Lindsay

Responding to pressure from federal regulators, a major food manufacturers organization said Wednesday that it would develop a labeling system for the front of food packages that would highlight the nutritional content of foods, including things like calories, unhealthy fats and sodium that many consumers want to limit. The group, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said the labeling system would be introduced early next year. The Grocery Manufacturers Association represents more than 300 large food, beverage and consumer product companies. It will work on the labeling system with the Food Marketing Institute, a trade group of major food retailers. The Food and Drug Administration is moving to develop guidelines for the information on the front of packages. Details on the labeling system were sketchy, and it was not clear that it would satisfy regulators’ preference for a system that would clearly alert consumers to the less-healthy aspects of many packaged foods. A report this month by the Institute of Medicine called for package-front nutrition labels to show only calories, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium, the nutrients most closely associated with the major public health problems of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. “We’ve committed today to put nutrients to limit on the front of our packages,” Scott Faber, a vice president of the manufacturers association, said in referring to nutrients that can be considered health concerns. Mr. Faber said it had not yet been determined which nutrients would be on the label. And he said the group would not commit to keep off the types of nutrients that food companies like to trumpet on their packaging, like vitamins and fiber. Mary Sophos, an executive vice president for the group, said the label would not characterize a food’s overall nutritional qualities as good or bad — like the traffic signal label in Great Britain that displays a red circle for less healthy nutrient levels and a green circle for healthier levels. “We’re not going to get into interpreting elements of the food,” Ms. Sophos said. An F.D.A. statement said, “Our hope is that the industry will develop a label that aids in consumer understanding and helps parents and other shoppers easily identify and select products that contribute to a healthy diet.” The food industry was forced to halt a package-front labeling campaign called Smart Choices, which was criticized because it gave a nutritional seal of approval to foods like sugary cereals and highly salted frozen meals. That led the F.D.A. to say it would set guidelines for package-front nutrition labels. “Is this an effort to try to head off what the F.D.A. is doing?” said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University. “That’s what it looks like to me.” A version of this article appeared in print on October 28, 2010, on page B4 of the New York edition.

Trav, are you Ukrainian? (my dad is ..)

Almost everything I state on here is backed up with links to studies, or such. I'm not making this crap up. and while we're on it, here's ya go, my awesome foodie friends. If it's in fact true that we are what we eat, it's always important to know what we're actually eating and where it comes from. The New York Times' recent article on the history and production of the budget favorite gyro tells us all about the industrial process that goes into making those mystery cones. The process starts with boxes of raw beef and lamb trimmings, and ends with what looks like oversized Popsicles the shade of a Band-Aid. In between, the meat is run through a four-ton grinder, where bread crumbs, water, oregano and other seasonings are added. A clumpy paste emerges and is squeezed into a machine that checks for metal and bone. ("You can never be too careful," Mr. Tomaras said.) Hydraulic pressure -- 60 pounds per square inch -- is used to fuse the meat into cylinders, which are stacked on trays and then rolled into a flash freezer, where the temperature is 20 degrees below zero. SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/18/how-gyro-meat-is-made-vid_n_239357.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/dining/15gyro.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2 http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekfoodphotogalleries/ig/How-Greek-Gyro-is-Made/ http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/603037 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/423054 http://www.fitday.com/webfit/nutrition/all_foods/meat_beef_pork_misc_/gyro_sandwich_pita_bread_beef_lamb_onion_condiments_with_tomato_and_spread.html http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gyro-calories-in-gyro.html if you think all you're eating is 'chicken', or 'beef' you're dead wrong. If YOU (whoever you are, i could honestly care less) think i'm 'pushing' people away from this forum, they obviously have issues that go far beyond me! Seriously. You've got to be kidding me ... LOL! Boo-hoo!!

i agree with the comment on BMI. it's actually a very old skool way of thinking ... and not an indication of 'healthiness'. It doesn't account for lean muscle mass, which does reflect on the scale.

You must be new to the board We don't discuss pricing on here - you'll need to contact the OCC directly. But don't worry. We're all given the same rate(s) - I've looked into it

Without knowing your situation, besides the brief details you provided, I'd have to say it's probably not a weight issue you need counseling on - it's the mental aspect of losing weight, and the reality. 5 lbs here. 5 lbs there. It's all the same thing. We can gain/lose that over night in water retention alone. I'm having major issues with this right now, too - and I'm back to seeing my therapist to talk about it. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is very very common. Especially in those who have lost large amounts of weight.

