The Diet Angel Blog

The Diet Angel Blog has moved

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:39:00 GMT

Just to let you know that The Diet Angel Blog posts will now be at www.DietUser.com. Please update your bookmarks and subscribe to the new feed to stay updated!

Nutritional Claims on Food Labels

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:28:39 GMT

When shopping, it\'s really easy to be misled by manufacturers\' claims on packaging. \"95% fat free\" may sound good, but it\'s still got 5% fat and this might be more than other, similar products - it\'s all in the marketing!So what can manufacturer\'s actually claim, and what do these claims mean? Food labelling regulations mean standard definitions are used:Diet - this can only appear on foods if they are low-calorie - in real terms, this means no more than 40 calories per 100g (or 100ml). Also, the label must clearly state that it can only help weight-loss if consumed as part of a calorie-controlled diet.Fat-free - contains no more than 0.15g of fat per 100g.Reduced fat - contains a minimum of 25% less fat than the standard product.Low in saturates or low saturated fat - contains less than 3% saturated fat per 100g.Low fat - contains less than 3g of fat per 100g.Reduced sodium - contains a minimum of 25% less sodium than the standard product.Low sodium - contains less than 40mg of sodium per 100g.High fibre - contains at least 6g of fibre per 100g.Source of fibre - contains at least 3g of fibre per 100g.Sugar-free - contains no more than 0.2g of sugar per 100g.No added sugar - contains no sugar or foods made mainly of sugars (such as concentrated fruit juice) added to it or any of the ingredients.Reduced sugar - contains a minimum of 25% less sugar than the standard product.Low sugar - contains less than 3g of sugar per 100g.When a food has less fat content, it may have added sugars and starches to help make up the flavour - added those pesky calories straight back in!!! And what about other terms, which are not regulated? These can be rather ambiguous at the best of times:Lower fat - less fat than the standard product - even if it\'s just 1% less!Light / lite - could be lower in fat, lighter in weight, paler colour...you get the idea.Virtually fat-free - should have only a small fat content but watch out for sugars instead. And if the product is naturally low in fat, check the standard version labels to make sure it\'s not just clever marketing!90% fat-free - this is what I mentioned at the start - if it\'s 90% fat-free, it\'s actually 10% fat. Is this more than the standard product?You need your wits about you when shopping, but if you are able to spend a little bit of time looking at food labels when shopping, you can make healthy choices for you and your family.To see more about the nutritional content of various different foods, see www.EasyDietDecisions.com.

Listen to Your Body

Mon, 11 May 2009 12:35:19 GMT

Your body is your most powerful ally when losing weight, but do you always really listen to it? By not paying full attention, you gradually desensitise yourself to the signals it sends you - resulting in eating more and over time, putting on weight.You can\'t always help eating habits - how often do you end up grabbing a sandwich and eating it at your desk at work, or only having a few minutes to eat your evening meal before having to pick up the kids? However, there are things you can do to \'tune in\' to your hunger signals again.The golden failsafe rule? ...Only eat when you are hungry. Ahhh, it doesn\'t sound like rocket science, but how can you tell when you are hungry? Or is it thirst?If you want to eat something, grade the hunger on a scale of 1 to 5. If you are at a 4 or 5, then eat. Otherwise, have a glass of water and try re-grading after five minutes. This will weed out any boredom eating and also help you distinguish between \'hunger\' and \'thirst\' signals which can be very similar. If you don\'t get to a 4 or 5, find another activity to take your mind off food!When you do eat, rather than tucking into the traditional 3 meals a day, why not break it down into three smaller meals and two snacks (e.g. an apple with a handful of mixed nuts)? Eating more regularly means you are more likely to only eat what you need rather than what\'s there. Try aiming for fruit, vegetables, pulses, rice and pasta, which are \'slow release energy\' foods, and will make you feel fuller for longer, rather than \'quick release energy\' foods such as crisps, sweets and \'quick fix\' foods.By making you feel fuller longer, your blood sugar levels fluctuate less, which means your insulin levels also stay more constant - more insulin in your blood leads to greater fat storage, which is not the best approach to weight management! Also by eating regularly, you are less likely to binge when you do eat as you are not \'starving\' or \'ravenously hungry\'. This means again, you are likely to eat fewer calories. The other message hidden in here is...ALWAYS eat breakfast!Golden rule number two is...stop eating when you are full.Again, this sounds easy enough - how many times have you had a Sunday roast with all the trimmings followed by dessert and then felt to tired and full to move? If you felt like that, you\'ve eaten way more than enough!There is a time-lag from starting to eat to feeling like you\'ve had enough. If you wolf your food down without pausing, you will eat a lot more than if you put your fork down between mouthfuls and actually taste your food. This is because the hunger signal has not been able to kick in - next time you eat, try eating at a much slower rate, and you may surprise yourself that you don\'t want the same amount that you normally eat. Try putting your fork down between mouthfuls, chewing each mouthful a bit more (also better for your digestion!) and sipping water between mouthfuls.

