A Chip Off The BIG PICTURE!!!

I found this story reprinted in the StarTribune today from the LA Times. I find it completely misleading! You can follow this link or you can just read it below since it is so short.

<from the LA TIMES>

Blame the potato chip. It's the biggest demon behind that pound-a-year weight creep that plagues many of us, a major diet study found. Bigger than soda, candy and ice cream. And the reason is partly that old advertising cliché: You can't eat just one. "They're very tasty and they have a very good texture. People generally don't take one or two chips. They have a whole bag," said obesity expert Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer of the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York. In the new study, scientists from Harvard analyzed changes in diet and lifestyle habits of 120,877 people from three long-running medical studies. On average, participants gained nearly 17 pounds over the 20-year period. Potato chips were the biggest dietary offender. Each daily serving containing 1 ounce led to a 1.69-pound uptick over four years. For potatoes other than chips, the gain was 1.28 pounds. Within the spud group, french fries were worse for the waist than boiled, baked or mashed potatoes. By comparison, sugary drinks added a pound over four years and sweets and desserts added 0.41 of a pound.

Seriously? This is the biggest problem we have with the drastic rise in obesity? If the real problem is 'a pound a year of weight gain', then I guess I can go with it. Plus, it makes you think that soft drinks might just be OK. Guess what....they are not!

If you get some space to write a wellness column, use it for something productive like addressing the REAL problems! I think what bugs me the most is that scientists from Harvard analyzed data to come to this conclusion. They are probably tenured jackasses that have nothing better to do but spend some grant money on useless studies like this. I know the concept of 'tenure' bothers me but I know it bothers my buddy, The Rube too!

Why can't they spend their time and money studying and publishing something that stands a chance to change the knowledge level of Americans and nutrition as it relates to obesity? I could rant forever but I think I will just stop now!

Caddyshack....The New Nutritional Guideline!

Who knew that Caddyshack had a line in the movie that would prove to be a healthy option?

When Spaulding Smails says, “I want a hamburger. No, cheeseburger. I want a hot dog. I want a milkshake. I want potato chips…..” and Judge Smails interrupts with, “You’ll have nothing, and like it!”

Judge & Spaulding Smails

This weekend, I found myself in another very high risk situation. Surrounded by family that is very supportive yet in an environment filled with buffets, pizza and other foods that helped me get to the unhealthy, old version of The Orracle of the past. Dinner in a restaurant is fairly simple. You can usually get a grilled chicken breast or small sirloin/filet, salad and plain baked potatoes (with lemon of course!). Breakfast is a whole different situation. While eggs are not horrible for you and omelets can be made with veggies galore, there is not a grilling option that you can assure yourself will be light on the oil. At 120 calories per tablespoon and 70 calories per egg, this can get out of control quickly. Then, figure it will come with a meat and/or toast which even dry is very high in calories.

Mrs. Orracle and I decided to pack a cooler with all of the ingredients to Breakfast Whack. We ate that before meeting our family for breakfast. I thought about testing the waters at breakfast and once I did, I was very happy that I had already eaten my Whack. I tried to get a poached egg or two. They did not do that but I could get them basted (WARNING!). An egg white omelet was not available either. You had your choice of grease, calories or fat with a side of grease.

I had nothing.....and liked it!

My sister commented how hard that must have been. I would not say it was hard. I felt fine. I was feeling full from my Whack. Was it difficult to sit and have coffee with American fries, omelets, biscuits and gravy and French toast filling every olfactory nook and cranny in my body? Sure. Let’s say for a minute I had the breakfast instead of Whack. Whack was roughly 300 calories. An omelet would have been at least 350-400 plus any extras such as toast at 100 calories a slice if eaten dry (and why would you do that?). Let’s assume I could have survived the breakfast at 550 calories (which might be pushing it). Is the difference of 250 calories that much of a deal breaker for me? Probably not. Could it bring back the taste of some old habits. You bet. Could it have been that it would not have satiated me like the well rounded Whack did? Absolutely.

