Now, I am all for helping kids slim down, but the latest suggestion seems more than a little silly.

Some doctors are suggesting giving kids heavier toys to play with, in hopes of helping them burn calories and lose weight.

Researchers at Indiana State University in Terre Haute tried a small experiment to test the effects of having kids play with heavier toys. They found that 10 children ages 6 to 8 burned more calories and had higher heart and breathing rates when they moved 3-pound toy blocks instead of unweighted blocks.

They claim it call also help with building strength, balance and coordination.

Hello, has anyone even thought of what could happen if kids start tossing these heavy toys at one another? One wallop upside the head could land some poor child in the hospital.

Or what if they hurt themselves trying to work out? Doctors have traditionally advised against letting kids lift weights too early for fear it could stunt their development.

The study's authors stressed that their report is a starting point, and involved only a few children under very controlled circumstances.

Guess they want to just lighten up.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Throughout my dieting life, I've never been much of a calorie counter. Despite the advice of my doctor, I've never been able consistently count every bite I put in my mouth. It's definitely one of the reasons I became a low-carber.

But thanks to technology, several new tools have come along that can help. A recent Newsday article reviewed some of the tools.

Among these new toys is MyFoodPhone, a service offered through Sprint that allows dieters to photograph meals and snacks with their camera phone before they eat, then instantly upload the pictures to their online MyFoodPhone account.

Weight Watchers offers an "On the Go" tracking plan for your Palm. Palm also hosts a "Diet & Exercise Assistant."

Read the full story on amNY.com .

And feel free to share whether you've tried one of the products and how you liked it. Maybe my counting days aren't over yet.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

To help with the problem,

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am heading home to Virginia this weekend for a family reunion, which definitely means my weight-loss plans will come under fire.

While my boyfriend is worrying about eating too little to satisfy my feed-you-til-you-drop aunts, I am worrying about eating way too much. (Sometimes, I really wish I could borrow his lack of appetite for a few months. My weight loss would be done!)

Aunt Trevor has already told me there will be turkey with all the trimmings on Friday, a barbecue complete with chips, dip and pound cake on Saturday and my Aunt Wanda's mouth-watering spaghetti on Sunday.

And that doesn't count the grits, the biscuits, Aunt Dollye's fried chicken or Aunt Trevor's legendary candy apples.

So I have come up with some strategies to help me see my way clear. First, I plan to take some low-carb snacks on the road so I won't be tempted when we stop for bathroom breaks in New Jersey and Maryland. And if we must stop to eat, I will find a Cracker Barrel, which offers a full low-carb menu.

Next, I have already asked Aunt Trevor to cut up a candy apple so I can have a piece instead of the whole thing. I know, I should resist totally, but we all know if I try that, I will eat all kinds of other stuff to make up for that lost apple slice!

I also plan to eat a little snack before the big meals, as advised by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' site for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Healthy Holiday Eating guide also advises eating slowly and staying away from the buffet table. Check out the complete list of suggestions.

So keep your fingers and toes crossed for me as I pass the Mason-Dixon line. I may lose a battle or two, as long as I don't lose the war.

And happy Fourth of July!

--Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The last month has been a difficult one for me. I have been suffering with the pain of Fibromyalgia and Arthritis. I mentioned this to my doctor and he asked if I had tried taking any fish oil? Right away my mind gave him a dirty look, the kind of stare that I give people when I distrust what they tell me. Ha, he was the crazy one and none of those home remedys for me.

But days later, when I could hardly move my back and the anti-inflammatories were like taking sugar pills I gave the fish oil suggestion a second thought. I also did some research on the web and came across something called the Cytokine Diet. I read that inflammation is a natural response to injury or infection in healthy people and is part of the normal healing process. Chronic inflammation with an altered immune system, is what researchers think cause diseases like FMS and Arthritis. Cytokines are chemical messengers in the immune system. Cytokines regulate the immune response and drive the inflammatory process. They tell cells how to respond.

And DHA Fish Oil seems to suppress certain inflammatory cytokines. So does diet. Excluding "wheat" and "milk" seems to improve symptoms of FMS in patients. Among the worst foods that cause increased inflammation in patients with FMS are wheat, yeast, milk, sugar, peanuts, corn, eggs, citrus, alcohol, caffeine and soy. I know exactly what you're thinking. These are the best foods in the world and I have to stay away from them. What's left to eat? But foods that counter cytokine inflammation are coldwater fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, swordfish, shark, cod and halibut. These fish are beneficial because of the omega-3 fatty acids they contain. Also, fresh pineapple, fresh papaya, spinach, blueberries, strawberries and onions. Add supplements like bromelain, evening primrose oil and flax seed for their anti-inflammatory benefits.

