Instead of our regularly scheduled Friday link love, today I’m going to discuss just one story that made a huge splash in the weight loss community.

On Monday the New York Times published an article titled “After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight” and about a million of you sent it to me asking for my opinion.

The new study (you can read the real thing here) is very interesting and also a little frustrating. In case you live on Mars, ‘The Biggest Loser’ is a reality TV show that takes a group of people with Class III obesity and subjects them to extreme exercise and caloric restriction, with the result of rapid and dramatic weight loss often close to 50% of body weight.

I’ve never been a fan. Not only does the show double down on the torturous methods of weight loss perpetuated by the dieting industry, but (as expected) virtually everyone who participates in the show gains the majority of the weight back.

I doubt many of us can fathom how devastating this must be to the contestants psychologically––to go through months of hell and achieve what seems like an impossible level of “success,” then have those hard earned victories evaporate over the following years, all under the public eye. It’s amazing to me that this level of cruelty is even legal in the US. There’s probably a joke about The Hunger Games in there somewhere, but I don’t have the heart to make it.

Thanks to this latest research, however, we now have a pretty clear understanding of how physically devastating it is to participate in ‘The Biggest Loser.’

Read the rest of this story »

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week sitting less reverses aging, the evil cousin of procrastination, and shocking new data about sugar and dental health.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300 wpm. So neat! It’s been only one week and I’m already up to 400 wpm.

Photo by flik

Excuses are awesome, aren’t they? Letting you get away with doing nothing about a problem and still feel self-righteous about it. What’s not to love?

I’ve heard them all: I don’t like vegetables, I can’t cook, my husband is too picky, my kids won’t eat it, I work too hard, my knees hurt, my friends are jerks, I love McDonalds, it’s too expensive, I’m too busy.

Yes, yes. Of course you are. But aren’t these still just excuses, illusions we create to mask the real reasons we’d rather watch TV than do something to improve our own lives?

STOP (***Record scratch sound effect***)

If you aren’t getting mad yet, you should be. I didn’t say it, but the implied message is clear: You’re really just making excuses to be unhealthy because you’re lazy.

But that isn’t your experience, is it?

Read the rest of this story »

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

I’m really excited for you guys to read these articles, there are some gems in here. I especially love the research showing that you should think of food as “tasty” rather than “healthy” to feel more satisfied and eat less. Also, for those interested I’m featured today over at the One Thing blog.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• 7 Disruptive Foods Changing the Way We Eat <<A food article hasn’t scared me this much in quite awhile. This is why I don’t buy Dole bananas. (Wired)
• The Claim: For Better Muscle Tone, Go Lighter and Repeat <<Awesome mythbusting by the New York Times. Weight lifting makes you sexy.
• Calling a Food ‘Healthy’ May Make You Hungrier <<Call it tasty instead! This is why I emphasize taste over all else. Eating foods you believe are delicious makes them more satisfying. (HealthDay)
• KFC’s Bacon Sandwich On Fried Chicken “Bread” Starts Killing People Nationwide April 12 <<BS of the week. Please tell me no one believes this is good for Atkins dieters. Please. (The Consumerist)
• This ‘Biggest Loser’ did it all by himself <<Most of you have probably figured out by now that I think The Biggest Loser is evil, but I LOVE this story about a man who found his own healthstyle and lost more weight than anyone on the show ever. (Los Angeles Times)
• Fruits, Veggies Have Modest Effect on Cancer Risk <<New data suggest eating fruits and veggies isn’t enough to stave off cancer, but it is a start. Pro tip: Try cutting out the junk too. And don’t forget vegetables still help with stroke and heart disease, so don’t stop eating them.  (HealthDay)
• Iron Chef Your Leftovers and Stop Throwing Away Perfectly Good Food <<We’ve all let good food go bad in the fridge. Here’s some handy tips to prevent it. (Lifehacker)
• Finally! Scientific proof that greasy breakfasts are good for us! <<This almost got my BS of the week, but I was afraid people would misunderstand. I agree that breakfast can impact your metabolism all day, and fewer refined grains are better for breakfast. However, I do not see how we can conclude anything about human metabolism from mice eating mouse chow. Humans eat whole foods. (Los Angeles Times)
• Is Induction Cooking Ready to Go Mainstream? <<As a foodie and a geek, I find the idea of magnetic cooking incredibly intriguing. I doubt I’d make the plunge, but it was fun to read about. (New York Times)
• Salad Dressing of Strawberry Balsamic Reduction <<It’s strawberry season! This recipe for strawberry balsamic salad dressing sounds divine. (Jenn Cuisine)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

If you only read one thing today make it Tom Venuto’s article about The Biggest Loser. The first time I saw the show I was inspired and loved it, but as the years progress it is clear it is not helping any of the “losers.” The Biggest Loser teaches people that weight loss is about torture and extremes, and they are destined to fail. I was going to write an article about it, but Tom does such a good job explaining my reasons I no longer feel the need to.

But, of course, there are 10 great articles down there worth checking out!

I still need votes for the People’s HealthBlogger Award by Wellsphere and would greatly appreciate your support. Wellsphere is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in healthy living. To vote for me you have to create an account with them, but you can delete it when you’re done (I have yet to get any spam). If you enjoy this blog, please take a minute to show your support. Much thanks to those who have already voted.

for Darya http://summertomato.com/

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

For The Love of Food

• The Biggest Loser Pros And Cons: An In-Depth Review of Television’s Most Popular Reality Show <<Brilliant analysis of The Biggest Loser by Tom Venuto. I was going to write a similar article myself, but now I clearly don’t have to. (Burn The Fat)
• Moderate-Fat Diet May Be Better at Reducing Heart Risks <<People with metabolic syndrome should steer clear of low-fat meal plans, study says (HealthDay)
• Twitter-equipped bathroom scale tells the world how much you weigh <<B.S. of the week The most common response to this I got on Twitter was “nightmare.” Can you imagine anything more humiliating? (Los Angeles Times)
• Phys Ed: The Best Exercises for Healthy Bones <<To prevent osteoporosis, impact exercises are best, but not too much. Fascinating article by New York Times columnist Tara Parker-Pope. (Well Blog)
• High-fat, high-sugar diet alters bacteria in the gut, making it easier to gain weight <<The role of gut bacteria (we all have it) in body weight is just beginning to be appreciated. This study explains how it is impacted by diet. (Booster Shots)
• Chocolate milk redux: Nutrifluff vs. Policy <<Marion Nestle’s take on the chocolate milk controversy. As usual, I agree with everything she says. (Food Politics)
• Folic acid and cancer: New data might add to suspicion or, better, to discussion <<Folic acid supplements increased cancer rates in a new study, and this was in a population that does not eat as many fortified foods as we do in the US. But of course Summer Tomato readers don’t have to worry about stuff like this since we eat natural, whole foods from the farmers market. Right? (Booster Shots)
• Sarah Palin is History’s Greatest Monster <<It’s not what you think, but it made me laugh. (The Internet Food Association)
• Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash & Preserved Lemons <<I’ve been eating winter squash like it’s going out of style, but I’m a little sick of just roasting it. This recipe is next on my list. (David Lebovitz)
• Say Hello To Nosh’s Mini-Me, The “Noshtopia iPhone Food Pics” Blog <<Stephanie Quilao over at Noshtopia started a cool new project photo documenting her daily noshing with iPhone pics right on her blog. What fun!

What are you reading?