The point I am trying to make is that we cannot look at the net calories alone. We have to look at where we’ll be after that meal. If that meal will leave you hanging and wanting more food sooner, it probably is not the best choice even if the net difference in calories is small. The food contents and plate design (¼ protein, ¼ starch, ½ fruits and/or vegetables) can make the difference down the road that day!

We can make significant progress in our battles to lose weight and be more healthy by making small adjustments. Just imagine what a difference a big adjustment or two like this can do for you!

Sugar Buzz!

I saw today that the LAUSD (Los Angeles School District) decided to keep chocolate milk out of schools beginning July 1. This is a good move. For those of you that do not watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, the show was most likely one of the key drivers although another woman had been pushing for this for over a year.



In one episode, to demonstrate the amount of ADDED sugar kids in LAUSD had in one week, he filled a bus with the amount of sugar they were consuming. Pretty scary! It filled the bus and ran out the windows.

The one board member that opposed this change, proclaiming that a TV show host should not have that much influence over the board had it all wrong. She compared the amount of sugar in fruit juices that they serve to be eqivalent to the chocolate milk. The point of the needed change is not the total grams of sugar but the ADDED SUGAR they were getting.

A 1/2 pint of skim white milk has 10g of sugar. A 1/2 pint of skim chocolate milk has 20g of sugar. The juice she compared to had 20g of sugar also but assuming the juice was 100%, it was not added sugar. Now, we all know from what we learned at Hilton Head Health that the sugars and calories in juices need to be moderated too, but I'll still consider this a win! In the realm of Unwise, Better, Best, the chocolate milk is unwise, juice is better and white skim milk is best!

Since I spent 4 weeks at H3, I am so hyper-aware of the sugars and calories in everything around me. I am also very aware of the choices those around me make and have to bite my lip vs. speak out. I am just a short way down my journey I realize. I ended up where I was because of a lack of knowledge.

Thank goodness for people like Bob Wright teaching what he does and for people like Jamie Oliver for taking it to the airwaves. We are plagued by obesity and all of the co-morbidities in this country. Every small change like removing chocolate milk will help!

My First Week On The Road!

This week I had my first opportunity to try out my travel skills since leaving Hilton Head Health. I find it surprising where my challenges were this week. I planned my trip to come early on Sunday which would allow me time to get to a grocery store. I did well on the plane but was surprised that the meals in first class do not have any nutritional information available. In that situation, go with what you have learned. There is no question that the chicken breast sandwich was the UNWISE or maybe just BETTER choice vs. the chicken breast salad. It was the BEST choice available. The dressing was on the side so I knew I could dip and spear. Fortunately, the tiny breadsticks had calorie information on them as did the brownie that I just looked at. Fortunately, chocolate is not my vice and it was fairly painless to let it slip away.

Let’s talk about groceries. Publix has horrible produce. Just junk. I managed to get apples, bananas, grapes, Rainier cherries and carrots with a new dip from Marzetti that is a greek yogurt, feta, dill dip and low in calories. I hope I can find that at home!

The eating out went well. I can always get lean filets, fish (especially here in Florida), salads, plain baked potatoes (with lemon....try it!) and grilled veggies. I did have a server at Bahama Breeze suggest that I have my fish grilled with olive oil because A) it has less calories than butter and B) the seasonings in the butter would add too many calories. Um, no….wrong and wrong. Butter actually has a few less calories and seasonings generally have none. Is it any wonder why our country is growing at the waist like it is? What I found amazing was how when I ordered FIRST as Bob suggested, every night, people in my group would follow my lead. More people would make healthier choices than those that did not. Many would just say, “I’ll have the same as Lyle!” I have traveled with these people before and KNOW how they normally would order. That is just amazing to me.

I worked out but was frustrated with the treadmills at the Hampton Inn. I think they have a weight limit of about 200 pounds as they slipped underneath me. I decided to not be defeated and hit the pavement. This is the first time I have walked/run on tar and it really beat up my joints. No more of that for a while. The rest of the week I just did fitball and resistance band stuff with dumbbells and managed to get enough work in.

