I have to admit, this New York Times article made me want to bang my head my head against my keyboard.

So it stands to reason that weight-loss shows are now a part of the television landscape, spanning NBC, the Style Network and Discovery Health, as common as crime procedurals, soap operas or talk shows. (All television genres have signature moments. On westerns it’s the cattle stampede; on weight-loss shows it’s the weigh-in, presented in slow motion and in black and white.)

These fat-reduction spectacles are embedded in a mixed message that mirrors a broader cultural clash of appearance and appetite — and our obsession with both. Against a loop of talk shows and made-for-TV dramas about eating disorders, Americans are goaded into ever more drastic and extreme expectations of physical perfection on prime time, while their path is mined with Double Croissan’wich specials at Burger King and Olive Garden “Tour of Italy” triptychs (lasagna, chicken parmigiana and fettuccine Alfredo). On “Today” a homily on sensible dieting from the Joy Fit Club is followed by instructions in a following segment for hibiscus margaritas and churros — deep-fried, sugar-dipped Mexican crullers. On the WE network’s show “The Secret Lives of Women,” a tribute to three women’s hard-won journey to extreme weight loss is interrupted by an ad for Baskin-Robbins Oreo sundae.

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For some reason I decided to go check out some of UltimateFatBurner.com’s competitors today; you know - the thinly disguised product promotion sites masquerading as unbiased “review” sites. Not really sure why I decided to do this; some perverse desire to raise my blood pressure, I guess.

Anyhow, if you’re subscribed to UltimateFatBurner.com’s newsfeed you’ll be aware that many of the products I have reviewed lately feature 1 or more patented weight loss ingredients in their overall formulas. Retailers are using these patented ingredients as part of their overall marketing strategy, capitalizing on the common misconception that “patented” means proven and effective (one product claims its blend of clinically proven and patented weight loss ingredients outperforms prescription weight loss drugs).

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It happens every 4 years like clockwork. My blood pressure rises. My teeth grind. I tear at my hair. I toss and turn fitfully at night. And then, as quickly as it began, it’s gone. Slowly, my blood pressure returns to normal. My dentist calls earnestly. My hair grows back. I sleep comfortably.  

Is it the Olympics?

Nope. Close though.

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Paul and I had an e-mail exchange concerning his recent review of a diet supp called “Prescopodene“.  He sent me a link to the site - to me, it looked just like dozens of other internet supp sites I’ve seen.  Y’know, the hottie in a bikini; claims of scientific validation; big, eye-catching display fonts, testimonials - the usual stuff.  And - of course - there was a picture of a smiling doctor, next to a product recommendation from a “Dr. Robert Johnson, Ph.D.”  It turned out that the pic of the doctor actually came from a stock photo archive like this one.  We both had a good laugh about it, as it was such a transparent tactic.

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Over the last few months, Elissa and I have been blogging about growing obesity crisis as it pertains to children. As detailed here and here, children are increasingly vulnerable to advertising for junk food (on which the major players spend zillions of dollars), and they are also spending more and more time in front of the tube.  

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Are eggs healthy or unhealthy?  For years, doctors and dieticians told us that eggs should be avoided or severely limited, as they were loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol.  That attitude has softened in recent years, after researchers determined that there’s no clear cut association between egg consumption and cardiovascular risk for healthy individuals.  Still, eggs haven’t been given a pass: one recent study, for example, found an association between increased egg consumption and mortality.  Mainstream professionals are still cautious, and conventional medical advice remains fairly discouraging.

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Not when it comes to snack foods, methinks…

I’ve been seeing these more and more…chips, pretzels, cookies and the like, sold in boxes of “100 calorie” packages. Nabisco, for example, has a variety of products packaged this way.  These are allegedly designed for more “sensible snacking” - as they make it easier to monitor your intake, and avoid eating too much.

Right?

Maybe not.  According to two studies pending publication in the October, 2008 Journal of Consumer Research, smaller packages may encourage MORE munching, not less.

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…according to a hot-off-the presses study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all: A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques…Average weight loss for those in the low-carb group was 10.3 pounds after two years. Those in the Mediterranean diet lost 10 pounds, and those on the low-fat regimen dropped 6.5.

More surprising were the measures of cholesterol. Critics have long acknowledged that an Atkins-style diet could help people lose weight but feared that over the long term, it may drive up cholesterol because it allows more fat.

But the low-carb approach seemed to trigger the most improvement in several cholesterol measures, including the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL, the “good” cholesterol. For example, someone with total cholesterol of 200 and an HDL of 50 would have a ratio of 4 to 1. The optimum ratio is 3.5 to 1, according to the American Heart Association.

Doctors see that ratio as a sign of a patient’s risk for hardening of the arteries. “You want that low,” Stampfer said.

The ratio declined by 20 percent in people on the low-carb diet, compared to 16 percent in those on the Mediterranean and 12 percent in low-fat dieters.

The full study can be found at the New England Journal of Medicine site.

One of the things I’ve noticed about many people’s fat loss efforts, is how negative they are.  There’s a long list of “don’ts;” tiny portions of plain, drab food and punishing workouts.  It’s all about hardship and deprivation.  If you’re “good,” that means you have the stern discipline and moral fiber to tough it out, and can bask in the awe of your family, friends and colleagues.  And if you’re like everyone else (i.e., “bad”), you crash and burn within a few short weeks, gain whatever you lost back, and either a) beat on yourself for being weak; b) decide your excess weight is due to some extrinsic factor, like “toxins” or “parasites” and go off in search of various ”placebo“ cures; or c) eventually give it all up, decide you’re genetically programmed to be overweight, and join the “Fat Acceptance” movement.