Well, I'll try anything to get rid of the pain. So I'll just hold my nose and swallow when I down Grandma's version of good medicine, fish oil, and give up the chocolate chip cookies for some seasonal strawberries. Salmon is my favorite fish in the world. And if you've tried these remedies and find they've worked, or maybe they are more fad than anything else, drop me a line, send me a post, let me know how it worked (or didn't) for you.

-- Connie Mango, amNY.com

Posted by Connie Mango at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite all the bad publicity, going low-carb may actually be good for you, according to two new studies.

A study of mice conducted at Mount Sinai's School of Medicine found that a low-calorie diet, particularly one that's low in carbohydrates, may reduce or even reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers found that limiting carbs may help prevent Alzheimer's by boosting brain activity associated with increased longevity.

And a study conducted by Swedish researchers found that low-carb diets helps overweight people with Type 2 diabetes.

Sixteen participants who followed a low-carb diet had significantly better diabetes control and body weight over 6 months than did 15 patients who followed their usual diet.

Now, if we could just get the American Medical Association to acknowledge the benefits of low-carb diets.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, I admit it. I think about it all the time.

What if I could go under the knife and come out thinner on the other side? What would bariatric surgery be like?

I know it has to be painful because all surgery is. And there must be side effects because there always are. But besides all that, could it still be right for me?

Over the years, I read about it from time to time, especially when the weight loss battle was kicking my behind. But I always thought I could lose the weight on my own. And I did for a time.

But as I get older, the battle gets harder. Take this week for instance, I swam twice and hit the treadmill twice. And I watched what I ate. But I still gained a pound. Man, was I po'd!

So today, I found myself remembering an encounter with a woman who was having gastric bypass surgery. She and I were in the same hospital room a few years ago. The lady, who wasn't the nicest person around, was about 5'2" and 5'2" in circumference, as one of my heftier friends used to say about herself.

After she had the surgery, I overheard the doctor laying out the eating rules. Just juice for a few days, then no more than a few tablespoons of soft foods. She had to stay away from fats and sweets or she would become ill.
And if she had complications, she had to return to the hospital immediately.

It sounded scary to me, but I have often wondered what size she is now.

And now that Lap-Band surgery has come along, I am really intrigued. In this procedure, surgeons insert a band around your stomach that can be tightened or loosened depending on your weight-loss needs. But it also can have complications.

So I turned to the Internet for more information. I found a pretty informative guide to bariatric surgery on the North Shore-Long Island Jewish site.

The site features detailed explanations of the types of surgery available, and video and audio of the procedures. The hospital system also offers informational sessions in case you want to learn more.

My biggest question is how to pay for surgery. I called my insurance company and a representative told me they don't pay for it. In fact, they wouldn't even pay for a nutritionist, which struck me as stupid. Ever heard of preventative medicine?

Anyway, I guess I'll keep fantasizing until I can hit the lottery and pay for it myself.

If any of you have weight-loss surgery, I would love to hear from you on your experience. Maybe that will give us all some pointers.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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As if the fast food industry wasn't already in enough boiling oil, a New York City councilman today proposed using zoning laws to limit these restaurants in the city.

Councilman Joel Rivera, health committee chairman, said at a hearing Wednesday he was exploring the idea to prevent fast food joints from taking over city streets.

I hear where Rivera is coming from, but don't be fooled. Wherever fast food lives, they will always be a line of folks ready and willing to have a bite.

Face it, fast food tastes GOOD even if it isn't good for you. (Remember the Big Mac song: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.")

I am sure a long line of politicians and experts will get in line behind Rivera. But behind closed doors they're probably hanging out with Ronald McDonald and the Burger King just like so many of us do.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I haven't been sleeping well lately and a new study shows that's not good for weight loss.

Last night, I tossed and turned as I dreamed of former colleague Dennis Duggan, whose memorial service I had attended.

The night before, I had the always popular work nightmare. In this version, I was trying to update amNY.com to meet some sort of deadline and failed miserably. I woke up at 1 a.m., 3 a.m. and 4:30 before finally giving up on sleep at 6.

