Monthly Archives: March 2010

Are you a victim of fad diets? (part 4)

• South beach diet. Like the Atkins diet, the South Beach Diet is divided into three phase.
In phase I (last 14 days- the strictest phase of the diet), you eat normal-sized helping of lean meats, such as chicken, turkey, fish and shellfish.

Vegetables are also allowed, so are nuts, cheese and eggs. The goal is to eat three balance meals a day, and to eat three balanced meals a day, and to eat enough so that you don’t feel hungry all the time.
A typical South Beach diet breakfast is two eggs and lean bacon.
A mid-morning snack is celery stuffed with one wedge of Laughing Cow Light Cheese.
Lunch might be salad greens with grilled chicken. For an afternoon snack, 10 cherry tomatoes with ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese.
Dinner may be lean meat again with fiber-rich vegetables. Absolutely no starches or flour are allowed in this phase.
The promised weight loss is eight to 13 pound in two to three weeks.
Phase II is more liberal in terms of what may be eaten until you reach your goal weight.

Phase III concerns itself with lifelong weight maintenance.
This is more livable.

Are you a victim of fad diets? (part 3)

High protein, low carb diets
These diets are based on those that say carbohydrates are bad and cause weight gain. Examples:
• Atkins diet. The premise of this diet is to cut out the carbohydrates to no more than 20 grams a day. This is translated to a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon and decaffeinated coffee or tea; a lunch consisting of a bacon cheeseburger without the bun; and dinner of shrimps, steak, salad with dressing and sugar-free dessert with whipped cream.

• Sugar busters. One of the latest craze among low carbohydrate diets, this fad diet, considers sugar as the enemy.
White rice, potatoes, carrots and other foods with simple sugar are completely eliminated.
Followers are advised to stick to all lean meats, cheeses, eggs and sausage high in protein.

Are you a victim of fad diets? (part 2)

Specific Food Combination Diets
These diets emphasize not only what combinations the food are eaten. Examples:
• The three-day diet. This diet advocates a planned three-day menu that Is to be consumed strictly to effect a weight loss of almost 10 pounds.
• Schwarzbein diet. This diet principle written by an endocrinologist, Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, points out that eating proteins and non-starchy carbohydrates together will keep the food from being stored as fat.
• Suzanne Somers. This diet works on the premise of not eating fats with carbohydrates, if one wishes to eat fruits, one has to wait at least 20 minutes before eating additional carbohydrates. It recommends against defined cereals.

Are you a victim of fad diets?

Weight loss advice comes in many guises, using radical words like the most effective “newest diet in the market,” “the revolutionary approach to dieting” or “the ultimate dieting” program and more.
All of these are really recycled fad diets making an encore appearance. However, the lure of an easy weight loss programs is actually hard to resist.
Most of the time these are all just gimmicks. Yet weight loss hopefuls are willing to give the latest dieting craze a chance.
Let’s try to sort out the fact from fiction.

Food Specific Diets
These diets promote one food with special properties that can cause weight loss. Examples are the grapefruit and cabbage soup diet.
Eating just one food while excluding others can result in weight loss because eating the same food becomes boring.
In the end, you end up not eating the food or not enough of it to maintain your weight. These diets do not reach healthy eating habits and are usually not nutritionally balanced.

Elevator etiquette (part 6)

• Eleventh, if you know you are going to the very top floor, please make your way to the back of the car.
If this is not possible without passing people out of your way, just get off at the other floors and allow others past you, then get back on.
Grosso said the only time there is door-holding etiquette for the elevator is when someone is hosting or guiding someone else.
In all other situations, just wait for others to get off, get on, face the front, call out your floor number, be courteous and wait your turn.

So now every time you enter an elevator you the right thing/s to do…

Elevator etiquette (part 5)

• Ninth, never hold the door for a friend that will be here in “just a second”

Another elevator car will be along in a minute. Don’t hold up the elevator for those awaiting their swift ascension where they can hurriedly go on their way.

Tenth, if you see someone rushing across the quad yelling, “Hold the elevator,” and you are in too big hurry, just don’t want to put up with them, don’t ignore them.

Make it look like you’re scrambling to find the “open door” button and cast a quick “I’m sorry, I couldn’t find the button” look at them as the doors close.

That way, he does not get his feelings hurt and you are on your way. You can even push the “close door” button instead and make it look like you were pushing the other one.

Elevator etiquette (part 4)

  • Seventh, if you push the elevator call button, don’t give up and leave if it doesn’t come right away. Stick out.

There are few things more irritating than getting in the elevator on the first floor, headed for the fifth floor, and getting stopped on the floor that does not have anyone waiting to get on.

Parents: please don’t allow your children to push both elevator call buttons, and also keep them from pushing the buttons, and also keep them from pushing the buttons for every floor once inside the car.

  • Eight: please, please, please cover your mouth if you have to sneeze or cough, and direct it away from other passengers. Wash your hands as soon as possible thereafter.

Elevator etiquette (part 3)

• Seventh, if you push the elevator call button, don’t give up and leave if it doesn’t come right away. Stick out.
There are few things more irritating than getting in the elevator on the first floor, headed for the fifth floor, and getting stopped on the floor that does not have anyone waiting to get on.
Parents: please don’t allow your children to push both elevator call buttons, and also keep them from pushing the buttons, and also keep them from pushing the buttons for every floor once inside the car.
• Eight: please, please, please cover your mouth if you have to sneeze or cough, and direct it away from other passengers. Wash your hands as soon as possible thereafter.

Elevator etiquette (part 2)

• Fourth, the elevator is usually so slow that it would be much faster, not to mention more courteous, to take the stairs up or down one level that to ride the elevator.
Exceptions, of course, include the disabled, and parents with children (especially in strollers).
Cindy Grosso, the owner and founder of the Charleston School of Protocal and Etiquette, said, “It is proper elevator etiquette that everyone get on and turn to face forward”
• This is rule number five. Do not stare at the other riders in the car. The person is already feeling that his/her personal space has been drastically invaded by your presence in the car.
A courteous “hello” or “good morning” is always appropriate, but if they don’t push the issue.
• Sixth, if you were previously engaged in a conversation with someone before entering the elevator, you are welcome to continue that conversation on the elevator.
Just be aware that it is impossible for other riders to keep from overhearing.
Never discuss controversial issues –like elevator etiquette- in front of other riders.