Do Packed Diet Foods Really Result in Better Weight Loss?

A recent study published in the April 2013 issue of the International Journal of Obesity examined whether people would lose more weight on their own (sticking to a prescribed calorie goal) or by eating pre-packaged diet foods that totaled the same number of daily calories. The story was picked up by news outlets with eye-catching headlines like "Packaged diet foods may spur more weight loss," (Reuters).

Sounds pretty good, right? We thought so, too. So we dug a little deeper to bring out the real truth. 

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What Motivates You to Exercise?

It's no secret that there are many people who don't like to exercise for one reason or another, but at the same time, there are many others that really enjoy it. Why is there such a love it or hate it attitude towards exercise? There are numerous answers to that question and some might say that they had a really bad past experience, they find it boring and haven't found something that is enjoyable, or they may not see the instant gratification (weight loss) that they are looking for when it comes to exercise. As many of you know, what motivates one person to do something may not work for the next person. 
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McDonald's Posting Nutrition Info in All Restaurants

Our daughter spent this past summer serving customers at our local McDonald's. She observed many patrons trying to make healthier choices by selecting oatmeal for breakfast or skipping the fries at dinner. During her work, she helped McDonald's highlight lower calories options as she promoted options from their new Favorites Under 400 menu.
 
To demonstrate their commitment to improved nutrition, McDonald's has published a nutrition progress report for the first time.  Now McDonald's has taken another step in information sharing. Learn about important tidbits of information that can help make nutrient wise selections even easier next time you are selecting Food on the Run.
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Schools Putting Healthier Lunch Options into Action

As you know, earlier this year First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new National School Lunch Program nutrition standards. Since more students eat school lunch compared to school breakfast, schools first started to implement the new standards with school lunches.
 
Perhaps your family has incorporated tips that help you pack a nutrient-rich lunch for your children to take to school. Hopefully you have found a month worth of fun and healthy lunch ideas your children enjoy to help take the hassle out of packing school lunches. However, if you have a teenager like mine who doesn't want anything to do with packed lunches anymore, selecting a school lunch may be part of his or her daily routine.
 
It seems many school districts did major overhauls of their school lunch menu offerings over the summer to improve the nutritional quality offered to students this school year. I know there are many new changes in our son's school. Here is a sample of the types of new school lunch offerings popping up in school districts around the country.
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Poll: Should Physical Inactivity Be Considered a Medical Condition?

Over the years as technology has advanced and made it easier for us to sit more throughout the day, humans in general have become less active. This continued inactivity has lead to increasing obesity trends, along with other ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, "many people might find that they spend 8+ hours sitting at work and then come home and sit some more, whether it is to watch TV or for some other sedentary activity."
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Should You Believe the 'Organic Isn't Healthier' Study?

It's been all over the news this week: A new study conducted by researchers from Stanford University, and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, finds little evidence that organic foods are any healthier than conventionally grown foods.
 
If you've been shelling out the extra cash for organic (which does cost more than conventional in most cases), you may feel as if you've been duped!
 
Before you wallow in all of your wasted dollars, let's stop and think: Could this really be true?
 
Don't put those pesticide-free carrots back on the shelf just yet! Like any study, it's important to read past the attention-grabbing news headlines and think critically about the information being presented. If you ask me, this study (and its news coverage) is questionable. Read More ›

How Prevalent is Obesity in Your State?

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), adult obesity rates have doubled over the past two decades. With more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) being classified as obese, the nutritional state of our nation is not strong.
 
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has released new information for self –reported obesity rates among states. Colorado (20.7%) wins the prize for the state with the lowest prevalence of obesity while Mississippi (34.9%) has the highest. Overall, adult obesity prevalence across the U.S. in 2011 continues to vary by region. The South has the highest percentage of obesity prevalence (29.5%) while the Western part of the nation has the lowest (24.3%) prevalence. See if your state made the healthiest or the heaviest top 10 list.
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Is the Jamba Juice New School Smoothie a Healthy Choice?

Last year the new school lunch guidelines were unveiled including new guidelines for the kind of milk to serve. Since that time, school districts across the country have been putting plans in place for implementation at the start of this school year. We have seen popular restaurants like Domino's get creative to provide cost effective quick serve options that meet the revised USDA guidelines as they seek to expand their business through school lunches.
 
Last month, at the School Nutrition Association Conference in Denver, a variety of other companies presented their products in hopes that school districts would include them in their new plans. Jamba Juice was one of those companies and unveiled a new smoothie they developed with the National Dairy Council. The naturally sweetened smoothie contains fruit, fruit juice, and fat-free milk with the goal of providing schools with a nutritious milk option at a reasonable cost-per-serving. Here is how this new smoothie stacks up.
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Sweet Deception: Why You Can't Trust 'Sugar' Labels

Raise your hand if you think that sugar is bad for your health. Now keep your hand up if you try to avoid foods with added sugars. I’m guessing most still have their hands up (at least I would hope so). Here's one more question. Keep your hand up if you read the "Sugars" section of the Nutrition Facts label in order to determine how much sugar is in the foods you eat.
 
If your hand is still up, I've got some shocking news for you: That label doesn't mean a thing.
 