Sweet as sugar? Not always.

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:34:43 GMT

I was so incensed whilst eating my cereal yesterday whilst watching BBC Breakfast, that a nutritionist so vehemently misled the public that I was shouting at the television - not the usual behaviour of the sane!So, according to Dr Clare Leonard (sadly a bona fida public health nutritionist number RPHN475 registered with the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists), sugar doesn\'t turn into fat and there\'s no evidence of sugar leading to obesity. She was representing the cereal industry, in retaliation to a Which? Report on children\'s breakfast cereals still containing far too much sugar (see here for more information. This latest report is particularly damning as the same problems were highlighted three years ago and no substantial changes have been made.As a nutritionist myself, I can tell you that Dr Leonard\'s so-called facts are blantantly untrue, and to make matters worse, she works for Nestle - manufacturer of some of the cereals highlighted in the Which? Report!There is mounting evidence that added sugar in the diet, and in fact, sugars in processed foods are more likely to lead to obesity than fat! One of the many things that insulin does for example, is help your fat cells remove glucose from your blood and turn it into fatty acids (fat storage molecules) - this is a well documented metabolic process and is not up for dispute!Worse still (and ignored by her), sugary cereals cause spikes in blood sugar levels, leading to increased snacking behaviour, leading to...yep, obesity!Her comment that simple carbohydrates are necessary in the diet for energy is also dubious - yes, we need carbs, but of the complex variety (\"starchy carbs\"). You do get simple sugars in fruits which cannot be avoided, but refined sugars (i.e. those added to breakfast cereals and pre-prepared meals and sauces) should be avoided and can lead to other problems such as tooth decay, as well as obesity.She did make a comment that you can\'t take one meal in isolation and have to look at the day\'s food to make balanced decisions which is true to an extent BUT you can look at your diet a meal at a time and work out how to improve it. All healthy eating advice, whether from a dietician, the government or your friendly blogging nutritionist (!) starts with increasing fibre and cut out all processed and added sugars.Whilst having breakfast is better than skipping it, I heartily recommend parents to choose cereals with as little sugar content as possible - that will give their children a far better start to their day and their life!For more information see here and here.

