Fad Diets

I know the desperate feeling of having those pounds weighing me down. The hunt for the answer to all the questions. The how, the what, and the why not me.... the never ending need to lose the pounds just to feel like I accomplished something big. Rediculous as it sounds, I know in my head I have lost 190 pounds but when I look in the mirror I still see the old me staring back. I know it's psychological so I try to remind myself by pulling on the tent sized clothing and stepping on the scale. But, instead I only see my saggy skin and the damn scale that still is refusing to flash the 150 pound mark I am longing to see. I turn my focus to my lifestyle in an attempt to reign in  my emotions and set myself up to succeed instead of letting my inner demons drag me down again. One thing I refuse to do, is go on any fad diets.
  "A fad diet is a weight loss plan or aid that promises dramatic results. These diets typically don't result in long-term weight loss and they are usually not very healthy. In fact, some of these diets can actually be dangerous to your health." According to familydoctor.org's article "Nutrition for Weight Loss: What You Need to Know About Fad Diets" The site also goes on to break down different types of fad diets but I will let you look up the site for yourself. However, I did particularly enjoy the section "How can I recognize fad diets?
  As a general rule, steer clear of diets or diet products that do any of the following:
Claim to help you lose weight very quickly (more than 1 or 2 pounds per week). Remember, it took time for you to gain unwanted weight and it will take time to lose it.
  Promise that you can lose weight and keep it off without giving up "fatty" foods or exercising on a regular basis.
  If a diet plan or product sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  Base claims on "before and after" photos.
  Offer testimonials from clients or "experts" in weight loss, science or nutrition.
  Remember that these people are probably being paid to advertise the diet plan or product.
  Draw simple conclusions from complex medical research.
  Limit your food choices and don't encourage you to get balanced nutrition by eating a variety of foods.
  Require you to spend a lot of money on things like seminars, pills or prepackaged meals in order for the plan to work."
I don't personally endorse or push specific products. But, I will tell you what works for me and what does not. But, if it works it for you then I will shout it from the roof tops because it just might help someone else! So, don't be shy, tell me what has helped you. I don't want to buy into anything that is momentarily popular or is flying off shelves because some celebrity (that has never had a weight issue in their life!) has slapped their name on the package.... I want to just keeping working. Finding the healthiest lifestyle, the fittest workout routine and that thing that will finally allow me to look in the mirror and see the person I have been fighting to release from this fat body for so long.
 But, on a less serious note... you HAVE to check out the website FadDiet.com!!! There is a lot of funny insight to dieting but there is even a section called How to Create Your Own Fad Diet
And here are parts of the article that I actually laughed out loud reading!
"Note: This is especially effective if you have Doctorate degree in something obscure like geniology. That way you can call it the "Dr. Scardsmayo Diet". Follow this up with a book and you'll be rich. Here are the basic ingredients you will need to create your own fad diet: A book that lists the nutritional values of every food under the sun. A good idea about what foods the grocery store carriesA bag of chips (you'll need a snack while you work). No nutritional knowledge whatsoever. A picture of someone who was slim 5 years ago, but is now larger. The larger person has to own an outfit that is at least 10 years old.
Let's get Started: First let's pick your diet secret. When choosing the method for your fad diet you will need your book of nutrition. Look in your book and find a measure of nutrition that is irrelevant to everyday life. Here are some good examples of methods for a fad diet: "The all the potassium you want diet. "The Potassium is killing you" diet. "I Zinced away 50 pounds" "Low Sodium is Low Weight" "Polysorbate-80 pounds lighter" "Carageenen causes obesity"
Sorry folks, but you can't use fat, carbohydrates, or fiber because a famous Doctor has beat you to each of them.
Next, Let's Pick Your Fad Diet Foods. When choosing the menu for your fad diet you will need your list of items that they have at the grocery store. Using this list, you must follow these rules: Menu items cannot be carried by a normal grocery store. Mango and Shallots used to be good examples of fad diet ingredients but may be too common. Malt syrup might be used on bulgar wheat toast. Frozen sliced ocra and rutabaga are good ideas to accompany an arugula salad. Menu items must be unlikely to be kept in ones pantry.Fruits are good candidates because they spoil. Dairy products also expire and are likely candidate. Frozen foods are good also because they will tie up freezer space and prevent future purchases of ice cream. Items should sound sort of healthy, but not really. Cottage cheese is an excellent example of this Saltine crackers are good. Plain yogurt is just bland enough. Castor oil is also effective. Serving sizes must be an incredibly small portion of an item that must be bought in bulk. Best if this item is useless for everyday consumption or spoils quickly.1/8 of a pound of ground pork. One 1/8" slice of watermelon.1/4 cup of puffed rice. Two teaspoons of un-milled barley.1 teaspoon of dark corn syrup.1/4 plaintain. Items must be repulsive (this is what nutritionists call an appetite suppresant). For repulsive items you can kick up your diet if you allow people to eat tons of it. As many brussel sprouts as you want, they are a hidden source of carageenen! 6 cans of popeye creamed spinach.12 oz of braized goat liver. On Thursday eat all of the boiled plaintains you want, stuff yourself.You certainly have a good start now. Next you will make the schedule.
