Nutrisystem's Deceptive Advertising

I never understood the appeal of Nutrisystem. Paying way too much for processed food then still having to buy my own fresh fruits and vegetables never sounded like a good bargain. Their commercials, aside from being generally annoying, always show people with dramatic weight loss while flashing RESULTS NOT TYPICAL on each photo. A recent Nutrisystem campaign features shapely football commentator, Jillian Barberie, touting a 41 lb weight loss which she credits to Nutrisystem. Her before picture took me by surprise because I watch plenty of football and I never remembered seeing Jillian look that fat.

I have seen her commercial several times and something about that before picture bothered me. At first I just assumed it was because the dress she was wearing was really ugly. Someone as cute as her, no matter how fat, shouldn't wear something that shapeless and frumpy. But this morning, I happened to be walking right by the tv screen when the commercial played and got a REALLY good look at the before picture in the ugly brown dress. Then it hit me. The reason that dress looked like a shapeless tent is because it is a MATERNITY DRESS!

That's right folks. Jillian's BEFORE photo is a photo of her pregnant. According to internet reports, the 41 pounds she gained was BABY WEIGHT. If you check medical sites or have ever had a baby yourself, you would know that doctors recommend a healthy, normal weight woman gain between 25 and 37 pounds.

AmericanPregnancy.org provides a handy breakdown of where that gain comes from...

• Baby = 7-8 pounds
• Placenta = 1-2 pounds
• Amniotic fluid = 2 pounds
• Uterus = 2 pounds
• Maternal breast tissue = 2 pounds
• Maternal blood = 4 pounds
• Fluids in maternal tissue = 4 pounds
• Maternal fat and nutrient stores = 7 pounds

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/eatingfortwo.html

So even with her gaining 4 pounds more than recommended, and her baby weighing closer to six pounds, seriously....how much of her weight loss is due to Nutrisystem? Apparently the secret to looking smoking hot after gaining 41 pounds is to be smoking hot in the first place and then give birth. Shame on Nutrisystem and shame on Jillian for misleading the public about her weight loss.

Attack of the Killer Potato

The Idaho Potato board is once again bombarding the airwaves with ads touting the health benefits of the potato (see below for actual ad). I am of Irish/German descent and originally from the Midwest. So you can just imagine the number of potatoes I ingested in the form of potato salad, mashed potatoes, au gratin potatoes, german potato salad, potato pancakes, spatzel, tater tots, potato dumplings, potato chips and french fries. That fact that I know how to make everything I just listed from scratch, with the exception of the tater tots, is a bit of an indicator (and given some time and a grater, I think I could make a passable approximation of the tater tot). So if the potato is so healthy, why would I, an avid potato lover, gain so much weight while eating them?



According to my mom, the potato was perfectly healthy. It was all the stuff we added to it that made it in to a dietary disaster. It was the sour cream, butter, cheese, and cooking oils that were to blame. That's what was reported in all the magazines mom read and in the weekly food section of the local paper. That is also what she learned at her Weight Watchers meetings. That's what EVERYBODY "just knew". Once again, everybody was dead wrong.

According to Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, "Potatoes are a great way to survive a famine. My grandparents survived the Depression on potatoes. But in a contemporary, sedentary society, potatoes are unhealthy, with a very big glycemic load. We've seen in our studies that higher potato consumption is related to a risk of diabetes. They are very rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream-more than eating pure sugar: sugar is only half glucose when it's broken down, potatoes are 100 percent glucose. There's not very much in terms of redeemable nutritional value that you get for the calories. Unless you are extremely lean and extremely active, you can't tolerate them. If you really like potatoes, you can have them in moderation now and then, but the trouble is that a big mountain of potatoes on your plate twice a day is how many people eat."

"Actually, careful studies have shown, demonstrated that you get a bigger rise in blood sugar after eating potatoes, a baked potato, say, than you do from eating pure table sugar."

The typical large restaurant-sized baked potato, with approximately 50g of carbohydrates, is nothing more than 1/4 cup of sugar in disguise. Sure it contains vitamins and minerals, but so does a strawberry danish. The difference is the danish isn't pretending to be a health food. It is amazing to think that I was taught that potatoes were good, sour cream and butter were bad, and if I got fat, it was my fault for being weak and lazy. All the while the very basis of my diet was messing up my blood sugar, causing intense food cravings, and helping me on the way to 280lbs...my all time highest weight. Had I just thrown out the potato and eaten the butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, and bacon bits out of a bowl with a spoon, I would have been perfectly fine.