Voluntary Calorie Labelling on Menus

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:06:22 GMT

According to BBC news today, 18 businesses have agreed to display calorie information on their menus. On the surface of things, this sounds like good news, but will it really make a difference, and does it go far enough?As well as the legal minimum information that needs to be displayed on food items, some manufacturers go further. On many foods, there are labels to show the calories, sugars, fat, saturates and salt per serving, in both grams and percentage of an adult\'s guideline daily amount. Some labelling uses a traffic light colour coding to show whether the amounts of these per serving is healthy or not (see here for more information on both these methods).This certainly gives people more information about their food, and as long as their portion sizes are realistic, can help as part of a diet or lifestyle change.The voluntary calorie labelling of foods reported today is obviously a good start, but there is no unified approach. This means that different food outlets will display the information differently, which is a potential source of confusion for customers.A far better system would be similar to one of the labelling guidelines above - knowing calories is a good start but knowing salt, sugar and saturated fat content is far more useful information. It also helps people understand whether their diet is balanced.A chicken salad from one of the fast food chains can be a healthy option - most of the calories are in the dressing, which normally comes in a separate sachet. Will the restaurant label each salad component seperately so you can make an informed choice, or will the salad suddenly look like a frighteningly-calorific option because they assume you\'ll use all the dressing? (And decide a burger looks like a better choice!!)It also depends on how often you eat calorie dense food (food that provides a lot of calories in a small amount). If you eat fast food every day of the week, cutting down on calorie intake will be very beneficial. However, if you eat it once every few months, you won\'t really see much change if you do opt for a lower-calorie option.However, having to show calories may force \'healthy\' competition - fast food outlets vying for more business by reducing the calorie content of their foods to below that of their competitors whilst retaining flavour, and keeping the price down.

How to Gain Weight for Health

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:11:40 GMT

When talking about weight management, it\'s very easy to always think of weight loss and not weight gain. And in today\'s society there\'s a strong bias against people who eat whatever they like and don\'t gain a single pound. Furthermore, if those people are heard to complain that they can\'t put on weight, it\'s not viewed as a serious problem by anyone else.Those people who are thin for their frame size, age and height are at risk from various health problems, and would probably be glad to put on extra weight in a healthy, controlled manner. Eating too few calories in a day, whether from an eating disorder such as anorexia, or through just not eating large enough portions, can result in heart problems, osteoporosis, lack of hair and nail growth, infrequent periods (in women) and infertility.As well as eating a balanced diet, maintaining weight at a healthy level serves as an indicator of good physical and mental health; this is true of both underweight people gaining weight and overweight people losing weight.A person\'s weight is controlled by the balance between how much energy they use up, compared with how much energy they take in. Increases in weight or an inability to lose weight can be brought about by certain medication, eating too much, or not exercising enough. It can also be due to an increase in muscle mass through resistance training (e.g. body building).Loss of weight or an inability to gain weight is caused by the opposite - certain medications, not eating enough or exercising too much. The exercise is more likely to be aerobic exercise such as running, rather than resistance training but even resistance training can cause weight loss when over-done as muscles need nutrients in order to build.To see if you are underweight, use the free BMI calculator to input your height and weight - this will give you a guide as to how you compare with other people. A body mass index of under 18.5 is classed as underweight and the lower it is under this number, the more cause for concern.It may be a good idea to check with your G.P. before starting any new eating or exercise plan, just to rule out any other causes for your weight issues.As with losing weight, the first thing to do is work out a target weight gain and work out an achievable rate for this (see my blog post on SMART weight loss and use the principles for weight gain instead).The best way to put weight on is to gradually increase portion size, whilst maintaining a healthy balanced diet. Aim for three meals a day with a couple of snacks in between. Look at the recommended portion size on food packets e.g. wholemeal pasta, and try to eat that amount of food.The worst way to try and gain weight is by eating lots of saturated fats and refined sugars, with the idea that this \"will get more calories in you\". This will help you put on fat, but not muscle, and doesn\'t give your body the range of essential nutrients it needs to function properly.