The only upside has been that since I'm up anyway, I've been working out nearly every morning.

But now comes news that sleep deprivation can promote weight gain.

Nanci Hellmich of USA Today wrote recently about a University of Chicago study monitoring the sleep of 30 men and women.

"So far, results of the study indicate that the short sleepers have an impaired ability to dispose of glucose using insulin, which may put them on the pathway to obesity," said the article.

Not good news for us who are struggling to get some Z's. See the complete article to get some sleep tips and take a quiz to see if you are sleep deprived.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The trans fat fight got a little hotter on Monday when the American Heart Association became the first big health group to push a specific limit on trans fats in the diet.

The organization urged that trans fat should be less than 1 percent of a person's total calories, according to its new guidelines. The group also recommended lifestyle changes, including an emphasis on getting exercise and not smoking.

Other recommendations include eating fruits and vegetables that are deep in color, such as spinach, carrots, peaches and berries and choosing whole-grain, high-fiber foods.

Just last week, a consumer group sued KFC to try the chain to stop frying its chicken in trans fats. Wendy's also announced that it was switching to a healthier oil.

To get the complete guidelines, visit http://www.americanheart.org.

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Is it just me or does it seem strange that chocolate maker Nestle will buy Jenny Craig?

Nestle executives said the $600 million move shows the company is turning over a new leaf. "With this strategic acquisition, the group takes another important step in its transformation process into a nutrition, health and wellness company," said Nestle Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Brabeck-Letmathe.

"The rise of obesity and the resulting metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, is a major public health concern, not only in the USA but also the world over," Brabeck-Letmathe said.

Perhaps I'm cynical, but I think it has more to do with combining two of America's most powerful obsessions, indulging and dieting.

It's smart business. First you get them snacking, then you get them dieting. The way most of us ping-pong between the two, myself included, it's a definite recipe for success.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Summer is finally here and that's great news for nature lovers and outdoors exercisers alike.

Today, I went for a lovely walk at Little Bay Park, up by the Throgs Neck Bridge. The sun was beaming brightly on a bevy of exercises of all shapes and sizes. There were Sunday afternoon strollers, streaking roller bladers, cyclists, runner and families just out to walk the dog.

For those who need more structure, check out your local parks department websites. New York City's Parks Department offers a host of exercise programs, including walking groups, tai-chi workshops, yoga and much more.

So get outside and play!

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am always on the lookout for any good tips to lose weight and keep it off. With that in mind, today I came across Chris Pirillo's 50 Weight Loss tips.

Chris lost 30 pounds in three months and has devised a list of do's and don'ts for dieting success. My favorites: Set realistic goals, remember the fork is not a shovel and ignore Ronald McDonald.

I found that the tips were well written and included ideas I hadn't tried before, like getting a desktop tool to keep track of calories and weight loss, trying Laughing Cow cheese for small, tasty snacks and joining an online support group.

Check out the complete list.

I've got a couple from all my years of climbing the weight-loss mountain.

If you miss pasta, substitute spaghetti squash in its place. You can top it with a nice, light marinara sauce and you'll have the pasta taste without the calories and the after-meal sleepiness.

Chart your weight at least once a week. I do it nearly every day because I am slightly obsessed. You don't have to do it that often, but you should have a mechanism for making sure you're on track. And sometimes, you need a reminder of where you are to see your way to where you're going.

Let folks know you're on the food wagon. It gives friends and loved ones an opportunity to support your efforts or at least keep the cookies on the other side of the table during staff meetings.

So what works for ya'll? Feel free to send in any tips you might have to this blog. Every little bit helps.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you looking to improve your upper body strength?

If so, amNewYork's Personal Trainer has a tip for you: Yoga.

This week, Crunch yoga director Jess Gronholm designed a workout targeted to increase strength in your shoulders, triceps, and back. He takes you through several moves, including the Downward Dog, Plank and Dolphin.

Get the complete workout and check out past workouts from the Personal Trainer.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every once in a while, you see yourself absolutely clearly.

Today, when I checked out Newsday's article entitled "Wired to overeat?", I was reminded of what I truly am: A food addict.

The article discusses how researchers are probing food addiction, after finding similarities in the circuitry of very large people and people who are addicted to drugs.

Apparently, both groups have fewer dopamine D2 receptors in their brains, which "can lead to an impaired ability to feel satisfied or to experience the sensation of having enough."

