Thursday, November 13, 2008

Picture Perfect Weight Loss


I was sharing with a friend my frustrations about eating after reading a book on sugars. Sugars are in the most unexpected foods. It seems like my eating habits are so unhealthy regardless of the efforts that I make to eat healthier foods. I started two months ago eating side salads as my main course when I go to a restaurant. And, I was eating soups, granola bars, 100 pack calories snacks, and drinking a lot of fruit juices assuming that I was getting it right. And, I come to find out that many of these choices were full of sugars.

Therefore, a book was suggested for me to examine called "Picture Perfect," by Dr. Shapiro to see if it would help. Dr. Shapiro uses pictures to illustrate your calorie intake.

Publisher Weekly's synopsis: "A New York-based physician specializing in weight control, Shapiro will no doubt startle many lifelong dieters and experts with his approach to eating. There are no "correct" portions and there are no bad foods. Instead, he insists that people must become aware of what they're consuming. To illustrate this principle, the book is filled with color photographs of different foods.

For example, one page shows a handful of mixed nuts, potato chips and vegetable crisps: these three portions have 400 calories each, but 10 cups of popcorn has the same number of calories as the rest. A one-cup serving of Quaker Natural Cereal has 540 calories, but that same number of calories is found in 16 low-cal Fudgsicles. Shapiro uses real-life examples of people with weight problems and includes practical advice, albeit in brief chapters, on exercise and the psychological reasons why people become overweight. However, the power of this book is clearly the illustrations showing the "right" and "wrong" food choices. Shapiro walks readers through ethnic menus (Chinese, Greek, etc.), explaining which choices make the most sense health wise. This is a smart approach to dieting from which everyone, regardless of their weight, will benefit. "

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