CONFESSIONS OF A FAT GIRL

Grading the Calorie-Counting Web Sites

I was cleaning out my inbox and found this article a friend sent me some time ago. I think it's pretty interesting, though a little out dated now. Posted it anyway. And I pasted some of the comments on it that were particularly interesting to me.  -A

April 30, 2008,  4:29 pm

Grading the Calorie-Counting Web Sites

By Jennifer 8. Lee

The decision by a federal appeals court on Tuesday night has put the city rules requiring calorie posting in New York City establishments into effect — at least temporarily, pending the ultimate outcome of the lawsuit. The city will be able to issue violations without fines starting now, though it probably won’t immediately do so. (The fines, if the city wins, wouldn’t start until a new deadline of July 18.)

In a statement, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city’s health commissioner, said, “McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and the other big chains that haven’t yet listed calories as required by the Health Code have run out of stalling tactics. Some chains have worked hard to deny customers information they need to make healthy food choices — but this decision starts to clear the way for people to have ready access to calorie information when they order their food.”

Chuck Hunt, a spokesman for the New York State Restaurant Association, said, “I’m disappointed.”

He said that printing and posting calorie counts “is not something that can be done overnight.” He said the ruling means that restaurants “will have to do things they wouldn’t necessarily have had to do if there had been a stay” — or if the association ultimately won the appeal.

Some companies — including Quiznos, Subway, Starbucks, Jamba Juice and Chipotle — have already started voluntarily posting their caloric information in their stores. Others — McDonalds, Burger King and KFCs — will be forced to by this ruling. Meanwhile, the federal court case will hear the larger appeal with a court date to be set the week of June 9.

In theory, the calorie listings are supposed to be listed with the same prominence as prices. City Room was curious, if not for this regulation, how forthcoming were companies with their nutritional information?

To compare an area where there are not given standards to post nutritional information, City Room did a brief survey of the company Web sites. We found found 1) horrifying calorie numbers for items (750 calories for a venti strawberries & crème frappuccino blended crème from Starbucks, 1310 calories for a large prime rib ranchero with cheese and dressing); and 2) that some of the companies that have been most resistant about the posting have the most easily accessible nutritional information: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC.

The companies that had voluntarily posted their information in their stores made were a more mixed bag. With the exception of Subway and Starbucks, there was style over substance in some Web sites: too much flash, too many dancing food items. It’s actually easier, in many cases, to go to third-party sites to find out how many calories things were.

Here is a City Room assessment of the ease of nutritional info on their Web sites:

Voluntary Caloric Posters

Chipotle: We knew, because of fleeting references on the Internet, that there existed a nutrition sheet for Chipotle. Tracking it down, however, on its Web site was difficult. Googling “chipotle” and “nutrition” and “calories” or any other number of combinations, brought up third-party sites (including Chipotlefan has a nice nutrition calculator). The phantom nutrition sheet was not seen under “menu” or “ingredients.” Finally, an e-mail message from a representative pointed us to an FAQ, where one could find the pdf document. Right. That’s where we thought it would be. B-

Quiznos: Consumers have complained about finding the Quiznos nutritional information. New management has come in and redesigned the Web site. But the nutritional information is a headache to get to and it is available only in a Flash Player. You have to go to the menu, then click on “More Nutritional Information,” which gives you a little button under each individual sandwich. Each one of those generates a pop-up calculator, which is very cute but tedious if you want to compare across sandwiches. “Since we were late to the game as a big chain, we went with what is standard practice,” said Steve Provost, the chief marketing officer. “I think there are really cool applications out there, but the coolest ones are the ones that let you replicate the behavior on the restaurant: ‘Add the drink, nah, I’ll have a water instead. Hold the cheese.’” The sandwiches under 500 calories are listed prominently, which bumps it up to a C+.

