Book Review: The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet

The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet: Smart, Simple, Science-Based Strategies for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off by Barbara Rolls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D is a comprehensive book about how to transition to the Volumetrics Diet. The books is broken down into a 12 week plan to gradually switch from your old style of eating to the Volumetrics Diet. This book is an excellent resource if you are looking to lose weight without feeling starved.

The book begins with a section on evaluating where you are right now with you eating habits. The chapter discusses your current weight and BMI values, and what they mean. This comprehensive chapter includes a food record form so you can record your daily food intake. This section also teaches you how to rate how hungry or full you are, how to set realistic goals, and how to overcome challenges. This is an excellent section and the base for the rest of the chapters. The book is worth buying just for this chapter.

The rest of the chapters continue through the 12 week plan and explain various concepts each week including:

• Calorie density 
• Portion sizes
• Creating satisfying meals 
• How to plan your meals around fruits and vegetables
• Protein and fiber 
• Fat and sugar
• Snacking 
• What is the best things to drink 
• Restaurant eating 
• How your environment influences you eating
• How to maintain the new lifestyle you have learned 

Each chapter ends with a review of the key points you just learned and a to do list for the week. While some of the To Do lists can be a bit overwhelming when first starting out, they are sensible and even one of them will move you forward towards a healthy lifestyle. The diet is also quite filling since most of the recommended foods are filled with water but not calories. This is an excellent diet since is it very nutritionally adequate and exactly what most experts recommend.

The second part of the book is filled with Volumetrics recipes. The recipes are accompanied by a before and after photo showing the ordinary portion size and then the Volumetrics portion size. There is a considerable difference in portion size. Most of the increased comes from an increased amount of vegetables or fruit in the recipes. The recipes have easy to find ingredients and do not contain items that most of us would not eat. She also has a section on how to stock your kitchen with healthy Volumetrics ingredients and a small section on how to modify your own recipes.



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Book Review: The Flexitarian Diet

The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life by Dawn Jackson Blatner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN is an easy to understand book about how to get the health benefits of a vegetarian diet while still eating the foods you love. The key to all of this is moderation, and not feeling guilty about the occasional indulgences in meat and sweets. This message resonates throughout the book and really helps to make a vegetarian diet more accessible for most people.


This book is very simple and straightforward, perfect if you are just beginning to think about changing to a vegetarian diet. The book offers a 5 flex food group plan to get you started. Each section describes the important food groups that make up the bulk of a healthy vegetarian diet, such as beans, fruits and vegetables, dairy, grains, and sweets. Each chapter gives a run down of the foods included in each category, how to cook them, and how to get more of them into your diet. There are also menu plans to help guide you toward healthy eating plus lists of foods to keep in your pantry. The information is very basic so is great for beginners. If you are someone with more knowledge of vegetarian eating or already a vegetarian, this book will give you very little new information.

The second half of the book is filled with recipes. There are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are very easy to understand and quick to make. Some are so easy that they could not be considered actual recipes, but more like ideas of foods you could through together that are nutritionally adequate. The recipes only make one serving so if you want to make a meal for four or more people you would need to quadruple the ingredients. When quadrupled some of the recipes become cumbersome and do not work out well. Most of the recipes are a good base for creating healthy vegetarian meals and you can add your own twist to them.

The last chapter is an explanation of getting more physical activity in your life. It is a decent chapter with good information on how to get started with exercise, how to stay motivated, and various tools you need to accomplish your goals. There is also a very good section on beating exercise barriers. This section addresses the most common barriers and give tips on how to overcome them. The tips are sensible and are things anyone can try.



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Book Review: The Insulin Resistance Diet

The Insulin-Resistance Diet by Cheryle R. Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Insulin Resistance Diet by Cheryle R. Hart, MD and Mary Kay Grossman, RD is an easy to understand guide for eating healthy when you have insulin resistance. This book outlines the method the authors have taught to many of their patients to help them control their insulin levels and lose weight. This book is for anyone who has tried numerous diets with little to no success. It is also for anyone who wants to eat more healthfully to prevent diabetes.

The book first outlines how insulin works in a healthy person and then describes how insulin resistance occurs. The explanations are kept very simple and straightforward. Next, the authors go through the signs of insulin resistance and how it is typically diagnosed. Some of these signs are waist circumference, fasting glucose level and body mass index level. At the end of this explanation, there is a self test that can determine how many of these symptoms you have. The self-test is a good resource for talking to your doctor about your health.

