Category: diet plans

Here come the new year diets — which can you stay on?

The beginning of every year is normally when people talk about dieting and losing weight. Yet few stay true to that goal by year’s end. Still, we keep trying and now the calorie-tracking app LoseIt is offering some help with this list of most sustainable diets.

Good luck with your healthy eating in 2024!

The familiar Mediterranean Diet is number one but then come some surprises, like Hara Hachi Bu from Okinawa. Those words translate into 80% full, roughly, and that’s what the diet advocates, only eat until you are 80% full.

Coincidently I just saw this discussed on a Netflix series about places around the world where people live into their 90s and 100s,

I’ve long been fascinated by Okinawa. My dad built airfields for the U.S. Army Air Corps there during World War II. He wished he could have seen it without the destruction of war all around, saying it seemed a naturally beautiful place.

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Will new weight-loss drugs change how you eat? Many think so but I have questions

Reports have proliferated of late about how Ozempic and another new drug, Wegovy, will change how Americans eat and so help the health of many, many now-overweight people.

Moneyzine.com, for example, recently published Which Industries Could Benefit or Lose The Most Due To Ozempic?

Among its key findings:

  • By 2035, an estimated 7% of the entire U.S. population could be on Ozempic.
  • The demand for snack and convenience foods could potentially decrease by up to 3%.
  • Ozempic usage may result in a $3.5 billion deficit for the alcohol industry.
  • Gym memberships have doubled since the advent of Ozempic.
  • United Airlines stands to save $80 million annually with the increased use of GLP-1 medications (Lighter-weight passengers mean less fuel consumption, one assumes).

All of that coming with the drugs available only to those in income brackets who can afford them at their current prices.

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Five foods that naturally lower cholesterol

A guest post by Elizabeth Klodas, Step One Foods

Most people assume that LDL or bad cholesterol, can only be lowered with medications.  That’s not true.  We have a lot of control over our LDL levels based upon what we eat, especially the types of fats and the types of carbohydrates we choose.

Saturated fats that come from animal sources (think butter, cheese, the marbling in beef, etc.) help raise LDL. This is why some people that go on a keto diet will see their LDLs go through the roof.  On the other hand, unsaturated fats that come primarily from plant-based sources (think olive oil, oils in nuts and seeds, oils in fish, and in avocados etc.) help lower LDL in most people and raise HDL (good) cholesterol while reducing triglycerides – yielding an overall much more favorable cholesterol profile.

Complex carbohydrates (think brown rice, beans, whole fruits and vegetables, etc.) are digested slowly causing small increases in blood sugar and lower insulin levels.  Highly processed or simple carbohydrates (think puffed rice cereal, white bread, sugary soda and alcohol, etc.) are digested quickly causing big increases in blood sugar and insulin levels.  Insulin is a storage hormone so when it’s floating around in our blood stream it pushes our biochemistry into storage mode. 

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Illinois is a Keto diet state, apparently

Get ready to eat more fat in your diet, at least if you’re coming to Illinois (or live here already like I do).

A new survey by FitnessVolt analyzed Google Keyword Planner data to determine which diets interest Illinoisans the most. You can see the results here.

The Keto diet, which is a high-fat, low-carb combination, was searched for more in a given month than its closest competitors, the Mediterranean Diet, which is more fruits and veggie-oriented.

The DASH diet came in third. Given that its a version of Mediterranean Diet, or very close to it, combing those two search terms would have surpassed the Keto numbers.

(Full disclosure, I had gone off my heart-healthy diet and was eating a McDonald’s double burger when I wrote this story!)

The most Googled diets in Illinois
DietMonthly average searches for the diet
Keto diet28,103
Mediterranean diet20,416
DASH diet5,170
Paleo diet4,518
Alkaline diet3,542

Source: www.fitnessvolt.com
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A new year, a new diet approach — make money from weight loss?

January is traditionally the biggest diet month of the year as people who stuffed themselves during the year-end holidays resolve to drop some pounds. I’m in that group this year and I found a new incentive to help — making some money.

Toward the end of last year, I received a press release from a website that runs weight-loss contests with cash prizes. I’d never heard of such a thing, so I immediately checked it out, it’s called HealthyWage.com.

HealthyWage offered $5,000 in prizes for a special free contest; the goal is to drop at least 6% of your weight by March 13.

I downloaded the app and did an official weigh-in which included having to photograph myself in a full-length mirror, not a pleasant task.

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The first food predictions for 2023: complex heat, comfort food, street food will be in next year

I just saw the first of many food predictions for 2023, this from The Food Institute, a food news site, which predicts that complex heat, comfort foods and street foods will be in next year.

When I go off my post-angioplasty diet, I want it to be for amazing treats I love. Nathan's hot dogs fit that bill.
Street food anyone? When I’m in New York, I always head to Nathan’s for hot dogs.