Jamba Juice: Fancy graphics, lots of flash and dancing blueberries, but the nutritional information is buried under each item on a “click here for nutritional info,” which creates a tastefully designed pop-up window. No way to compare across drinks. Better to go to The Daily Plate, which has a side-by-side shorthand comparison. B-

Starbucks: The Starbucks Web site has a whole page on nutrition, easily accessible on the Web site and through Google. The page has a bunch of dropdown menus, which lets you configure a drink and also links that allows people to compare across items in a category. While it has a downloadable list for low-calorie drinks under 200 calories [pdf], it is hard to find a composite list across everything. A-

Subway: Multiple pages of information by type, easily accessible on the Web site, and downloadable, printable versions [pdf] — part of the whole Subway ethos of more nutritional information in the hands of customers. “We’ve been providing nutritional information for quite a while for over 10 years, before it was fashionable,” said Kevin Kane, a company spokesman. A

Involuntary Caloric Posters

McDonald’s: For all its opposition to the calorie posting rule, McDonald’s nutritional info is very easy to access. It appears all on one page, and includes a downloadable printable version [pdf] on its Web site. A

Burger King: The site has lots of downloadable lists about nutritional information in the nutrition section, including a multipage master list [pdf]. But as far as we can observe, it only appears in document form, and not on the Web site itself. B to B+

KFC: A nifty (though cumbersome) calculator is easily accessible and will let you calculate your total caloric intake per meal. It also offers a downloadable printable version [pdf]. A-

COMMENTS

The problem isn’t fast food chains putting up information on calorie content in the food.

It’s fat people not knowing when to put the Double Whopper down.

I see that packet of Reese’s Pieces in your back pocket too! Put it down gordito and go get yourself some celery sticks!!!

— Posted by Jason F.

A good one-stop resource for restaurant calorie counts is Dottie’s Weight Loss Zone (dwlz.com.) Scroll down the first page until you find Restaurants; she has hundreds of restaurant menus listed, with calorie, fiber, and fat counts. (The first bold number is the Weight Watchers Point count.) She’s always updating, and includes even smaller chains.

Matt, no you don’t need it to know that the big burger is bad for you, but you may need it to know that the chicken breast sandwich is worse. Some of these things aren’t intuitive.

— Posted by Beryl

For these calorie counts to be of any value, they must be related to the individual consumer, their activity level, and taken in context. The average adult, male or female, neither sedentary or overly active, requires about 15 calories per pound, per day to maintain their current weight. Obviously, a smaller female must maintain at a lower calorie count, compared to a larger male. Multiply your weight by 15, and you will have a daily calorie count to shoot for, and then adjust for individual circumstances.

— Posted by charles Judson

Do you really need a calorie chart to tell you that the triple whopper or the 1/2 pound angus bacon burger with extra chese and large fries is not good for you?

Only in the People Republic of New York.

— Posted by Matt

Questions...

1. Is it possible to sweat when it is too COLD? Seriously, sick of sweating out a pool when I'm asleep, I've been sleeping in my bed with the A/C at 60 degrees. I'm not even kidding. And yet, sometimes, I still wake up sweaty and gross. I am the annoyed.

2. What if I only ate when I was truly hungry? Think about it - how often does one eat because they have to, or are supposed to, or think they NEED to... What if I only ate when I truly FELT hungry....?

3. On occasion, I've been known to skip breakfast. My mom always says "that's not good for you." This isn't really a question as much as I just wanted to point out that it annoys me when she says that. How is it NOT good to NOT eat when I am NOT hungry? (See #2)

Great Minds...

-Anonymous

Quote co. of blog reader Mel

Here Comes the Bridesmaid

I would not dream of leaving you all out of the fun since I forced my dress and cleavage on your for months now, leading up to this wedding. :)

Seriously, it was just a gorgeous, gorgeous wedding. The setting was so charming and lovely and the bride and groom could not have smiled bigger if you paid them to. The ceremony was filled with laughter and personal touches and I was so shocked when even I teared up a little. I keep thinking all these weddings I've been attending lately will eventually leave me immune to the joyfulness of it all but it doesn't seem to happen. 