Using SMART targets to lose weight

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:35:58 GMT

If you want to lose weight, you\'re more likely to succeed if you set yourself a suitable goal. But how do you do this?Use the \'SMART\' acronym (which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-constrained) will make this much easier.Specific - instead of thinking \"I\'d like to lose some weight\", be specific about how much - half a stone, a stone? After this, work out how much you\'d like to weigh and think in terms of this, rather than in terms of loss e.g. \"I\'d like to weigh 9 and a half stone\" rather than \"I\'d like to lose half a stone\". Doing this will positively reinforce the \'new you\' in your subconscious and make it easier to make lifestyle changes you need to reach your target weight.Measurable - choose an actual amount of weight and keep a diary of your change in weight over time. That way, you can measure your exact weight change rather than trying to remember.Achievable/Realistic - use the body mass index calculator to find the ideal weight range for your height. Is you weight loss achievable? Can you make the lifestyle changes required to reach your goal? Can you do it in the time-frame you set (see the next point for this one!)?Time-constrained - set a time limit for the weight loss - that makes it a better goal to work towards. You might think of this in terms of time, or an upcoming holiday. Losing half a stone in weight suddenly becomes easier when you set a realistic time - assuming a weight loss of 1-2lbs a week, you can lose half a stone in 3.5-7 weeks. Can you make the changes required to do it in 3.5 weeks, or do you want to achieve it at a slower steady pace and manage it in seven weeks?

Love food but hate waste?

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:43:34 GMT

This is a brief \'guest post\', from a site that I really recommend - not only are the recipes healthy and tasty, but the website will encourage you to save money too...a bit like my previous posts on credit crunch shopping tips (here and here).Every year in the UK we throw away a staggering one third of all the food we buy. Love Food Hate Waste - a campaign from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) - highlights the fact that wasted food is a waste of money and a major contributor to climate change. And the most frustrating thing is that most of what we throw away could have been eaten - it\'s not just peelings, teabags and bones. The Love Food Hate Waste website provides delicious recipes to make the most of the food in our fruit bowl, fridge and cupboards, handy hints for storing food, surprising facts on what can be frozen and much more...there is something for everyone, whether you are a keen cook and organiser or more spontaneous. Visit Love Food Hate Waste for more ways to love food and reduce our food waste.

Portion control = self control?

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:52:56 GMT

One of the biggest pieces of advice I give to clients is about portion control - get that right and you\'ll find that weight loss is easier. After a meal you should feel that you\'ve had enough to eat, but shouldn\'t feel stuffed.Unfortunately, portion sizes have increased in size over the last 20-30 years and so have our waistlines, and expectation. If you buy a fast-food meal, you expect it to be a certain size or you feel that you\'ve not got value for money.So, where do you start? Firstly, at home try using side plates or children\'s plates instead of your normal plates. If you are still genuinely hungry after the plate is finished, then have some more. If you\'re not convinced you\'re eating less, try transferring the contents of the smaller plate onto your normal dinner plate and see the difference in portion size - it makes a big difference - 100 extra calories per day translates into 5kg (over 10 pounds) per year in extra weight.Secondly, read what manufacturers state is a portion size. Do you really stick to this? Next time you cook pasta, compare your portion size with the manufacturer\'s portion size in dry weight, you may be surprised!Thirdly, you don\'t have to finish everything on your plate. This is one of the hardest issues to overcome and derives from times of hardship when food was far more scarce. Luckily today, people reading this blog won\'t have these food issues. It does create a psychological block though - we were all told as children to eat everything up.Ask youself whether you really need those last few mouthfuls, or whether you\'re eating for the sake of it. And if you\'re eating out, simply don\'t go for the larger option. Even something as innocuous as a cup of coffee can pile on the pounds if bought in one of the high street coffee shops. A cup of coffee with milk and sugar 20 years ago contained about 45 calories, today buy a coffee with steamed milk, mocha syrup and firstly the cup size will be much bigger, and secondly it will contain about 350 calories - nearly eight times more. Just two of those a week rather than the coffee 20 years ago is an extra 4kg in weight gain a year, or 9 pounds - ouch!Finally, find out how much you really know about what you\'re eating at \"Portion Distortion\". Coffee anyone?

