25 June - Little Bites with big calories

I guess the food company behind Little Bites is betting that you'll say to yourself, "It's only a little bite, so I can have one" and then maybe, "Well, I've opened the packet now, so since they're only little bites, I can have the other two."

Three hundred calories (1200 KJ) later, you've bitten off three Little Bites and more energy than you've bargined for. These 20 cent-piece sized chocolate brownies pack 100 calories each. For the same numnber of calories in just one Little Bite you could eat nine Arnott's Snack Right Fruit Pillows.

If you missed it last month, grab my SmartShape Nutrition Placemat for Snacks in my Free Stuff section.

24 June - Maz's inspiring story of recovery from exercise addiction

This week's Australian Take 5 magazine features a truly inspiring story about one of my course students and friend, Marion `Maz' Maclean. It's her story about recovery from exercise addiction.

If you've ever thought you've spent too much time in the gym or you know someone who you feel is exercising so much it's just not healthy, then you may benefit from learning more about Maz's experience.

What makes Maz's story so special is not only her courage to talk about an issue that affects more people at gyms than we acknowledge, but also that Maz now helps people manage their weight with a healthy balanced approach to food and fitness.

Her business and website - www.youarewhatyoueat.com.au offers a lifestyle coaching approach to weight management with a level of support to match the client's motivational needs.

Maz has written a book, which is yet to be published -- Anorexia Athletica: Recovery from Exercise Addiction -- to share her experience and help others. If you'd like to know when it's published or have a question for Maz, you can contact her by email at maz@youarewhatyoueat.com.au. I know she'd welcome your questions and feedback.

19 June - Do consumers believe celebrity slimming endorsements?

I did some research today for a Today Tonight interview on celebrity endorsements. I was surprised to discover that at least half of people viewing slimming ads featuring dramatically slimmed-down celebrity endorsers may believe they will experience similar results. These findings come from US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consumer research released as part of a review of the FTC's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (PDF).

The FTC research also revealed that small print disclaimers like, “Results not typical” and “Experiences of a few” may not reduce unrealistic expectations. In contrast, when a disclosure of the actual average weight loss of product users was shown, expectations were reduced.

If you were buying a slimming program, product, potion, lotion or pill, wouldn't you want to know what the average result is and not just the extraordinary result of one person, no matter how famous they are?

This would be a perfectly rational way to go about shopping and it requires the advertiser to be honest with you. Unfortunatley, the slimming marketplace has a large number of people making irrational purchases from companies who don't share all the facts. This results in a whole bunch of people getting ripped off, without really knowing how.

Sure, there are some reputable weight loss programs, endorsed by reputable celebrities who make reputable claims, but for each of these scenarios, there are ten other dodgy products.

I hope the FTC toughens the rules on celebrity endorsements. Their consumer research shows they need to, consumers need extra protection and we all need the honest truth.

17 June - The secret to losing more than you weigh

I always feel inspired by Slimmer of the Year stories. In Australia, Weight Watchers and Slimming Magazine both have annual awards honouring their top members and readers, respectively.

The woman featured in today's Sunday Telegraph (bottom of image of the right) is reported to have lost over 87.5 kg, dropping from over 150 kg down to 62.5kg.

Wow! She's lost more weight than she now weighs.

How did she do it? The article reveals that her approach included lots of exercise and healthy, low-calorie food like “stir-fries, salads and fruit with yoghurt, plus healthy snacks for night shifts.”

This slimming strategy is very similar to all the Slimmer of the Year stories I've heard. When the secrets to success begin to repeat themselves so often, it could just mean that combining diet, exercise and motivational support is the right formula. Make sure you include all these vital components in your strategy.

(Note - I'm sure Weight Watcher's were less than impressed with the story above the Slimmer of the Year, which is critical of hydrogenated fats present in their diet foods. This shows two things, (1) It's time to remove these bad fats from Weight Watchers foods, and (2) You can't always control the media in terms of the publicity you receive.)

11 June - Who is The Biggest Maintainer 2007?

I know I bang on about The Biggest Loser a lot, but I do think the program and the commentary it generates offers some great insights into how to go about weight management the right and the wrong way.

And I mean weight management rather than weight loss!

Any contestant on the Biggest Loser can lose weight, but keeping it off is the challenge. In today's Australian Time Magazine, journalist Julie Rawe, said "...The Biggest Loser places the bulk of its emphasis on shedding kilograms rather than maintaining the loss. After all, a show called The Biggest Maintainer wouldn't have the same zing."

It's maintenance that matters.

1 June - Who's a nutritionist in Australia? RNutr or AN?

In my January Matt's Snacks I answered the question about the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist?

I now need to update my answer for you. In mid-May, the Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA) announced that it was offering Registered Nutritonist status to suitable applicants who have post-graduate qualifications in nutrition or a bachelor degree qualification with a number of years relevant work experience. People with three-plus years of nutrition training can now put a RNutr after their name.

If you are an Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD) (I'm one), as of May 24 you can also put the letters AN after your name, which stand for Accredited Nutritionist.

These Registration and Accreditation schemes* now set the benchmarks for calling yourself a Nutritionist. If you've done a one or two year course it won't cut it in terms of the Nutritionist credential.

I agree with these minimum standards for a Nutritionist because nutrition is one of the most complex practical sciences. What I don't agree with is health professionals thinking they must study for three or more years to feel confident sharing good, basic dietary advice with their clients.

Eat less fat, eat more fibre, consume more fresh fruits and vegetables will always be staple nutrition messages more of us need the skills to share. It's pretty easy to get the knowledge right on these levels, but it's the skills to inspire and educate that I think we can all get better at.

So, now a plug... it's why our SmartShape Weight Management Certificate courses, in particular Weight Management Essentials (now online) and Nutrition for Fat Loss & Health (soon to be online) have been designed to provide non-nutrition health professionals and passionate lay-people with the best training to apply good nutrition knowledge (cutting edge stuff too!) to everyday success in eating better.

These courses can provide the ideal stepping stone to a career in nutrition.

* You could be forgiven for being a little confused about who the real nutritionist is... a RNutr or an AN? The NSA and DAA are adds with each other at present for what appears to be rival schemes. Let's hope for everyone that they sort it out and arrive at one scheme. In the meantime, I hope to see you in one of our courses!

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