Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.
Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. Charles Reade English Novelist
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent..."
Calvin Coolidge 30th President of the United States
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There's no shortage of weight-loss plans for Americans to choose from, but some of the most popular ones fall short in dietary quality, according to a new study.
In an analysis of eight popular diets, researchers found that the Ornish plan, the Weight Watchers High-Carbohydrate diet, and the New Glucose Revolution plan came out on top in terms of nutritional quality and potential effects on heart health.
What the plans all had in common were high amounts of fruits, vegetables and fiber, and low amounts of artery-clogging types of fat, researchers found.
At the bottom of the list came the high-protein, low-carbohydrate Atkins plan, mainly because of its more liberal attitude toward red meat, saturated fat and trans fats, and low amounts of fruit and fiber.
The findings are published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
For overweight and obese adults, it's important not only to shed pounds, but to do it by eating heart-healthy foods, explained Dr. Yunsheng Ma, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
"Obese people already have a higher risk of heart disease," Ma told Reuters Health. So it's particularly important that they make heart-healthy diet changes that can be kept up for the long haul, the researcher noted.
For their study, Ma and colleagues used a measure called the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) to judge the quality of eight widely used diet plans. They picked six of the diets from the New York Times bestseller list; they also included the Weight Watchers plan, as it is the largest commercial plan in the U.S., as well as the federal government's 2005 Food Guide Pyramid, since it offers diet guidelines to all Americans.
The AHEI evaluates a diet's potential heart benefits based on factors such as the amount of fruits, vegetables and fiber, and the ratio of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats to cholesterol-raising saturated fat.
The top score went to the Ornish diet, a low-fat, largely vegetarian plan that allows some non-fat dairy and egg whites. The diet, developed by Dr. Dean Ornish, is intended to prevent and treat heart disease, so its high score -- 64.6 out of a possible 70 points -- is not unexpected.
Also scoring well, at just over 57 points, were the Weight Watchers High-Carbohydrate and the New Glucose Revolution diets -- which, like Ornish, contain high amounts of fruits, vegetables and fiber-rich grains.
The Glucose diet is based on the concept of the glycemic index; it limits simple carbohydrates that cause quick blood-sugar spikes -- like potatoes and white bread -- but allows complex carbohydrates higher in fiber and other nutrients.
The Atkins plan and some other low-carb, high-protein diets, including the Weight Watchers High-Protein option, were deemed less heart-healthy.
Surprisingly, Ma said, the government's Food Pyramid landed in the middle. Though the Pyramid was revamped in 2005, it still fall shorts of the top-ranked diets as far as fruits, vegetables, fiber and limits on "bad" fats, Ma noted.
The researchers are not advocating any one particular brand of weight-loss plan. But, according to Ma, people who are trying to lose weight can look to the components of the top-scoring diets to help fashion a heart-healthy eating plan.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, October 2007.
Sun is trying to break through at the moment, but we basically have an overcast day but with temps in the low 20C/70F range.
I notice another good article from Lynn and thought I'd add some great stuff that showed up in my e:mail in-box this morning.
First off . . . did you know that 2007 is the 25th anniversary of those marvellous little things we all need and so much around here . . . emoticons
Next . . . here's a little quiz to get you thinking this morning . . . only 8 questions so it doesn't take long . . . bet you'll get some surprises -- I certainly did . . . http://www.prevention.com/cda/quizpa..._-Calorie%20IQ
Finally . . . don't believe every nutrition label you read (at least not the calories per serving part) without digging a little deeper . . . those sugar alcohols are definitely NOT carb/calorie free . . . http://www.everydayhealth.com/public...6-C47C788A59CE
Well, off I go to do something around the house . . . Have a great day, everybody and I'll be back to chat more later . . .
B - 2 boiled eggs (without the yolk), 1 c mixed fruit
S - LF string cheese
L - Lean Quisine Roasted Chicken
S - 5 natural almonds
D - Turkey Meatloaf, green beans, salad w/LF balsamic dressing
S - 1 c sugar free Breyer's Ice Cream
I'm planning to be out of the 200's the next weigh-in.
Lynn: Very interesting article. Thanks for sharing.
Linda: Only missed 1 on the test. The questions were tricky but I must know more about calories than I thought. My friend works out on her gazelle and just loves it. I hope you will too.
