Should we expect our obesity epedemic to be any better? Of course not. In fact, purveyors of our favorite unhealthy foods are doing just fine thank you. Witness Krispy Kreme’s recent financial results. Even though America’s favorite doughnut franchise took a beating during the heyday of the low-carb diet movement, they have been slowly working their way back into the fabric of our daily lives with 1st quarter profitability with earnings that nearly doubled.

McDonalds? Yep, they are up about $12 bucks over last year at this time. Showing a steady rise in stock price and profitability.

We know, Mickey D’s and Krispy Kreme aren’t exactly bellweather’s of our national health, but it certainly seems to indicate that fries and glazed rings aren’t exactly falling out of favor with many of us at this point. And that is pretty concerning. With the recession still lingering, cheap fast food like McDonalds would be expected to doing pretty well. It is hard to cook at home cheaper than you can get a meal at the Golden Arches. But, something like Krispy Kreme is less of a food stuff and more of a treat. To see them performing well in an era of tight wallets and purses and a near epidemic level of obesity just shows you how far we need to go in changing our eating habbits.

But, why can’t billions of dollars worth of R&D and the best the big pharmaceuticals produce our miracle diet drug? Perhaps, as Dr. David Katz supposes in this Huffington Post article, it is the basic evolotuion and design of the human body that refuses to cooperate. You see, as Dr. Katz points out so clearly, we at our very core levels, are designed to store food energy whenever it is abundant. You see, if you treated the entire human history as if it were an hour, it has only been the last fraction of a second or so where we have had to spend the vast majority of our days out hunting and gathering our food. Body fat is normal, in fact, unlike diseases, infections and other maladies, our body encourages the production of fat whenever possible.

Diet drugs are up against it from the very beginning. Instead of trying to help the body heal itself in the case of much of our medicine developed to date, diet drugs are in effect trying to harm the bodies natural tendencies to store fat. Fat is good, fat gets you through the historic times of famine until you can feast again. Our bodies did not evolve overnight, and we are going against one of our core functions for survival by using drugs to inhibit the amount of fat we absorb on a daily basis. So, you can see that scientists and drug researchers have their hands full. It is a lot easier to save a body than it is to starve one, especially when there is a McDonald’s around the corner.

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Starting today, your next Medifast order can include both ice cream and pancakes from Medifast. We were excited about pretzel’s and cheese puffs, but this is a whole new ball game. It is getting easier and easier to eat the things you enjoy yet still lose some weight. Of course, eating Medifast Ice Cream for every meal isn’t exactly a recipe for continuing with a healthy diet and lifestyle after you get to your target, but used as a supplement, it will certainly help many of us get through some tough ‘sweet’ withdrawals and cravings.

The soft serve ice cream comes as a simple mix that you can whip up with your blender and some ice for a smooth and tasty treat of a meal. Like all Medifast products, the soft serve ice cream is a meal in itself as part of the Medifast 5&1 Plan. Enjoy flavors such as coffee, peanut butter, chocolate mint and mango. Medifast Soft Serve great way to still enjoy summer and still get into that swimsuit you have hiding in your closet.

Equally appealing to those of us who crave a nice flap jack, the brand new Medifast Pancakes are a great way to actually enjoy breakfast while you are dropping some pounds. Fortified with vitamins and essential minerals, just take it easy on the syrup and you can actually shed some weight while enjoying some golden brown pancakes. Available in original flavor and also with an even sweeter chocolate chip flavor, you are sure to create some pleasing breakfast experiences unheard of before on the Medifast diet.

Want to enjoy these tasty new Medifast products and save $25 to $200 with our verified Medifast coupons? Just visit our Medifast Coupons and Promotions section today! 

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Save $25, $50 or even $200 depending on which coupon and program you choose.

Not only do we have great coupon codes, but check out the Medifast VIP plans as well. Sign up for it today and get the following FREE: 

- Two Weeks Free Food

- Free Shipping

- Free Medifast Book

- 5% discount toward ongoing orders

Start saving today!

