A Diet Book For Little Girls: Is This Right?

Maggie Goes On a Diet is about to be released.

The book is aimed (according to Amazon) at children aged 6 and up. The story is about " a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image."

I can say right now - I won't be buying this for my daughter. She has already picked up enough messages about dieting - be it from ads, TV programs, or overheard conversations with her peers. It's not a message that I will reinforce.

We talk about the need to try and eat good foods when we can, and to try our best to keep active and move our bodies. She needs gentle encouragement in these areas.

I have seen the results of young girls dieting very early, and the outcomes are not good - with food becoming the object of obsession and control later on in life.

By all means we need to educate our children on good eating habits, and enjoying physical activity. But does Maggie really need to slim down so she can fit in that dress Mommy bought for her? I don't think so.

Maggie Goes on A Diet available from Amazon.

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John's Inspiring 250 Pound Weight Loss

I was always big. As the years went on, I just got bigger by eating anything and everything.

Unfortunately, my health got worse as the years went by as well. I had my first child at the age of 23 and as the pregnancy went on I kept getting bigger and bigger. After my 3rd child came along, I was closing in on 350lbs.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and was put on numerous medications. After my 4th child, I topped out at a whopping 400lbs! My health was so bad that I couldn't even take 3 steps without losing my breath and feeling like I was going to die.

My life changed one day when I got a call when I was at work. My wife at the time said that my dad had a massive heart attack and had passed away. I went to see my doctor a week later because I was having chest pains. She said one thing that completely changed my mindset. She said, "John if you want to live to see your kids have their own kids, then you have to lose weight, if not there was a space next to your dad."

I started by changing my diet. I went from the white rice, white bread, all the oily and greasy foods to salads, wheat bread, and brown rice. After 6 months, I started to walk. I went down from 400lbs to 375lbs. I started feeling good about the weight loss and told myself that I could do this. After a year, I dropped to 325lbs and went from a 62 waist to a 48. I felt better and decided to go for 25 more pounds. After 20 months, I was down to 270lbs and I was walking over a mile a day. I started to get addicted to dieting and exercising.

I went through a divorce and started to get depressed. I started to eat unhealthy again and I soon found myself lonely and depressed. Food was my only source of happiness. Then one day I went to the mall and I ran into my first true love from school. We talked and went out to dinner. She was going through the same thing as me. Her son's dad had left her and she was raising her son alone. We started dating and spending alot of time together. I started to diet hard again.

I went walking about 3 times a day and started my salad and browns again. I got myself down to 225lbs and thought that was enough, but I was wrong, I was now hooked on dieting and exercising. I soon had my 5th child and was down to 175lbs and running a full 6-7 miles twice a day. I looked in the mirror and said, "damn I got this, I can lose another 25lbs"! I was on a strict 1100 calorie diet, which involved no sodas or sugar. Strictly water or if I wanted a little taste, I had some crystal light.

After 3 years and many trials, I hit my all time low weight, 132lbs. My doctor said the funniest thing I ever heard. She said, "John, you have to gain a little weight"! After all the years of being called all the fat words in the book and being the brunt of everyone's fat jokes, I had someone tell me that I had to gain weight. My doctor told me she was amazed when she did my diabetes test, as it was like I never had diabetes.

Now I'm holding a weight of 147-150lbs and 11% body fat. My life has changed, my health is great, and I have a new lease on life. I'm never tired like I was before and my cardio levels have become unreal. It's like God gave me a new me.

My words of wisdom: Anything can be accomplished if you put your mind and soul into it. If I can do it, anyone can! Always remember that life is precious and that life starts with you!!!!

The 3 most important things that I would like to say to everyone who is struggling with their weight and health.

Set a goal, start with a small goal, then work from there.Get support from loved ones, if it wasn't for my wife and kids, I would have never got to this point. Make them understand that you are doing it for yourself, so you can be around for them.Love yourself... because I found out that if you don't love yourself, then you won't care enough to to help yourself.

By John Toledo III

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Tips to Read Food Labels Wisely

Do you ever feel lost when it comes to choosing foods in the grocery store? Or, do you stare at food packages trying to decide if it is a healthy choice or not?

