Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Key to Weight Loss!!!!



I have a T-shirt left over from the Atkins craze of the past decade. On the front it says "It's the Calories, Stupid". Not very PC to wear it - but with this headline all over the news (I first heard it on Fox News playing in the Joint Base Balad Dining Facility the other night), it's very apropo. It's what Registered Dietitians have been saying for years. This includes both eating habits and activity. A lifestyle you can maintain after you lose the weight. I know, not very glamarous, no flare, no pop, but if the truth fits.....

Cutting calories key to weight loss: study
By AFP - Thu Feb 26, 8:42 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Eating heart-healthy, low-calorie foods and exercising is the key to losing weight regardless of levels of protein, fat or carbohydrates, a new study has found.

The research, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, seems to argue against blanket use of diets that do not necessarily limit calories but call for eating certain foods such as vegetables or proteins, at the expense of others.

The NIH study of 811 volunteers, 38 percent of them men and 62 percent women, aged 30-70 and either overweight or obese, looked at diets that have been popular in the United States in recent years, even as the number of obese Americans has soared.

The "Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) study found similar weight loss after six months and two years among participants assigned to four diets that differed in their proportions of these three major nutrients," said researchers.

"The diets were low or high in total fat (20 or 40 percent of calories) with average or high protein (15 or 25 percent of calories). Carbohydrate content ranged from 35 to 65 percent of calories.

"The diets all used the same calorie reduction goals and were heart-healthy low in saturated fat and cholesterol while high in dietary fibre," said researchers, whose study is published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Participants lost an average 13 pounds (5.9 kilos) at six months and maintained a nine-pound (four-kilo) loss at two years.

"These results show that, as long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calorie diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight," said Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director at NHLBI.

"This provides people who need to lose weight with the flexibility to choose an approach that they're most likely to sustain: one that is most suited to their personal preferences and health needs," she stressed.

Sixty-six percent of US adults are overweight and of those, 32 percent are obese, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.
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For more information on Weight Management, here are a few other great links:
National Weight Control Registry
Fitday.com and CalorieKing.com

Saturday, February 14, 2009

From MREs to KFC, a big problem

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
July 09, 2007 in print edition A-7

When Spc. Matthew Curll left basic training for Iraq nearly a year ago, he traded a bland diet of MREs for burgers, pie and Fudgsicles.

“You go from a lot of MREs and crappy stuff at the mess hall to prime rib on Sundays,” said Curll, 21, of Lancaster, Mass., over a dinner of baked chicken followed by ice cream in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” added Spc. Joe Reen, 23, of Norwood, Mass., finishing a turkey wrap and green salad. “You wanted to try everything.”

The two indulged at first, but said they learned to resist most of the fried food and extra desserts that dominate the menu at U.S. dining facilities in Iraq. Others are not so careful, they said, including a few officers ahead of them in the chow line.

“There were three colonels in front of me who got double scoops and extra toppings,” Reen said.

The Army has loaded the menu at the 70 chow halls, run by contractor KBR, with a buffet of fattening fare, from cheese steaks to tacos and Rocky Road ice cream. Many soldiers gain more than 15 pounds on a deployment, military dietitians say. They are also seeing soldiers return from Iraq with higher cholesterol, mostly due to their eating habits.

Lt. Col. Maggie Brandt, a surgeon at the 28th Combat Support Hospital who had just come from a swim, said she was dieting but couldn’t resist the pistachio ice cream.

“I’m on a ‘see food’ diet. If I see food, I eat it,” joked Brandt, 44, of Ypsilanti, Mich.

Soldiers are just as susceptible to overeating and packing on the pounds as anyone else, said Donald Williamson, a professor of nutrition at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

“Iraq presents some added challenges people don’t face here – sitting around a lot, then going from boring to distressing in a matter of minutes,” he said.

In Iraq, it’s up to a handful of military dietitians to steer the troops away from that second piece of pie a la mode and to the salad bars. Most recognize the hold food has in a place where a taste of home brings comfort.

“There are three things that are absolutely crucial for morale: mail, food and showers,” said 1st Lt. Susan Stankorb, a licensed dietitian with the 28th Combat Support Hospital, a mobile unit that is currently based at Baghdad’s Ibn Sina Hospital. “You have to have your chicken nuggets and your ice cream now and again. For the soldiers, that helps.”

Counting the calories

But how many calories does the average soldier need?

Most MREs, or meals ready to eat, contain about 1,300 calories; three a day are recommended. Supplemented with energy bars and drinks, they give soldiers the 4,500 to 5,000 calories they need for an active day of patrols or on the front line.