Instead, I, just like mom, bought the great potato lie hook, line and sinker. I ate them plain, I ate them with low fat yogurt instead of sour cream, I used margarine instead of butter. Then word got out that potatoes were good with fat-free salsa and I tried that too. My weight continued to climb and I felt worse all the time. It wasn't until very recently that I understood that the potato was the real problem all along.

I do understand that potato farmers need to make a living, and there are quite a few people who can scarf starchy foods with little health consequence. I am just not one of them. I can, however, find a way to continue to help the potato farmers. I will just make myself a potato canon. Then I can actually use the potatoes in a healthy way...as ammo to shoot at people who try to tell me potatoes are good to eat!

Make your own potato canon!


The latest "lievertisement" from the potato council...

If I Never Lose Another Pound...

My weight loss has stalled over the Winter, but I am not discouraged. I usually GAIN weight during the colder months, and despite not losing pounds, I am still losing inches. I know it is easy to get discouraged about a diet if you aren't seeing movement on the scale, but eating low carb isn't just about weight loss. It is about my health.

I was talking about this very topic on the Low Carb Friends forum, and started to list reasons I would still eat low carb even if I never lost another pound. I think it is important to list and expand on them here, not just as a reminder for my forgetful self, but to show others who may be stalled (or miserable on a restricted calorie diet) that the scale number is NOT the most important part about being healthy and fit.

If I Never Lost Another Pound, I Would Still Eat Low Carb Because...

• Eating low carb reduces my chance of developing type 2 diabetes*.
• Eating low carb does not cause inflammation and blood vessel damage like eating carbohydrates and sugars does*.
• Eating low carb means I am eating less processed foods, and I think Monsanto and ConAgra have enough money already.
• Eating low carb also means I am supporting small local farmers because I shop at farmer's markets instead of the super market whenever possible.
• My eating low carb makes militant vegetarians seriously pissed off and I find that amusing.
• That goes double for PETA members.
• Did I mention I like meat?
• I never turn down an excuse to use my bbq grill.
• Eating low carb reduces my chances of developing heart disease*.
• I am no longer plagued by constant hunger pains.
• Since I stopped eat grains, I fart a lot less (seriously).
• I no longer get the shakes and break out in a cold sweat from a blood sugar crash even though I have just eaten about an hour earlier.
• I'll take any excuse I can get to keep eating cheese.
• I can easily eat this way for the rest of my life without being miserable.
• By eating low carb I have less monthly bloating.
• Eating low carb does not deplete my body of vitamins like high carbohydrate food does*.
• Heavy cream ... droooooollllll
• Eating low carb reduces the ability of cancer cells to develop and spread in my body (more).
• Eating low carb is healthier for my skin and reduces collagen damage (more) - I have enough wrinkles already!
• Because I really love putting melted butter on stuff.
• Bacon!

Are these enough reasons for you to continue with low carb eating? Enough reasons for you to look beyond the scale? Enough reasons for you to consider starting? If nothing else, it will give you something to think about.

*Sources - "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, "Natural Health & Weight Loss" by Barry Groves, "Protein Power" by Drs. Mike & Mary Eades and more.

By the Numbers

After my initial quick weight loss, I have been stalling. Sure it is frustrating, but there is something that helps me keep things in perspective and stick to a low carb way of eating...my measurements. I was actually smart enough to write them down when I first decided that low carb eating might be the way for me (I have my moments). Even now, with no recent weight loss showing up on the scales, my body is changing for the better and I am losing inches.

I have posted my randomly taken measurements so you can see for yourself how a low carb eating plan can be of benefit. Keep in mind I am a 6' tall giant amazon. Your measurements will vary. The actually numbers aren't what matters so much, but the nice downward trend. :D

The Kitties Weigh-In

I weighed the girls again today. Xena has hit a stall, staying at 14 pounds for the second week in a row. Cookie has lost again and is down to 8 pounds. Looks like Xena is a lot like me...very resistant to weight loss. I know how she feels and not losing is very frustrating.

Unlike me, though, she isn't bitching to her girlfriends about being stuck, nor do I have to listen to her whine about her old fur not fitting, but not wanting to buy new fur until she hits goal. Xena also doesn't have to wonder if her artificial sweetner use is stalling her, or maybe she is eating too much dairy.

I have a few more variables to worry about than my furry little friend, but I am possitive that all of us are on the right path. We'll see how we are all doing next week, and maybe I will have to make some adjustments. If Xena doesn't start losing more, I will make some adjustments for her too. Most likely trying a different brand of low-carb dry food. Things might be easier for me if I only had 2 kinds of food to choose from. It would be especially easy if I could get someone to come to the house and serve it to me every day and refill my water jug while they are at it.