DIET COLUMN

Anyone else getting Biggest Loser fever? Or is that just the 100 degree temps and humidity? If you are in fact antsy for September to get here already - I have a few nuggets for you to chew on in the mean time.

Season Six

Host Alison Sweeney announced that she is pregnant. NBC has also made it know that this season will have teams of families competing to lose weight. While Biggest Loser continues to inspire people around the world to lose weight and start living healthier lives, maybe this will be the catalyst to get entire families on board. Jillian and Bob are back for more butt-kicking-in-the-gym fun. Kim Lyons from seasons one through four will not be rejoining. Chef Rocco will be making more appearances to help teach the cast how to cook nutritiously. And, the Biggest Loser Meal Plan is supposed to a bigger part of the cast’s eating.

“Biggest Loser: Families” will premiere Tuesday, September 16.

 Season Seven

Hurry! They are casting right now! You’ll need to visit NBC to get all of the application details, and download the application. They are casting for couples, so expect another “Biggest Loser: Couples” to premiere in January. You must be 18, a legal U.S. resident, submit a 10 minute video with you and your teammate and a photo of each. Good Luck!!

UPDATE 8/21/08: CASTING FOR SEASON 7 IS NOW CLOSED.

When Season Six Biggest Loser premiers in September, one member of the cast won’t be trying to lose any weight at all. Host Alison Sweeney told the Season Six cast (currently filming) just recently that she is expecting her second child (son Ben is 3 1/2). The baby is due January 20, 2009, just weeks after Season Six finale airs, and right after Season Seven begins. During her September 16, 2008 appearance on the Today Show, Alison announced that she is expecting a girl.

We wish Alison a healthy and safe pregnancy!

A major component to weight lose is cutting the amount of calories you take in and increasing the amount of calories you burn.  Watching portion sizes, eating a well-balanced diet, working out regularly, etc. are all essential to weight loss and weight maintenance.  A tricky thing to watch out for is foods that provide you with empty calories.  Simply put, empty calories are foods that have a high amount of calories and fat, but hold very little nutritional value.  These empty calorie foods lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which as we all know are essential components in our diet.  Empty calories are most commonly found in processed foods, a short list includes:
- Baked goods
- Fried foods
- Refined foods
- Candy
- Soda
- Chips
- Alcoholic beverages
- Juices (those that are not 100% juice)
- Butter and Margarine
- Sauces and Gravies

How do you avoid these empty calories?

Plan ahead.  Know what you will be eating during the course of the day.  Pack your lunch if you will not be home during the day.  This will help you avoid joining the rest of your co-workers going to the local fast food joint.  Pack fruit or cut up veggies for your day time snack, this can help you fight the after-lunch/before dinner hunger and will prevent you from wandering to the vending machines in search of empty calories… I mean a snack.

Avoid fried foods.  Switch your fried chicken for a grilled or baked skinless chicken breast.  Not only will this help to cut calories, but you may even notice you feel better (eating fried foods has a way of sitting heavy in the stomach and making you feel sluggish).

Drink water.  Making this switch from soda to water will help slim down your waist!

Limit your sweets.  Try to avoid eating sugary sweets and baked goods, replace them with fruit.  Most fruits are sweet and all will provide you with vitamins and minerals!

Cut down on sauces and gravies.  These can add some serious calories to your meal.  If you can’t do it cold turkey, put the normal amount of sauce/gravy you would use on the side.  Dip your food into it every other bite.  You’ll be amazed at how much will be left over (which equals fewer calories you consumed).

Because of my recent success on the “Biggest Loser” I have had many wonderful opportunities to share my story with others. It is my hope that sharing my journey will not only inspire others to lead healthier lives, but realize that anything is possible given a clear goal and hard work.  I have shared my journey with audiences across this great country from Los Angeles to New York.  I am honored that I am able to share my story with so many people, however I am quickly finding that the more I’m on the road the harder it is to maintain a workout and diet routine.