But many of the 400,000 meals served daily at chow halls in Iraq are consumed by soldiers who spend most of their time on base or at desk jobs.

And dietary misconceptions abound. Some soldiers load up on high-calorie meat to avoid perceived protein deficiencies. They guzzle sugary sodas, energy drinks and fruit juice to avoid dehydration when they’re better off with water.

Many times soldiers don’t even realize how poorly they’re eating, Stankorb said. So she photographed some of their white plastic dinner plates of food and posted the pictures outside her office with cautionary calorie breakdowns under the headline: “The average soldier gains 10 pounds while deployed. Don’t let that happen to you!”

A sample meal of fried chicken, two cheese sandwiches, chili, cheesecake, Gatorade and orange soda racked up 2,395 calories. A more conservative meal of fried chicken, brown rice, peas and diet soda was only 716 calories, but still above the 500-calorie plate Stankorb recommends for those trying to lose or maintain their weight.

Of course, soldiers also snack between meals, on care packages full of cookies, candy from the post exchange, or fries, pizza and Frappuccinos (“liquid sugar” to military dietitians) from fast food purveyors. There are 73 such outlets on U.S. bases in Iraq, according to the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, which operates them. They include Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

“For some of them, it’s their third or fourth deployment, and there’s only so many menu options you can offer,” Stankorb said. “They’re burnt out on the dining facilities and so they go for the Burger King or the Easy Mac their wife sends.”

Stankorb, who is petite and slender, also has boxes of Girl Scout cookies and macaroni and cheese in her office. And she had just ordered nacho fixings online: chips, salsa and Velveeta cheese.

“I get a little frustrated,” she said. “This is the third time this week I’ve had baked chicken.”

Battling bulge

Soldiers have their weight checked against a chart every six months. If they’re too heavy, a commander uses a tape measure around the waist, hips and other areas to gauge their body fat. If soldiers fail this “tape test” they won’t be promoted or receive awards until they lose the weight.

A Pentagon study released in January found the number of overweight service members had increased 20% in the last decade. Almost one-third of 18-year-olds who applied for military service in 2005 were overweight, according to a recent Army report.

Dietitians here say their main concern is that soldiers be fit to fight and don’t become a burden on their unit in the field.

“Our soldiers are like world-class athletes. They should train properly and they should eat properly because that can have a direct impact on the success of their missions,” said Lt. Col. John Ruibal, who saw soldiers eat cheesecake for dinner when he served as dietitian with 30th Medical Brigade in Baghdad last year. “If they don’t eat properly or drink properly the mission may suffer; one of their soldiers may be at risk.”

But with so many extended deployments to boost the U.S. military buildup, dietitians realize it may be too much to ask soldiers already under stress and far from home to diet.

“Sometimes, I’m not sure it’s appropriate to enforce the weight standards for soldiers in theater who are facing a lot of stress,” Stankorb said. “At the same time, when you pick someone up who’s 270 pounds on a litter, it’s a challenge. And it does create some health risks.”

So dietitians created a Weight Watchers-style program called “Operation Weight Loss,” posted cards in the chow halls that show the calories, fat and sodium for different foods and even mounted “Biggest Loser” weight loss competitions.

Brandt, the Michigan reservist, joined one weight loss competition six weeks ago. So far, she’s lost 8 pounds, and hopes to lose 45.

Navy Spc. Emmitt Hawks of Jacksonville, N.C., has dropped 65 pounds since October, down to 180 pounds, by eating healthier foods such as fresh panini at the U.S. Embassy.

But Hawks, 35, said eating healthily can be tough for soldiers in the field facing greater danger and fewer meal options. He said he couldn’t blame a friend of his who holed up with some junk food after seeing the trailer next to his hit by a mortar shell, killing the soldier inside.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Today could be my last day,’ and they’ll eat,” Hawks said. “But I want to be where I can run as fast as I can to that bunker when I hear a duck-and-cover order.”

molly.hennessy-fiske @latimes.com

Movie Snacks

What to Eat At the Movies
by Glamour Magazine, on Wed Jan 28, 2009

You want to see all the nominated films before the Oscars. Admirable goal. Just use our guide to find the smartest snacks at the Cineplex so you don’t gain 10 pounds doing it!

CANDY
Sweet ‘n’ sour stuff tends to be lower-fat than chocolate, but it’s still dessert. Size counts too!

