Diet Another Day...I Wish!

“I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.” — Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada

Monday, November 22, 2004

Great Quote!

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? ~ Erma Bombeck
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Thursday, November 18, 2004

Low-Carb Chocolate You'll Love

Now that I'm on a low-carb diet I have been searching for low-carb chocolates to satisfy my chocolates needs. The following article is from eDiets. I can honestly say that the Low-Carb Russell Stover Chocolates are great!

Low-Carb Chocolate You'll Love
By Dr. Nancy Tice
eDiets Physician and Psychiatrist

A few months ago we took a look at some low-carb chocolate bars. I was immediately besieged by people upset that I had left out their favorite low-carb chocolate treats. So, here is round two of the chocolate taste tests. There have been some exciting new additions to the low-carb chocolate shelves and well, a few not-so-wonderful additions as well. Let’s take a look.

Russell Stover Chocolates:
I got the largest number of emails about Russell Stover Chocolates. They are fairly new to the low-carb chocolate world but have released a large number of low-carb offerings. Testers universally loved the Russell Stover treats saying they were smooth and creamy. At 0.1 of a gram of impact carbs for the Mint Patties, 0.2 of a gram of impact carbs for the Toffee Squares and 1.2 grams of impact carbs for the Pecan Delights... these candies are very low in carbs, while being big on taste!

Z-Carb:
Z-Carb bars are brand new to the low-carb chocolate world. Z-Carb was created to satisfy the desires of the chocolate lover. Testers said it was great in taste, with a smooth and creamy consistency. Z-Carb truly deserves to be called gourmet chocolate. This guilt-free pleasure contains zero carbohydrates, zero sugar and provides you with all the natural health benefits of chocolate. Z-Carb has 70 percent of your daily value of calcium as well as a natural ingredient, inulin, which helps you absorb this calcium. And for those sensitive to sugar alcohols this bar is laxative-free. It is what you chocoholic carb counters have been waiting for! The bars are available at 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, HEB, Duane Reade and the Z-Carb website (www.zcarb.com).

Hershey’s:
While I love Hershey’s chocolate, and have fond memories of visiting the chocolate factory as a kid, their low-carb offerings did not do as well with tasters. The exception to this was the low-carb Reese's peanut butter cup which was universally loved and felt to be "almost as good as the real thing". The regular chocolate bars come in three flavors: chocolate candy, chocolate candy with almonds and chocolate candy with soy crisps. Testers felt the consistency was a bit waxy and didn’t have a great flavor. There was also a bit of an aftertaste.

Manufactured using sugar alcohols and fiber, the bar contains 1 gram of sugar per 1.1 oz. bar and has 20 percent fewer calories than a regular Hershey's candy bar.

In case you missed our prior review, here’s a recap of some of the brands we tested back then:

Torras:
One of the hands-down favorites was chocolate from a company called Torras. They have a large assortment of chocolate bars and candy that is really phenomenal. While they are in Trader Joe's on the West Coast, negotiations are underway for their products to appear in more stores. Meanwhile, you can go to www.carbsmart.com to view and purchase their entire line. Standouts on the taste test were the Torras Sugar Free Mousse Pillows in various flavors and Hazelnut chocolate bars.

Pure Delite bars:
Pure Delite bars also did very well. Some tasters said they were absolutely the "best" chocolates you'll find that are low carb! Depending upon where you shop, you'll pay anywhere from $1.48 to $2.49 a bar. It definitely pays to shop around -- the best deal we've found is at Wal-Mart, where they sell for $1.48 per bar. Depending on the flavor you choose, each bar will have net impact carbs of 1 to 2.4 grams. These bars are also sweetened with maltitol, which may have a laxative effect (if a large quantity is eaten).

CarboLite:
Their selections of Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Almond and Milk Chocolate Crisp offerings didn’t do quite as well on the taste tests, with some people saying they had a dry or waxy quality to them (rather than being creamy like other brands) though these chocolates are more widely available than the Pure Delites. We've found CarboLite Bars in the supermarket, major drug stores (like CVS and Walgreen's) and even in major discounters (like Wal-Mart).

Atkins Nutritionals:
Atkins Nutritionals boasts the Endulge chocolate bars. In taste tests we conducted, these chocolates also scored high. They are a good-tasting chocolate bar as well. What's more, Endulge bars have more flavor options than others on the market. Endulge Chocolates are available in Caramel Nut Chew, Chocolate, Chocolate Crunch and Peanut Butter Cups. Of the varieties we sampled, the Peanut Butter Cups are definitely close to the real thing -- reminiscent of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The Carmel Nut Chew reminded us of a Snickers bar -- it's a nice creamy caramel with lots of nuts.
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004

WEIGHT CONTROL ADVICE

You can do it your way!

You can succeed without using advertised diet programs, special foods, supplements or drugs. 25% of the people lose 10% or more of the original weight and kept it off for at least one year. 13% of all surveyed dieters keep at least 10% of their original weigh off for 5 years or more.

What most people did to successfully maintain their weigh loss for at least a year:

• Over 80% Exercised at least 3 times a week. E.g. walking or jogging
• More than 70% of the people increased physical activity in their daily routine (parking their car further away).
• About 70% reduced the amount of food consumed per meal.
• Near 70 % eat fewer fatty foods.
• Close to 70% eat less sweets and junk food.
• Over 65% eat more fruits and vegetables.
• More than 63% stop snacking between meals.
• Above 60% drink less alcoholic drinks.
• About 60% eat more frequent, smaller meals.
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