As you all well know, The Biggest Loser is one of my favorite reality shows to date, and I watch it religiously every Tuesday. There have been some amazing transformations on the show and thousands of pounds lost. Tonight is the big night of the finale. Tune in at 9 PM Eastern on NBC to check out how much weight Julie, Isabeau, Bill and Hollie have lost. The 2-hour show will follow everyone during their time at home as they exercise, eat healthy and try to beat out everyone else – without knowing how anyone else is progressing, of course. Must make it nerve wracking! Then we will see the four players as they weigh in (I assume – usually they just pick two, but we’ll have to see how it goes). In years past, they’ve also... [Read more]

Most “healthy” frozen dinners are $5 and up! I got a tip by email alerting me to this Newsweek article. Apparently too many poor people in rural areas are having to buy high-carb, high-fat foods because that is simply what is available in those towns. Often fruits and vegetables just aren’t available in plentiful supply – and we know how expensive some of those have gotten to be. I really enjoy fresh cherries, for instance, and those are currently $8 a pound where I live. Most fresh fruits and vegetables are getting more expensive – besides, say, potatoes and corn (and corn is actually a grain, not a vegetable). Whether healthy food is too expensive is a constant debate on health and fitness blogs among the commenters.... [Read more]

I know so many people who go shopping at the grocery store and pick up Snackwell’s, skim milk, “light” sour cream and cream cheese, etc. The “fat free” craze has taken America by storm. Experts rationalize that if what you’re consuming has less fat, you’ll automatically lose weight – fat has 9 calories per gram, whereas carbs and protein have 4. Makes sense, right? Not so fast. For one thing, just because something is fat-free doesn’t mean it’s low in calories. One thing that food manufacturers do is try to compensate for the lack of fat by adding salt and sugar. When you buy something fat-free, it’s automatically higher in sugar. This may seem innocent, but here’s a quick... [Read more]

Do you watch America’s Next Top Model? I know I do. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine and has been for the past three seasons or so. For me, seeing the high-fashion models gives me something to aspire to (loosely, that is – I don’t plan on being model-thin anytime soon). Well, last night was the finale. The top three girls, Jenah, Chantal, and Saleisha battled it out for the number one spot. Jenah was the first to go – her sarcastic attitude wasn’t winning her points with the judges. It came down to Saleisha and Chantal, and they had a runway walk-off in China that involved elaborate geisha costumes and Chinese men on stilts. Saleisha ended up taking the title of America’s Next Top Model after Chantal tripped... [Read more]

Another week on the South Beach diet, but no pounds lost… I have a net loss of 0 pounds for the week. I actually lost a pound early on, but was dehydrated and by rehydrating I put it back on. I’m trying to stay hydrated to prevent that from happening again. Exercise-wise, I’ve been slacking. I only went to yoga once this past week, and didn’t make it to the gym, although my job keeps me on my feet. (I used this as an excuse to “just come home and rest”). I’ll try to do better this week and see what happens. Food-wise, I’ve been pretty good although I did have half a piece of pie yesterday! I also had brown rice California rolls, but the two apparently cancelled each other out I’ve been... [Read more]