghetti serving in half and drank water and small glass of red wine...but that was all i ate today except my morning coffee and rasberry iced tea midday. I never eat breakfast. We all have different body types. Now to just get my ass off the sofa."

so, then your body type is UTTER DENIAL?

ETA: umm, can i edit this AGAIN? i just saw a yoplait yogurt commercial. "you can lose five pounds in two weeks by just replacing breakfast and lunch with a fruit, a grain and a low fat yoplait light!" i bet i can also lose weight if i ate one twinkie a day, or on a diet of chocolate-dipped crickets. this might fall under the category of "just be cause you can, doesnt mean you should."

I detest The New Year Cleanse-Fest that most healthy magazines go on around now. I hate it. "Eat nothing but grapes for a week and hot water with lemon, then slowly build yourself up again with a green salad in the afternoon from day 7, then introduce one piece of LEAN chicken breast on day 10. Don't forget to drink plenty of water" Even men's magazines seem to be great advocates of The Cleanse.

Why do we need a cleanse in the first place, because we ate bad things at Christmas? Chips? Cookies? Cake? Chocolates?

I wish I could post this photo in every magazine I see (but of course never buy) at this time of year. Perhaps one day I will take out an ad.......what horror it would create. If only people realise that fat is the greatest cleanser of all......

I think they are drinking BABYCHAM........

"Choose brightly colored fruits and vegetables plus the brown of whole grains. Your diet should look like a rainbow with a complement of brown, says Connie Diekman, MEd, RD, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis and the voice of the syndicated radio show Eating Right Minute." - Web MD

At the risk of being scatalogically vulgar, that "complement of brown" might as well be another brown substance...neither is food.

The "Special K" challenge is 'specially horrifying. It's as mainstream as they come and it's a perfect storm of mindless consumerism and empty "nutritional" advice.

Basically, you buy Kelloggs products and eat them morning, noon, and night for 14 days to lose up to 4.8 pounds. Almost all contain HFCS and are processed, packaged, and designed to fill you up for about 15 minutes, until you start craving another "snack".

http://www.specialk.com/challenge/reso

Here's a great criticism of the program:

http://m.jezebel.com/5729628/the-problem-with-the-special-k-challenge

Check out the meal plan. Little of this is actually food:

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/39/2011/01/special_k_chart_11011.jpg

Terrifying and sad.

"High fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar that is handled by your body like sugar or honey." covered in detail by this website: http://www.sweetsurprise.com/learning-center/what-is-hfcs

They have experts: "... to read quotes about high fructose corn syrup from the American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association, the Food and Drug Administration, medical doctors, registered dietitians, academic researchers and consumer advocates" http://www.sweetsurprise.com/experts-on-hfcs

Click here for THE BENEFITS OF HFCS http://www.sweetsurprise.com/learning-center/hfcs-benefits

My teenage daughter showed me this website and passed it onto me. This sickens me and I think she learned about it at school ???? errr!

I have finally gotten my hands on the evil Women's World magazine my MIL adores. My biggest problem is that they take bits and pieces of things and turn them into MIRACLES! and cover them in EXCLAMATIONS POINTS! and by the time you are done reading the magazine you have no idea what to do first, so you do nothing.

My first pick:

The 12 cent pill that firms you up!

Feel sore after a workout? Pop an ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) Not only do they ease pain, they also boost muscle mass after resistance training! Ball State University Researchers found that these painkillers promote metabolic changes that allow the body to add more protein to muscles, bulking them up!

or how about...

Tone Muscles with Milk!

Been doing resistance training exercises such as lifting weights, but haven't seen the body toning results you want? Here's the problem: As you get older it gets harder for your body to build muscle at any age - sip milk! In their recent study, women who drank 2 cups of what free milk within one hour of doing resistance training exercises gained more muscle and lost more fat after 12 weeks than women who didn't! Milks secret power: It could be that the combo of calcium, protein and vitamin D in milk delivers cell building nutrients to muscles, says lead study author Stuart Phillips, Ph. D.

The lead study author doesn't even know why it works? I hate that it is skim milk. And I hate that they talk about the "secret power".

Next up...

Inducing drowsiness with oatmeal

Eating a bowl of carb rich oatmeal or whole grain toast just before bed will dampen the production of stress hormones, triggering relaxation and drowsiness in 20 minutes.

