Welcome to my blog, where you'll find short tips, quick stories, resource links and other useful stuff about nutrition and weight loss. Its also where I rant and rave from time to time.
29 September 2008 - Exposing celebrity diets on The Morning Show
If you believe the tabloid press, celebrities follow some crazy diets. See why "portion control" seems to be the common positive theme underlying some of the most recent celeb diets revealed in last weekend's UK Sun newspaper article Loopy la-la land diets exposed!
24 September 2008 - Talking Spring diets on Sunrise
Get the lowdown on the Atkins, Low GI, Cabbage Soup and Zone diets in my weight loss segment on this morning's Channel 7's Sunrise program. Learn why you should look after your metabolism.
Have you had a service station cashier on-sell you a great offer on chocolate bars on the counter, when all you want is to pay your enormous fuel bill and get on with your day? This happened to me yet again today at a Coles Express service station.
If you think you may lack the willpower to resist such a great choccie deal, here are three tips to avoid succumbing to the confectionary sales pitch:
Hold a sign up as you walk in or wear a t-shirt which clearly says, "Don't offer me chocolate!"
Shut your eyes and put your iPod headphones on with Metallica's new album as you approach the cashier
Give a fellow refiller your fuel money and ask them to go and pay for you
Seriously though, with so many people trying their very best to avoid excess calories and stay in shape, can we please stop this marketing tactic? I understand that we all need to have some amount of willpower, but we are not made of the stuff.
I'm sure Coles supermarkets wants to help reduce the obesity problem. Then stop your staff pushing choccies onto everyone and start offering two-for-one bananas.
16 September - Lemon Detox Diet warning
What ever you do, don't go on the Lemon Detox Diet. I don't want you to experience a serious drop in metabolic rate and lose muscle mass. This is what you can expect when you drop your usual energy intake from around 7,500-10,000 down to 1,700-2,500 kJ, which is all you'll get on the Lemon Detox Diet.
Cut, paste and email the link below to share my video with anyone who is considering doing this diet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-_qXwT1guE
What's in the Lemon Detox drink?
The instructions state, to make one glass of the Lemon Detox drink mix:
One tablespoon (or 20 ml) of Madal Bal Natural Tree Syrup(TM) [which the ingredient's list on the can says is a mixture of palm syrup and maple syrup]
One tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Half a pinch of cayenne pepper
Mix the ingredients and dilute with at least 250ml water
What do you consume on the diet?
The "optimum version" of the Lemon Detox Diet includes 6-9 glasses if the above mixture each day for 10-14 days. You DO NOT eat any solid food during this time. There is also a "relaxed version" that allows some solid food.
What nutrition do you receive?
Based on a a computerised dietary analysis of the Lemon Detox Drink, consuming 9 glasses a day will provide:
2,500 kJ (600 Cal) which is severely restricted at only 33-50% of the expected minimum energy requirement of a person on a weight loss diet
Around 8 grams of protein per day which is severely deficient and in tandem with the energy malnutrition will contribute to the loss of lean muscle tissue over the 10-14 day diet period
Severely deficient intakes of a wide range of vitamins and minerals
What are the metabolic dangers of the Lemon Detox Diet?
This diet programme when followed as instructed will achieve a weight loss result by starving the body of energy. In this severe energy and protein deficient state, the body will be forced to turn to stored body fat and muscle protein for fuel. Sure, you will reduce body fat, but you will also reduce muscle amino acid content. This is turn will negatively impact on metabolic rate.
Lemon Detox Diet claims just don't stand up to science
The "Lemon Detox Diet Instructions" that come with the package (I purchased it and show you in my video) states:
"The most effective way to cleanse your body is to abstain from eating any solid foods whilst on the programme."
There is no evidence the back up this claim and I know of no advantage of a liquid-only diet over a solid food diet in terms of detoxification.
"The ingredients in the Lemon Detox drink are all natural foods and they provide the body with the necessary nourishment whilst on the programme."
They are natural, but it is untrue that the 6-9 glassess of Lemon Detox drink provide adequate nourishment. Based on analysis, the diet is clearly deficient in most nutrients.
"It is an essential liquid food, and that is why people do not feel hungry on the programme. You are actually eating, it is just not in solid form but rather in liquid form which is the most suitable form for cleansing the body."