This is a battle many of us larger folks face every day. One bite is never, ever enough. We think food, breathe food, live food.

At least one person quoted found lasting help by going into a recovery program. However, most insurance companies won't pay for recovery for weight loss. Others coped by eliminating sugar and keeping strict track of their diets.

Most of us are still looking for that magic bullet that will help us lose weight and keep it off. But maybe this research is a sign that obesity will finally be treated as a scientific matter and not just a lack of willpower.

Keep your fingers crossed!

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It all started so well today. I ate my usual Atkins bar for breakfast early, then headed to another office for a meeting with colleagues.

I was doing fine until lunch was brought in. Two trays of delectable sandwiches, bow-tie pasta with pesto sauce and lots of other goodies to boot.

I was hanging tough until I got to the end of the table and spied .... chocolate-covered macaroons. And my resolve melted away.

I don't get it. I can face down most emergency situations and somehow always manage to find some sort of solution. But one small cookie can chop me down like a tree in a forest. Okay, so it wasn't a small cookie.

At any rate, I ended up having two. So I guess it's back to the diet drawing board again tomorrow.

Two steps forward, one step back. The Diet Tango strikes again.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

According to a London Daily Mail report, some delegates at this week's American Medical Association annual conference will call for a "fat tax" on the soft drink industry.

The tax would be put on sweeteners added to sugary drinks to pay for a public health education campaign.

Delegates are particularly targeting high fructose corn syrup, which is added to lots of products, from ketchup to soda.

Kind of makes me glad I'm a Diet Dr. Pepper kind of girl. Just keep your hands off my Sweet 'n Low.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Commercial diets got a thumbs up in a study realed by the British Medical Journal this week.

The study tested the Slim-Fast Plan, Weight Watchers, the Atkins new diet revolution and Rosemary Conley's eat yourself slim diet and fitness plan against a control group which was asked to maintain its current diet and exercise plan.

After six months, all the diets resulted in significant weight loss. The Atkins group lost more in the first few weeks, but the totals evened out in the end. After a year, over 45 percent of the commercial dieters were keeping to their plan, but there were more dropouts in the unsupported Atkins and Slim-Fast groups.

The bottom line, researchers found, was that commercial diets can help you lose weight. You can read the full study at BMJ.com.

To me, the real value in the study was showing how having a support system can make a difference in your dieting success. Even if you don't belong to a group such as Weight Watchers, you should still try to have at least one diet buddy.

For instance, when I need a diet pick-me-up, I call my friend Sherry. She will tell me to step away from the chocolate when I'm on the verge of a chocolate binge. And she cheers for me when I have success. And I do the same for her.

After all, isn't support what friendship is all about?

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For those who are easily grossed out, stop reading now.

After deciding he is too lazy to shop for groceries, cook or wash dishes, Californian Adam Scott, who describes himself as The Last Angry Young Man, is following a Monkey Chow diet for a week.

He posts a daily chronicle of his height, weight, mood and monkey-like attributes on his blog, The Monkey Chow Diaries, along with a daily video.

For those who don't know, monkey chow is described as "a complete and balanced diet for the nutrition of primates, including the great apes."

In his Day 1 video, Scott described the taste as really bad, "almost like dog food."

Sounds like a real fun time. Make sure you check in and follow his progress, if that's what you call it.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For those who just can't enough diet information, I have the perfect site for you.

It's called Everydiet and can be found at http:www.everydiet.org.

The site offers plethora of information on diet plans with reviews, programs and meal plans for more than 100 diets. The diets are broken up into categories: weight loss, detox, health and lifestyle and culture.

Also included are articles on sugar, salt, caffeine and a host of other topics.

One of the contributors, Jim Foster, also has his own blog site called Diet Blog. It can be found at http://www.diet-blog.com.

One recent post discussed how camel milk may soon be available in European supermarkets.

Hmmm, not sure if I'm ready for that trend to cross the Atlantic.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new study claims that parents who are strict while raising their children can have more overweight kids.

The research, revealed in Pediatrics on Monday, looked at 872 families. It found that authorian parents "were nearly five times more likely to raise tubby first-graders than mothers who treated their children with flexibility and respect while also setting clear rules," according to an article by the Associated Press.

Children who permissive or neglectful parents were twice as likely to get fat.