We started the day fairly early, so that all of the bridesmaids would have enough time for hair and make-up. My hair was fabulous - you would not believe it. I was completely elated until we all started to get dressed and my shoes didn't fit. What the hell, right? They were fine the day before but stress and heat and maybe something I ate had made my feet swell and my adorable silver strappies no long fit. I was forced to shove my feet into them anyway because you can't very well be a shoeless bridesmaid (although, maybe you can in some settings). It sort of hurt my mood, and I felt really bad for it so I kept to myself for a little while.

My only wish is that people had left me alone. The girls kept fussing over how big my chest was and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable. People kept tugging up my dress, making cracks, telling me a strap was showing. I felt so completely insecure that by the time the bride wanted to take a humorous cleavage shot of all the girls at the wedding site, I was happier to step out of the photo and fight back my tears in a corner.

But I bounce back. I always bounce back. A little while later, when pre-wedding photos were done and we ladies were relaxing in an air-conditioned waiting room, my feet finally fit into my shoes without causing me to wish for amputation. I was delighted. It's the little things.

A few drinks into the reception, I wasn't worried about how I looked anymore and of course, I was, by then, in my bridesmaid flip-flops, sneaking vodka from my flask (as I am classy) and loving life. The room as filled with laughter and happiness and it was impossible to shake the gigantic smile plastered on my face.

In retrospect, maybe my dress just didn't fit me as well as I thought, though, since you can see my bra peaking out in a lot of the photos and I am convinced I look like a bloated whale though some of my friends tell me otherwise. My friend Meghan, whose honesty and opinions I trust implicitly, assures me I look okay so I am trying to lean on that point of view.

What I should have done is take more solo photos instead of putting myself in pictures with skinny girls wearing the same dress as I was. That's when I am utterly upset with my appearance. That's how the dress was supposed to look. That's the right look. I feel like I am the "before" model in a really tragic before and after ad.

Weddings are usually a good excuse to pig out but I actually didn't eat too much. I actually gorged myself at the rehearsal dinner, but I was completely famished by the time food was served and didn't give a rat's ass about what went into my mouth. (The classiness is really overwhelming.)

I did enjoy the wedding cake, though, which was carrot cake. I justify this because it is carrots, which means the cake was really, practically HEALTH food, so who cares that I inahled the piece of cake like a dose of fresh air?

Overall? Ultimately? An amazing, wonderful, magnificent day. In truth, how I looked didn't matter. What I ate was of no consequence. It only mattered that my best friend and her now-husband were completely in love, totally overjoyed, and starting their lives together. As a result, being a bridesmaid in this wedding was an honor and pleasure, worth every internal struggle. I am so very happy for my friends.

And then God said, "Let there be toast!"

Omigod.

So last night, after dinner, my friend Chris ordered strawberry shortcake and when it arrived at the table, I lit up on the inside and in my head, let out a shriek of glee.

For it was not your traditional shortcake, friends. It was, in fact, FRENCH TOAST:

COME ON! Who says dreams don't come true?

(FYI - I only had a bite but it was enough. I was delighted.)

Clearly I am a Cow

Ok, now I'm no nutritional or physical expert but if Karolina Kurkova is being called "fat," then I am life-threateningly-obese, right? I mean, who ARE these idiots?

And is she in better shape in old photos then she is now? Sure. Would I still kill a hobo to look like her in ANY year? Yes.

The author of the article claims, in conclusion, that for as much as she earns, it should not be such a sturggle to stay toned. That this is her job. And frankly, I see his point and actually agree. However more than that, I think that when we, as society or as the media start lambasting MODELS for being FAT, we are sending out a bad message. To the model who, let's face it, probably has or had an eating disorder; to the industry; and to people who look up to these girls.

My point is, I think, is that there has to be a better way.

Read on and weigh in....

Is Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova fat? You decide!

Fashion critics have blasted model Karolina Kurkova for looking too fat in a bikini.

Seriously.

The Czech model wore a bikini in a recent Cia Maritima runway show and revealed what the horrified style snobs called "back fat, love handles and cellulite."

Karolina Kurkova, 24, is one of the highest-earning models in the world, according to Forbes, and is best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel and whose super-fit physique has graced the pages of international fashion mags.

