Living Well

Healthy foods that aren't so healthy

We often equate low fat or low cholesterol with healthy.  That's not always true.  This article lists seven foods that have gotten a healthy label but aren't so healthy.  They explain why too.  The foods?

• granola bars
• muffins
• rice cakes
• tea
• pretzels
• frozen yogurts
• fruit flavored snacks

The last one got me.  We were on a road trip and I ran into a grocery store looking for some easy, not too messy, healthy snacks for my fifteen month old.  I grabbed a box of fruit snacks only to discover that they were pretty much colored sugar!  And messy too! He did like them though.

How much caffeine is in your drink?

Ever wondered how much caffeine was in your Starbucks coffee?  Between 6 and 20 mg/oz depending on what type.  Diet Coke has 3.75 mg/oz and Mountain Dew (which has a reputation for having a lot of caffeine) has 4.5 mg/oz.   Myth busted: coffee had more caffeine than Mountain Dew.

Here's the chart with all the info.

Do you really want to eat that cookie? How bad can it be?

Here's a trick I use to figure out if I really, really want to eat a cookie or not.  I figure out how much weight I would gain if I had that same snack every day for a month.  So an oreo a day is half a pound a month.  A bud light a day is a pound a month.   Would you rather eat an oreo every day (assuming you can stop at one) or would you rather weigh half a pound less at the end of the month?

Atkins, why does it work?

The Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate diet.  The theory is that if you eat only protein and fat and very little carbohydrates, that you will force your body to make carbohydrates from the fat in your body. 

I've known several people that have lost a lot of weight following the Atkins plan. (Not any of them have kept it off long term though!)  My personal theory is that they've lost lots of weight on Atkins because they've eaten a lot fewer calories.  Seriously, how much steak can you eat?  And if you aren't eating carbs, then you are eating just steak, no baked potato, no bread, no sour cream, no beer, ... you are eating a lot less!  Also, there a lot fewer temptations during the day.  You might see a bowl of candy (a no-no on Atkins) or a jar of cookies but how often do you see a plate of jerky sitting around?  I think Atkins works because you don't feel deprived - you are allowed to eat as much as you want - but you eat a lot less because how much steak are you going to eat, seriously?

I think people lose weight on Atkins but have a hard time keeping it off because it's really hard to avoid carbohydrates in everyday living.  Could you order a cheeseburger, hold the burger, hold the fries everyday?