Archive for February, 2010

Kim and Khloe Kardashian Touting QuickTrim Products

The Kardashian sisters – heck, the whole family, has become quite the reality sensation lately. Kim started off being known as the BFF of Paris Hilton, guess that relationship went kaput, because you never see pics of them together on the internet or in magazines any more, and I read somewhere that Paris Hilton even made kind of snide remarks about Kim’s round rear end (which by the way, lots of men like, and I happen to think she looks great with all her curves).

The only thing I know about Khloe is that she was on a season of the Celebrity Apprentice (Donald Trumps reality show where celebrities try to win the coveted prize of being Donal’s pick for his apprentice, although I don’t know that anything has really ever come of that for anyone), and she’s married to a very tall NBA basketball player.

I also know that she lost a ton of weight recently, and she looks fabulous, and very healthy to boot.  I’m not sure if both the sister’s weight loss is really due to Quick Trim or simply hard work and dedication, but they are both endorsing the QuickTrim diet supplement as a way that helped them to lose weight.

Quick Trim is basically an appetite suppressant and diet supplement that helps you to eat less and crave less food, so you can lose weight more quickly, and with less of the struggle that is typically endured during the diet cycles when you cut your food intake down and seem to be endlessly starving.  Of course, as with most other diet and weightloss supplements, you do have to also make the right food choices, but the right supplement has always helped me to kick start my diet, call it the placebo effect, but I feel like I have more control when I’m taking a good diet supplement.

The rest, of course, I know, is all up to me to actually get the weight off and keep it off and also work out on a regular schedule to burn off extra calories. Let’s not forget that the hallmark notion that you must reduce caloric intake to effectively lose weight, because after all, excess weight is excess calories. You can usually safely lose weight by reducing calories and learning how to suppress your hunger, eating about 1500 calories a day, which is totally doable if you pick the right foods that fill you up and don’t leave you wanting for more all day.

Jillian Michaels Sued for Supplement Claims?

Apparently there was a not so happy customer of a supplement that Jillian Michaels, the most famous personal trainer in the world right now and one of the stars of Biggest Loser along with Bob the trainer, endorses.  Let me preface this story by telling you a piece of my mind. I’m getting awfully sick of the sue happy mentality of people here in the US. This person actually wants to start a class action lawsuit over what she claims are false claims made by the diet supplement which claims to suppress the appetite by taking two pills before each meal, called “Maximum Strength Calorie Control”.

The woman says that the pill did not suppress her hunger as claimed and also did not cause her to lose weight as the product claimed. Now, I’ll admit, I’m all for supplements, and they have helped me immensely in my life, not only in my quest to lose weight when I need to shed a few extra pounds, but also in many other facets of my life, so I may be a little biased, but this seems like it’s really nothing more than a bid to get paid for something that didn’t make you lose weight.

I’m not sure why this angered her so much that she wanted to start  a class action lawsuit over it .I mean, shoot, if I had a nickel for every time a product didn’t do exactly what I wanted it to, I might be rich, but at the same time I know that I was also to blame, I maybe didn’t follow the instructions or I didn’t actually do my part to get the expected results either. I’m a realist, and I wouldn’t want to waste my time or anyone elses with such claims.

I just have this fear that lawsuits like this, where no one was actually hurt, maimed or otherwise psychologically really hurt, don’t set the bar for the way things are going here, because there are much more important things to waste time on, where people actually suffer terrible side effects or become ill in some way, not where their expectations just weren’t met all the way. I think this type of litigation is dangerous to free enterprise.  That’s just my opinion, and it’s a free world for me to express it.

Extreme Weight Loss Measures : Topped!

It seems like there is always some completely over the top, scary way that people are trying to lose weight and endangering their health.  The last really scary one I can remember was a lot of women and men, rumored to be a trend in the ever-looks conscious Hollywood and the reason behind some starlets drastic and sudden weight loss, was  trend to start taking a dangerous drug that wasn’t even meant for human consumption.

The drug I’m talking about is Clenbuterol, otherwise known as Clen, and it’s a horse asthma medication that causes dramatic weight loss and fast fat loss and body mass decline very quickly.

