12 Jan 2005 - Feel good snacks not so good

Whilst in the supermarket aisle feeling a little glum I couldn't help but be attracted to Top Tastes "Feel Good" mixed berry with yoghurt coating rollettes. With "Less than 10% fat", I snapped them up to boost my mood.

Unfortunately they did nothing to cheer me up, especially when I discoivered I could have had The Natural Cake Company's "Double Choc" muffin bars with almost the same energy content.

Sure the Feel Good rollettes had a serve size of 32g (454kJ) compared with 42g (600kJ) for the chocolate muffin bar, but on an energy per 100g basis the difference is only 11kJ. That's a minute difference - 1419 kJ versus 1430 kJ.

If you are looking to cut back on kilojoules the Feel Good marketing could confuse you unless you carefully check the nutrition panel on the back of the packet. The energy content is similiar even with less fat in the Feel Good rollette, because it has more sugar - 63g versus 47g per 100g for the double choc option.

So they could be Feel Good because of less saturated fat. But there's only 1/2 g less per serve, so not a big difference here either.

Reducing the total energy in your diet, not just fat is the key to successful long term weight management. I'd feel a bit better if food companies were a little bit more helpful with their marketing messages.

12 Jan 2005 - Celebrity weight loss wisdom

Magazines in the first week on January always feature slimming secrets of the stars. Here's a quick summary from Australia's January 10 New Weekly, which gives some insight into the triggers to get into shape.

Nicole Richie, daughter of singer Lionel Richie and Paris Hilton's side-kick in The Simple Life is reported to have given up bread and pasta and curbed her junk-food loving ways. She's also working out with a personal trainer three times a week.

It was also suggested that she wants to write a book on self esteem for teenagers, which is a great idea. "I definately don't go clubbing and I don't get drunk." Seems the good life has been a bit too much.

Lindsay Lohan, 18-year-old star of the movie Mean Girls is reported to have vowed to take better care of herself after a stint in hosptial with exhaustion. "I was over-tired and over-working myself and not taking care of my health. When you are young, you think you can just keep going."

She dances for exercise, eats sushi and has signed up for hypnotherapy course to stop smoking.

Jessica Simpson's motivation appears to be to get into shape for a movie role in The Dukes of Hazzard. "I have a white girl booty, so I'm in the gym almost three hours a day, trying to get a butt."

She has enlisted the help of a trainer for a customised eating and exercise plan. "I've learned you can eat bread, but if you have it in the morning don't have it with dinner... or have it, but don't soak it in Alfredo sauce." The movie pay-cheque would add a little extra motivation I guess.

Kate Winslet is also getting back in shape after pregnancy for her roles. "I wave the flag of 'don't go on diets because they're rubbish' but I'd like to get a bit of baby weight off or I don't work." Her secret, "I can't think of any other way than eating less and exercising more."

12 Jan 2005 - Just do it! Take the stairs, that is

Came across this hand-made poster in a lift. It was aimed at easing the burdren on lift traffic and enouraging some exercise.

6 Jan 2005 - Just stick to it! Your diet, that is.

"If you want to lose weight, stop worrying about which diet is most effective and simply pick whatever programme you find easiest to follow." This is the incredibly wise opening line from Nature's news story about a Tufts University study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association that compared four diet plans - Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets.

There were no real differences in success between the plans, but those who just stuck to their program, lost more weight. In Nature, one of the study's authors said, "Different diet plans can work for people. The major issue is what their preference is."

This is exactly why I bang on about personalising diet plans and only doing what works for an individual. There are so many people on other people's diets. Make sure you are on the right diet for you and put your efforts into sticking to it! Try SmartShape subscribers' Top 10 Tips to Stay on Track.

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