More Credit Crunch Food Tips

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:52:20 GMT

Following on from part 1, here\'s some more handy weight loss / credit crunch food tips:Join the local cash-and-carry or co-operative - you can either buy in larger quantities which brings the unit cost of food down (e.g. rice), or by sharing the cost between a few people the same larger quantities can be bought but you don\'t have to buy the whole amount yourself, just your share but at the lower rate.Serve smaller portions - have a look at your dinner plates - are they really the right size? Why not find some smaller plates and use them instead. You may be surprised at how hungry you DON\'T feel. Any leftovers can be used for lunches.If you are cooking, make double the amount you need, then freeze the other half. It\'s cost-effective cooking and will save you some time on the second occasion when all you have to do is defrost and reheat.Put a handful of cous cous or lentils into sauces - it will add another texture, but depending on the amount you use, very little taste. It will make your sauces go further, which brings the cost down.Be shopper savvy - look at prices on food and shelf labels - bigger isn\'t always cheaper or if there\'s only a few pence difference effectively between sizes, do you really need the bigger size?Plan meals in advance and check your cupboards, fridge and freezer for ingredients first - that way you won\'t buy food unneccessarily.Look at all the shelves in the supermarket - premium brands tend to be placed at eye level, so look on the shelf above and below to see if there\'s a cheaper alternative.If you do like your bread, cakes and biscuits, take control and bake them! Kneading bread is a physical activity in itself! When you do your own baking, it\'s cheaper and there are fewer preservatives. Flapjack can be a healthy option too - see here for example.If you buy fresh herbs and can\'t use them all up before they go off, freeze them. If they\'re in a pot, cut the herbs off at soil level and put them in the freezer in a small bag, otherwise, you can freeze them in the packaging they came in. Now, just tear off what you want and add it straight in to your cooking - no need to defrost.Buy frozen veg - it can be just as healthy as fresh bought in the supermarket, if not more so, as the nutrients are locked in at the point of freezing. It means you can add a greater variety of veg to your diet without having to worry about getting it eaten before it goes off. It\'s also really handy to throw a handful of frozen veg into a casserole or stew again, no need to defrost.

Recent Obesity Research

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:24:01 GMT

A quick look at various obesity headlines from the last month:Research suggests that people who carry a variant of the FTO gene eat an average of 100 extra calories per meal. Eating tests were carried out by the University of Dundee on 100 children aged between 4 and 10 years old. The children with the gene variant chose to eat more sugary and fatty foods. This implies that the FTO gene variant is responsible for obesity, but there may be many other genes and factors also exerting an influence. As long as people take responsibility for their wellbeing and make sensible diet and exercise decisions, they should not be putting their health in danger.Another research team (from University College London) also looked at the FTO gene, this time published in the International Journal of Obesity. 131 children aged between 4 and 5 were offered a plate of biscuits one hour after eating a full meal. Children carrying one or more FTO variant were far more likely to continue eating, despite their prior meal. Again, opinion concluded that sensible eating and plenty of exercise should curb any obesogenic effects.Researchers recently extrapolated data from 128,000 adults in the \'Health Survey for England\' to warn that a third of UK adults will be obese by 2012 when England hosts the Olympic Games. Ouch!Papers published in Nature Genetics suggested that metabolism cannot be blamed for obesity - after studying thousands of people for small genetic changes, it appeared that seven key genes exerted changes in the brain. The impact of the brain on eating and appetite was thought to have much more effect on obesity than genetic variation for storing fat or burning off energy. It also looked at the effect of these genes on body mass (people carrying the genes were upto 2kg heavier than those without the genes) and suggested that up to 70% of variation in body mass index is genetically controlled, rather than being influenced by the environment. However, critics of the studies have stated that these genes have been around for centuries (gene mutations take generations to be noticeable in an entire population so can\'t be responsible) but the obesity epidemic is much more recent. My opinion? Perhaps the genes have always been there, but so has a susceptibility towards obesity that has only become noticeable in recent years due to the availability of energy-dense food and the decreased activity levels.In the Journal \'Pediatrics\', 233 children were studied between birth and puberty and results showed that a quarter of children were overweight by the time they were at school. Weight at aged five also was a good indicator of weight aged 9 e.g. overweight five year olds were very likely to be overweight nine year olds. Compared with 25 years ago, the number of overweight children is much higher. Researchers thought that portion sizes and increased calorie-density was to blame rather than a lack of physical activity. My opinion? This shows that parents have a big role to play in their child\'s weight management e.g. spending more time as a family doing physical activity, reducing time children spend watching television or playing computer games, reducing unhealthy foods in their child\'s diet etc...and primarily leading by example. These are all important actions that parents can take which can prevent obesity and associated health risks in later life.Further to this, the Government have released their \'Change4Life\' campaign which is targetted at making people understand that obesity is a health issue, rather than a cosmetic issue. The research behind this campaign shows that at the current rate, 90% of children will be overweight or obese by 2050.For more information on these stories, see my \'StumbleUpon\' profile - where I keep track of all nutrition and weightloss resources that I like and use.