It also happens to do serious and very fast damage to the heart of people who abuse it.  It apparently can lose it’s effectiveness very quickly as well.  That was probably the second scariest one I heard of, but this one actually tops it simply because it makes me squirm since it has to do with creepy crawlers that aren’t meant to be in the human body.

The worst part about this dangerous trend is that unscrupulous companies in China are offering this as a weightloss method on the internet, and it’s actually a good way to either get yourself very sick or possibly even cause your own death.  It’s a trend especially right now in Hong Kong, the metropolis the offers many of life’s most guilty pleasures and also some of it’s most dangerous.

The diet products have the ascaris worm in them, which is a type of roundworm.  Because the worms can lay thousands upon thousand of eggs per day in the system, and consume much of your food before it can be absorbed by your body, you lose weight. But along with the weight loss you also get severe diarrhea, cramping and malnourishment because you aren’t absorbing any of the nutrients, the parasites in your system are.  I’m kind of surprised that with China’s strict internet policies and patrolling, they have not caught these guys yet and taken them down. Maybe as of this moment they have!

Mediterranean Diet May Prevent Dementia and Mental Decline

Well, we’ve been hearing more and more about the mediterranean diet, which is a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and omega 3 fatty acids, and eschews a lot of animal and dairy protein in favor of plant based proteins and fish.  Just hearing that makes it sound healthy to me.

I think of how much healthier I feel when I’m foregoing a whole lot of red meat and other types of meats, and instead going for plant proteins like hummus, nuts, and whole grains and fish, and it makes total sense to me that this also helps with mental function because when I’m eating a diet that resembles this, I totally feel like I’m on my A game mentally.

Which is why researchers are finding that being on the mediterranean diet actually helps do two things. First, it helps you to stave off mental decline and dementia, and it also helps to increase your mental acuity, your “fastness” and your total brain power, which makes you feel, well just a whole lot smarter and more focused!

People who were on this diet were found to be almost 50% less likely to suffer from dementia and other mental decline symptoms, showing much higher ability to focus and concentrate, and to recall things and think clearly.  This is a huge reason, amongst other benefits like heart disease and stroke prevention and anti cancer properties, that people should really think about trying this type of diet out.

You don’t even have to go 100% on the commercialized version of the mediterranean diet, as long as you follow some semblance of the principles of this type of diet, you should notice a substantial increase in energy, a better ability to focus, accelerated fat loss, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and a whole bushel of great health benefits that are just waiting to be plucked off the tree for your picking.

Dominos “New” Pizza Review

Ok, so I know that this is a blog all about healthy eating and making the right food choices, but as you well know if you’ve been reading my blog for any period of time, I also like to revel in the occasional pigout, and like to talk about eating bad as well. C’mon, who doesn’t throw the rules out the window once in a while and enjoy a nice greasy cheeseburger, or a gigantic slice or two of New York style pizza? After all, variety is the spice of life,and sometimes it’s oh soooo fun to be bad.

Our day to kind of throw the rules out the window for dinner was this past Saturday, the Saturday before Valentines day.  We were very excited to indulge in something super naughty and not feel any guilt about it, and we also had two very good movies on Blu Ray DVD that we were going to watch. Bliss, my friend, pure bliss, and mine and my husband’s idea of a night of heaven!  However, instead of choosing one of our regular favorite naughty food indulgences, we decided to give the “new” Dominos pizza a try.

After all, I had told him my interest was piqued when I saw and hear the ads on the tv and the radio for this new recipe, and was alos intrigued that they were so upfront about how bland and tasteless their pizza was before they supposedly changed it with this new fangled recipe.

Also, the $6 a pizza was very appealing since we were trying to really watch our budget, and didn’t want to blow a wad on a naughty dinner that we were just going to wolf down during a movie anyways.  So, we got the two pizzas, since there was a minimum with the $6 medium pizzas of 2. We ordered one with mushroom and extra cheese, and one with pepperoni and onion.