One of the things that I speak about when sharing my story is the importance of taking “ME” time, no matter how busy you find yourself. However, given my hectic schedule and the amount of traveling I have been doing lately, I am quickly finding out that setting aside “ME” time is easier said than done. Yesterday, for example, I found myself at a Children’s Health and Nutrition Expo in Philadelphia and although I managed to eat healthy by packing snacks and ordering smart, I wasn’t able to make it to a gym or go for a run.

At first, I was really disappointed then I realized that feeling guilty about missing a workout was something the “Old Bernie” would have done.  Instead of viewing my missed workout as a failure I am choosing to use it as an opportunity to share with everyone the fact that just like many of you I am still figuring this out as I go, and am in fact experiencing some speed bumps along the way. I’ve come to the conclusion that I alone define “ME” time and that the most important thing is that during these rough patches I take time to reflect on my successes and use them to fuel my journey and not allow the occasional bumps to slow me down.

Years ago, Alanis Morissette caught some flack for not understanding irony. If you need refreshing, her song Ironic was filled with lines that were put forth as irony, but were really just some bad luck.

It’s like rain on your wedding day
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take

Anyway, Alanis, if you’re reading this - here is irony:

Researchers from Stanford University in California think they may have found a treatment for cancer using tobacco. They are using tobacco plants for an antibody chemical specific to the cells which cause follicular B-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The BBC explains more about this interesting development.

Family outings and reunions are very popular this time of year and sometimes can be rather boring if you’re not at the lake or other hot spot. I love being outdoors and playing games with the family to waste away a nice relaxing weekend. But make sure to stay well hydrated during the day to avoid any serious injury.

Top Outdoor Family Games/Activities

1. Swimming- Hit that local pool with the family; nothing better than a nice dip on a hot summer day.

2. Playing Catch- Playing catch with a football/baseball is a good way to bond with one another.

3. Volleyball- Set up a small volleyball net in the yard and get a quick game going; fun for all.

3. Basketball- Shoot some hoops or have a nice game of “HORSE”.

4. Croquet- Great game for the entire group; make sure to look up the rules because it’s more fun if you know how to play.

5. Horseshoes- Put a couple rods down and have a good round of shoes; great partner game.

6. Washers- Kind of like horseshoes and challenging as well.

7. Frisbee- Fun, fun, fun; it’s all in the flick of the wrist.

I love summer, but one of the things about this sweltering time of year that I really have a hard time with is feeling bloated and heavier when the humidity starts to peak around 80% and upward. My rings don’t fit on my fingers, my ankles feel wider, my belly feels a bit jollier, and the list goes on.

Whether you experience these same feelings of puffiness because of the weather, hormones or from a night of debauchery, there is a natural solution to help you to get rid of that excess water-weight and it’s found right in the foods we eat. The electrolyte potassium is a powerful ally to have around your kitchen when those bloated symptoms start to puff up. Potassium works its magic by counterbalancing sodium, which we all know is a primary culprit in feeling bloated.  Eating foods that are high in potassium has a diuretic effect so you’re able to eliminate that extra water and start feeling more like that svelte you.

Foods that are potassium-rich are in full bloom this time of year and all of these foods offer a host of other nutritious benefits too, in addition to packing a powerful potassium punch. Aim for getting about 3500 to 4000 mg of potassium a day.  But if your feeling bloated last for more than a day or so and it is accompanied by digestive distress, put a call into your doctor just to make sure nothing else is going on.

Slice into some honeydew: Potassium-rich honeydew melon is a surefire way to take the pudge off your bloat.  It is also super high in Vitamin C and contains only 65 calories per one cup. 

Bake a batch of sweet potato fries: Sweet potatoes are another potassium-winner. They are also loaded with Vitamin A: One cup contains 769% of your recommended Vitamin A! Slice up a sweet potato, toss in a tablespoon of olive oil and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes.

Add an avocado to your salad: In addition to avocadoes containing those fabulous heart-healthy fats, they are also packed with potassium. Make a salad with fresh spinach, which is another potassium powerhouse, and throw in a few slices of avocado.  Just go easy on the salad dressing since one cup of diced avocado contains 22 grams of fat and about 250 calories.