Finally, Let's Choose A Schedule For The Fad Diet Making the schedule is relatively easy. Time SpanFirst pick a really short time span. Too long of a time span and people won't be interested (too much like reality). Too short of a timespan and you won't be able to punish people enough. Typically 3 or 4 days is enough.Weight ReductionSecond, pick a promised weight reduction. I think most people don't think they can lose more than 4 pounds per day, so keep it a little less than that, but be positive. Also, give a large range of weight loss. And put an official sounding disclaimer in there for good measure. Here are some examples:Lose up to 12 pounds in 3 days! (acual weight loss ranges from 8-12 pounds depending on the person, their matabolism, and the digestability of the potassium magenate encountered).I lost 13 pounds between Monday and Thursday and you can too! (my experience may not be yours, however I am a very average person that has never excelled at anything).Follow Dr. Jingleheimerschmidts program and get down the pounds! (Consult a doctor before starting Dr. Jingleheimerschmidts program especially if you ever experience shortness of breath when climbing more than 8 flights of stairs).Plan the MenuFinally, you plan the menu. Planning the menu involves taking each meal and eliminate one aspect from a normal meal. Remember to use your ingredients.
That's it!
When you are done publish it on the internet. Use the pictures of your weight gaining friend as an after and before picture and soon you'll be spending $30 per month so that other people can read it."
  I guess that's most of the article but I could not help myself! It is awesome! In my humbe opinion anyway. LOL!
  I also read other sites on fad diets to see what they really consist of and the entire time I kept hearing a little voice in the back of my head getting louder and louder until it was screaming at me to "put down the blasted tablet and go do some freakin' crunches as punishment for killing off valuable workout time and increasing my carbon footprint in the waste of electricity and hits to the diet websites tracker information. Yep, my self preservation instinct had kicked in at this point and I regretted my time spent pouring through pages in my "research". Dear Lord, if these fad sites and their completely obnoxious claims are to honestly be considered research then I do deserve to be punished for damaging my poor brain cells with the useless information I found! And people seriously believe this crap???? I just don't get it!
  Then again, Americans do have extremely short attention spans and if you are still reading this post, I am SO PROUD OF YOU! And no skimming down the page to where the capital letters caught your eye doesn't count. Sorry! Think of it as a mini training session.. can't skip all the dieting and jump to the end to a perfect body....just like reading the last chapter of the book does not give you the entire story. Just a thought.
  Anyway, about the other more serious sites I forced myself to partake of....
The article "Fad Diets" By Mizpah Matus B.Hlth.Sc(Hons) listed out the most dangerous diets - including the Tape Worm Diet - to the more than likely not dangerous but not nutritionally sound ones. "Some nutritionists define a fad diet by a series of questions rather than assessing popularity:Recommendations that promise a quick fix
Dire warnings of dangers from a single product or regimen
Claims that sound too good to be true
Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study
Recommendations based on a single study
Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations
Lists of “good” and “bad” foods
Recommendations made to help sell a product
Recommendations based on studies published without review by other researchers
Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups
Eliminated one or more of the five food groups"
  Hopefully that helps give you a little more knowledge when you are desperately searching through Google for the hidden gem that will make you look fabulous in just 85 days.... Geez, I havw only 85 days left in my personal challenge! And I spent this evening reading websites instead of working out? WTH is my problem? Oh yeah, I was vomiting earlier. Hmmm, how quickly I forget little details like that. OOOPS!
  One last little link I want to throw out to you.... for those who have already jumped on one (and usually several different) bandwagons and are struggling with meeting the goals your new diet is insisting upon.... chek out the articel on WebMD.com called "9 Signs You’re on a Fad Diet" By Stephanie Booth and Reviewed by Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD
Because like they put it "It's easy to flock to diets that promise fast results with little effort. Reality check: Fad diets backfire, because you’ll likely regain any pounds you shed. Does your diet show any of these 9 signs? Then it's time to rethink your weight-loss strategy."