Next, the book explains how to control insulin resistance with the link and balance method. This method was developed by the authors to use with their patients in the various workshops they teach. The method links protein with carbohydrates in an equal balance. The method is very simple and easy for anyone to master. There is no measuring or counting calories. You do need to be aware of how to read the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods for the total carbohydrate and protein amounts when you are linking and balancing. The book explains this clearly. You also need to know which foods have protein and which ones contain carbohydrates and the book also explains this adequately. The authors do not talk extensively about vegetarian sources of protein. This could be a turnoff to many vegetarians who want to stabilize insulin levels.

The explanation of link and balance also includes visual diagrams of how to balance your meals. This helps you see the concept, however, I found the diagrams confusing to understand and so I didn't really use them much. I found the written explanations clear enough. Visual learners might find the pictures helpful.  There are also many lists of foods with protein and carbohydrates along with their standard portion sizes. At the end of the full explanation there is another self-test of the concepts you just learned. This helps you see if you are understanding what you are reading.

There is a considerable section of recipes from appetizers to desserts. These recipes are already linked and balanced for you. Many recipes use packaged and processed ingredients such as fat free cheese, liquid spray margarine and canned fruit. There are some simple recipes that use natural ingredients but there are only a few of them. If you are trying to stay away from processed foods, these recipes do not fit the bill. You can use the recipes for ideas on foods to eat and modify them to suit you eating style. There is also a section on fast food restaurant meals and frozen dinner choices that the authors have deemed to be linked and balanced though not as healthy has cooking for yourself

The book has a short chapter on fitness that reviews the basics of exercise such as defining aerobic and weight training exercises  It is quite short and feels as though it was placed there as filler. There are much better books on fitness.

The end of the book has an intriguing chapter the difference between appetite and true hunger. It discusses what true hunger is and how to identify if what you are feeling. The sections helps you develop strategies for dealing with cravings and emotional eating. These chapters are very good and is an important concept of healthy eating.



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Avoid The Annual Holiday Weight Gain

The winter holiday season is a month long food feast. From holiday parties with family and friends to break room treats at work, it seems there is a constant stream of food everywhere you look. But this does not have to ruin your dedication to eating more healthfully--or your waistline. All it takes is some planning and a few strategies to avoid the annual holiday weight gain. These tips are good for any party you attend, during any part of the year.

One of the most important things you can do throughout this time is to not skip meals. Skipping meals only helps to increase your weight because you will be starving by the time you get to your holiday function--and you will overeat. Also, your body will go into starvation mode and start to converse calories. Every calorie you consume will more easily become fat instead of being used as energy. If you feel hungry before the party, have a healthy snack.

Once at the party, turn your focus to catching up with friends instead of eating appetizers.  Take a few tasty looking raw vegetables with about a tablespoon of dip on a plate and sit with friends at a table. This strategy will allow you to know how much you are actually eating. Avoid standing by the appetizer table and eating directly from the serving platter. This is a recipe for mindless overeating. When dinner is served, use the plate method -- fill half your plate filled with non-starchy vegetables, and fill the other half with meat and a complex carbohydrate (starch). When dessert is served, if it is something appealing to you or a favorite item, eat it and enjoy. It is OK for you to not eat dessert if you are not hungry or don’t like what is being served.

Food in the workplace is abundant during the holiday season. Remember, just because something is there does not mean you have to eat it, especially if the item is not appealing or you are not hungry. Keep candy dishes away from you by moving them across the room. Bring your own healthy snacks to your desk, such as fruit or whole grain crackers. If you have special activities with your co-worker, such as a cookie swap, collect the cookies, eating the one or two you really like and save the rest for the upcoming holiday party.  Plus, you can always bring in a healthier item such as raw vegetables with low fat dip.

When the holiday finally arrives, enjoy yourself by eating all your favorite foods including cookies and other high fat treats. The most important thing is to balance healthy foods and proper portions with your favorite foods and treats.