How can you claim you are eating when you are drinking? And as for avoiding hunger, do you think that only consuming several sweet drinks a day for 10-14 days with no food will avoid hunger?
"Digesting solid food consumes much of the body's energy and reduces the effectiveness of many of its other tasks. In the short absence of solid food the body can focus its energy on cleansing.
Digestion and absorption of food only account for around 10-15% of of total daily energy expenditure and it would be an advantage for body fat loss to keep this dietary induced thermogenesis at a higher rate to burn calories. The absence of food for 10-14 days will contrubute to a lower metabolic rate.
Warning, warning, warning!
If you want to maintain your metabolic rate, which is vital for long-term successful weight management, do not go on the Lemon Detox Diet. In fact, our best available scientific evidence indicates that following the Lemon Detox Diet will increase the likelihood that you will end up fatter! You'll also pay around $AUD112 for the experience.
8 September - Yes, you can get healthier options at service stations
I believe that it has become easier to find healthy food options when travelling on the road. Service stations now have yoghurt, salad, sandwiches, low-fat milk drinks, fat-reduced svoury snacks and fresh fruit.
I found the brochure on the right at a Caltex (Australia) service station in Mt Victoria (NSW) on the way back from a country trip yesterday. It says, "Caltex, in conjunction with an Accredited Practising Dietitian, has developed a range of nutritious food and drinks to complement your lifestyle."
The brochure just had general healthy eating advice, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of Caltex's "specially selected range of ready-to-go meals" in the not too distant future.
So, it's no more travel lollies and only healthy stuff for everyone from now on!
3 September - 1000 Calories in one go!
I gave Nine News comment today on Hungry Jacks new Stacker burger. The quad Stacker, so named because it contains four meat paddies, packs a whopping 4520 kJ, which crosses the infamous 1000 Calorie mark.
That's the total calories you'll get from a typical shake-based diet program, in one sitting. A 60 kg woman would need 194 minutes (over 3 hours) of brisk walking to burn if off, while a 100 kg man would take around 116 minutes (almost 2 hours).
This is good motivation to avoid the Quad Stacker and many other calorie-packers. It just takes too long to burn them off at the gym. Better to say, "I don't need that kind of calorie overkill!".
I am disappointed with Hungry Jacks because I can't see them actively pitching in to combat the kid's obesity crisis, which some other fast food outlets are at least having a go. It's just not how a responsible company should operate today.
Of course, I can see the case for personal choice and that you don't have to eat this stuff. But we live in an environment where we need to rebalance the promotion of healthy foods over unhealthy foods.
Just received an email from Weight Watcher's US about their Weight Watchers' Lose for Good initiative where they will donate 1 pound of food to "someone somehere who needs it" for every pound of weight you lose. The email says, "Together we'll make the world a healthier place. one pound at a time."
Now, there's an excuse and a good motivator to get into shape. Support a charity while you lose body fat and boost your health. Why not commit to your own personal or group charity event?
Because I know that centimetre loss if more reflective of body fat loss rather than weight loss, which can also include muscle loss, I recommend making a donation for every centimetre lost from your waist. Or if you want to really dig deep, donate something for every centimetre from all over your body... waist, hips, thighs, chest, bum, upper arm and neck.
Certificate in Weight Management Complete all 4 courses to obtain your Certificate in Weight Management. More
What people say "I enjoyed the whole weekend. Looking forward to the following weekends." - S Marryatt "I just love Matt's great ability to keep information interesting. His use of humour and activities makes learning fun." - J Hands "Awesome ways to say what you think you know in a better way." - D Hunter "I loved how the information was so applicable to real people in the real world. Thankyou!" - P Wallach
If you believe the tabloid press, celebrities follow some crazy diets. See why "portion control" seems to be the common positive theme underlying some of the most recent celeb diets revealed in last weekend's UK Sun newspaper article 
Get the lowdown on the Atkins, Low GI, Cabbage Soup and Zone diets in my weight loss segment on this morning's Channel 7's Sunrise program. Learn why you should look after your metabolism.
I believe that it has become easier to find healthy food options when travelling on the road. Service stations now have yoghurt, salad, sandwiches, low-fat milk drinks, fat-reduced svoury snacks and fresh fruit. 
