What is a meal replacement?

• Meal replacements are packaged foods, usually a bar or a beverage, that provides 200 to 300 calories per serving, and are fortified with more then 20 vitamin and minerals to at least 25% of the recommended amount.
• There are frozen and shelf stable dinners that can be used to replace meals, but these are technically not meal replacements, since they are usually not fortified with additional vitamins and minerals
• Meal replacements are not dietary supplements. Check the label on the product. If it is labeled a dietary supplement, it is not intended for the sole item of a meal or diet.

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Portion distortion has overtaken America. Soft drinks that were 8 fluid ounces a serving are no 20 fluid ounces   a serving, an increase of 160 calories. A bagel used to be about 160 calories or two servings. Now it's close to 5 servings, or 400 calories. But people still consider it one serving since it is one bagel. Many items that appear to be one serving since they're in a single package, or container are actually two ore more servings when one reads the food label. Restaurant foods are more difficult to estimate and few resturants readily provide nutrition information.

Keep in  mind that a 'portion" and a "serving" are not the same.  A "portion" is the amount you decide to eat. A "serving" is a standardized amount of food. We do know that people will eat more, no matter how hungry, or how full they are, if the food is on the plate. The double whammy here is that our plates have gotten bigger over the years so we are putting more food on them.

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The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), founded in 1993 by Drs. Hames Hill and Rena Wing, is a database of people who have successfully lost more then 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year. These successful "losers" are followed annually with questionnaires to determine weight maintenance strategies.

The NWCR tells us that there are close to 4,000 participants. A close look at them finds...

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Grocery store shopping does not have to be difficult. Believe it or not, the grocery store is set up in a way to get you to purchase what they want you to place in your cart. Whether you want to or not. Some of these items can be healthy but, unfortunately, most are not.

Grocery stores are paid to support a specific product line and to advertise. For instance, if Keebler is promoting a new cookie, they will market and pay the grocery store for space at the front of the store or on an end-cap (space at the end of the isle). This is where the food is most noticeable to the consumer. As for product placement on the aisles, it is about the grocery store making the most money. So anything within eyesight and where no reaching or bending is involved is where the most popular and most profitable items are located.

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Cooking methods are important in food preparation especially when preparing protein foods. Your protein intake, particularly from high quality meats, can be significantly increased by learning how to properly cook and prepare various types of meats to make them moist and tender.

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It is important to understand that not all substitutions are created equal, and while it may save you calories from fat, it can possibly increase calories in other areas such as sugar and sodium.

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By most standards of measure, I was an average size child. By the time I was in fifth grade, I began putting on a few extra pounds. A few extra pounds very easily multiplied into 100 extra pounds and then effortlessly ballooned into 200 extra pounds. I went from fifth grade to high school in what seemed like minutes instead of years. I became known as “The Happy Fat Guy” at five foot eight inches tall, tipping the scales at 380 pounds. And so began my journey to what ultimately brought me to where I am today.

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The relationship we have with food is personal. Each one of us, including myself, can remember where we had the perfect steak, or who makes the best pizza in town, and we know exactly where to go to get award- winning barbeque. Now, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you know which type of bread has the highest fiber count?
• Which is better for you: low-fat cottage cheese or fat-free cottage cheese?
• Can you name three different grains other than the obvious ones such as corn, wheat and oats?

Do not worry if you do not know the answer. You are not alone. I surveyed many people around the country and found that when it comes to eating healthy and knowing which foods are the most healthful, most draw a blank. Therefore, I have put together a list of the top 10 facts about eating healthy that everyone should know.

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Changing the school breakfast and lunch program at Cross Timbers did not happen overnight. In 2006, Chef Dave Fouts had an idea to promote healthy eating in the school system by developing a week-long event that included school events focusing on health and nutrition and a lunch prepared 100 percent from scratch.

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