I've only heard negative feedback regarding Fill Center's USA - It seems to the same issues, regardless to which centre & city you visit. What a beyond terrible thing to go through. I hope new banders are keeping this mind, prior to making the decision of getting banded 'over the boarder' - please track down a fill doctor, who has a great reputation, PRIOR to the surgery. No doctor will touch me in Canada, either. It's a lot harder than it sounds.

wow --- you poor thing. I wish I could help you, but I'm soo happy you're getting your story out.

sounds far too tight. how did you get your fill done? (blind fill, flouro?)

How are you getting your fills done? (Blind, flouro?) And usually, for us 'blind' fill peoples, it can take up to 10 fills, depending on the size of your band. Baby steps ... I didn't feel any real restriction until my 4th fill. But I had started losing weight, because i started working out and cleaned up my diet. If you have the feeling of food getting stuck, that's restriction. What kind of foods are you getting this sensation from? Usually this is from: rice, breads, most carbs in other words. And yes, this is typical.

Doolittle -- thought I'd let you know, I did msg him, and never heard back. sigh/

For those commenting that they're not losing. What are you doing proactively to change this? Are you FOOD JOURNALING? Are you exercising DAILY? Or are you just sitting there, thinking about the band and the fills you've gotten or had? Our metabolisms doesn't miraculously increase by getting the band.

eptember 27, 2010, 2:55 pm Obesity More Expensive for Women By TARA PARKER-POPE Economists at George Washington University have tabulated the cost of obesity and discovered a surprising gender gap: It’s more expensive for a woman to be obese than for a man, as Roni Rabin reports in today’s Vital Signs column. While a man racks up $2,646 annually in extra expenses if he is obese, a woman’s obesity costs her $4,879, almost twice as much. Much of the gender gap is due to lower wages for obese women, who earn less relative to similar working women who are not obese, according to the analysis. The study also found that the more overweight you are, the more expensive life gets. The incremental costs faced by obese women are nine times higher than those for overweight women. For obese men, the costs are six times higher than those of overweight men. To learn more read “Obesity Costs Women More, Study Finds.” You can also read the original report, “A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States.”

I'd get a fill, and go home the same day! Did someone tell you that you needed to stay for 24 hours?? They do the fills under flouro at the OCC, making the fills normally very accurate.

Oh Debbie, you'll LOVE it!!! hehehehe!!!

They base the SIZE of your band on the weight you'll be losing. I forget what I remember reading in this forum, but I believe it's over 100+ (give or take) they give you a larger one. The restriction on a smaller band is not nearly as gradual, compared to a larger one. Which is a GOOD thing. Quick weight loss can lead to a handful of very serious effects, which can be prevented in this case. (unlike, with gastric bypass) I also know I've read by Dr O uses the band he does. Including the AP vs Allergan - I believe they're the same band - the company bought it? As for erosion, and slippage - this is something you'll hear a lot about, but it very rarely actually happens. Slippage is mainly due to abuse of the band (and I'll leave it at that) -- erosion is again, very very rare, and can happen to anyone regardless to band brand. And the 'stuff' that's floating around the interweb (and US/Canadian doctors) - I don't want to generalize, but they do say 'stuff' to scare you, so you'll go back to them. And not head across the boarder .............

Just be cautious of store bought non fat salad dressings - the fat is replaced with sugar and sodium. One of the main ingredients that make a fat-free dressing taste great is high fructose corn syrup. This stuff maybe sweet, but it's extremely unhealthy. High fructose corn syrup is a man-made toxin.

For me, I like to treat myself with new runners .. But I do it more as a treat when I'm consistent with my workouts. When I was in the US last week, I went crazy shopping for smaller clothing, as everything seemed so cheap. And the vanity sizing in the USA is AWESOME - I'm a size 4! (yeah right!)

I didn't feel anything until about my 3rd fill ... I thought my band was broken!! So hold tight, and just wait until your first fill. Are you getting it done via flouro?