Top Credit Crunch Shopping Food Tips

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:51:18 GMT

Although not apparently related to weight management, shopping on a budget can bring about benefits for slimming too. Planning ahead is key, both for budgeting and dieting, so why not combine them and save pounds AND lose pounds? (Slightly tenuous play on words there, my apologies!).Shop only when you are full not when you are hungry - you're less likely to put calorie-laden expensive foods in your basket.Buy local seasonal produce - it tastes better, is cheap if you buy only what you need, it supports your local economy and it adds more variety to your diet.Try to downgrade a brand - if you always buy premium brands, try a supermarket own brand instead. If it tastes okay, and isn't unhealthier than the premium version, then great!Grow your own veggies and herbs etc. Ask your local gardening centre for advice on what will grow in pots, especially if you only have limited space. It will get you out in the fresh air and means that your food has travelled far fewer miles to make it to your plate and been exposed to far fewer chemicals (unless you use them yourself, but even slug pellets can be organic these days!).Make soup with leftover or old vegetables and if you do a Sunday chicken roast, boil the carcass to make stock.Spray on cooking oil rather than pour it - it will coat your food so it cooks just as well, but uses far less oil, which is cheaper and better for your waistline.Next time you cook pasta or rice, weigh your portions first - you won't have so much left (removing temptation and saving pennies!) and it's very easy to over-estimate a portion size.Cook meals yourself rather than buying and using convenience foods. You'll consume far fewer chemical ingredients, far fewer calories and you can always make more than you need and freeze it for another meal, at a fraction of the usual cost. This works particularly well with soups and tomato based sauces such as bolognaise.Don't be tempted to buy food on offer if you are not going to, or don't want to eat it. Supermarkets are especially good at promoting calorie-dense foods such as biscuits and crisps. Exercise your financial willpower, and your waistline will benefit.Don't just buy at the big supermarkets, try local ethnic food shops - they are great for cheap herbs and spices, and might inspire you to vary your diet. Adding herbs and spices are a cheap way to add flavour to your food and depending on what you cook, can help increase your metabolism.Part two is coming soon, with even more tips for you to try.

Diets Gone Mad - Part 1

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:58:46 GMT

We expect a quick fix to everything these days - fast food outlets, the Internet...whatever we want we can get straightaway. And thanks to technology and science, more and more solutions and cures are appearing everyday.We have an attitude of tablets for everything - whether paracetemol for headache, antibiotics to blitz any bug under the sun (even though they won't work on viruses, and much of the time you can naturally recover from the bug without extra pills and have a much stronger immune system for it!), and we expect a quick fix for health too.However, quick fixes for diet and fitness are not possible, but because we expect and want them, the multi-billion pound diet industry has appeared, to fulfill that need.Consider the hundreds of adverts you see - in print, on the television and on the Internet - all promising fast weight loss - you see before and after pictures, and a claim of "I lost 50 pounds in three weeks with (insert product name) and you can too!". The before and after images sometimes even look fake, either having been airbrushed, or with the 'before' picture taken in unflattering light with the subject of the image looking hunched and miserable yet the 'after' picture in good lighting with the subject standing tall and smiling! However, the idea of a quick fix is still planted in our minds.Even if the product does work, no side effects are ever mentioned or the problems of too fast weight loss. And after the product is not needed any more, the cause of the problem still remains so the weight will return.Yo yo dieting by the way, actually leads to higher weight gain - slow and steady weight loss is the only way to safely and effectively lose weight and, as long as the cause of the problem is addressed, the weight should not return.

