HUGE response to the article. I TOTALLY BELIEVE that you should stop all cardio if your goal is weight loss and ONLY perform strength and resistance exercises. I know I sound like a broked record, but the research is overwhelming!!!

Check out this article that was sent to me by a good friend and weigh loss success, Mary Garrett:

Can We Fight Obesity by Slapping a Heavy Tax on Soda?

By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The solution to America’s ballooning obesity epidemic lies not in weight-loss counseling or programs to make people more physically active, Kelly Brownell has come to believe. To effect real change, he argues, we need to shift the economic balance between healthful and unhealthful foods, to curtail the all-pervasive marketing of junk food — and to tax soda.

Can We Fight Obesity by Slapping a Heavy Tax on Soda?

The Checkup: Is a Soda Tax Fair?

Brownell, a professor of psychology and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, has been pondering obesity for decades, trying to tease out its causes and figure out how to counter them. Along the way, he has become a flashpoint figure in the obesity debate and a go-to guy when the media want to chew the fat about fat.

Co-author of the 2004 book “Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America’s Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It,” Brownell made a splash again in April when his argument in favor of taxing soft drinks sweetened with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It’s an idea he first proposed some 15 years ago; he believes its time may now have come. In addition to the advent of a new federal administration, one he sees as more open to such measures, “what’s made it feasible now is the convergence of the bad economy — states need the revenue — and the awareness that the obesity problem has stampeded out of control,” Brownell says.

The idea is simple: Slap an 18 percent tax on soda, and people will drink less of it. Since increased soda consumption is, Brownell says, one of the main contributors to our rising obesity rate, cutting back should lead to nationwide weight loss. Brownell sees such taxes starting with the states and eventually taking hold at the federal level, much the way tobacco taxes evolved.

Revenue from a soda tax might be used to fund obesity-prevention programs, particularly those aimed at helping kids maintain healthy lifestyles. Better yet: Use soda tax revenue to subsidize farming of healthful fruits and vegetables, just as government subsidies currently support corn that’s turned into high-fructose corn syrup, which many blame for soda’s insidious effect on our weight. While Brownell says that pledging to use revenue in those ways might make the new tax more palatable to the public, he concedes it would be impossible to ensure the funds would be used for healthful purposes unless such a requirement were written into law.
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With or without a soda tax, public health officials and experts have signaled that combating obesity is a top priority. Late last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a three-day “Weight of the Nation” conference in Washington, bringing together academics, scientists, physicians and public health officials from all over the world.

Research presented at the meeting estimated the 2008 cost of treating obesity-related ailments in the United States at $147 billion, highlighting what a weighty matter obesity has become for the nation.

And the problem is, er, widespread. In late June, the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation issued a report showing that in 31 states, more than a quarter of adults are obese; in only one state, Colorado, are fewer than one in five adults obese, and in no state had the obesity rate decreased since last year.

Obesity-busting tactics embraced at the CDC conference included encouraging communities to build schools within walking distance of students’ homes and making it easier for people to get access to healthful foods. These are in keeping with Brownell’s stance that the public-health approach to fighting obesity must shift from treatment of those who are already fat to preventing others — especially kids — from getting that way.

But while Brownell is supportive of those community-based efforts, he believes their effects will be severely limited unless big changes are made in the way food is marketed and in the basic economics of food. Until healthful foods routinely cost less than unhealthful ones, getting people — especially low-income people — to eat them will remain a challenge, he says.

And unless limits are placed on the marketing of unhealthful foods, the whole anti-obesity effort hardly stands a chance, Brownell believes. “Community programs won’t work by themselves” in an environment where industry-funded temptations to eat poorly are constant and pervasive, Brownell says. “How can community programs contend with all that marketing?”

To some critics — and, I’ll confess, to me — Brownell’s approach smacks of paternalism and over-reliance on government intervention. Shouldn’t diet and weight be a matter of personal responsibility, not the government’s concern? Brownell counters that the ubiquity and marketing of fattening food stack the deck against individual willpower, and their allure is more than many people can resist on their own, no matter how responsible they are.

