Tell Winter I Don't Like It

I hate the winter. Some people say they love it because it means snow and the holidays. I hate snow. As you can see I’m in an absolutely delightful mood today. It’s getting cold here in Atlanta and it’s also getting windy. The wind kills me! It goes right through the clothes I have on and straight to my bones.

People think of Atlanta and they assume that because it’s in the South, it’s pretty much hot all the time. Nope, not even close. It gets pretty cold here and occasionally snows. It’s really funny when it does snow because the entire city shuts down. Grocery stores sell out of bottled water, batteries and canned foods at the slight sign of a flurry. It’s humorous, actually. You can see the look of utter confusion in people’s eyes when they hear it might snow. What ever shall we do?

I wouldn’t know what to do if it snowed hard in Atlanta. I can barely drive in ideal weather conditions but you add a substance that’s slick and causes my car to hydroplane and I’m pretty much dead meat. I’m hoping this winter will be a light one like last year. I can handle a month or so of cold but much more than that and I start getting really depressed.

I’m a summer gal who leaves to feel the sun shining on my back. Come to think of it, I did just recently have the skin cancer scare on my back so maybe I should consider trying to become a winter gal…

Wikipedia Mania

I’m sure many of you have heard of Wikipedia and if you haven’t, you’re out of the loop. I’m writing today to express my utter amazement of this site. You can find an entry on literally every single subject in the world!

Anyways, I frequently visit this site to see the new things people are writing about. Naturally, Diet Coke has its own entry and so I decided to share some random facts on Diet Coke that might help fulfill your day. Okay, maybe not fulfill your day but at least it will help you look busy at work, trying to look like you’re actually working rather than surfing the Web. D

iet Coke is the #1 selling sugar-free soda in the world;

Diet Coke is the third-largest brand at the company, and the fourth most-popular carbonated soft drink in the world;

Diet Coke is sold in 149 countries; in 46 of them, where diet has undesirable connotations, it is known as Coca-Cola Light;

The top five markets for the brand are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Brazil.

Some predict that Diet Coke will soon overtake Pepsi as the #2 soft drink in the USA because, over the last decade, Pepsi has lost market share (down to 11.2% in 2005) and Diet Coke has gained market share (up to 9.8% in 2005)

In Germany and nearby countries, the drink is referred to as Cola Light, a usage the Coca-Cola Company has tried hard to discourage, as cola is a generic word that refers to any such drink; likewise, the company has fought a long battle against the use of Cola instead of Coke. Commercials refer only to Coke Light or Coca-Cola Light. In France and in the spanish-speaking-countries the term Coca Light is normally used.

Enviga Anyone?

There’s been a lot of hype lately about Coca-Cola’s new calorie-burning energy drink, Enviga. According to Coca-Cola, the combination of the green tea extracts (EGCG) and caffeine in the drink may help consumers burn 60 to 100 calories. This assumption is based on a person drinking 3 cans of the beverage per day. Enviga comes in 3 flavors: green tea, berry and peach. The drinks are currently being rolled out in the Northeast but expect them to hit shelves nationwide in early 2007.

Many experts are skeptical that a beverage can have calorie burning power. However, green tea has been proven beneficial for the metabolism. I’m not quite sure what to think about this drink, especially since I haven’t tried it yet. For me, taste is by far the most important factor when determining the success of a new beverage. I don’t care if it burns calories or not, if it tastes bad then I’m not gonna drink it. But, I’ve heard that this new drink actually tastes pretty good and people seem to like it.

Has anybody out there tried this stuff yet? I’d be very interested to hear what you thought of it.

Obesity is Everywhere

I just got back from a business trip and I’m exhausted! When I first started working (not too long ago), I was so pumped for my 1st business trip – the excitement, the mystery, the allure. After the first trip, my excitement waned but I still really love the fact that my job (nutrition communications) allows me to travel. I consider myself lucky that I enjoy my job and it allows me to occasionally venture out of Atlanta.

One thing I did notice while at this nutrition conference was that the population at this meeting was very representative of the general population – overweight. Now I’m no Twiggy and I have a sincere love for food but you would assume people at a nutrition conference would be somewhat healthy considering their knowledge of the risks of obesity.

One would think but one would be incredibly wrong. Many of the exhibitors at the convention were luring attendees with goodies such as candy, ice cream and other sweets. At a nutrition convention! No wonder these people are overweight - I would be too!

I must admit, I did my fair share of eating this week but it seemed a little hypocritical to me that we were all subconsciously advocating a “Do as I say, not what I do” mentality.

And as always, people were slurping down diet sodas while chomping down candy and moaning about wanting to lose weight.

Great start with the diet sodas but diet beverages are NOT a magic bullet. You can cut 150 calories a day by drinking diet soda but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s okay to have 2 extra candy bars. Put the candy down.

All in all it was a successful trip. I learned a lot, met a lot of people and had a jolly good time.

A Little Help From My Friends

An article in today's Sacramento Bee offers a bevy of weight loss tips from experts. While I don’t agree with all of their tips (who can cut 500 calories a day? Ridiculous!), I have chosen one tip from each expert that I hope to try and accomplish until the New Year.

Karen Brokken, in-patient clinical dietitian at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center, says. “Cutting alcohol is a great way to slash calories. At the very least, drink in moderation if you want to drop weight.”
This tip is a great way, even if it’s a little difficult. Calories from alcohol can really add up!

Personal trainer Alan Harris says, “Avoid foods that are high in sugar…”
I try to consume mostly low-calorie foods and beverages. Everyone’s got to splurge every once in awhile but in general, low-calorie sweeteners allow consumers to consume delicious products with a lot less calories.

Charles Stuart Platkin, syndicated health-fitness-nutrition columnist, says, "Conduct a food audit. Take an honest look at what you’re eating.”
I recently started keeping a food diary and I couldn’t believe how much I was underestimating the calories I was consuming. Apparently, counting calories isn’t really my thing. The food diary helps keep me honest with myself, even when I don’t want to be.