Why We Need to Lose Weight

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:58:51 GMT

Even as little as fifty years ago, obesity was virtually unheard of; people were rarely fat. Now, about one fifth of people are considered obese in the UK and a further 30-40% considered overweight. The difference in these numbers can be explained by differences in diet and lifestyle.For the majority of the population, jobs required high activity levels - think of miners, farmworkers and many other jobs involving manual labour. We don't see many people engaging in these jobs any more. These jobs meant that people could eat a huge number of calories every day and not gain any weight.Now, jobs are a lot more sedentary - frequent computer use, and the mechanisation of many tasks means that people are physically expending the energy. Even getting to work is much easier - cars and public transport means that people don't walk or cycle so far.At the same time, people haven't cut their calorie intake to keep their body in a state of balance energy-wise. And to make things harder, food has become more energy-dense - weight for weight, food generally contains more calories today. Fewer people prepare food from fresh and pre-packaged convenience foods , fast food and larger portion sizes all contribute towards obesity.But why does this matter?The more obese a person is, the higher the risk of various diseases and impairment in quality of life. In addition, the greater the amount of fat held centrally or abdominally (round the waist area), again, the higher the health risks.So what are the increased risks?Obesity brings a higher risk of early death, heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, cancer (endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney, and post-menopausal breast cancer), fatty liver disease, gallbladder disease, breathing problems, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), varicose veins, arthritis, pregnancy complications. Psychologically, there are issues such as lack of confidence, depression e.g. when not able to 'keep up with the kids' and pressure to be slim by the media.In short, to lose or maintain weight, eat less, eat healthier and exercise more!

Christmas Slimming - Top Dieting Tips

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:40:39 GMT

Christmas is never an easy time if you're trying to lose weight or at the very least, not put any weight on. Here's a few tips to try - not all will work for you, but some may help:Enlist support - tell friends and family that you are trying to manage your weight and need their help. If this means they don't offer you the chocolates when that tempting tin does the rounds - great.Stack up the veg - it's really easy to fill yourself with all the high-calorie goodies around, but when sitting down for a meal, help yourself to vegetables first, then have a smaller amount of meat, potatoes, stuffing and gravy.Turn down dessert - if you are eating out, and are asked if you want to see the dessert menu, just say "no" - that way you can't be tempted. If you are at home, and know that if you have a little bit of dessert, you'll want more, don't have any to start with. If that's too difficult, find a lower fat alternative dessert."No fries with that" - again, if you are eating out, don't be afraid to ask for a variation on your meal - order new potatoes or preferably salad rather than chips. If your main dish comes complete with sauce, ask for it to be on the side - especially important if it contains cream.High fat, low fat - if you desperately dessert, why not try it with a small amount of low-fat creme fraiche rather than full fat cream?Shop when you're full - if you go Christmas food shopping whilst you are hungry, you're more likely to buy fattening food. Shop after you've eaten, write a list before you go, and STICK to the list.Hydrate yourself - water is the best fluid for your body for so many reasons. Over Christmas, whilst you're eating a richer diet than usual, drinking plenty of water will help your body stay hydrated, help flush toxins (remember that extra glass of wine?) through your system and if you are feeling hungry, may slow down the hunger pangs. Drink a glass of water before each meal, and you'll eat less too!Finally, enjoy your food - eat slowly, putting your fork down between mouthfuls, and find time to chew. That way, you'll taste your food more, improve your digestion and eat less; the latter two preventing that nasty bloated 'eaten too much' feeling.Merry Christmas!

Advertising and Food Packaging - Responsible for Childhood Obesity?

