Category: Weight Control

From the BBC

Public health advocates say the country is facing an obesity epidemic, which is costing the United States $147bn (£92bn) annually in healthcare. According to the latest US government statistics, 32.2% of American adults and 17.1% of children are clinically obese.

Americans are pouring calories down their throats. Sugar-sweetened drinks can contain up to 17 teaspoons of sugar per 550ml bottle.

The advert is the latest in a series of hard-hitting campaigns used by the New York Health Department.

Soda, even diet, contributes to osteoporosis as well. The phoshphoric acid acclerates bone loss.

Click on the picture for a larger copy.

250 fewer calories consumed per day adds up to a 50 pound weight loss over a year.

This is great news as 250 calories is usually not a “lot of food”. Some foods are more calorically dense than other foods and seem kind of innocent. They are innocent, once you know how much energy is in them so you can adjust how much you eat.

Last night, after a big meal in a vegan Chinese Restaurant I did some shopping and decided to have two of the tiny square Dolphin Brand chocolate bars.

Today, my curiosity got the better of me so I googled on “Dolphin Chocolates”.  The nutrition information is not on the label, but is on their web site.

These chocolates which are about an inch in diameter and about a half inch thick are about 150 calories each.

That nosh last night added 300 calories into my system. Almost half a meal worth of energy for about 1 min of mild pleasure. For about the same calories I could have had about 3 grapefruits or three cups of frozen berries. I could have had a chochlate Luna Bar and only have gotten a little more than half the calories.

LOL! I’m feeling as about as shocked as I did when I discovered the ugly caloric truth about my beloved granola, orange juice, bananas, or bagels.

On 2007 January 21st I weighed 223.8 pounds.

On 2008 January 21st I weighed 178 pounds.

On 2009 January 19th I weighed 181.22 pounds.

In other words, I more or less maintained the weight loss I wrote about in Stick a fork in me I’m done for one year.

I don’t have statistics handy, but I’ve seen many articles over the years to the effect that only a very small percentage of people stay slimmed down after they lose excess weight. The figures get even more dim after 5 years.

Knowing this, I decided to keep adding serial goals to my weight control program even after I achieved my goal weight of 178 lbs. The first of these goals was to maintain my weight loss for 1 year, which would make me eligible to join the National Weight Control Registry. I sent away for my application two days ago!

My next goal is to go from 181.22 lbs back down to 178 lbs.

After that, my goal is to maintain 178 lbs for another year in increments of monthly goals. My ultimate goal is to maintain the weight loss for a full 5 years.

To help myself along I decided to open up this new category on my blog for periodic reports on my maintenance efforts. Stick a fork in me I’m done will answer all of your questions about my initial weight loss. No gimmicks, just regular tracking.

BTW, I had a frozen vegan lasagna and tofu knish tonight for dinner. Combined, just under a slim 500 calories, but very filling and satisfying. Life can be sweet! 🙂