On the ride home, the pizza sure did smell good, so I got my hopes up that it might be good, however when my husband asked me to open the box so he could see if they looked any different, his face dropped when he saw that it looked like the same pre-fab crust they had before.  I said, no fear, it may taste a lot better, maybe it just still looks flat, but there are lots of good pizzas that aren’t thick out there!

So, to make a long story short, the pizza does not taste any different at all. The only difference I may have noticed is that they added a little more spice to their crust, maybe some sort of garlic spice, but other than that, it still tasted like it was a frozen premade crust. The cheese was the same lifeless, tasteless cheese they’ve always used as far as I could tell, and there was barely any cause or toppings on the pizza, which made it taste totally bland. In other words, this pizza was so unsubstantial that I felt like I could eat an entire pizza and still be hungry an hour later.

Save your money and go somewhere else where they actually have good pizza. This “new” recipe is for the birds, Dominos!

Reason 1,001 To Not Be a Couch Potato

As anyone with common sense of a realistic outlook on life and the way that fitness and weight maintenance works, you know that being a couch potato does not serve you in any way at all. First off, sitting in front of a computer or a TV all day often involves activities that are time wasteful and not getting anything accomplished, unless of course you are working.

I myself work a lot at a computer and can attest to the fact that it’s only about 60% work and 40% other things that happen to catch your attention and make you drift off.

Watching television for hours a day is even worse. Really, what does watching TV accomplish for you?  Nothing. It doesn’t serve any purpose.  Occasionally you may learn something useful by watching TV, but in general, it is a colossal waste of time.

Of course, the physical fitness and weight part of it is that sitting all day does nothing for your metabolism. It is as stagnant as it can be when you are in a seated position all day, and this is awful for your blood flow (circulation), so you know that it’s not good for you heart or your circulatory system either.

Now though, there is real evidence, including statistical numbers that just might blow your mind, that show the couch potatoes – those that sit down for long periods of time habitually, whether it be watching television or doing some other seated activity, are more likely to die earlier than those that are more active throughout their day.

Most of the danger to this type of lifestyle is the damage it can do to your heart, especially if you are overweight as well, although skinny people bear some risk as well if they are inactive.

Scientists took into account other factors as well, and still singled out sitting down for long periods of time relaxing as one of the common denominators in early death.  This included factors like gender, waist measurements (a lot of belly fat and larger waists have been correlated to shorter life spans and higher incidence of coronary issues), age, and level of fitness activities.

Sitting for long periods of time actually can increase the levels of sugar (blood sugar) and fat in your blood, increasing your risk for a variety of life threatening and life shortening issues.

Why Eating Processed Foods is Bad For Your Weight and Health

Don't Do It!

I must admit, processed foods taste darned good sometimes. Let’s face it, sometimes that box of Cheezits is calling your name, and those grapes or rawveggies with dip just aren’t cutting it as a snack.  We naturally crave processed foods often because they are, by their very nature, very addictive. Their naturally higher levels of certain types of preservatives, salt and sugar make us crave them because they are chemically addictive to our systems.  So, in a way, eating processed foods once makes us somewhat of a junkie, unless we can sort of de-program ourselves and detox against this type of “addiction”.

Breaking your addiction, or even cutting way down on your processed food intake is always good for not only your health, but your waistline as well because they are not only bad for your blood pressure and triglyceride (cholesterol) levels and other readings which determine your likelihood toward certain types of disease and ailments, but they are also bad for your weight because they add pounds on like nothing else.

Think about some examples of raw, natural, less processed types of foods vs. foods that are processed, and how you feel after you eat them. Do you feel satisfied after eating processed foods, or are you often ravenous a few short hours later, or worse, just an hour later?  Are you full of energy and get up and go after eating processed foods, or more likely to tackle heavy focus and heavy lifting tasks after eating a healthy, whole meal with minimally processed foods?

When you compare the two in the ways that they fill you up and satisfy you, prepare you for a lot of mental focus and physical activity, and how they make your body feel physiologically after you eat them – as in, is your heart rate timely or is it beating fast (a symptom of a high sodium meal)?  Is your blood sugar stable, and can you focus, and do you feel full but not painfully so, suppressing your hunger for hours comfortably rather than leading to huge spikes in blood sugar?