Image courtesy of debspoons at www.freedigitalphotos.net

Ideas For A Healthy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday season. It is a time to give thanks for what we have. However, it is also about food. Most of us will eat the typical Thanksgiving dinner—roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes or candied sweet potatoes, croissants, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and pie. This dinner alone can top 1,300 to 2000 calories. If you are not careful, this one dinner over several years could be responsible for obesity, heart disease, and/or diabetes. To help prevent these problems, skim off the extra fat and calories with these guidelines for a healthier Thanksgiving

Portion control is probably one of the most important concepts to remember. Portion distortion is everywhere on Thanksgiving. All of our favorite foods are spread on the table, and we want to eat it all. During this time remember the plate method -- half your plate is filled with vegetables, a quarter filled with complex carbohydrates, and the last quarter with protein. Scan the table and look for the vegetable option. Most likely it will be green beans with fried onions. If possible, bring a healthy vegetable dish for everyone to enjoy – and fill half your plate with your own side dish. This ensures you have something you can fill half your plate with. Turkey is most likely the protein so fill a quarter of your plate with this meat. Remove some or all of the skin. This will dramatically decrease the amount of fat you are consuming. If you can, ask the cook to skim the fat off the gravy to make it lean. If you can’t do this, then limit the amount of gravy you put on your turkey. For complex carbohydrate keep the portion to about a half cup. If sweet potatoes are served choose those over white mashed potatoes. Sweet potatoes are filled with powerful antioxidants and vitamins, and will be better for you even if they have marshmallows on them.

Another easy -- and common sense -- step is to prepare foods that are lower in fat and calories. If you are having the big day at your home then this step is even easier. You have total control over what you and your guests eat. Plan the menu out beforehand so you can choose foods that are tasty and healthy. Choose to add as many fruits and vegetables to your meal as possible. You can remove the turkey skin when cutting it so you (and your guests) do not eat it. Buy fresh cranberries and cook them down with a little water and a sprinkle of sugar to make a healthy cranberry sauce. Make mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. This has far less calories than a casserole with marshmallow topping. Include a few vegetable side dishes for guests to choose from, such as roasted brussels sprouts or steamed green beans with almonds.  Stuffing can be made with brown or wild rice and an assortment of fresh vegetables. Avoid drinking more than two glasses of any alcoholic beverage. Festive drinks are fun but they can add on the pounds quickly.

Dessert is the last piece of the Thanksgiving holiday puzzle. One benefit of controlling portions at dinner is it leaves enough room for dessert. Many people eat pumpkin pie as their main holiday dessert and it is typically a better choice. Pumpkin is a healthy vegetable than provides Vitamin A, fiber and antioxidants.  Pecan pie is filled with sugar and fat which can cancel out the better choices you made during dinner. Double crusted pies, such as apple pie, are also high in fat and calories and should be limited. Portion control is still important during dessert. Choose to eat one moderately sized piece of pie. Eating more than one because you “saved up for it” does not count. If you want more, take home a piece or two for the next few nights.

Image courtesy of debspoons at freedigitalphotos.net

Healthy Strategies For A Happy Halloween

Halloween is the time of year when we celebrate fall with warm comfort foods and anticipate the coming holiday season. Every year children dress up as their favorite characters to “trick or treat.”  By the end of the day, most kids have collected huge bags of super sugary candy from all the houses they visited. How can you keep your kids (and yourself) from binging on it? There are some simple ways to make Halloween more healthy and fun without the candy overload.

Creating a healthy Halloween starts at home with the choices you make. Instead of buying the usual candy, replace it with small toys and other non food items. Pencils, stickers, and sugar free gum are all good examples. Not only will you reduce the amount of candy the kids will accumulate (if only by a fraction) you will not be tempted to eat the candy you bought to give away. Toys and pencils last much longer than candy and give the kids something to do beside watch television. Other options are small packages of dried fruit such as raisins or dried blueberries, roasted pumpkins seeds, and high fiber granola bars.

A great way to ensure your kids will not overload on candy is to get a healthy meal in them before going out. A fun way to do this is to have a party at your house. This does not need to be a big deal. Invite a few friends or cousins to your house and make all healthy foods/snacks that the kids can fill up on. You can have them play fall themed games and socialize with their friends/ family. They have less time to get overloaded with candy especially if there are healthy treats for them to eat. Make these treats fun and Halloween themed. 

Of course kids will want to go out after the party and bring home a whole bunch of candy. Once they get home, the best thing to do is to dictate when they can eat it and how much they can have. This probably is the most important thing you can do to keep the kids from getting overloaded with sugar. Never let them keep candy in their bedrooms. They will eat it all in one sitting—or at least try. Keep the Halloween sweet treats in secret location where the kids can’t get at it, such as a high cabinet. Every day or every other day, let them have one or two pieces as a treat or dessert after a healthy dinner. Keep track of how much they are eating and make sure they don’t go overboard.  

Halloween does not have to a candy nightmare. Use these simple strategies and have a fun – and healthy—Halloween. 