“Spicy food has been gaining popularity over the last decade, but today’s consumers crave more than just heat—they want to learn about different peppers and the complexity of their flavors,” the Institute reports, citing a survey by Spoonshot.com which I couldn’t access directly from the link provided. This flavor trewnd, like the others, is being driven by Covid and its aftermath.

There are also cuisines that are trending, as consumers seek new experiences through food, where spice levels are more complex and at higher levels than U.S. consumers are generally used to—Indian, West African, etc.” Robyn Carter, founder and CEO of Jump Rope Innovation told The Food Institute. “As those cuisines continue to go mainstream in 2023, we’ll see more complex heat ahead.”

Nostalgia and the desire for comfort food that reminds you of happier times is a trend that has been around and will continue next year.

And consumers looking for new food experiences while trying to hold down their food costs will turn to street food, which also carries an air of authenticity for Gen Z consumers, the Institute article notes.

What will you be eating in 2023? We’d love to know, leave your comments here to tell us.

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Do you know what 2,000 calories look like? I’m guessing no, so read on

Everyone has likely seen it somewhere, either on a food label or on a restaurant nutrition page — portions and everything else to do with our daily nutritional intake are calculated on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. But I doubt most people realize just how few calories that is compared to what average Americans eat every day.

The FoodNetwork.com meal plan involves a lot of food in bowls, not sure why. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch:

So here’s a great piece to read from FoodNework.com, What Does 2,000 Calories Look Like? Use it as a companion piece to something I wrote, Picturing 1,500 calories a day; it’s not much. Generally, women are advised to eat 1,500 calories a day while men get 2,000.

The FoodNetwork.com piece has menus that will put you at the 2,000-calorie mark, whether you eat meat or not, which is handy if you cook for a family with members on different diets.

There’s a lot on these menus I wouldn’t touch, but hopefully you’ll find some items you like and can add to your recipe list.

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Is hummus healthy? Depends on who is asking and how they define healthy

Hummus seems ubiquitous these days. Our local supermarket stocks multiple brands and anytime I eat with my grown children, we seem o end up at a Mideastern restaurant that has hummus on the menu. People certainly think it’s healthy, but it is? EatingWell.com tackles that question in this article.

The answer, like any question about “healthy”, depends on who is asking and why.

“Chickpeas (and thus hummus which is made from chickpeas) are not allowed on the Whole30 diet because they are a legume. For the same reason, hummus is not allowed on a paleo diet. Hummus can be keto friendly, if you eat it in limited amounts and allot carbohydrates in order to make room for it. (Many people count “net carbs” or total carbs minus grams of fiber. In this case, a serving of hummus has 3 net carbs.),” the article states.

So if you’re paleo or Whole30, it’s not. If you’re keto, some of it is ok.

What about those of us trying to cut salt, fat and sugar?

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Diet trends to watch for in 2022 — know what ashwagandha is?

Cooking Light has out its look at which diets people are quitting in 2022 and what new food trends to expect. Keto is out. Intermittent fasting is in as is something called ashwagandha.

This is what ashwgandha looks like.

Why is keto out? “The diet’s restrictive nature is one reason we think interest is fading. Another reason is that consumers are realizing they can achieve desirable outcomes without eliminating carbs,” the article states.

And for that ashwagandha — “Ashwagandha grew slowly in popularity in 2020 and 2021, but it’s going to be bigger than ever in 2022 so get ready to see this adaptogen everywhere. Used in ayurvedic medicine for over 3,000 years, adaptogens improve the body’s physiological ability to cope with stress and include ashwagandha, turmeric, holy basil, goji berries, and others—but ashwagandha is one of the most studied.”

That explanation left me scratching my head, so I went to WebMD to find out what this stuff actually is. “Ashwagandha is an evergreen shrub that grows in Asia and Africa. It is commonly used for stress. There is little evidence for its use as an “adaptogen.” Ashwagandha contains chemicals that might help calm the brain, reduce swelling, lower blood pressure, and alter the immune system. Since ashwagandha is traditionally used as an adaptogen, it is used for many conditions related to stress.” WebMD states.

So it could be another miracle ingredient that really isn;t much of miracle at all. Always beware of any claims that foods can do other than feed you.

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Finding new meal ideas can be as close as your local supermarket

Remember when supermarkets put out cards with recipes on them? These used to be pretty common at fish counters especially. Well, that function has moved online — you may find it helpful when doing your own weekly meal planning.

I recently got an email from the Jewel supermarket chain (which is owned by Albertson’s) about a meal planning option in its app. My first reaction was that it would feature high-salt, high-fat, high-sugar processed ingredients. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The app let’s you begin by putting in your dietary restrictions. It doesn’t;t include low-salt as one, unfortunately, I put in carb-conscious instead. Other restrictions I included were dairy-free, no nuts, no soy sauce, no eggs and no sulfites.

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