But after the show during Sao Paulo's Fashion Week, a Brazilian paper noted that the leggy 5-foot-11 Kurkova "shocked" the audience when she appeared looking uncharacteristically chubby with "cellulite on her butt."

Boy, these fashion critics are harsh!

That said, let's compare how Karolina looked in this year's show to how she looked modeling a bikini in the 2006 Cia Maritima show. Then you decide if the critics are crazy. Or just reallyreallyreally picky.

                                     

To our eyes, it does appear that Karolina is a bit more toned and trim in the runway shots taken in 2006. But is she fat now? Not a chance. Curvy? Absolutely!

Still, don't feel too sorry for the poor maligned beauty. According to Forbes, the supermodel earns $5 million a year with this bod.

Call me crazy, but if your figure's earning those kind of figures, how hard is it to stay fighting fit? Isn't that your job?

source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/06/is-victorias-se.html

I Want French Toast NOW

I hope this finds you all well. I am experiencing a minor problem tonight. And I thought if I wrote about it, it would somehow cleanse me of the burden. We shall see.

I was reading a friend's blog and clicked on a link where as I spotted the ad on the left.

Holy CRAP I want french toast. And like NOW. I can taste the syrup.

Somehow the lo-cal wrap I ate for dinner ain't cutting it.

I apologize if this has made you want the delicious french toast as well. But at least we suffer together, my friends.

And in other news, I ate healthy all day AND exercised. Lookit me bein' all responsible n' shit. Right now I am torn between a great episode of Star Trek (shut up- don't judge me) and watching the dog lick himself. It's miraculous actually.

Writing did not help. I still want the french toast.

All Dressed Up

So I was waiting for photographic proof that I wore a DRESS on Saturday night.

It's true- I did!

I don't know how many of you are in the Los Angeles area but my GOD is it HOT. This past weekend was utterly ridiculous, right? So when it came time to get dressed for my friend's birthday party on Saturday night, I really didn't feel like there was a choice. Dress time. And sans tights, by the way, so you could actually see my pasty white legs.

I had an amazing sense of self in that dress. There is nothing special about the dress, it is more in the wearing of it that pumps me up. I know I've talked about this before. And on top of the dress, I took a little more time with my hair and makeup so I felt particularly nice.

Sadly, the heat melted away my curls and smoky eyes but I assure you, I looked good. LOL.

In this photo, you can kind of see. Not the big, happy smile on my face. It was there most of the night.

Making Friends

I got a comment from a reader and saw he had a blog of his own. I really like his message of "small changes can make a big difference."

I know a lot of you are blog fanatics (like me!) and thought I would post the link: http://www.healthy-tips-for-a-healthy-lifestyle.blogspot.com/

More later. I had a fabulous night tonight - can't wait to share.

Sleep well, kids. 

Nine million Australians are a ticking 'fat bomb'

Nine million Australians are a ticking 'fat bomb'

• Jill Stark
• June 20, 2008

AUSTRALIA has become the fattest nation in the world, with more than 9 million adults now rated as obese or overweight, according to an alarming new report.

The most definitive picture of the national obesity crisis to date has found that Australians now outweigh Americans and face a future "fat bomb" that could cause 123,000 premature deaths over the next two decades.

If the crisis is not averted, obesity experts have warned, health costs could top $6 billion and an extra 700,000 people will be admitted to hospital for heart attacks, strokes and blood clots caused by excess weight.

The latest figures show 4 million Australians — or 26% of the adult population — are now obese compared to an estimated 25% of Americans. A further 5 million Australians are considered overweight.

The report, Australia's Future 'Fat Bomb', from Melbourne's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, will be presented at the Federal Government's inquiry into obesity, which comes to Melbourne today.

A grim picture is painted of expanding waistlines fuelled by a boom in fast food and a decline in physical activity, turning us into a nation of sedentary couch potatoes.

Those most at risk of premature death are the middle-aged, with 70% of men and 60% of women aged 45 to 64 now classed as obese.

But some weight specialists have questioned the tool used to measure obesity, saying "entire rugby teams" would be classified as obese if their body mass index (BMI) was calculated.