It doesn’t have to be this way…

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I’d be tempted to file this study in the “duuuuuhhhh” category, as keeping a food journal is something I’ve done for every fat loss diet I’ve ever been on since I was 14 years old…and it’s something both Paul and I have discussed before.  But it bears repeating.  And it’s good to see this sort of practical advice confirmed scientifically. 

With all the handy-dandy online tools and software available now, there’s really no excuse now not to do this.  I don’t know of any better way to raise awareness of what you’re eating than this one, simple step.

Chris Coleson’s 80+ pound weight loss hit the news cycle recently.  The former 276 pounder now weighs in at a relatively svelte 190 lbs. and has dropped 14 pants sizes: his waist went from 50 inches to 36 inches.

That’s pretty impressive, although what he did was less newsworthy than how he did it. 

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Here’s a suggestion for losing weight…

Unplug the TV.

Or, if you want to live a little more dangerously, pull a “Keith Richards,” and heave it off the balcony (checking first for innocent civilians below), or empty a couple of shells of double-ought buck into it from a safe distance away (the living room?). Whatever you do, it’s time to bid good riddance to this benevolent monster.

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The incongruity of this statement dawned on me the other day as I stood in line at my local grocery store. ‘Cause it’s one I’ve heard often enough…

It costs SO much to eat right.

Does it? Really?

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Over the last few weeks we’ve been talking about trends in food consumption and the parents’ role in teen weight loss. These discussions got me thinking about a 2007 New England Journal of Medicine study that showed — get this — that obesity is contagious! (You may be thinking this is ridiculous, but this was a pretty major study, following 12,000 people over the course of 32 years. And the NEJM is no “rag” either).  

Yep, believe it or not, people are more likely to become obese when a friend becomes so. 57% more likely in fact. According to the principle investigator in the study, Dr. Nicholas Christakis, one probable reason for this is that friends “affect your perception of fatness.” It appears that if you surround yourself with people who are overweight, this state becomes acceptable to you.

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A lot of the discussion on artificial sweeteners is focused on safety issues…many people feel uneasy about the “artificial” aspect of aspartame, acesulfame K, sucralose, etc., which - in turn - has increased the popularity of “natural” alternatives such as stevia.  Very few people, however, question the usefulness of low/zero-calorie sweeteners in general, for weight loss/control.  It’s taken completely for granted that such products will help us fight the battle of the bulge.  It makes sense, after all: non-caloric sweeteners provide the taste sensation we all crave, without the calories that normally go with it.  It’s like having a ”Get Out of Jail Free” card - we can consume the sweetness equivalent of several hundred calories a day without guilt or consequences.

Is it possible this assumption is flawed?

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The subject of adolescent obesity came up in the comments yesterday - and it just so happens that the discussion coincides with the publication of a new study on the subject.  The study authors looked at the families of overweight teenagers participating in Project EAT, an investigation into the “socioenvironmental, personal, and behavioral factors associated with diet and other weight-related behaviors.”  Parents were surveyed on:

• how they classified the weight status of their teenaged children
• family meal practices
• home food environment (i.e., availability of junk food vs. veggies/fruits)
• parental encouragement of healthy habits (i.e., food choices, exercise/activity, dieting)

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I’m with Elissa on this one… I love lifting weight.

But cardio… uh, well… that’s a different story.

I do cardio because I have to. For the cardio-pulminary benefits it offers. And because if I’m really serious about trimming back some of the winter flab, it’s cardio that does it. Yep. Two to three weeks of cardio (3-4 25 minutes sessions at moderate intensity per week) and my pants start falling down. Every time. It works like clockwork.

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I’ve just finished reading that the “snack diet,” or the splitting up of your food intake into five or six snacks/ small meals to boost your metabolism  and lose weight is “useless.” Dr Tim Crowe, a nutrition specialist at Deakin University in Melbourne, spoke dismissively of the whole idea calling it “rubbish” and a “faddish dieting trend.”  

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I took the Special K Challenge this morning…the link caught my eye during a Google search, and I couldn’t resist.  Special K is a real blast from the past: I recall the old “pinch an inch” ads from daze gone by.  Can’t say I ever ate the stuff much, however.  Didn’t really care for the taste, to be honest, plus, I had a hard time figuring out what was really “special” about it from a weight loss perspective…it had roughly the same calories and nutrients as other packaged cereals did.

At any rate, the “Challenge” is to lose 1 inch off your waist in 2 weeks by following a ”personalized” nutrition plan devised by the Marketing Department at Kellogg’s.  To create my plan, I had to answer three multiple choice questions, none of which concerned my height/weight, age, activity, amount of (hypothetical) excess weight I wanted to lose…or any other info that you’d think would be important.  The questions were all subjective, like “What’s the worst part of a diet?”  I thought that was a bit odd, so I submitted the questionnaire several times, using different answers.  Sure enough, each submission resulted in a “personalized” plan that was structurally identical to the first one.  And what a plan it was, too!  Here’s a sample day:

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I love it. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse…

Top 8 Most Ridiculous Weight Loss Techniques!