Although Nutrition Facts labels were designed to help consumers better understand the foods they buy, many people find them downright confusing. And the whole "sugar" issue is just one of many reasons why. Read More ›

New Under 400-Calorie Menu at McDonald's

McDonald's has a new online promotion to highlight both its sponsorship of the US Olympic team and its under-400 menu options. Win When USA Wins Gold Olympic promotion. This interactive quiz feature lets you learn more about the healthier options at McDonald's.
 
Do you know how many servings of whole grain are contained in the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal? How about how many grams of protein are in the Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich? You can learn that and more from the new highlighted information. Not everything on the under-400 calorie favorites list are good options -- and most contain a very high amount of sodium. Here are some of the better choices from the new list.  
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New Study Reveals Possible Way to Lose Weight for Good

A small study recently published in The Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed the clinical responses of three popular diet regimens in people that had already achieved weight loss. The goal of the study was to not only look at energy expenditure or the amount of calories burned but also evaluating other health markers such as hormone levels, enzymes, blood fats, and insulin sensitivities.
 
Study participants were obese or overweight adults between the ages of 18 and 40. Participants all followed the same initial diet for three months then moved to a one-month random rotation through three test diets that each mimicked popular eating plans. The initial three-month diet plan contained 45% of total calories from carbohydrates, 30% from fat, and 25% from protein. This macronutrient composition is consistent with generally accepted ranges that promote adequate intake of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. A month later, each participant began a one-month rotation with one of these popular eating plans.
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Poll: Do You Drink Hot Beverages to Cool Off?

On a hot day, most people like to have a cold beverage to help cool down. However, some like to drink hot tea or other hot beverages to help cool down. Yes, you read that right, they drink hot beverages to cool down, but that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Joe Palca from NPR recently looked into this and spoke with neuroscientist, Peter McNaughton, to find out why you might want to drink a hot beverage on a hot day to cool off. The bottom line of what he found is that we have a lot of TRPV1 receptors on our tongue that respond to heat, so when we drink a hot beverage, our brain alerts our body to sweat, therefore cooling the body off.
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Does 'Disney-Approved' Mean It's a Healthy Food?

Disney began focusing on providing healthier kids' meals at their Parks and Resorts beginning back in 2006. Now kids' meals routinely include low-fat milk and carrots unless parents opt out. Disney internal statistics reveal that parents will stick with these healthier side options six out of ten times instead of requesting substitutions. With more than 12 million kids' meals served annually in Disney Parks and Resorts in the U.S. alone, the changes are making a difference in how children are eating. In September of 2010, The Walt Disney Company launched Disney Magic of Healthy Living, a national multimedia initiative to help families raise healthy, happy kids.
 
Last month the Walt Disney Company took another step forward in their brand commitment to healthy eating by introducing new food advertising standards. Under Disney's new standards, after 2015 all food and beverage products seeking advertisement, sponsorship, or promotion on any Disney-owned television channels (including Saturday morning programming on Disney owned ABC), radio stations, or Web sites will need to comply with the company's new nutrition criteria for programming targeting children under the age of 12.

 
By the end of 2012, consumers will also begin seeing the new Mickey Check symbol on Disney-licensed food products. Disney anticipates this tool will help consumers easily identify nutritious choices in stores, online and while visiting Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Disney also updated their nutrition guidelines to reflect current federal standards and recommendations. The new criteria include not only specifics related to calories but also to reducing saturated fat, sodium, and sugar.

Let's take a closer look at the details of the Disney Nutrition Guideline Criteria to see how they stack up nutritionally.
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Bacon Sundaes: Dream Combo or Nightmare Snack?

What do you get when you top vanilla soft serve ice cream with chocolate fudge and caramel sauce? An ice cream sundae of course. Now for a limited time you can top that with hardwood smoked bacon pieces when you visit Burger King and make it a Bacon Sundae!



The bacon and ice cream combination seems to be the new taste sensation of the year. In February, Jack in the Box launched its bacon-flavored milkshake followed by Denny's Maple Bacon Sundae creation. Both were only offered for a limited time and now BK is following suit. It seems that other sweet-salty combinations like Bacon Chocolate Bars, Bacon Maple Cupcakes, and Bacon Lollipops have also become popular.
 
Burger King didn't just introduce the Bacon Sundae for the summer. They are also featuring other favorites from BBQ pork or chicken sandwiches and sweet potato fries to frozen lemonade for a limited time. Their new It's BBQ Day at Burger King commercial highlights all the best things about summer in America like picnics, lemonade and ice cream to also help get you in the mood. How does the new Burger King Bacon Sundae stack up nutritionally?

Photo by SparkPeople member KALORIE-KILLAH

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Poll: Should Skinny People Be Banned from the Gym?

Having joined a gym recently just for the fitness classes (which I am still enjoying), I was appalled when I came across an article talking about a gym in Canada saying that they don't allow skinny people to join their gym. While I can understand where the founder of that gym is coming from in regards to creating a friendlier atmosphere for those that are overweight, I believe that there are plenty of people that have feelings like they are not adequate enough to be in the gym, including "skinny" people.  
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