  Until I find that magic pill, miracle shake or amazing no effort program I will keep looking. Digging through false claims and crazy accusations just for the sake of your amusement and my pursuit of being a know-it-all. Hehehehe. I promise to try and make it worth your time. If not, then I promise to do more crunches in exchange for the time it took you to read this far ;)
Have a great night!

50 Pounds in 100 Days

Well, we are officialy 100 days away from Christmas. I really do not buy into all the sales and commercialized holiday mess but there is something about the holidays that drives people. Some it motivates them to help others and reflect on a year of struggles and blessings.... while others, are just driven crazy. LOL. Some are bitter, hateful, rude and just obnoxious because they can blame it on the season. Other individuals will throw all their ambition and little self-control to the wind so they can stuff themselves like the fat Thanksgiving Day turkey. Then as New Year's Day comes around they start to sober up and through the hangovers vow to live a whole new life for the coming year. The gyms are then packed for the first few weeks until the masses work off the poundage they packed on under their winter layers. So, we have 100 days to plan parties, read crayon scrawled wish lists and decide how we will spend our remaining days of 2014.
While you debate your next move between the anxiety filled thoughts now racing through your head.... I have already decided what I am going to focus on. I am choosing to mark it as 1 year since I had Gastric Bypass surgery. I started my weightloss journey 12 long months ago. Starting with my diet, adding excersize then ultimately having surgery. Like all decisions, it comes with the good, the bad and the ugly. But, i can't go back and change anything. Only reset my focus and reestablish my goals. I am not waiting for January 1st. I am starting now. I was forced by surgeon's orders to take time away from the gym but now I am back and ready to go.
  I have decided to give myself a personal challenge. 50 pounds in 100 days. Now do not go freaking out on me! I lost 80 pounds in 3 months this time last year. So, I know it can be accomplished. It will be a hell of a lot harder this time, since i fight fatigue and dehydration regularly. But, that does not detour my ambitions in the least. I am technicaly only 40 pounds away from my goal now but it does not have the ring to it that "50 Pounds in 100 daays" does. I will not be an unhealthy weight if I drop 50 pounds but I will have met and exceeded my personal lifetime goal and my challenge goal if I can pull it off. Now, to me, that sounds like a better way to end 2014!!!! Just a thought.
  So, my plan.... first and foremost is diet. I am going back to my basics. I was instructed to eat outside the normal diet because of lacking nutritional needs. However, I have since had blood work done that shows I am no longer "starving" and so I need to show my self discipline by going back to my simple but highly effective diet. I will be focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables and getting in my protein shakes daily. While making sure I have a completely balanced diet. I do NOT want to end up in the hospital again!
  Second on my plan is to re-insert myself in the gym 6 days a week. I can't believe how exhausted I feel. I miss having the gym as my daily routine. I am easing back into it and it may take awhile before I work up to 13 classes a week like I was doing before but my initial goal is daily. Taking Sundays as a recovery day. I need to sit down tonight and look at all the classes in relation to my new work schedule and see what I can work in. I may only be able to fit a few classes in but cardio and weights are just as fun.
  The third and final piece to my plan is rewards. I have NEVER given myself rewards before but this time the ballgame is completely new. I have decided that I will reward myself with Girl's Nights Out, New Clothing that actually fits my body (no more of the hiding under yards of fabric to hide my shape) and the occasional No Sugar Added Ice Cream :)  May not sound like much to you, but my close friends and family know this is a big step for me. I am quick to criticize my failures and not recognize my accomplishments. Well, I already stated I am working on the new me.... inside and out.
  I guess there should be a fourth part to my plan. MY BLOG! I believe in the power of accountability. By broadcasting my intentions to the world and putting it down in writing I truly believe I will achieve more than if I kept my goals to myself. I don't believe in setting myself up for failure. I want to give myself every single advantge I possibly can but that does not mean I will take the easy way out by any means. Just means I will have people watching me and my every move. Some will be those rude, self people I spoke of in the beginning...they will ony be watching to see me fail. While my true friends will be there cheering me on and be there at the celebration party!!!
  Yep! You just read that right! For the first time ever I am going to throw myself a party! Once I hit my goal or goals in this case, we are going to PARTY!!!! Better get ready! Because I am!