Healthy Meal Planning Using MyPlate

MyPlate is the new United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) symbol for healthy eating. This new graphic replaces Mypyramid and is an easier way to assess if what you are eating is healthy and balanced. MyPlate is simply that—a dinner plate modeled off of The Plate Method that has been used by the American Diabetes Association for explaining healthy eating. Myplate consists of four main groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein- with a fifth subgroup for milk. MyPlate should be used as a guide, not a rigid set of rules. You can easily pattern your own eating to these guidelines, and you can look at your own dinner plate and the myplate graphic and see if they match. 

The plate is divided into a three group pattern. Half of the plate consists of the fruit and vegetable groups. Vegetables (the color green on the plate) are to be included in almost every meal. Leafy greens are a nutrient dense and tasty choice. You can include spinach in an omelet or on a sandwich, include kale in a soup or sautéed with onions. Be sure to pick a variety of colors when choosing which vegetables you want to include in your daily requirement. The more color combinations, the more antioxidant and phytochemical power you get from these plant foods.

Fruits (the color red on the plate) are also to be included at practically every meal. Choose antioxidant rich berries and citrus fruits since these items make great breakfast food. They also make good snacks in place of chips or candy. Some other options include grapes, sliced or cubed melons, apples and pears. These fruits are also great to pack in lunch containers. Fruit during dinner may seem odd but they can be included in a variety of salads. A fresh fruit salad is a great summertime dessert.  

Two-thirds of the MyPlate symbol consists of the grain group (the color orange on the plate). This group is the second largest after the fruit and vegetables groups.  Whole grains have a variety of benefits including fiber, minerals and plant protein. Myplate advises to make at least half your grains whole, but to really increase your health and nutrient intake aim to make 75 to 100 percent of your grains whole. This may seem like a lot, but the transition will be easier if you start slow and increase you intake in weekly increments. For example, the first week start by changing from white bread to whole wheat bread. Whatever whole wheat bread you choose it should have at least 3 grams of fiber per slice and 100% whole wheat flour should be the first ingredient. Avoid any bread with high fructose corn syrup. Making these changes in increments will help make the changes permanent.

The remaining corner consists of the protein group. The protein group (the color purple on the plate) encompasses a varied array of foods. Most people think of protein as lean meats such as beef and lamb, and poultry such as chicken and turkey. There are other sources of protein including beans such as lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans and peanuts (peanuts are legumes, not nuts so they have a high protein content). Grains also are high in protein such as quinoa, amaranth and wheat berries, and soy product such as tofu, tempeh and edamame. Nuts such as almonds and cashew along with seeds such as hemp seeds, flaxseeds or pumpkins seeds are other good sources of protein. Low fat diary products such a low fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese are also filled with protein. Greek yogurt which is regular yogurt that has been strained of excess liquid is especially high in protein. Greek yogurt with ground flaxseeds mixed into it is a great high protein snack.  Aim for a variety of protein foods everyday including plant proteins.

In the corner, there is blue circle in its own separate group. This represents the milk group. Some controversy has been stirred up by the fact that milk has its own category. Some believe that milk should be included with the protein group. While milk is a good source of protein and calcium, many feel that water should be in its place on the graphic since water is such a vital part of the human body. Always aim for at least 8 (8oz) glasses of water a day. Low fat dairy products are an important part of a healthy diet, but stick to the recommend portions of 2-3 cups a day. Avoid drinking milk as a replacement for water.  

Healthy Action Step: Go to ChooseMyPlate.gov and read more about the MyPlate guidelines and suggestions implementing them into your daily eating habits. Put together a meal based on these guidelines at least three days a week. 

Book Review: Vegan For Life

Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet by Jack Norris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very comprehensive book nutritionally speaking. It has a lot of detailed and interesting information on how to be eat healthy while on a vegan diet. The book gives detailed information on protein, calcium, vitamin D, iron and zinc. For each nutrient/vitamin there is a list of foods that have good amounts of each item, and a one day sample meal plan. After these initial chapters, the book gives a comprehensive vegan food guide. It states how many servings of whole grains/starchy vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruits and fats a new vegan needs to eat. They also give their recommendations for supplements intakes, especially vitamin B12 and iodine. Included are sample meal plans for 1600 calories, 2000 calories, and 2500 calories. There is also a guide for pantry staples to keep on hand. All the information in the chapter is top notch and nutritionally adequate.