Worst: Skittles (7.2 oz.) 826 calories, 9.7 grams fat
Better:Twizzlers (6 oz.) 606 calories, 3.8 grams fat
Best: Sour Patch Soft & Chewy Candy (3.5 oz.) 375 calories, 0 grams fat

POPCORN
Yes, it’s a whole grain, but a large has close to the number of calories many women need in a day!

Worst: Large buttered popcorn 1,640 calories, 126 grams fat (That’s almost two days’ worth of fat!)
Better: Small, no butter 400 calories, 27 grams fat
Best: Kid size, no butter 300 calories, 20 grams fat

COLD TREATS
Frozen fruit? Always a winner.

Worst: Toll House chocolate-chip cookie ice cream sandwich 490 calories, 23 grams fat
Better: Butterfinger Loaded ice cream bar 290 calories, 19 grams fat
Best: Edy’s strawberry iced-fruit bar 120 calories, 0 grams fat

CHOCOLATE
Unfortunately, most concession stands offer only one size (and who isn’t going to eat the whole box?). So go for something in a smaller package to keep portions in check.

Worst: Peanut M&M’s (5.3 oz.) 786 calories,39.3 grams fat
Better: Junior Mints (4.75 oz.) 595 calories,10.5 grams fat
Best: Milk Duds (3 oz.) 371 calories,13.1 grams fat

HOT SNACKS
In general, beware of anything with glow-in-the-dark cheese.

Worst: Nachos with cheese 894 calories, 52.5 grams fat
Better: Hot dog with ketchup 315 calories, 19 grams fat
Best: Soft pretzel 310 calories, 4 grams fat

Thursday, February 5, 2009

In Kitchen, ‘Losers’ Start From Scratch

By JULIA MOSKIN
Published: February 3, 2009


NOTHING is off-limits on “The Biggest Loser,” the reality show that pits morbidly obese people against one another to see who can lose weight the fastest and win the $250,000 prize.

Contestants endure tearful, grueling workouts and submit to public weigh-ins wearing only bike shorts (and for the women, sports bras). They cry. They vomit. They backstab.

The one thing they almost never do on camera is eat.

“The food that you’re used to, you can’t have, and the food you can have, you do not want,” said Vicky Vilcan, a 5-foot-6-inch finalist from Houma, La., who weighed 246 pounds at the beginning of the last season. Now at 145 pounds, she eats broccoli and spinach but says she was “repulsed” by most vegetables when she was on the show. “I wouldn’t eat a string bean that wasn’t smothered in bacon and onions.”

Watch an episode of “The Biggest Loser,” now in its seventh season on NBC, and see the pitfalls of the American diet written extra-large: cheap, high-calorie snacks everywhere, days spent in cars and cubicles and a near disappearance of home cooking.

The contestants are avatars for every slothful viewer on the sofa, waging the epic battle between willpower and waffle fries. While exercising 6 to 10 hours a day and fighting off the doughnuts and pizza that diabolical producers put in their paths may be difficult, the biggest challenge, and the one that will determine whether they remain thinner, is to permanently change their relationship with food.

First, they literally redevelop the sense of taste. “The food that got them to this point is salty, sweet, fatty, crunchy,” said Bob Harper, a trainer on the show since the first season in 2004, describing the fast food and snacks that are the steady diet of most contestants. “They lose their taste buds, they lose their hunger cues and they want what they want when they want it.”

Second, they learn fundamental cooking skills that they — like many Americans — have lost, or never had.

“Most of them do not have the basic ability to cook a meal at home and very little understanding of how much fat and salt is in restaurant food,” said Cheryl Forberg, the show’s nutritionist, “even on the supposedly healthy part of the menu.” While the show has been criticized as presenting a dangerous and unsustainable level of weight loss, recipes from it are sensible enough and have been collected in two cookbooks. Given the program’s popularity, it’s not surprising that both are in the top 10 on the Amazon best-seller list for cookbooks. Together, “The Biggest Loser Cookbook” and “The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook” have sold more than two million copies.

Contestants climb a steep and brutal learning curve in the kitchen, since they have to do all their own cooking.

“There’s no chef whipping up spa cuisine,” Ed Brantley, a contestant from last season, said glumly.

While on their “ranch” — a luxurious house outside Malibu, Calif., — in the four months of taping, contestants are given a calorie budget, recipes and a list of forbidden foods: no white flour, white sugar, butter, or anything that contains them. From there, they have to learn to feed themselves.

