New Year's Resolution #1: Lose Weight for Good
Oh yes, it’s that time of year to once again commit to losing weight for good. And the headlines from myriad media outlets are ready to provide you with umpteen quick weight loss schemes and promises to make this simpler than ever. The problem is that the only way to lose weight and - the hardest part - keep it off for good, is to make slow and steady positive changes over time. Yes it’s hard work that takes diligence and perseverance!
For starters be honest with yourself about your for better or worse food habits.
Stevia Gets FDA's Nod
Yesterday (12/17/08) the U.S. FDA sent a "No Objection Letter" to Merisant's Whole Earth Sweetener company and to Cargill, Inc., responding to their long awaited request to market a highly purified form of Stevia known as Reb A (rebaudioside A). Translated this letter means that FDA has no objection to the conclusion that both companies reached independently using the GRAS self-affirmation process: that Reb A is generally recognized as safe among qualified experts for use in beverages, foods and tabletop sweeteners.
Health Care Reform - Link and Learn
With all the conversation about the need for health care reform, there are no better places to focus our efforts and energy than on the prevention and better management of diabetes by supporting people's and society's work on living healthier lifestyles. Both obesity, often the predecessor to pre- and type 2 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes eat up a massive piece of the healthcare dollar pie. A focus on prevention of obesity and type 2 diabetes could offer us big benefits for our bucks!
Connect Online to Seek Support for Lasting Weight Control
A key, yet woefully underreported, conclusion to many health behavior change studies in the areas of weight, diabetes and/or blood pressure management; point to the importance of consistent and continuous support over time. This has evolved to be an essential component to help people achieve their health goals and support their efforts to continue practicing new found healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Vitamin D and Diabetes May be Linked
Research is snowballing pointing to deficient vitamin D levels as one factor contributing to the onset of both type 1 and 2 diabetes.
California, 1st to State Nutrition Facts on Restaurant Menus
On Sept 30 California’s governor signed the first state-wide legislation to require chain restaurants with more than 20 locations to offer up key nutrition facts, such as calories, saturated fat, carbohydrate and sodium, at the point of purchase (right next to the price of the item on menus or menu boards). No longer will the availability of this information on websites, on posters or in brochures be sufficient. The legislation goes into effect July 2009 and takes full effect in 2011.
Ready to Upscale Your Food Scale?
When it comes to food scales, there’s low-scale and up-scale. The low-scale ($5 - $10) type postage or “diet” scales simply help you figure a food’s weight. That’s valuable information. For example, when you weigh meats, you not only zero in on the portion you should eat but you also 'see' what certain amounts of food look (and should) look like. This improves your guestimating (as I call it) skills both at home and when you eat out.
Handy and Hefty Online Nutrient Database - myfoodadvisor - Unveiled by ADA
Myfoodadvisor tm (www.diabetes.org/myfoodadvisor.html), just released by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), offers people with diabetes, and those looking to eat healthier, a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate nutrient database with a bundle of tools. At its core, it's a nutrient database for 5,000 commonly eaten basic ingredients, fresh and frozen foods, packaged foods and restaurant foods from a few large chains.
Camping with Fruits and Veggies in Tow
Now back home from an extended (and delightful) camping vacation in the great and grand National Parks out west, I'm pleased to note that one can still tank up on those 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables even when food selection is narrowed down to what fits in the cooler and the dry box. As they say, where there's a will, there's a way!
A few discoveries along the trail:
Diabetes Incidence Just Keeps Rising
Revised numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were just published in the National Diabetes Fact Sheet and they are, once again, disheartening and staggering but not surprising: