Diets in Review

Clearly no one signs up for an eating contest of any kind with the goal of minding their portion sizes. For participants in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual 4th of July event, the more you eat the better. Each year two men continually beat the rest of the contestants and battle it out for the infamous hot dog title.

We all know that whatever is in a hot dog is questionable, but do you think Joey Chestnut, of the U.S., and Takeu Kobayashi, of Japan, have ever stopped to read the food label on their pile of hot dogs? We think not. The folks at CalorieLab did the math and calculated exactly what the nutritional aftermath looks like when you eat 66 hot dogs on 66 buns (the total consumed by Chestnut in the 2007 event).

The week of June 15 is Men’s Health Week at DietsInReview.com. Brad Powell joins as a Men’s Health guest blogger.
Brad Powell a.k.a. “Daddy Brad,” is the Chief Operating Officer, Producer and Co-Founder of DadLabs. Inc. He serves as co-host for two of the DadLabs weekly web shows and is an avid daddy blogger, accomplished parenting speaker and social media panelist.

Powell is co-author of DadLabs Guide To Fatherhood, Pregnancy and Year One, and is a regular columnist for the web publication Destination Maternity.com and was selected as Dad of the Month by I-Parenting Media in May of 2008. He is an avid Tweeter and was recently named to Austin Social Media’s Top 100 list.  He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two children and has one more on the way.

Historically, it seems the only way that I successfully lose weight is to be in some kind of fat loss competition. Six years ago after the birth of our first child, I looked down and realized that I was fat. Really fat! Fat like an old school State Senator from Alabama. So I challenged my good buddy and colleague Daddy Clay, to see who could drop the most lbs in a given period of time.  

This guest blog comes from Rebecca Scritchfield, MA, RD, ACSM HFS, a Washington, D.C. based dietitian and weight management expert. Together with Bernie Salazar, at-home winner of The Biggest Loser, she co-created “The Nurture Principles” – Five mantras to help people change their lives and find wellness within.

What sounds better, restrictive dieting or nourishing yourself for lasting health? Think about it. There are so many diets out there based on restriction. People diet to get healthier. It’s no wonder “healthy” has a negative connotation. But dieting and health are not synonymous. Healthy eating is all about taste, pleasure, and satisfaction! If this approach is more your speed, learn how you can nurture yourself and manage your weight at the same time. 

There are two things that stand between your kids’ health this summer: junk food and vegging out. It’s all too easy to stock the kitchen with potato chip multi-packs, cookies, soda and popsicles to keep their muchies appeased during summer vacation, all while they kick-back in the family room to watch SpongeBob reruns and play video games. This is not ideal for their health or overall fitness.

Instead, follow these moms’ healthy summer tips to keep your kids playing throughout the summer. And when it comes time to feed all those hungry mouths, get them involved! Kids love helping and being a part of what ever is going on, no matter their age. These recipes are kid-friendly, both in that they can lend a hand in the preparation and they’re nutritious eats for their growing bodies.

We are thrilled to share with you that Mike Morelli is the newest addition to our growing health and wellness team. Mike was one of three finalists in the season seven finale of NBC’s Biggest Loser. He competed as the youngest contestant ever, and made himself a fast favorite amongst fans for his positive attitude, generosity and success on the show. During Biggest Loser 8, premiering fall 2009, Mike will be featured as the Biggest Loser correspondent at DietsInReview.com, providing video episodic recaps throughout the new season.

When I realized I had been successful with my weight loss, I knew that the hardest part of the entire endeavor was ahead of me. Losing weight is very hard, but I think that maintenance is even more difficult. I lost weight walking and running, but I knew that I’d need to mix up my exercise choices so that I’d stay interested and off the sofa.  While reading an exercise magazine one day, I saw an article discussing Capoeira - a dance form incorporating martial arts elements, originating in Brazil as a system of physical discipline and movement. Having taken years of ballet in the past, I was intrigued. So I looked online, found a studio near me that taught it, and went for a trial class.

It is one thing to recycle your daily newspaper and bring your own tote bag to the grocery store but when it comes to making over your diet and lifestyle behaviors, each of us has our own comfort-level with what it means to be green. While many believe that going green means giving up everything from their favorite hamburgers to swapping out their car for a bicycle, Sophie Uliano,  the author of The Gorgeously Green Diet as well as its predecessor, Gorgeously Green, shares with us simple steps that anyone can take to add more green living in their life.

We had the opportunity to speak with Sophie who believes that her plan which is more of a “live-it” lifestyle plan rather than a diet can be followed by anyone who is passionate about taking care of herself (and the planet).

Listen to the interview below

At DietsInReview.com, we’ve always known what a smart, down-to-earth, and attractive guy Matt Johnson is. He’s been our resident fitness expert for more than a year, providing men and women of all backgrounds guidance for beginning or maintaining their own workout routine. He encourages us to push our limits, and now, he’s pushing some of his own.

He’s certainly the most eligible bachelor at DietsInReview.com, but will he become that on ABC’s The Bachelorette? Mathue will be joining 29 other single men on the fifth season of the popular reality show. This season stars Jillian Harris, who was unlucky in love on last season’s The Bachelor, starring Jason Mesnick.

Nintendo is selling the Wii game system like hot cakes. The company, which introduced the Wii in November 2006, sold more than 10 million of the game systems in the United States last year. It’s been largely touted for getting people active while playing video games. But with that activity comes a hefty medical price.

There’s an interesting New York Times article on the widespread injuries inflicted upon Wii enthusiasts. The author even reports a pop in his left shoulder after playing Wii tennis.

If you’re not familiar with the Wii phenomenon, gamers use a handheld, wireless remote where you mimic the motion of the activity in the video game. This could include tennis, boxing, bowling, among others.

A few years back, pomegranate juice stole the spotlight as the latest exotic healthy drink. But this time, we have a product with real evidence backing its efficacy, particularly for men’s health.

A new study has shown that drinking eight ounces of pomegranate juice on a daily basis may slow down the progress of localized prostate cancer (prostate cancer that hasn’t spread).

The study included 48 men who had surgery or radiation therapy to treat localized prostate cancer. When the study started in 2003, the men’s PSA levels (prostate specific antigen) were doubling every 15 months. In prostate cancer patients, PSA is used to monitor their cancer.