The Fast Food Diet: Lose Weight and Feel Great Even If You're Too Busy to Eat Right

Fast Food Diet Guide

We are busier than ever before and seem to have less and less time of our own. In a world that buzzes with multitasking, demanding careers, and media and information overload, we increasingly realize that our health is in our own hands and that we should be making responsible food choices but we often just don't have time. Now, this terrific new book from a respected physician gives readers clear and simple strategies for surviving (and enjoying) fast food and sidestepping the guilt. Dr. Sinatra offers an accessible, easy-to-follow plan to help readers stay lean and healthy even when they must resort to Burger King for breakfast or McDonald's for lunch or dinner two or three (or more) times a week.
Dr. Sinatra makes it a snap to select the healthiest menu items from a wide variety of fast food restaurants while offering tips on what to eat during the rest of the day and week to regain nutritional balance. With 25 years of experience using nutritional therapies to help patients prevent and reverse heart disease, Dr. Sinatra provides authoritative advice, including many meal plans for optimal health for families on the go. For the millions who have both the desire to eat healthy and a schedule that makes it difficult to do so, this book will become a constant companion.
Stephen Sinatra, MD (Essex, CT), was Chief of Cardiology and Director of Medical Education at Manchester Memorial Hospital in Connecticut for almost 20 years. He is published in medical journals and has appeared on many national television and radio outlets, including CNN and MSNBC. His health newsletter has nearly 50,000 subscribers. James Punkre (Santa Fe, NM) is a professional writer.
Editor's Note: eMaxHealth editorial team does not favor fast food and does not believe it's a good diet. However, it chose to publish this material because millions of people eat fast food. Since they choose to do so, at least they can be more selective and make better choices for fast food in their diet.

National Weight-Loss Effort Targets Black Community

The Washington Post on Saturday examined the 50 Million Pound Challenge, which seeks to reduce obesity and encourage healthy lifestyles in the black community. Two of every three men, four out of five women and one in five children in the black community are overweight, according to the challenge’s Web site.
Fitness expert and physician Ian Smith said he began the program last year to provide a “national platform” for healthier living among blacks (Thomas-Lester, Washington Post, 10/4). Smith said that the campaign’s challenge for 50 million pounds of weight loss can be met if 25% of the 20 million blacks in the U.S. who are considered overweight or obese each lost 10 pounds (Kaiser Health Disparities Report, 4/5/07). More than 690,000 people across the nation have joined the challenge since April 2007, and almost three million pounds have been lost.
Smith said, “What we are trying to do is not only to get people to lose weight, but to get them to take a better look at the choices that are directly impacting their physical and spiritual health.” He added, “Poor lifestyle choices and cultural entrenchments have, unfortunately, made African-Americans extremely vulnerable to a wide range of diseases that are in many cases life-threatening” (Washington Post, 10/4).
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Weekly Health Disparities Report, search the archives, and sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/email . The Kaiser Weekly Health Disparities Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Alli Diet Pill: Does it live up to its weight loss promise?

Alli: fda approved diet pill

The first and only over-the-counter product for weight loss approved by the Food and Drug Administration will be available Friday, June 15.
Orlistat, known by the brand name Alli, works by decreasing the amount of fat absorbed by the body. It is the OTC version of Xenical, a prescription weight loss pill. The good news: Orlistat has been tested and the prescription version has been used since 1999.
Last fall Dr. James Anderson, head of the UK College of Medicine Metabolic Research Group, and his colleagues examined the effects of OTC strength (60 mg) orlistat on mildly to moderately overweight individuals. The study was the first of its kind. Previously, the drug's effects had only been studied in obese individuals. Study participants took either orlistat or a placebo three times daily with meals for 16 weeks. Results of that study showed those taking OTC-strength orlistat did lose more weight than those taking the placebo.
"Our research showed that people taking orlistat and following low-fat diets lost almost five percent of their initial body weight, about seven to15 pounds, over four months," Anderson said. "While two to four pounds a month isn't dramatic, steady weight loss of this amount can have major health benefits. For example, the reduction in LDL-cholesterol, the bad-guy cholesterol, of 10 percent can reduce risk of heart attack by 20 percent."
Any successful dieter knows that long-term weight loss is about lifestyle changes not quick fixes. While taking Alli diet pill may help you lose weight, it won't do all of the work for you. Anderson stresses a healthy diet and exercise plan are absolutely necessary to lose the weight and keep it off.
"This is the first over-the-counter medicine that has proven effectiveness. It is my hope that people will take one capsule before each regular meal, breakfast, lunch, and supper, and alter their fat and calorie intake," Anderson said. "If they commit to exercise six days a week, most people can lose weight steadily. All of us are in this for the long haul and need to keep up healthy behaviors, not for days or weeks, but for months and years. Doing regular physical activity and making good food choices will help us be trimmer and give us more energy."