Peel away a banana: No discussion on potassium would be complete without mentioning the world’s most popular fruit, the banana. One banana contains between 500 to 750 mg of potassium. Slice a banana in your cereal or yogurt or freeze one and then blend it with a few dashes of soymilk for a quick frozen treat.

Using natural foods to cure some of our most uncomfortable maladies is just more proof that eating a diet that is comprised of whole foods will keep us feeling and looking great.

Happy Noshing!

Last spring I did a piece on the efforts by New York City officials to make restaurant nutrition information more transparent. More specifically, they wanted all nutritional information printed for consumers to see and evaluate their choices.

There are many levels to the battle between government and private enterprise on the subject of public health, with most of the headlines coming from the Big Apple. But it’s now spread to the West Coast.

Los Angeles city-council member Jan Perry is spearheading legislation that would ban new fast food restaurants from opening in a 32-square-mile area of the city. According to Perry, the area already has 400 fast food establishments.

Here’s a quick video that explains more on the fight:

You’re finally in that nutrition state-of-mind. You’ve decided you want to eat organic food. You’ve made the decision to eat only organic or free range meat, or wild-caught fish. You’re also tired of feeling like your at-home menu is in a rut. A solution could be to have nutritious, organic meals delivered to you, with a broad variety of tantalizing dishes. That’s what you’ll get from Chef John Procacci’s Healthy Chef Creations.

This meal delivery service is ideal for an individual or family aiming to introduce a healthier variety to their dinner table, or even the individual whose goal is to lose weight.

PRO

• Delivers nationwide
• Customized meals available
• Chef is experienced in nutritional cooking
• Meals are delivered fresh and chilled
• Vegetarian and Diabetic friendly

CON

• Surcharge assessed if you do not pay the lump sum price for Enlightened Cuisine Diet

FOOD and RECIPE
Chef John Proccaci and his team at Healthy Chef Creations are committed to feeding their clientele wholesome meals they can feel good about eating. You can look forward to three meals a day (plus snacks!) that are free of the preservatives and other junk you probably typically eat. With meals from Healthy Chef Creations, you can expect:

• All-natural ingredients
• No preservatives or processed ingredients
• Only organic fruits and vegetables
• Meats are all free-range and organic
• Seafood is caught in the wild
• No animal by-products
• Free of antibiotics and other chemicals

Learn more with our detailed review of Healthy Chef Creations.

You can also enjoy a 5% discount when you order using coupon code DIR5.

Today is our final guest post with Dr. Wayne Andersen, author of the soon-to-release Habits of Health and medical director for Medifast. He continues to write about obtaining optimal health at his blog. Look for the DietsInReview.com interview with Dr. Andersen in August, where he’ll share more about his new book.

I would prefer to call the journal a journal of your daily choices, rather than just an eating journal.  It is more of an overall journal.  Habits of Health is about all of your daily choices that affect your health. The day you decide to make a change in your health is the day you can track the differences, and we are going to help you understand your current health.  Your current health is a reflection of all of the daily choices you have made in the past.  The point in keeping a journal is to understand your current reality.

For example, if you have a cheeseburger or a salad for lunch today, it isn’t going to help or hurt you immediately (as in the same day).  But in the long run it will likely hinder your progression toward optimal health.

I believe that there are three key choices we make in our daily lives.  They are:

1)  Your daily choices in what you are eating, or your energy intake
2)  Your daily choices in movement or activity
3)  Your daily choices about sleep

These three things are very key components to reaching optimal health.

When we start recognizing our daily choices and how they affect our health, then we will see what is supporting us and that will allow you to determine which choices you need to make to be healthy. Once you make the choice to do better, the daily choices come easier and you are on your way to reaching optimal health.

What do you think of using a journal of daily choices?  How could it help you?

You can see all of Dr. Andersen’s featured guest posts here at DietsInReview.com:
3 Tips for Reaching a Healthy Weight
The Pros of Portion Controlled Meal Replacements
Optimal Health Defined