“If you take lab rats and throw them a bunch of food you got at 7-Eleven, some of those rats will triple their body weight,” Brownell says research has shown. “Are those rats irresponsible? When people move to the U.S., they gain weight. Have they become less responsible? We have more obesity this year than last. Are we all less responsible?”

I’ll concede that if we individuals are supposed to take charge of our own weight, too many of us are shirking that duty. And obesity’s impact on health-care costs makes it everyone’s problem, like it or not.

So, if obesity is one of the top public-health issues facing the nation (and the new administration in Washington), what to make of the nomination of Regina Benjamin, a highly accomplished and well-regarded physician who happens to be overweight, to the post of surgeon general? What message does President Obama’s choice of her to lead America’s public-health agenda send?

“She seems a very kind person who has persevered through very challenging circumstances,” says Brownell, who, it bears noting, is not exactly thin himself. “What more do you need to know about a person?”

Benjamin, Brownell continues, “is an excellent role model because she does struggle with her weight. Her nomination underscores that there are better ways to judge a person than by how much she weighs.”

Point well taken, Professor Brownell.

This came up on Yahoo:

Top Diet Myths Expose

If you’re so committed to losing weight that you refuse to eat a baked potato for fear of eating empty carbs, you might be missing out on important nutrients and backing your diet into a corner. Open your mind to the truth behind these diet and weight myths and learn how to enjoy some of your favorite foods again.

Myth 1: Potatoes and bread are fattening.
Actually: It’s just the opposite. Starchy vegetables and bread (whole-grain bread, that is) are quality carbs needed to fuel every part of you, from your brain to your muscles. What gets you into trouble is how you eat them: Smear butter on a slice of whole-wheat bread or deep-fry potatoes and you can double, triple, or quadruple the calories. WRONG – PEOPLE EAT FAR TO BIG PORTIONS OF EVEN WHOLE WHEAT BREAD OR PASTA. IT’S NOT THE TOPPING, IT’S THE HUGE PORTION.

Myth 2: Drinking a glass of water before a meal curbs appetite.
Actually: Yes and no. Water tames appetite if it’s incorporated into food, such as soup, or a thick drink, like V8 100% Vegetable Juice. Apparently, when water is bound to food, digestion is slower, explains Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet.

That’s why women in one study found chicken-rice soup more satisfying than chicken-rice casserole and a glass of water — even though the soup had 27% fewer calories! One exception to this rule: It’s easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving something — but what? — drink a big glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that’s what your body really wanted.

JUST A MINUTE – MOST SOUP IS LOADED IN SODIUM, SO THE WATER BENEFIT IS QUICKLY ERASED AND THE SAME APPLIES TO THE V8, WHICH SHOULD ALSO BE AVOIDED. IF THE SOUP IS LOW SODIUM AND LOW FAT, FINE, BUT IT RARELY IS UNLESS YOU MAKE IT.

Myth 3: Shellfish is high in cholesterol.
Actually: On the one hand, it’s true: Just 3 ounces of shrimp delivers more than a third of your daily cholesterol. But there’s a surprising flip side to this story: Shrimp is low in saturated fat — the kind that becomes artery-clogging bad cholesterol — and has a smidgen of heart-healthy omega-3s. In fact, University of Southern California researchers discovered that eating shellfish, such as shrimp, every week reduced heart attack risk by 59 percent!

AGREE. LOVE SHELLFISH.

Myth 4: The occasional burger and fries won’t kill you.
Actually: It depends on your definition of “occasional.” If occasional means every Friday night and then some, well, you may be pushing it. But if it means every few months, and you’re fit, and you’ve got good numbers (i.e., weight, waist size, cholesterol, blood pressure), AND you’re chowing down on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other nutritious fare most other days, hey, you’ll live. But few of us are that perfect. If you do occasionally indulge, offset the effects of a fat fiesta with a brisk 90-minute walk afterward.

IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE BURGER AND FRIES. NOT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL. A MCDONALDS SMALL BURGER AND SMALL FRIES IS ONLY 490 CALORIES. SUPERSIZE THAT AND THE NUMBER TRIPLE AT LEAST.