Except they don't mention the part will you will probably wake up hungry due to the insulin bomb you delivered right before you went to bed.

OH NO. Page 18 DR. OZ REVEALS THE NEW OBESITY CURE!

"Want to take the fight out of your most stubborn flab? Dr. Oz is here to tell you how! We blame weight game on eating too many burgers and getting too little exercise, but scientists are discovering that chemicals we are exposed to every day could be a big part of the problem. Sounds a little scary, but it's actually good news. Because simply knowing about these sneaky substances called "obesogens" means we can easily avoid them.

OBESEGENS? REALLY? Okay. Moving on...

I'll give him his #1 suggestion, cut out HFCS. His #2 suggestion? Outsmart super bad fat. Pesticides used on farms can end up trapped in the cells of farm animals, so these foods can be loaded with obesogens. "Choosing lean meats helps limit exposure. The most budget friendly option: Enjoy more vegetarian meals"

It's just so half assed. It's no wonder my MIL won't listen to me about Paleo eating! Dr. Oz is telling her about the obesegens! It's not her fault! ITS IN THE FOOD!!

TURN THE PAGE...

"Good times Guide"

Invite the gang over for chocolate fondue! Choose decadent dippers and toppings cake cubes, biscotti, doughnut holes, rice krispies squares, brownies The best toppings crushed cereal, sprinkles, pretzels, graham crackers

So, screw what Dr. Oz told you on the last page! To have Good Times you must have all this HFCS GARBAGE.

ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!!

And then they try to have decent advice, but screw it up!

Surprising Sneaky ways to stay healthy all winter.

EATING A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

A slew of studies have confirmed the immunity enhancing propercties of cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut and other foods filled with probiotics or good bacterial. When good bugs attach to the lining of the digestive tract the interact with the immune system stimulating it, says Allison Tannis author or Probiotic Rescue "To make it work for you" Have a serving of any naturally aged, nonpasturized cheddar daily, such as gouda, emmentaker, cheddar or colby.

I mean, seriously? WHY take the good advice and wrap it around a picture of a grilled cheese sandwich? You know most of these women will take their Wonder bread and Kraft singles and think they are "doing something sneaky to stay healthy all winter".

And the whole damn magazine is littered with ads for losing weight without any effort:

SENSA from GNC

FASTIN novel fat burner taking industry by storm!

Medifast shakes

I didn't even mention everything in this one issue. If you could see the pictures, it's even worse.

I actually just got a diet advice newsletter from my health-care provider, Kaiser Permanente, which was written by an RDA (never a good sign). Of course, she uses Ancel Keys' discredited "Seven Country Study" as the basis for her recommendations of such things as soy products, whole grains, low-fat/non-fat dairy, canola oil, and limiting red meat to only 1 or 2 times a month!
I guess Kaiser is trying to stay in the sick-care business.

FROM: http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/01/01/your-number-one-new-year-s-resolution-go-vegan.aspx

Like most people, I make a list of New Year's resolutions every year—stop watching so much TV, get more exercise, eat fewer cookies—only to pretty much forget about them by Valentine's Day. The one resolution I've never had trouble keeping was cutting meat, eggs, and dairy products out of my diet. If you're not yet vegan, that should be your number one resolution for 2011: You'll save more than 100 animals a year, improve your health, and help Mother Earth—plus you can eat all the cookie dough you want without worrying about salmonella poisoning.

In short: Why do you have cookie dough as a goal anyway!?!?

However, Once we get to my eating of the happy animals, I'm going to be in the line that is ordering up the bacon. The bacon and other meats from happy animals is going to be my fountain of health.

Sidenote: I agree with PETA that factory farms and CAFOs are evil, that's why I support my local ranchers and farmers as best I can, and don't eat sick and/or unhappy animals.

Cows eat grass so that I don't have to... thank you, cows!

CARBSTARS!!!!

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BR15G20101228

Unlike other weight-loss plans that restrict carbohydrates, at least initially, the core of the CarbLovers diet is carbs and resistant starch, an ingredient in bananas, oatmeal, beans and lentils, wholegrain pasta, barley, brown rice, peas, polenta, potato chips and rye and pumpernickel bread -- foods the authors have been dubbed "carbstars."

see Bolded: I dont even need to explain why this is TERRIBAD advice.

The 28-day diet includes a kickstart phase with carb-filled recipes totaling 1200 calories a day, followed by a 21-day immersion plan during which foods such as steak, french toast and chocolates are reintroduced.