Super Bowl Swaps Will Save You Hundreds Of Calories

Americans consume more calories as a nation on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year, save Thanksgiving. By the time the final whistle blows at Super Bowl XLII, Americans will have downed 156 billion calories, mostly from greasy pizza, fried chicken wings, and beer.
But this year you have a choice: You can either run the length of the football field 109 times to burn off all of those extra calories, or you can follow the savvy nutritional advice from the new runaway bestseller EAT THIS, NOT THAT! (Rodale/Jan 2008/ $19.95/Paperback). David Zinczenko, editor-in- chief of Men’s Health, and co-author Matt Goulding show you how to cut your caloric intake in half and still eat and drink everything you want during the gridiron showdown.
Of the many smart tricks that will cut a ton of calories this February 3rd, the authors can talk about:
— How to save 1000 calories when you order your next pizza
— Why eating a bowl of rich, hearty chili in the first quarter of the game will save you hundreds of calories by halftime
— How to make party sandwiches that are twice as satisfying and half as caloric as anything you’ll find in a deli
— Why Guinness beer may be the key to keeping your calorie count down during the action
— How to save 500 calories while indulging your chicken wing cravings
— The three most surprising foods you should make a part of your spread this year
Forget the carrot sticks and the watery beer. This year, eat all of your favorite foods and still save big! EAT THIS, NOT THAT! shows you how.

Are You Going Where You Want to Go?

How is your year so far? After good momentum from New Year's resolutions, and 4 months of hard work, it's a great time for a healthy review of action steps and results. This renewal process will help you curb tendencies towards burn out, and help you refocus on the path to success.
Ban the Inner Critic.
In order to have fun while you conduct an effective review and renewal of your goals, first silence the Inner Critic - that negative inner voice that dishes out guilt for all the things you should have done, could have done, or forgot to do.
Perhaps you can make a deal with your Inner Critic by explaining that every action (or inaction) taken so far, is just an "experiment". And, we all know that every "experiment" has value, because there is always something learned from the results, even if it's how-not-to-do something. So, evaluate your year with the Inner Critic off duty by simply observing your results - what worked and what didn't, without self-judgment.
Are You Aiming for the Right Target?
Certain goals have been the focus of your attention over the past 4 months, and you have conducted some `experiments' with these goals. Before revising your action plans, you will want to know if your goals are still meaningful. By answering the following questions, you can refine, modify, add, or eliminate goals to renew your momentum and excitement about achievement.

• Is each goal still important and meaningful to me? Why or why not?
• Does each goal align with my values?
• Am I excited about each goal?
• Are there any goals that I want to achieve primarily for someone else?
• Based on my results so far, how can I modify a goal to be more clear, specific, and achievable?
• Do I need to break a goal into smaller goals?
• Is there an area of my life or career that lacks meaningful goals?

Using the answers to these questions, take the time to rewrite your goals in a way that is purposeful, useful, and visible to you on a daily basis.
Connecting the Dots from Here to There.
Sometimes, efforts toward a goal lead to different results than expected or hoped for. For example, there may have been little or no follow through on planned action steps. Or, there was great follow through, but the progress was disappointing. Rather than
get caught up in the disappointment or frustration, it helps to look for the valuable lessons that can be extracted from the results of each "experiment".
Answers to the following questions can be useful in creating your revised action plan. (Remember to ban the Inner Critic from participating in this review!)

• Which actions led to good results?
• Which actions gave no results?
• Which actions led to unsatisfactory results?
• Which actions did I enjoy?
• Which actions did I dislike?
• Which actions did I avoid?
• Which actions did I find difficult?
• Do I need to do something more or less frequently?
• Do I need new more effective action steps?
• Who or what can help me get better results?
• What would make taking action more fun?
• What would really make a difference in my motivation and ability to take action?
• Do I have increased feelings of boredom or fatigue?
• How well did I follow my self care program?

The answers to these questions will help you modify your action plan for better results, and a more enjoyable journey to success.
Mindful Acknowledgment.
Now take a look at the areas where you have been most successful this year. Acknowledge yourself for every effort you have made over the past 4 months, regardless of the outcome. For some, just getting through tough times was quite an accomplishment. Recognize and celebrate the ways you showed up for life, and congratulate yourself for all you have done. Take time to fully experience the sense of accomplishment for each and every success, no matter how large or small.