The challenge came at breakfast. Two of my favorite items are the cheese omelet and the bagel toppers. Why did I even open the steam table cover? Still, I managed to have a poor man’s version of breakfast whack which was Total cereal, strawberry yogurt and a banana. Having the sweetened yogurt and the banana made it WAY too sweet compared to the Real Breakfast Whack but at 280 calories, it sufficed and filled me up. I really did not imagine that the breakfast would be my biggest challenge of the week.



One more night then off to home in the morning. I know where my calories have been but it feels like cheating when you eat out every night. I am curious to see if the scale shows what my food log says it should!

My next challenge will be in a couple of weeks when I do back to back 3 day trips to Cincinnati and Austin. I will be traveling with executives and will not have any opportunity to get fruits and veggies for snacking. Lunches will also be provided which means less chance to make a good choice. Control will be the key. This is my life though and I must learn to deal with every aspect of it. The great part about this week was that I proved that it can be done. Even though everyone has big eyes when you say you have to travel, knowing that it means eating out and in their mind, that means you have absolutely NO chance of keeping control, it is refreshing to know that it is possible with only a little preparation and knowledge. For that, I thank Bob Wright!

Something In The Water At Hilton Head Health?

I know my time at Hilton Head Health (H3i) was life changing. I know that the change in me is likely related to the fact that 1) I was there for 28 days 2) It is a very well rounded program focusing on diet, nutrition education, fitness and mental wellness and 3) The people there were amazing and inspirational. That was my theory up until today.

Today, I decided to not pack a lunch. That also meant no metabo-meals to snack on. I had my Breakfast Whack as usual and then for lunch, I went to Subway with Spiffy. Safe there with a footlong turkey on wheat, no cheese, tons of veggies and just mustard for sauce. 560 calories.

On the way home....well, I got hungry. I stopped for fuel and smelled a nearby Burger King.

--->Uh-oh<---

I started driving and soon found myself at Wal-Mart buying carrots and an apple. Slip, lapse and collape averted.

Now, the theory I posted above certainly was not the only factors at work. I have since given this some additional thought and have arrived at a few more ideas.

1) As the title suggests, there is something in the water. I Sure drank enough of it while I was there!
2) The reflector on the 'reflector tree', turning point for all of our after meal thermal-walks may actually be emitting some kind of mind-altering ray.
3) The pool at H3i was reported to us as being a saline pool. Perhaps that is a cover-up for some other kind of salt in the pool that enters you via osmosis (or via choking from Katie pushing you to do one more lap when you cannot swim well).
4) Could it be the Balsamic Pepper sauce that we became so addicted to?
5) Perhaps Chef Jen is behind this! She is such an amzing chef and extremely friendly that we'd never suspect her of being behind something like this!

I don't know the reason but I can say this....prior to my visit to H3i, even if I was doing well on a 'diet', I would not have avoided eating something bad. It might not have been fast food but probably would not have been 'best' or even 'better'.

No matter their tricks, I hope it never wears off because tonight when I felt better having had something healthy, I felt fantastic knowing I made the best choice I could have.

Breakfast Whack Spreading Like Wildfire!

Like a bad rumor, the concoction now known as Breakfast Whack is catching on. From its roots to person unknown at Hilton Head Health, it had a following. The following was somewhat limited to H3 guests and past guests however.

In a recent post, I illustrated the way it obtained the catchy name, Breakfast Whack. Since then, my wife's coworkers have started eating it and loving it. Rumor has it that their families have even started on it. Could Breakfast Whack be the next Facebook, multiplying like friend requests to old girlfriends? Just maybe.

Today at lunch, I had something that was not as pretty as Breakfast Whack but it sure was tasty. It just might be the incarnation of Lunch Whack....but Jess will be the judge of that!

The Orracle Goes Viral!

Disclaimer: I understand that a title like that from me would usually mean that I am sick or have some kind of actual virus. That is not the case today...


Since my friends at Hilton Head Health posted a link to my last blog entry on their facebook page, potentially HUNDREDS of people have found my blog. That means it is time to turn up the intensity and get some more posts out here!

Besides getting a haircut today which along with my glowing Hilton Head Island tan makes me look like a movie star, I have really nothing else to say today! So, I found a little viral video, food related of course for your viewing pleasure. I think this dog just might need a short stay at H3 to control these food driven emotions! ENJOY!