1200 calories? thats how it works, its a poison/starvation diet! French toast! sigh. At least steak is on the list. probably some deck of cards nonsense.

"It's that visceral belly fat that hugs your internal organs, causing diabetes, increasing your risk of stroke and even cancers," Stork said in an interview.

im sorry, what do they think these foods DO to humans? Its why they have those problems in the first place!!!

Adults who ate three or more servings of whole grains per day, and limited their refined grains to less than one serving per day, had 10 percent less belly fat than those who did not follow this diet, study researcher Nicola McKeown, a scientist with the USDA Human Nutrition Researcher Center on Aging at Tufts University, said in a statement.

So... someone who ate less poison was less poisoned than someone that ate more poison? Brilliant Detective work Watson!

From USDA

Whole Grain Tips for Children Set a good example for children by eating whole grains with meals or as snacks. Let children select and help prepare a whole grain side dish. Teach older children to read the ingredient list on cereals or snack food packages and choose those with whole grains at the top of the list.

I died a little inside.

The Cookie diet killed me, sorry. Perhaps another incarnation will resume my internet ramblings in the future.

Domino’s Pizza Launches Domino’s Smart Slice School Lunch Pizza Program

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 17, 2011 –Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, is striving to be a part of the solution when it comes to promoting healthy, active lifestyles for young people – highlighted by the launch of its Domino’s Smart Slice school lunch pizza.

Domino’s Smart Slice is a white whole-wheat, reduced fat and reduced sodium pizza, which is baked fresh and delivered to schools. Domino’s Smart Slice is already being served in more than 120 school districts, and Domino’s plans to double that number within the next year.

Leading Change in School Lunch

“This is a new approach to delivering pizza to schools, and we are extremely excited about the potential of Domino’s Smart Slice,” said J. Patrick Doyle, Domino’s Pizza president and chief executive officer. “We are pleased with the launch, and the feedback from school districts has been very positive – which makes us believe the upside is tremendous. We want to lead change in this area.”

With 93 percent of schools in the U.S. serving frozen pizza, and NPD research showing that only one in four kids enjoys the taste, Domino’s sees an opportunity to provide hot food that not only meets nutrition guidelines – but also tastes great.

“Most of the pizza currently served in schools by other companies is frozen and not as nutritious as it could be,” said Doyle. “These freshly baked pizzas can help schools meet or exceed nutritional requirements and goals, while appealing to kids with great taste.”

This comes on the heels of the announcement late last week that the USDA has proposed new federal guidelines for school lunch. Domino’s Smart Slice was specifically developed to meet these newly proposed federal guidelines.

Mcdonalds new add for their "healty" oatmeal... Which has 32g of sugar in it!

Not specifically what you're speaking of, but in the same vein: I was reading "What I Eat" last night which is a collection of 80 people's daily food intakes from all walks of life from around the world and one of them was a fat camp where they're feeding them "healthy" pancakes, whole wheat bread, non-fat milk etc. The poor girl was 15 years old and kept coming back to the camp year after year and getting the same terrible advice.

'diet low in saturated fat and containing whole grains...'

I've noticed a pattern to our Lean Cuisine/SlimFast/useless diet food advertising at work.Six months before swim suit season(New Year's resolution time, also women worried about wedding dresses), and right after Labor Day(the ice cream and sodas got you this summer,gotta look good for the holidays!), they will start issuing coupons and having big sales on the stuff.Not to mention gyms pimping half price sign up fees for a yearly contract. My favorite is the women's magazines that have big headlines like"Lose 15 pounds by next Friday!"(are you going to give me instructions on how to hack off a limb?Because it's the only way that will happen)and, right next to that,some recipes for a dense chocolate dessert or greasy starchy casserole. They poison you and keep you looking for the antidote by telling you the logical answer of stop eating poison isn't correct.It's sick, sad and wrong.

This was in a pseudo-mainstream source about reasons not to drink soda. That wasn't the problem, the problem was this:

The only time I really bring soda into my house is when we are sick. There is nothing quite like a real coke or ginger ale to soothe an aching stomach. It’s medicine, really, and frankly, I think it should be treated as such.

I mean, wow. I is just so incredibly stupid. I responded something along the lines of:

Soda was only patented as a medicine because people thought there was something medicinal about bubbly water. If there's anything you shouldn't be doing when you're sick, it's drinking sugar water. If you want to soothe your stomach, eat real food and if you're thirsty, drink water.