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David Kessler has written a book The End of Overeating, and he does not mince words about how he feels the companies that stock our grocery store shelves and pantries are complicit in the great obesity epidemic we are now facing. Kessler points out that salt, sugar and fat levels are all manipulated by food processors to enhance their appeal to our taste buds and brains, creating what he terms “hyperpalatable” foods. Foods that create a neurological addiction with their consumption. These foods are cheaply made, packed with sugar and salt and loaded up with caloric energy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OqJhbSeUI8

You can’t get past the first end-cap display at your local supermarket without seeing these types of food. And there is growing evidence of their addictive nature. Researchers have shown how rats that were given sugary laden diets and then denied that aspect of their diet showed withdrawal symptoms like heavy drug users. People often joke that they are addicted to sugar, but the evidence is mounting that like big tobacco, the food industry has played a not so wholesome role in altering their products to condition an involuntary desire for more.
 

So, will we look back at this period in time and think of food industry behemoths like Kraft, Sara Lee, and Pepsico like we do with Philip Morris, Reynolds and Lorillard?
 

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Get it? Americans should eat more fish…

For those who lack the motivation to poor through the documentation, likely due to a previous engagement with watching paint dry, here are the main highlights.

• Maintain appropriate body weight through diet and physical activity
• Follow the government physical fitness guidelines
• Eat less solid fats; eat less of added sugars, especially refined sugars
• Reduce salt intake; eat fewer refined grains
• Limit processed red meat products, eat more seafood
• Limit high-fat dairy products
• Overall, work toward a more plant-based diet

Basically,  nothing here should be too shocking to anyone who has been following general diet and health trends in the last decade. I am sure the white bread, bacon and whipped whole cream lobby will be unhappy with these new guidelines, but is there really anything here that we didn’t already know?

Source: USDA

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And these aren’t just any ice cubes mind you, they are infused with hoodia, that favorite diet trend of recent history past. So, will the super powers of ice in cubic form, and that magical African succulent be the secret to your dieting dreams? 

For only $1.50 a day, according to icecubediet.com, the purveyors of this new fangled weight loss plan, can help get you on the path to a slimmer you. And this isn’t some kind of home brew ice that you will have to spend hours slaving over a freezing freezer to form. This ice is custom made and shipped to you already frozen, and packed in dry ice. So, you can lose weight, and help continue driving the US out of our recessionary period by aggressively supporting the consumer packaging industry. A win-win to be certain.

According to Alicia Puma, a company employee who is also on the plan and who is quoted in the Local 4 article, she has already lost 25 lbs in the last three months. if you can’t believe a testimonal from an employee of the company producing the diet product, who can you believe? 

A very realistic question is why anyone wouldn’t just run down to their local GNC, buy some hoodia for $20, and then make some ice cubes at home? Or, an even bigger question is why are you freezing hoodia in the first place? Is frozen hoodia somehow more effective than it is in pill form? It is an unproven product in the eyes of nutrionists and scientists. There is also some concern about potential health issues. Both Pfizer and Slimfast were looking hard at hoodia and both abandoned their efforts after awhile. Was it not profitable or not effective? 

One thing is for certain, a celebrity endorser will not be difficult to find.

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Roughly 20% of expectant mothers are obese when they become pregnant according to the CDC. This growing number is translating into a growing litany of health issues impacting the mother’s, unborn children, and the hospitals that serve them. Evidence suggest that obese mothers are contributing to record high numbers of Caesarean sections, increased risk of birth defects and even greater risk of death for mother and baby.

This fascinating and somewhat frightening New York Times article looks at the perils facing obese mothers as well as at the serious challenges hospitals and doctors face when providing care for these patients. Hospitals, especially in poorer areas can see obese mothers at rates approaching 40%. In some cases, this has forced them to completely rethink their pregnancy care practices, from having to buy new equipment like larger, sturdier exam tables to specialized ultrasound machines better able to see through much thicker layers of fat tissue. Even basic hosptial care like giving a shot is complicated by obese patients because it can be difficult to find a vein.