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:12:23 GMT

A recent report by the Food Commission suggested that children's food advertising can be misleading. Examples it cited includes images of healthy food on less healthy food item packaging, and adult nutritional guidelines being printed on packaging rather than child guidelines. By focussing on certain benefits e.g. "no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives", manufacturers could divert parent's attention away from fat, salt or sugar content.A separate review by Ofcom has shown that TV adverts for children's foods high in fat, sugar and salt have dropped a third in the past three years, mostly in response to restrictions on such adverts in 2007. These were introduced due to conces of rising levels of obesity.But does all this research do any good?Simply put, 'pester power' is a very powerful motivator - children see adverts for food and harrass their parents into buying it for them. Parents wanting to buy healthier food for their offspring focus on foods that highlight the benefits of their products and don't necessarily focus on, or understand the nutritional content. If these foods do contain higher quantities of fat, salt and sugar, they can cause weight management issues and increase the risk of other health problems.But how much do these foods contribute to rising obesity in children?These foods are obviously a contributing factor towards rising weight in children, but the responsibility does have to start with parents and guardians. And education and legislation. Without adequate education, parents (and their children) don't necessarily know how to make sensible food choices. These foods as an occasional treat, as part of a healthy balanced diet and active lifestyle, won't cause obesity. However, when eaten everyday or in conjunction with other unhealthy foods, can cause long term health problems. And without adequate legislation, potentially misleading adverts and packaging won't go away.In conclusion, relatively inexpensive interventions can improve our childrens' health and their future quality of life; however it will take a combination of efforts from various sources in order for change to happen.Source: Children see fewer junk food ads and Child food adverts 'misleading'Edit 20 Dec: Also recommended "Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives" press release, which explains what is being done to help and support the report's comments "...because parents and parental behaviour has such a strong influence on child behaviour, excess weight problems in children can only be tackled in concert with talking them in the whole family and society more broadly". Looks like education and legislation then!

Diet Analysis - Take Your Food Diary One Step Further

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:03:58 GMT

Whatever your diet and nutrition goals are, whether to lose weight, reduce blood pressure or cholesterol or have a lifestyle overhaul, a diet analysis is a great way to get started and motivated. If done online, it is a fraction of the cost of seeing a professional nutritionist or dietitian and gives you all the information you need to help meet your targets.When dieting or trying to lose weight, keeping a food diary helps you to adhere to your goals, and lets you know where you need to make future adjustments - as long as you're honest with yourself! It's a way of self-monitoring what you eat and really getting an oversight of your diet - not something that's easy to do in your head.By increasing awareness of your nutritional habits, you can find areas that need improving and more importantly, you can congratulate yourself on all the things that you are doing right. If monitoring your diet for other health reasons (such as high blood pressure), tracking your nutritional intake will allow you to see which different foods contribute to these health issues.By having a professional nutritionist analyse your diary, you can further pinpoint any areas for change and give yourself the extra tools you need to meet your goals. For example, if your goal is to reduce your blood pressure, can you identify all the foods which contribute towards your salt intake? Or if reducing cholesterol, are you sure you've eliminated as many sources of dietary cholesterol as possible? Are there any other changes you can make?Alternatively, if you want to see how your diet compares with recommended intakes, you can't do this by just keeping a food diary - you will need to analyse everything you eat and drink.There are ways to analyse your food intake for free, but these won't necessarily give you all the information you need, or will give your results in a highly technical and difficult-to-understand why. It may also take a long time to enter all the details, and there is usually no way to save as you go along - great if you have a spare couple of hours!Finally, if you want to monitor your diet over time, to see the results of changes you have made, adhering to one method of analysis by a qualified nutritionist will give you consistent and comparable results.In summary, a diet analysis is a cost-effective way of monitoring whether your diet meets your nutritional needs, whether due to diet, ill-health. By using a qualified nutritionist, you can ensure these dietary goals are met in a safe and balanced manner, without resorting to fad-diets or one which is not fully suited to your needs.