Since losing weight is simply expending more calories than you take in, figure out exactly what you take in. Carry a small notebook for a week to record everything you eat. That means everything, every morsel, every sample, every sip of water. Then write down the calories in each of these foods and drinks. There are many websites such as http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov that can help with this.

Once you have a list of all the calories you consume, look for ways to cut them. This can be as simple as cutting down on portion sizes. Remember, most restaurants and even people at home serve portions that are far larger than they need to be. There are a lot of other easy cuts that don’t significantly change what you eat. These include salad dressing, butter, candies, and juice or soda. The average American consumes 240 calories a day from juice and soda. That’s 90,000 calories a year ? 25 pounds! Simply switching to water as a main drink is a big step in weight loss. Also note that empty calories such as sugars and white breads (carbohydrates) are the first things to cut. These can easily be replaced with sugar substitutes and whole grain breads.

An easy place to target for calorie reduction is the side dish. This part of the meal is often a minefield of bad food choices including French Fries, macaroni and cheese and potato salad. Replace these foods with healthy alternatives such as steamed vegetables, cottage cheese, or salad (minus dressing.)

Pumping iron increases lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism. It’s a decent calorie burner, but will help you burn calories even when not exercising. Aerobic exercise is the best for calorie and fat burning. Many experts say to perform aerobic activity for 30 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. Hog wash! Make it seven days a week, which means an activity you can sustain day after day for the rest of your life.

There’s the plan to lose weight fast. Now get moving!

He’s got a tall order. Slumping economy, foreign wars and obesity? Yup, a group at Northeastern University wants the president-elect to tackle obesity too.

And they’ve sent him a long list of ideas.

Continue reading…

We’re curious, who will you vote for? Make sure to cast your vote at NBC.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Do not miss the live finale next week. Bernie and I will be there to talk to the new Biggest Loser moments after he or she steps on the scale for the final time, and talk to all of the other contestants to hear where their journeys have lead them.

To Ed, Heba, Vicky and Michelle, a whole-hearted congratulations to each of you from all of us at DietsInReview.com! It takes so much courage to completely transform your lives in front of millions of people the way you have. We hope you’re proud of yourselves for your incredible accomplishments.

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America Votes for the Biggest Loser Finalists

These guidelines and recommendations are tough to achieve and will definitely take a lifestyle change if you have not already done so. The daily rating scale is as follows:

Each day is worth 20 points:

• If you exercise for an hour you get 20 points

• If you exercise for forty-five minutes you get 15 points

• If you exercise for thirty minutes you get 10 points

• Anything less than thirty minutes you get 5 points and 0 points for not exercising.

There is a total of 120 points:

115 to 120 points: You have Superior work ethic and will lower your risk of heart disease and obesity tremendously

90 to 110 points: You have Great work ethic and will lower your risk of heart disease and obesity

60 to 85 points: You have Good work ethic, but need to increase either the length of your work-outs or frequency of them to achieve a higher level of fitness. You are definitely still lowering your risk of heart disease and obesity though.

55 points or lower: You have an average work ethic and need to bump it up a little bit if you want to increase your level of fitness as well. Do it gradual though, add a few more minutes to your daily work-outs or add a few more days of exercise into the mix.

Keep up the good work and I hope you all are at the SUPERIOR work ethic level!! If you have any questions please feel free to ask!! Good Luck

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Rate Your Physical Activity

This logo will appear on the front of the products’ packaging and will include the Smart Choices logo, a check mark, the calories per serving and number of servings in the package. The Smart Choices Program logo signifies foods that limit unhealthy ingredients and feature healthy ones.

A few participants in this program are expected to include Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Wal-Mart.

Basically, this is an attempt by larger food and beverage companies to help our nation’s weight problem. The companies are hoping these logos will help educate the public and make them more aware of what they are consuming and choose products that are more nutritious. Unlike companies’ individual attempt to mark products as healthier choices, this program will implement the same uniform standard and logo, which will help to minimize confusion and have consumers looking for the same logo on various products.

In order to meet this program’s criteria, a product cannot exceed standards for specific “nutrients to limit,” like total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugars and sodium. For most categories, the products must also provide nutrients or food groups that are recommended by nutritionists for good health (i.e. calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin A, C and E).

Although this won’t cure the obesity epidemic in our country, it could help dieters and consumers see healthier food items and possibly encourage them to make healthier choices.

Also see the new ONQI food rating system, which ranks food on a 1-100 scale based on nutritional value.

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Major Food Brands Adopt New Smart Choices Logo