Fitness Pudding - Where The Proof Is

Here is an interesting article examining a historical and scientific perspective on if skipping breakfast is really that bad (for weight loss). A few notes to add: The Largest Study on Breakfast and Weight Loss The web article does refer to the largest breakfast and weight loss study to date , led by Dr. David Allison's wonderful research team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 1 In this study, 283 participants classified as overweight or...

Healthy buzzwords on food labels can be misleading.  Below is a recent press release from the American Marketing Association, investigating the effects of 'fitness' branded food on consumption in 'restrained' eaters. Restrained eaters are ridgid, chronic dieters who are commonly preoccupied with their weight, and subsequently inhibit certain 'forbidden' foods. But, when their diet is blown, they tend to binge and overeat. In other words, if a restrained eater has placed sweet foods on their forbidden...

Fat in food is, and might always be a hot and controversial topic. We learn something new everday that expands our understanding, allowing us to make educated decisions in our healthy eating lifestyles. Of course any change in our knowledge fuels controversy and debate amongst fat-inspired amateurs and aficionados, alike. If you are one of the many who are enthusiastic about fat in food, you might be interested in  a recent compilation by NutritionAction.com dedicated to...

After being out of town for the past week, I made a trip to the grocery store to replenish food for the house. I made my normal routine pass from the fresh vegetables and fruit, to the legumes, and finishing out through the frozen vegetables. While checking out, the young man bagging my groceries commented, "you have the weirdest variety of vegetables." Taking it as a compliment, I responded, "Thank you." After a deep pause, he...

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: Would you call Chocolate Cheerios healthy if it said "all natural" on the box? Well, a recent study found that participants rated everything from Chocolate Cheerios, to soda and chips as more healthy, when the packaging contained buzzwords, such as: "Heart Healthy" – Chocolate Cheerios "Antioxidant" – Cherry 7-Up "All Natural" – Tostitos Try it for yourself On a scale from 0 (unhealthy) to 100 (healthy) Would you rate the following versions of apple...

We have an obsession with Calories. We fear them, yet crave them. We want to watch them, count them, track them, calculate them, avoid them, and believe we can somehow burn them!? What is a Calorie? Energy is needed to make the body work, but we cannot directly measure this 'energy' in the body. However, we can attempt to measure the heat that is released when energy is used. Calories help us with this conundrum. A Calorie...

If I had a nickel everytime someone said eating healthy was too expensive, I would have enough money to actually eat healthy. To test this theory, I did my own little experiment with one meal. Based on my own shopping receipts, which is mainly whole vegetables, whole fruits and legumes, I made the following meal comparison table (my lunch one day). Food Serving Price Carb Fat Sat Fat Trans Fat Protein Fiber Calories Grilled Eggplant 1/2...

This debate rages on.  A roomful of dietitians or medical-minded folk say NO, a room of nutritionists or research-minded folk may say YES.  The question is "Is eating more protein in my diet going to help me lose weight?"  For starters, eating less calories than what you are burning each day is the #1 factor.  Some people don't like the simplicity of that, but it's very difficult for people to get right and when you do...

This one drives me bananas. I have done the research, but am not 100% sure where this fallacy came from. Maybe someone saw a monkey with a big belly eating a banana, and made the connection? I once saw an overweight man eating a salad, and have not touched one since. In all seriousness, there is one theory as to why this fallacy may exist, and understanding it will help you with similar fallacies in other...

Claiming a scientific formulation, fiber supplements, such as  Skinny Fiber , have been promoted alongside other fad supplements to promote weight loss in those who take it. Some resellers are even using common exaggerated wording to claim that the product acts like a "magic sponge" to "swallow up fat" and 30%–40% of everything you digest. Glucomannan This 'sponge-like' effect most likely comes from the overly-hyped ingredient in Skinny Fiber is glucomannan (amorphophallus konjac), which contains a soluble,...