But the real impact can be seen in the health of the mothers and their children. Diabetes, strokes, high blood pressure, increased premature birth rates, and higher maternal death rates are all very critical areas of concern. According to the article, in New York State, two out of three maternal deaths are related to obese mothers. Babies born to obese mothers are nearly three times as likely to die in the first month as compared to babies from mothers of normal weight. Looking at the risk to both mother and baby, obesity and pregnancy are a very unnerving mine field of potential health issues.

Obese or fringe obese women who are considering getting pregnant should consult with a physician about ways they can mitigate these risks. Losing weight before you get pregnant will certainly help make things easier.

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That doesn’t mean you don’t have to like it though. And many of us use exercise as a means to an end to help keep our waistlines in check. In that spirit, there is new research that many fat conscious exercisers should be aware of. As discussed in this Associated Press article ouf of London, if you want to burn maximum fat, don’t eat before you exercise.

The explanation is this. Muscles typcially get their power from carbohydrates, which is why athletes such as marathon runners and pro cyclist try to intake massive quantities of food before an event. However, if you have not eaten before you go out for a workout, you likely do not have many carbohydrates in reserve. This causes you to burn the fat you have you in your body instead researchers say.

A more in-depth explanation from the article: "When you exercise [after fasting], your adrenaline is high and your insulin is low," said Peter Hespel, a professor of exercise physiology at Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. "That ratio is favorable for your muscles to oxidize [break down] more fatty acids." He said that people who exercise without having eaten burn more fat than they would if they had grabbed a bite beforehand.

One of the researchers states that for optimal fat burning, you should do cardio exercise in the morning before breakfast. Your stomach should be relatively empty from not eating overnight and this helps because carbohydrate consumption can interrupt the fat metabolization process for up to six hours. That is good to know.

However, as many of you know, there is a price to pay when you fast before you exercise. Namely, your performance will suffer and you probably won’t feel nearly as good as you would if you have some food in you system. Several of the studies cited in the article showed that athletes universally had a performance decline if they fastested before excercise relative to those who didn’t. The trick is not to fast every time you go out an train, but do it more selectively. Obviously, if you are trying your first marathon, the last thing you want to do is not eat before the race. Good luck getting past mile 6 if you do.

The recommendation was to go for one or two hard training cardio workouts before breakfast once or twice a week to get your body into fat burning mode and then use small snacks sparingly before the rest of your workouts.

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This is not some new fad, more like an increasing trend happening in corporate America. For years many companies have come to the realization that healthier employees are happier…and cheaper to get health insurance for. You didn’t think the only reason a company like IBM offers programs like this is to help you get into that size 6 for your 20th high school reunion. Nope, corporate America knows that less obese people that are on the books, the less they will have to shell out for health insurance benefits every year. Obese Americans spend roughly 42% more than healthy weight individuals on health care per year. Insurance companies know this, and so do your employers. They also know that less obesity means less sick time and other health related down time of their work force. So, while they may spin it as corporate responsibility, and honestly, many companies do have you best interest in mind, the almight dollar still plays a very significant role in these programs.

The biggest question is do they work? Particularly, does financial incentive help corporate citizens drop weight any better than who don’t get the dollar bill dangled in front of them on the treadmill? Sadly, so far the answer appears to be a rather depressing no. Cornell University researchers studied seven employer backed financial reward weight loss programs and the results were far from positive. Their research concluded that the average weight loss by individuals in these programs was just a smidge over 1 lbs. That is right, 1 pound. Considering that 34% of American adults aren’t just over weight, but obese, you can imagine that 1 lb is not going to cause too many ripples.

But all is not lost with the idea of an incentive type plan to help folks lose weight. Some companies are banking on individuals desire to not lose their own money versus rewarding them with bonuses. People tend to be more motivated by the risk of losing something they already have vs. gaining something via a contest or reward. In that Cornell study, one of the companies used a refundable bond option for employees. They would deposit money with the program and would get to keep it all if they hit their goals and stayed with the program. If they dropped out, they woudl forefit their deposit? People in this company averaged 4 lbs lost, nearly four times more than the other programs that worked on an incentive only basis. Perhaps the next diet trend will be the tough finanical love diet? 

What is the right model and do employers belong in this game to begin with? Tough questions, but judging by the adoption rates of health and weight loss programs in corporate America, we are on our way to finding out.

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