Dr. Kay Rhee, co-author of the study, speculated that strict parents may cause children stress, giving rise to overeating as a comfort and escape mechanism.

Like many others, I grew up in a household where you cleaned your plate -- or else. And the starving children in Africa always were jealous of my dinner.

I know the inflexibility in my childhood household played a part in my weight problems. Overating soothed me and was one of the few things I thought I could control.

Rhee suggests an authorative technique might work better, where parents are firm but flexible.

I agree. My father used to say our family was not a democracy, but I still would have liked to cast a vote every now and again.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My abs and arms are an aching mess today, thanks to none other than legendary athlete Florence Griffith Joyner.

How can this be, you may ask? After all, Flo-Jo, as she was affectionately known, died of a heart seizure in 1998 at age 38.

But her legacy lives on in my workout video collection.

"The Flo Jo Workout, The Mind, Body and Spirit" which she made in 1995, continues to be one of the best exercise tapes around. The house music is never boring, the exercises aren't hard to follow and the ab workout is strenuous.

The Olympian and world record holder is a fine teacher, explaining moves in detail and actually having fun with it. And the class includes people with real bodies, who commit small errors, just like viewers at home.

The best feature is Flo-Jo's enthusiasm. She won't let you quit, even when you're struggling through a whole-body crunch or the second round of push-ups.

I must admit, sometimes its hard seeing her looking so brawny and beautiful and knowing she's gone on to heaven.

But on those rainy days when I just can't make it to the gym, there's no one I'd rather work out with.

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 02:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

When I get off my diet, I don't just fall off the wagon. I get run over and dragged by it.

The weird thing is, I usually do okay early in the day. I normally have an Atkins Advantage bar in the morning and salad with chicken for lunch. It's dinner and the aftermath that sink me.

On Wednesday, I wasn't headed straight home so I decided to stop at Boston Market. I did fine with the chicken and green beans, but the sweet potato casserole called my name. And boy, did I answer.

So today, I've been searching for some tips on keeping control in the evenings. In an article on SparkDiet's Resource Center site, Becky Hand, a licensed dietician, gives a list of tips to avoid bingeing at night.

Hand suggests keeping track of the calories consumed and making sure they are spread evenly throughout the day, eating earlier to make sure the blood sugar doesn't drop and making sure evening activities don't focus on food.

I am going to try these ideas, but I know I will still need help. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

-- Amanda Barrett

Posted by The Skinny on Fat at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is the first of June and as I rifled through my closet in search of what to wear on this first day, I realized that it is time to go shopping. I still had winter clothes to put away and spring is almost over. Last year, as I readied those winter clothes for the season, I began to throw out or donate a lot of my older, gently used or just plain had to go outfits for summer. Now with the warm weather upon us, my what was left for summer wardrobe was not going to make the cut.

In previous years I would have cringed at the word "shopping". Choices, or the absence of choices, were left to very few specialty stores or home shopping catalogues. But worse, the outfits were all made of the miracle fiber, dacron polyester, in your choice of blue, pink, green or horizontal stripes. Real attractive.

But today that's all changed. Their are more specialty stores catering to plus sizes. Department stores offer a plus size or women's department. Even top designer's have jumped on the plus size band wagon. After all about 40% of American women wear a size 14 and up. We are no longer just popping bon bons on the living room sofa. We are lawyers, doctors, designers, soccer moms and we love to look good. That means more than pink dacron polyester, even if pink is my favorite color.

I found these adorable black crop pants that fit perfectly at Lane Bryant. Right now they have these little "city-shorts", kind of like a crop pant only above the knee, chic! And I found this great website that sells imported clothes with such European flair, Ulla Popken, I love this little Parisian tee! It would look great with a pair of those city shorts. Black of course!

And at J.Jill they even help the pairing challenged by suggesting what top would go with that wonderful "have to have" skirt.

Why it's been 23 years since I've walked down the aisle, but you lovingly large brides even have one of the top bridal stores dedicating an entire website to just your sizes! When I got married, plus size meant ordering a 12 and opening up the seams, and I was only a size 14 back then!

While we wait for those pounds to come off, we don't have to look like the haus frau of yesteryear. We don't even have to wait to lose weight to be fashionable. We have choices today, many more than ever before, to dress our bodies more healthy than ever. I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Glad Friday's a payday ;-)

--Connie Mango

Posted by Connie Mango at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)