Myth 5: Women naturally gain weight after menopause.
Actually: While you can blame a lot of things on hormones (everything from acne to PMS), in this case, slowing down physically is far more likely the cause. Study after study has found that older women who exercise regularly and vigorously can maintain their figures.

WOMEN GAIN WEIGH BECAUSE THEY LOSE MUSCLE AT TWICE THE EARLIER RATE AND THAT LEADS TO A SLOWER METABOLISM. LIFT WEIGHTS AND YOU COUNTERACT THE LOSS OF MUSCLE AND METABOLISM.

Myth 6: Diet soda is worse than the real thing.
Actually: We all would be better off switching to water, diluted fruit juice, and green tea rather than drinking soda — diet or regular. Both types increase kidney and heart disease risk, plus they contain acids that erode tooth enamel, inviting cavities.

TRUE. LOVE GREEN TEA AND LIVE ON IT.

Check out page 116 and you will see a story on Sherri Sheperd and her weight loss AND her training with my New York trainer, Don Scott. Don did GREAT work with her considering that she only lost 8 pounds but lost TONS of inches.

As the debate goes on about health care, it continually irritates me that people are not focusing on prevention. As the heading of this update show, obesity is a HUGE drain on health care and the majority of that obesity is a function of behavior NOT genes. I go a little crazy when I hear the gene argument as I can list thousands of people I know who NEVER had a weight problem, and are now huge. Look at the list of TV and Movie stars that have ballooned in size:

Alec Baldwin
William Shatner
Liz Taylor
Val Kilmer
Kirsti Ally
Candace Bergen
John Travolta
and many more.

They did NOT start out overweight. Their behavior caused them to gain the weight.

The biggest problem is that since two-thirds of the American population is overweight, it is therefore more accepted. That’s a shame.

Jim

Run don’t walk to your nearest newsstand and grab the August 17th issue with a cover story entitled “The Myth About Exercise.” The article conclusively shows that cardiovascular exercise is a complete waste of time if your goal is weigh loss and may actually cause your to GAIN weigh instead of lose.

It’s all about appetite, and when people perform hours upon hours of cardio, they get hungrier.

But, the article does NOT look at the effects of interval based strength training, which is the style of exercise I have touted for years not, which I know for a fact does NOT include the appetite increase associated with cardio.

Plus, you don’t have to do it for hours on end. 31 minutes of interval strength-training, performed three times a week, is a total of only 93 minutes A WEEK. That’s just over an hour and a half. You know you can do that and I know it produces amazing results – you not only lose weight, you lose major inches and your body gets tight and lean – for both men and women.

And, to make the interval strength option that much more appealing, you get a 38- hour AFTERBURN. Think about that, you exercise for 31 minutes and your metabolism keeps chugging for 38 hours and you keep burning more and more calories. That’s HUGE.

There is another a MAJOR flaw in the Time piece. It says that it takes 115 minutes of lifting weights to burn off 360 calories – that’s almost 2 hours. That data is wrong, wrong, wrong. It actually said that vacuuming took only 92 minutes to burn 360 calories. COME ON! Let me take your through a strength-training session and you would see what I mean.

Is both of my recent New York Times bestsellers, The Cardio-Free Diet and The 7-Day Energy Surge, I beg you to quit all the cardio for a number of reasons. If you didn’t believe me then, do you believe me now???

Make no mistake, exercise is essential for weight loss, because without strength-training, you will lose both fat AND muscle, and that will lead to a diminished metabolism. You must perform strength-training or you are doomed to fail.

Now it is illegal in Illinois to text. My question is – Can we add eating?

I hope so. No one should be eating and driving at the same time.

Jim

Over the years, I have found that most people totally blow it in August. They figure, “what the fu$#@k. I’m just going to eat and get back into it after Labor Day.”

Please don’t do that. You could easily gain 5-10 pounds in the next month and then you will feel awful in September when you start to put on Fall clothes and feel the damage.

So, I challenge you to LOSE weight this August.

Thoughts???

Jim