Hi everyone..its a beautiful fall day here..i was at my annual dr checkup this morning and passed with flying colors..being a diabetic she was esp pleased with my wt loss and normal bsl..the only odd thing was her scale weighed me 20#'s less than mine its got to be a mistake but thats what they put in my chart..isnt it odd that 2 scales could be so different? i could hardly wait to get home so i could have some coffee..i hate those fasting blood tests..anyways im all coffed up and feel better..ttfn and have agreat day (((hugs))) rosey
ROSEY . . . glad everything was good . . . really strange about the scale; usually you weigh more at the doctor's because of clothes and time of day kind of stuff. Twenty pounds is a big, big difference. Hey, maybe it's your home scale that is wrong. Wouldn't that be a nice bonus.
Lynn, thanks for the article....it certainly follows what The China Study says. Guess I will have to get out my Dean Ornish book at look at some of their recipes again. Maybe even incorporate a few...
I think I am finally mostly over whatever thing attacked me. Hopefully I will be able to do some exercise tomorrow. It has been a very interesting day. I am looking forward to a new tomorrow.
Hello to everyone....keep posting.....I miss not being able to eaves drop on everyone's busy hectic schedules. (Mine is getting busier....now to get off the tush and go with the flow!!)
Meowee.....I thought you were throwing out figures when you said you had 300 cookbooks.....but I now am believing you really do have 300. What types of cookbooks are your favorite to collect???
I have away a Moosewood cookbook......because I never used it....NOW I wished I had it back!!! Oh, well! I probably have about 40 to 50 cookbooks.
Margaret...
Gayle, Madison is adorable!!! You must be a PROUD GRANDMA!!! She has such a beautiful complexion with all that dark hair too!! Tell Mom & Dad we said Congrats too!
Good Morning Girls! We have sunshine and predicted 70 degree weather today so I'm going to put all our patio and lawn furniture away. My potted flowers are still blooming so I'll hold off with them. I'll get plenty of exercise in, my scale went up one pound this morning but I had salty chicken stir-fry last night which explains it. I found the recipe on the side of a Swanson chicken broth can and it was delicious and doesn't use any oil in the recipe. Lynn: Thanks for the article, I had the Dr. Ornish book years ago but counting calories is the only way I can lose weigh so I'll stick to that. Meowee: I flunked the test, only got two right! LindaD:
Quote:
Linda: Only missed 1 on the test. The questions were tricky but I must know more about calories than I thought. My friend works out on her gazelle and just loves it. I hope you will too.
It was tricky, I think I would have done better if I had known the quanties of the items. Rosey: I think I would celebrate, go out and buy a new scale. Marylynn: You sound just like me went I hit the sack, but I add to your list a hot cup of milk before retiring because it helps me sleep. Moxie: I can't remember who in the Oct. challenge said she didn't own a cookbook, I did own many until last Sunday's auction. I didn't count them but I sold over 100 cookbooks. I've collected them over the years, I love looking through them, DH does too. We both love to cook but we keep using the same 10 or 12 cookbooks so I cleaned house and got rid of most of them. We sold many of our pots and pans, electric frypans, baking pans, etc. Our daughter warned us to start getting rid of "stuff" that we didn't use, she didn't want to go through years and years of junk like we just did with DH's mom. I have always bought every new gismo that came on the market, wish I had back all the money I spent. DH and I decided not to buy anything more unless we really, really need it. Gayle: Darling photos of the grandkids. I love the smell of babies! Hi everyone I missed, I didn't even attempt to go back over the missed threads from everyone while I was absent. I will keep up with everyone on new thoughts, have a great day!
so much around here . . . emoticons 
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its got to be a mistake but thats what they put in my chart..isnt it odd that 2 scales could be so different? i could hardly wait to get home so i could have some coffee..i hate those fasting blood tests..anyways im all coffed up 
and feel better..ttfn and have agreat day (((hugs))) rosey 
ROSEY . . . glad everything was good . . . really strange about the scale; usually you weigh more at the doctor's because of clothes and time of day kind of stuff. Twenty pounds is a big, big difference. Hey, maybe it's your home scale that is wrong. Wouldn't that be a nice bonus. 