BMI is measured by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. A BMI of over 25 is considered overweight while more than 30 is obese.

But the tool does not distinguish between muscle and fat, prompting calls for the BMI overweight limit to be raised to 28.

However, even leading nutritionist Jenny O'Dea from the University of Sydney — who recently claimed Australia's childhood obesity epidemic had been exaggerated — has backed the new figures, which suggest that the crisis for adults has been drastically underestimated.

Professor O'Dea said that while being fat was not necessarily a health risk for everyone, there was no doubt obesity was taking its toll on the nation.

It was previously thought that around 3 million adults were obese. But many past surveys were seen as unreliable as they often required participants to guess their own weight.

The latest data was based on more than 14,000 people at 100 rural and metropolitan sites in every Australian state and territory. Each had their BMI recorded by having their weight, height and waist measured as part of a national blood pressure screening day last year.

The report's lead author, Simon Stewart, said that even allowing for the BMI's potential failings, the best case scenario was that 3.6 million adults were battling obesity.

"We could fill the MCG 40 times over with the number of obese Australians now, then you can double that if you look at the people who are also overweight — those are amazing figures," Professor Stewart said.

"And in terms of a public health crisis, there is nothing to rival this. If we ran a fat Olympics we'd be gold medal winners as the fattest people on earth at the moment," he said.

"We've heard of AIDS orphans in Africa, we're looking at this time bomb going off where parents have to think about this carefully," Professor Steward said.

"They're having children at an older age, if you're obese and you have a child do you really want to miss out on their wedding?

"Do you want to miss out on the key events in their life? Yes you will if you don't do something about your weight now."

The obesity inquiry in Melbourne will be told that a national strategy encouraging overweight Australians to lose five kilograms in five months could reduce heart-related hospital admissions by 27% and cut deaths by 34% over the next 20 years.

Among the radical solutions proposed in the report is a plan to make fat towns compete for "healthy" status in national weight loss contests tied to Federal Government funding.

Towns that lost the most weight would be given cash to build sports centres and swimming pools.

And like the "Tidy Towns" program, communities would have to meet targets to be eligible for a share of the funding pool.

Other suggestions from Professor Stewart's report include subsidised gym memberships, personal training sessions for heavier people and restricting weight loss surgery to those who show they can lose some weight on their own first.

One of Australia's leading obesity experts, Boyd Swinburn, will tell the inquiry in his own submission that a crackdown on junk food marketing to children is paramount in the fight against the epidemic.

With the fastest growing rate of childhood obesity in the world, Australia must make radical changes to the way unhealthy food is promoted if the rate is to be reduced, his submission reads.

Professor Swinburn, director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University, will argue that better nutritional labelling and more funding for effective treatments such as weight-loss surgery are also necessary.

"We've got a huge problem here and we can't bury our head in the sand any more," Professor Swinburn will tell the inquiry.

"The previous federal government blamed parents and individuals and told them to pull up their socks … that's not going to achieve anything but make us fatter as a nation.

"It's good to see the Rudd Government take obesity seriously with this parliamentary inquiry and the preventative health strategy but that has to be turned into proper policy, regulation and funding."

Ian Caterson, director of the Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise at the University of Sydney, said innovative government "thinking outside the square" policies were necessary because, "as we get fatter and older as a nation things are just going to get worse."

EXPANDING WAISTLINES

About 4 million adult Australians are obese.

The "fat bomb" is ticking loudly, with 72% of middle-aged males and 58% of middle-aged females overweight or obese.

About 1.5 million middle-aged Australians are obese and therefore at high risk of a heart attack or stroke in the longer term.

Based on the best available evidence, our expanded middle-aged waistlines will result in an extra 700,000 cardiovascular-related hospital admissions in the next 20 years.

These highly preventable admissions will cost Australia, conservatively, an extra $3 billion in health expenditure and $6 billion overall.

An estimated 122,500 men and women will die, many prematurely, from heart problems related to their excess weight in the next 20 years.

A simple strategy such as losing 5kg in five months could reduce heart-related hospital admissions by 27% and deaths by 34% over the next 20 years.{source}