Superfoods

  Superfoods... are they real or not? Even after a year of watching my diet and struggling with hitting my goals when I want to hit them... I have questions about what is real and what is not. Everyone out there is still looking for that magic pill to dissolve fat, the secret ingredient to slim the waist and that hidden food in the market to give us that super model image (which by the way is airbrushed!) So, I continue my research and try to sort fact from fiction and find what works for me. Which is where the search for information on "superfods" came from.
  There are NO such things as Zero Calorie Foods. They just do NOT exist! So why my thoughts were turned to inspect the claim that some foods are superheros in desguise.
   Heck, looks like I get to be the bearer of bad news yet again.... even Wikipedia has the "it doesn't exist" view! Which surprised me... not sure why. But, it did.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia they state under the term Superfood "Superfood is a marketing term used to describe foods with supposed health benefits. Blueberries, a so-called 'superfood' that actually does not have unusually dense nutrient content. The superfood term is not in common use by dietitians and nutrition scientists, many of whom dispute that particular foodstuffs have the health benefits often claimed by advocates of particular superfoods." The site also went on to quote information on the European stance as well which i found interesting. They apparently do not allow their citizens to have a bunch of marketing ploys distracting them from the truth on what they are buying and consuming. What I am talking about is the June 29th 2007 article found on BBC News saying "Superfood 'ban' comes into effectSales of blueberries have gone up 132% in the last two yearsProducts claiming to be superfoods will be banned under new EU rules coming into effect on Sunday - unless the claim can be proved.Blueberries, salmon, spinach and soy have all been hailed as so-called superfoods - foods rich in nutrients.Some say superfoods can protect against cancer and heart disease, but others say there is no evidence for this.The new laws will apply to all food or drink products made or sold for human consumption within EU nations."
The site for the European Food Information Council says it rather well, "Despite its ubiquity in the media, however, there is no official or legal definition of a superfood. The Oxford English dictionary, for example, describes a superfood as “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being”, while the Merriam-Webster dictionary omits any reference to health and defines it as “a super nutrient-dense food, loaded with vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants, and/or phytonutrients”. Generally speaking, superfoods refer to foods — especially fruits and vegetables — whose nutrient content confers a health benefit above that of other foods. " If the dictionaries can't even agree on what the defintion should be, the we sure the heck can't take a for-profit business's word for it! That's my opinion, based on years of being told if I didn't know what something meant I should go look it up in the dictionary.... LMAO! I had several mean teachers I would never argue with! 
  They are not saying the so called superfoods like blueberries and spinach are bad for you, by any means. Compared to most American diets they are super choices. But, what the English are brave enough to point out is the outlandish claims put forth by companies to sell products need to be reigned in and held accountable. You can not survive on just berries alone. So, what makes a sane individual think they can drink a berry based "cleanse" only for a week and not have some kind of negative response. Yes, you will lose weight but that isn't because of some special fruit or ingredient! It's common sense. If you cut out all the crap from your diet and restrit your intake of needed daily vitamins and minerals you are also (in most cases) restricting your calorie intake at the same time...hence, the weightloss. Hell, have an upset stomach for several days and don't eat, you will drop pounds too! Niether way is healthy. Especially for a sustained amount of time.
  It all comes back to something Americans have real issues with - self control. It is pounded in our heads from an early age to gourge ourselves on sugar, get the BIG drink, get more for your money. Then we are morbidly obese as adults and look for a quick solution or substance to ingest to make years of poor decisions wash away. Nope. Sorry.
 I know it's confusing especially in our online lifestyle where we read blogs for information (LOL) and go to WebMD for consultaions instead of picking up the phone and calling a nutritionist. But, even between the lines of the article
10 Everyday Super Foods, WebMD says they are not special but still good choices "Eaten regularly, these foods will help you satisfy the recommendations of the U.S. government's 2005 Dietary Guideline, giving you nutrients that are typically missing from American diets. According to the Guidelines, Americans need to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.Of course, experts are quick to point out, this list of top 10 super foods by no means includes all the nutritious foods that should be part of a healthy diet."
  So, It all really comes down to choices. Pick wisely. Moderation and self contol. Nuts are good for you but an entire pound of them is defeating the purpose of your "choice" because of the amount of fat they contain. Everything we eat has a good side and a bad side. You want your children to learn good habits, i would hope. So they do not struggle like you when they are older. But, putting it on their plate and making it a huge ordeal instead of an everyday occurance is not going to help either. If they don't eat it, what good is it going to do when they will never choose it.
  Eat the blueberries, eat the kale, eat the spinach if you like it. But eating something just because it's labeled as "super" does not change your tatse buds! If you force yourself to eat something you really despise, you are only setting yourself up for failure.
  Just food for thought.