There are so many things to think about: grams of fat, grams of fiber, milligrams of cholesterol, grams of sugar, and more.

First, start at the top of the nutrition facts label, and read to the bottom. Check how many servings are in the entire container and what the portion size is for one serving. This will help you determine how many calories are in the entire package as well.

Next, check the calories and fat. Pay attention to make sure the product has 0 grams of trans fat. Then check the ingredient list to make sure you don't find any hydrogenated oils to be sure there is absolutely no trans fat in the product.

Sodium and cholesterol are next. We want to try to keep the sodium as low as possible. Excessive sodium is anything that has more than 600 milligrams per serving. I would argue it is still too much sodium if it has more than 300 or 400 milligrams per serving. For cholesterol, you want to keep your daily intake below 200 milligrams.

The carbohydrate section on the food label is going to vary depending on what type of food you are looking at. A general rule is that every 15 grams of carbohydrates equals one carbohydrate/grain serving. If you are selecting a grainy or starchy product, try to choose the item that has at least 2 grams of fiber per serving. Check the sugar to make sure it is as low as possible (below 5 grams per serving). The only exception is dairy products and whole fruits which naturally contain sugar.

You do not necessarily need to check the protein content unless you are trying to increase or decrease the protein in your diet. Quickly glance at the percentage of your daily intake for your major vitamins and minerals listed below.

Lastly, the ingredient list on the label is important. Ingredients are listed by weight from greatest to least. If sugar is your first ingredient, the food is probably not a good choice.

Practice reading labels every time you go to the grocery store and you will educate yourself and get better at your label reading skills!

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Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes

A few months ago Nicole reviewed The Thrive Diet by Triathlete, Brendan Brazier.

In a few weeks, Brendan will release the companion to his vegan diet entitled Thrive Foods.

If you've been wanting to eat more plant based meals, then the 200 recipes provided by this new recipe book may get you off to a great start.

The book begins with a forward from Hugh Jackman who has been following Brazier's diet for the last couple years as well as relying on it to prepare for his movie roles.

Thrive Foods focuses heavily on the environmental impact our food choices make. Brazier developed what he calls the "nutrient to resource ratio". This takes into account the amount of resources it takes to produce the food, compared with the amount of nutrients that can be obtained from the food source.

Brandon Brazier says that if a person would just eat a plant based breakfast everyday for one year, it would reduce the carbon emissions by the amount that would be produced from a person driving a mid-sized car from Vancover, BC to Tijuana, Mexico.

All 200 recipes take this into account by being 100% plant based, high in nutrient density, and alkaline forming. He teamed up with some award winning chefs to create what he thinks are delicious recipes that align with the Thrive Diet principles.

Brendan Brazier's recipes use ingredients such as legumes, maca, chia, hemp, amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, wild rice, and chlorella, while eliminating ingredients like wheat, yeast, gluten, soy, dairy, and corn.

The recipes provided include breakfast, lunch, and dinner suggestions as well as recipes for snacks, appetizers and desserts.

I think Thrive Foods includes a lot of good information about making wiser food choices not only for health, but also for the planet. I can see this book appealing to those that already care about their bodies and the environment, but it would be a tough sell to the many that don't seem to care about either. However, it's a great resource for those already headed down the road to more mindful eating regardless of their stance on eating meat.

Brendan also promotes his line of Vega, bars, gels, and other products in the book, which to me, damages his credibility a tad. I would like to see him focus on just whole foods as processed foods are part of the problem, including the energy it takes to make them. This seems to be a tad contradictory to his "nutrient to resource ratio". However, I'm not sure how much energy it takes to turn hemp into hemp protein powder, but I would imagine it would expend some.

Thrive Foods releases on September 6th and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

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More Parrot Specifics just for fun

More Parrot Specifics just for fun

Who Has the Healthiest Grilled Chicken Sandwich?

If you're out, about, and starving, there are 100's of restaurants to choose from. I think I could eat out here, three meals a day, in San Diego and never repeat a restaurant for at least a whole year!

Making healthy choices are key when eating out, so we wanted to let you know which major fast food chain has the healthiest grilled chicken sandwich.

I'm only looking at four major players as there are just too many fast food chains to list a chicken sandwich from each. So, would Mcdonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Chick-fil-A please enter the arena.