Dr. Phil is currently pushing the "17 Day Diet".

It bothers me because the information regarding the diet is kept hidden (you can only purchase the book and/or dvd from the 17 day diet website) and that a few years back Dr.Phil himself had a challenge and a book out called The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution. So why is he pushing the 17 Day Diet now?

~~~~~~~~ NOT KIDDING...one of my friends on facebook just sent me this...(mind you we've been having several conversations on facebook about paleo and anti-industrial ways of looking at food...I feel sick, I have no clue how to even respond or to begin to respond...)

*You should also read the "You! on a Diet" by Dr. Oz simply cause it provides medical explanation for alot of things. Separately I helped two guys at work lose weight by telling them how to change their diet. They were former cheerleaders at GW - tall guys too that were used to eating whatever they want with no consequences cause they would throw 115 pounds in the air for two hours a day. So this is the list of dos and don'ts i gave them. i think you know all this but just wanted to pass it along in case you learned something that countered this knowledge:

Fiber slows down the movement of food through your digestive system. Hence why it makes you feel fuller longer. It also helps you to absorb the nutrients, etc in food. Thats why people encourage food higher in fiber.

About White vs. Wheat wheat bread Or wheat wraps good. Wheat! White pita/other pitas like corn are baaaaaad. White bread/pasta actually makes you hungry later – according to latest studies. The fiber in wheat offsets the high calorie/fat that you find in WHITE breads making the wheat better for you too.

Easy rule for guesstimating calories/fiber on the go and general calorie watching: If it’s a one ingredient item (like bread, crackers, etc)….aim for calories in the 100-180 range with at least 2-3 grams of fiber. Obviously you want more fiber if you are going to settle for a higher calorie item. It’s a trade off. The fiber will help those calories keep you going longer. That’s why cheeseburgers from mcdonalds don’t keep you full for as long as they should – given their high calorie content (800 calories and up!). They don’t have any fiber!!!

If it’s a two ingredient item (like yogurt with fruit on the bottom) you can settle for higher calories like 150-180ish with same spread of fiber 2-3 g for each (combined 4-6g fiber).

For three ingredients or more (like frozen dinners) you want to aim for 250-350 calories with 3-7 g of fiber. Since Michael was tall and a boy he went as high as 400-450 for calories.

The point is you aren’t eating more than 300-600 in calories (depending on how active you were that day) per meal. With two snacks at 150-250 that will bring your total calories for the day to somewhere between 1200-2300. I aim for about 1600-1800 cause i’m running/biking/being a moron every day but when i’m not active at all i aim for 1200. If i’m semi active then 1300-1500 depending.

Low cal snack ideas: Wheat pita and hummus. Carrots and humms. Carrots and ranch (as long as you only eat the serving size amount of the ranch). Fruit! Yogurt. The pretzels from the vending machine (really low cal).

Michael aimed between 250-200 cal for snack i think. I aim for 150-100 but that’s cause i’m a foot shorter than him and a girl.

Water weight: 5 pounds of weight lost in a week is NOT water weight. Water weight is lost/gained over the course of day(s) not weeks. if you are going to weigh yourself as a measure of progress (i do not support it!) then weigh yourself at the exact same time every day. I suggest in the morning, first thing when you get up.*

Michelle Obama unveiled a new 5-year plan by Walmart to sell "healthier" processed foods and cut down prices on fruits and vegetables. I'm not going to comment on the program itself but I couldn't resist sharing this quote from a Walmart executive.

“Our customers have always told us, ’We don’t understand why whole wheat macaroni and cheese costs more than regular macaroni and cheese,’ ”

Really, everyone? Eating healthier is as simple as choosing whole wheat MACARONI & CHEESE???

My life just got so much simpler, and cheaper!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/business/20walmart.html

60 minutes of cardio every day is what will make you lose weight and maintain. It is so much more than cardio!

Lots of folks around here are going vegan and doing "cleanses". Not exactly mainstream but increasingly common, I think. I shudder to think how much vegetable oil and "natural" sugars they are going to be taking in.

"Slimfast" because who has time to slim slowly? WTF? Ugh!

I constantly hear I am giving up red meat and I never get an educated response back as to why. The responses are always, so I can lose weight, I don't feel good when I eat meat, and even I don't know why answers.