Next, the book goes into how to modify the diet for pregnancy and breastfeeding, infants and toddlers, teenagers and adults over 50. The adults over 50 chapter is quite small and I would have liked to see more on this category. The next chapters then focus on how a vegan diet can help with preventing diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. All nutrition information in the book is rooted in science.

There is also a chapter on soy, which they say is healthy and will not cause any negative effects. I was somewhat disappointed in the soy chapter as I have heard bad things about soy but they did not really address any of them. They focused on the studies that say soy is good for your heart and it decreases the the risk of breast cancer. It seemed like in these studies they were talking about tofu, tempeh and other traditional soy products eaten in Asian countries. The chapter does not go into the effects of genetically modified soy that could be in fake meats or any other heavily processed soy products.

The final chapter explains why you should go vegan. While the rest of the book keeps this information down to a minimum, basically stating the being vegan is an ethical choice, this chapter seems to want to explain all the horrible things that happen to farmed animals. Much of the information comes from organization like People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Mercy For Animals (MFA) and Compassion Over Killing (COK). The authors express that they chose this lifestyle for ethic reasons and it is apparent they are friends with people in these organizations. This chapter is the last one in the book which I found well placed as you can read all the nutrition information about being vegan first then decide if you want to read the last chapter. The chapter goes through how beef, pork, chickens and egg laying hens are treated. It is very gruesome at times and rather depressing to read. However, the chapter does not do a good job of pointing out which things are standard industry practices and which activities are illegal. Much of the information comes from PETA, MFA and COK undercover investigations and they do not make much of a distinction between legal and illegal activity. If you have no desire to read this information then you can skip it but still benefit from the sound nutrition information in the rest of the book.


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New Study Finds Green Leafy Vegetables May Decrease Cancer Risk

Need another reason to eat green leafy vegetables? A new study conducted on almost 5,000 Chinese women ranging in age between 20 and 75 years old who were diagnosed with breast cancer showed that those who ate the most cruciferous vegetables had a 62 percent decreased risk of dying compared to women who at very little of these vegetables. The study also found that there was a 35 percent decreased risk of a recurrence of breast cancer for those that eat the most cruciferous vegetables.

The vegetables the study participates ate were green cabbage, cauliflower, and bok choy, but other vegetables such as broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts may also protect against cancer. The women in the study ate about 3.5 ounces of cruciferous vegetables a day. Researchers theorize that there are bioactive properties in cruciferous vegetables that help keep breast cancer at bay. It is common knowledge that there are also many other nutrients in these vegetables that keep you healthy, such as calcium, iron and fiber. Eating a wide variety of these foods can help keep many diseases in check. Aim for at least 3 oz of these vegetables a day for maximum benefits.

The average American woman eats about 1 oz of cruciferous vegetables a day. Most in the form of broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Experimentation is key when trying to increase your intake of any new food. There are many simple ways to prepare these foods. Green cabbage is easy to incorporate into your diet. It can be eaten raw in coleslaw or dressed with a light dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. Cabbage can also be cooked into any type of vegetable soup. Bok Choy is a common vegetable in Chinese cuisine, and one of the vegetables the women in the study ate. There are two types you can get at the grocery store, baby bok choy which is small enough to steam or sauté whole, and a large variety. The larger bok choy should be cut into slices and sautéed with other vegetables.  If you are looking for something more familiar, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can be eaten steamed or roasted for a delicious side dish for a variety of dishes.   

Book Review: Appetite for Profit

Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back by Michele Simon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a really long winded book. She probably could have made her case in half the amount of pages since she repeats a lot of information. She does go through many topics including soft drinks and processed food in schools, how food companies can't be trusted to self regulate for the good of society, and the rather weak arguments that personal responsibility and freedom of choice are myths. The book contains a fair amount of "leftist" propaganda. I could tell she wrote this book to persuade people to dislike the food industry or "Big Food". She is not as objective about her information as I expected. She does not go into enough detail about how our elected representatives in government (federal and state) are allowing themselves to become "puppet politicians" for the food industry (she does explain how some seem to be reading off a script the food industry gave them).

The book does highlight various problems with the food system, such as the lack of credible information the public gets from the media (which she does not explain that much; I would have liked to see more information on the media's role in providing health information), researchers being paid by the food industry to produce industry friendly studies (she also doesn't explain how much of this goes on), and the lack of government regulation of truly dangerous food substances because of food industry lobbying. However, she gives no tips on how to change any of this. The book ends with her opinion that we need to change the entire food system and we need to start talking to each other about possible solutions. This is a rather weak (and frustrating) ending as the title is suppose to tell you how to fight back.


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