Serving size: 200 gramsCalories: 350Fat: 9g ( 2g sat. and 65mg cholesterol)Sodium: 820mgCarbs: 42g (8g sugar)Fiber: 3gProtein: 28gMcDonald's serves their sandwich by default with Mayo which is included in the total calories. It lists zero grams of trans fat, but this isn't exactly true as hydrogenated oils are listed in the liquid margarine used to prepare it. It is low in sodium and cholesterol.

Serving size: Not listedCalories: 470Fat: 18g ( 7g sat. and 85mg cholesterol)Sodium: 1100mgCarbs: 40g (7g sugar)Fiber: 3gProtein: 55gBurger King's sandwich is a little bigger than the other ones, but also pretty high in fat, saturated fat, and sodium. It lists zero grams of trans fat, but is unclear which oils are used for cooking the chicken and I had no luck finding this out by calling their consumer line.

Serving size: 230 gramsCalories:360Fat: 7g ( 1.5g sat. and 80mg cholesterol)Sodium: 1110mgCarbs: 42g (9g sugar)Fiber: 2gProtein: 33gWendy's chicken sandwich fairs pretty well, but is high in sodium, delivering around half of the daily maximum intake. It is unclear how the chicken is prepared or the oils used to cook it, but it lists zero grams of trans fat.

Serving size: Not listedCalories: 290Fat: 4g ( 1g sat. and 80mg cholesterol)Sodium: 1030mgCarbs: 36g (9g sugar)Fiber: 3gProtein: 29gThe "inventor" of the chicken sandwich also fairs pretty well. Chick-fil-A uses no hydrogenated oils in their store, so it would totally free of trans fat. They also serve the product dressing free which cuts down on some calories and fat, but only if you don't put any on yourself. However, this sandwich is high in sodium, delivering nearly half of the maximum recommended daily intake.

Comparing the four sandwiches in regards to how the stack up nutritionally, how they are prepared, and lastly, on how they taste, I would choose the Chick-fil-A Chargrilled Sandwich as the healthiest choice. It's only downfall is it's sodium content, but otherwise fairs better nutritionally. Chick-fil-A marinates their chicken in the store, so it's not a pre-frozen item and taste wise, I think it's a step above the others.

If you have to eat fast food, look for a Chick-fil-A, but make sure you pass on the Waffle Potato Fries.

Diet-blog was not compensated in anyway by Chick-fil-A to recommend their product. We're paying customers like everyone else.

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Which Type of Salmon Should I Buy?

When I am standing in line at the seafood department at the grocery store, I get so confused about which type of salmon to buy. I know I need to get wild Alaskan salmon, but aside from that I am lost.

Salmon is such a great source of omega 3 fatty acids and we want to eat it often, but we also need to make sure we are choosing a sustainable fish.

Farmed Atlantic Salmon: Most all salmon found in the Atlantic is farmed, and the wild population has been overfished. Even though the farms remain in-demand, the overall Atlantic salmon population is dwindling. In addition, when these farmed salmon escape their confinement, they disturb the habitat of the endangered wild salmon.

The scary part is that these farmed salmon contain more toxins and pesticides than wild salmon. However, many experts agree that these risks can be overlooked because of the high amount of omega-3's you will be ingesting.

Wild Atlantic Salmon: Never buy this type of salmon as it is now an endangered species!
Organic Salmon: Do not pay any attention to this. Organic does not always mean "the best". Just check to see if it is wild or farmed.
Alaskan Salmon: This is often your best choice as wild Alaskan salmon fishing techniques are environmentally sound and the population is said to be growing. Look for wild Alaskan Coho, Chum, King, Sockeye, Pink, Red, Silver, or Sake salmon varieties.
Pacific Salmon: This is probably your next best choice if you cannot get Alaskan.

I would not recommend buying any Atlantic salmon mainly because the farmed salmon are putting the overall Atlantic wild population at great risk. The best case scenario would be for all of the fisheries to change their practices. Some countries are already working on this, so we will see what happens. But, for now I'm eating steelhead which is just like salmon in taste and nutrition, but a much more sustainable choice.

Resource: Check Monterey Bay Aquarium website to search sustainable fish.

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