“It wasn’t pretty,” said Mr. Brantley’s wife, Heba Salama, who began the show as the heaviest woman ever to compete, at 294 pounds. “The kitchen was full of weird ingredients like quinoa and kale. It was the blind leading the blind.”

On a recent episode, the guest chef, Curtis Stone, gently guided Dave Lee, a 23-year-old contestant in Raleigh, N.C., who weighed 396 pounds when filming began, into the produce section of a supermarket. “I don’t see a lot of things that look familiar here,” Mr. Lee said. He cautiously accepted a taste of cilantro and brightened when he was able to identify it as “something in salsa.”

“This,” Mr. Stone said, handing Mr. Lee a spice rack, “is going to save your life.”

Even if home cooking is of the fried-chicken-and-mashed-potatoes variety, it rarely produces extreme obesity, said Barry Popkin, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Almost any kind of cooking you can produce in a kitchen is healthier than fast food.” The decline of home cooking worldwide, he said, is an underlying cause of obesity.


“People are eating more, and more often,” Dr. Popkin said. “And the foods that they are consuming almost always replace meals cooked in a kitchen and eaten at a table.” It is difficult to quantify a decline in cooking skills, but many studies show that time in the kitchen has declined steeply since 1965, when American women spent a weekly average of 13 hours cooking. Last month the government of Britain, where obesity is spreading rapidly, passed a law requiring all secondary-school students to attend cooking classes.

Today, women in the United States report spending an average of 30 minutes a day preparing meals. The percentage of women who are overweight has risen to about 65 percent from about 30 percent in the 1960s. Cooking and eating well is much harder than just eating less, “Biggest Loser” contestants said.

“The first two weeks, you’re throwing up so much from working out, you’re so tired, the last thing you want to do is eat,” said Mr. Brantley, a chef in Raleigh, who in the last season lost 139 pounds (more than 40 percent of his body weight).

Next, Ms. Salama said, you become ravenous. “You want to eat everything you see,” she said.

But soon, food becomes the devil they love to control. Every contestant is required to eat a minimum number of calories each day and is supposed to keep a daily food journal to prove it. But many of them actually eat less.

“It gets so you crave that feeling of going to bed with hunger pains in your stomach,” said Erik Chopin, a Long Island deli owner who won the show in 2006, going to 193 pounds from 407. Mr. Chopin said the absence of the foods he loves helped. “It’s not like you can go in the kitchen and make yourself a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll,” he said. “More oatmeal wasn’t very tempting.”

The 24-hour surveillance helped, too. “You’re accountable to your team, you’re accountable to your trainer and you’re accountable to the American people for what you eat,” Mr. Chopin said. “How stupid would you feel to sit there stuffing your face on national television?”

Most contestants say it is surprisingly easy to resist food in the throes of competition. “You learn to get over being hungry, like you get over the pain of the workouts,” Ms. Salama said. “The first temptation, it’s very hard to think clearly when you smell all that sugar, but you learn that you can say no.”

During scheduled “temptations,” contestants are bribed to eat junk food with prizes like cash and calls home, sometimes while locked in a dark room with mountains of candy. “We want to simulate the real world in there,” said Dave Broome, a co-creator of the show. “At home, there’s a McDonald’s on every corner, there’s a birthday cake at the office every afternoon, there are friends who will encourage them to eat.”

When the contestants return home to live like the rest of us, without personal trainers and cash prizes, how do they adjust to eating in the real world? Like Oprah Winfrey, who recently acknowledged that she once again weighs more than 200 pounds, the contestants say that the slide backward can be slow, but for some of them it may be inevitable.

Although Mr. Chopin sold his deli after his victory (“I was worried that the quality control alone would make me fat”), he has gained back more than 100 pounds. Most contestants say they did not expect to maintain their entire weight loss once at home. Many have gained back 50 pounds or more, some have continued to drop and all say they have abandoned the fasting, asparagus binges (asparagus, a mild diuretic, temporarily reduces weight) and all-coffee strategies they used while on the show.

What lessons can be learned from the blood, sweat and tears that pour freely on the ranch? Simple: count your calories, exercise and learn to cook.

“Twenty minutes in the kitchen will save you three hours on the StairMaster” said Devin Alexander, a chef in Los Angeles who developed the recipes for the cookbooks. “You can’t trust restaurant food to be low fat.”

Mr. Brantley says that after six days of salad, grilled chicken and air-popped popcorn, he allows himself one day to eat real ice cream, blue-cheese dressing and other foods he loves.

“There’s no such thing as low-fat foie gras,” he said.

Interested in Nutrition