These are all reasons to eat more minimally processed foods. This is not even including the massive amounts of chemicals, preservatives, and unidentifiable ingredients in the labels, but the salt and sugars are also a huge detractor to your health and weight maintenance goals.

The general rule of thumb is that you should stay away from foods that have a lot of unidentifiable ingredients in the label.  The more foreign sounding names you read on the ingredients label, the more you should steer clear of these types of foods, and your body will thank you for it.

The Significance of BMI

When it comes to weight watching and fitness levels today, there is a new buzz word, or shall I say buzz acronym, on everyone’s lips from pediatricians who are cautioning parents about their children’s track to weight gain, to adult weight and health counselors who are counseling their patients about how to lose weight, to your local gym worker who is training you to reach your fitness goals. You see, BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a measurement like no other that can measure your body’s overall health and “portions” of the bad stuff vs. the good stuff.

It basically measures the fat content of your body, which should never go over a certain percentage that quite frankly seems to be pretty low at first glance, but when you consider that most of your body is soft tissue and muscles, and organs and all that good stuff, then you see why too much fat is a bad thing.

For one thing, visceral fat, which is the fat that surrounds and is between your vital organs like your stomach, your liver and kidneys and so on and so forth, is a major factor behind heart disease, as it’s been discovered over the past decade or so, and this is why doctors caution against a lot of belly fat and put patients on diets and recommend changes to them.

BMI is significant not only to how you look and how you feel, but it’s also important for your health and longevity. Since that has become painfully obvious, there are many gyms now that will measure your BMI for you. Heck, even the Wii Fit system measures your BMI for you and gives you rave reviews or high marks for getting a good reading. Either that, or it has your little gravatar holding it’s belly and looking depressed. All this has a point to get across, that if your BMI is at a healthy level, you will enjoy not only the fit and trim, fat reduced body that you deserve, but you will also enjoy a longer, more productive, more energetic life.

Are 100 Calorie Snacks Really Enough?

I can’t help but laugh at the recommendations and prepackaged snacks that are 100 calories a pop. Honestly, even when I’m hardcore dieting, a 100 calorie snack usually does not do the job for me. I’m not sure if I have a higher than usual metabolism and just burn it off too fast, or whether my problem is that I just eat it too dang fast, but a 100 calorie snack for me on most days is like a tease, a drop in the bucket, a “snack” before the real meal, if you know what I mean.

I pass by the 100 calorie snack packs that adorn the grocery store aisles and think to myself, my gosh am I really that big of a pig, or is it just me who is not satisfied at all with a 100 calorie snack?  Apparently though, there are lots of other people like me because a lot of people say that they cheat and consume 2 of these bags because 1 doesn’t satisfy their blood sugar plummeting enough.  How are you supposed to suppress hunger with these minimal snacks between meals?

And yet, most diet books will tell you to try to stick to two snacks a day at about 100 calories each. In all honesty, I usually make my snacks about 180 to 200 calories, and that tides me over until dinner, but 100 just leaves me really hungry and wanting to scarf down a lot more food at dinner time. I’m talking about my snack in the afternoon especially, my mid morning snack I’m usually ok with the 100 calorie rule since my snack mid morning is usually a 110 calorie yogurt cup -Activia in fact, and not the low fat version, which is my favorite.

I think that if you under snack, you are setting yourself up for failure at dinner time and you will just wolf down everything in your sight since you are still ravenous from the day at work. If you consume about 180 calories, you’re not bottoming out at dinner and shoving food in your mouth indiscriminantly.  This works for me, and what does not work for me is to do the 100 calorie one after lunch and before dinner. Now, if I have not worked out that day and have a low appetite for some reason, it might work, but otherwise I just feel like it sets me up for eating too much at dinner time and beyond, in the evening, which is when it’s worst to consume the bulk of your day’s calories.

Also, the 100 calorie rule, I feel, makes it harder to stick to diet plans that dictate this requirement because you are still ravenous when you’re done with your measly little portion. Instead, just make sure your meals and your other snacking is never out of control, and you should be fine.