Balance of Food

Dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, Jasmin win My Diet Is Better Than Yours

My Diet Is Better Than Yours had 7 experts, but only one of them was a dietitian. Turns out the dietitian and her contestant did win the 14-week challenge.

In the series finale that aired on ABC last night, Jasmin went from 200 lbs. to 147 lbs., a weight loss of 26.50% to win the title. Jasmin receives a $50,000 prize, $20,000 in free groceries, and both Dawn Jackson Blatner and Jasmin will be featured in People magazine. (Full disclosure: I know Dawn in real life.)

Kurt, on the wild diet, had a heroic weight-loss performance going from 352 lbs. to 265 lbs., an 87-lb. weight loss and a percentage of 24.72%

The superfood swap diet won the competition, though after the 7 weeks where the experts were alongside the contestants, Kurt had a slight edge with 16.19% versus 15% for Jasmin.

Dawn and Jasmin celebrating via smartphone after the win.

Jasmin won the Week 7 weigh-in, losing 5 pounds for a 2.86% weight loss. Kurt lost 7 lbs. in Week 7 for a 2.32% weight loss.

Jasmin lost 30 pounds while Dawn was there; 23 pounds on her own. She lost 56.6% of her weight loss with the expert. Kurt lost 57 pounds with Abel; 30 pounds on his own for a 65.5% rate while with the expert.

Latasha got some vindication by coming in 3rd with a 18.52% weight loss, going from 243 lbs. to 198 lbs. Given that she stayed too long with the clean momma plan, her numbers would have been a lot better.

Jeff had physical issues in the half marathon, but still did rather well, going from 359 lbs. to 295 lbs. for a 64-lb. weight loss and a 17.83% weight loss.

Taj dropped out of the competition just before the weigh-in at Week 7. She was going through personal turmoil, but was wrestling with other issues. In a game where the contestants couldn't be eliminated from the outside, her inner demons lead her to leave. Still, proof that in the real world and sometimes on TV, some people quit before the end.

Heading into My Diet finale, superfood swap running close second to wild diet

'The Biggest Loser' still avoiding healthy food options

My Diet Is Better than Yours proves valuable with helpful food tips

Previewing 2016 weight-loss TV shows

Jasmin won the Week 7 challenge and the half-marathon. Dawn had Jasmin update the stick figure self-perception; Jasmin figured out that she was more beautiful than she gave herself credit for in the beginning.

Jasmin and her family made lunch for Dawn: chicken un-Parmesan, zucchini wedges, and a tossed garden salad. The family noted that before Dawn came along, the chicken would have been breaded and there wouldn't be a salad on the table.

We saw Jasmin and her daughter coming up with a snack after Dawn was gone. They follow the binder of Dawn information, and end up with a snack of a banana and cheese. Nice thorough thought process in what can be a difficult decision.

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The wild diet took us into a world of intermittent eating, mixing in fasting. The talk was of doing breakfast at noon and having the last meal around 6-7 pm. That is a long time to go in waking up before eating. The contrast was eating sugary cereals in the morning, but I can tell you that you have plenty of morning options without resorting to sugar.

The nutrient timing has Latasha eating at 7 am, 11 am, 3 pm, and 8 pm. This is pretty much the opposite of intermittent eating. A solid diet program is about what you eat, not when. Some people can benefit somewhat from timing, but not that much.

photos: me
screen grabs: My Diet Is Better Than Yours/ABC

Heading into My Diet finale, superfood swap running close second to wild diet

Jasmin was kicking butt in last week's episodes of My Diet Is Better Than Yours in winning the challenges in Weeks 5 and 6 as well as the Week 5 weigh-in. She lost 6 lbs. in Week 5 for a 3.3% weight loss; Kurt was a distant second with a 2.22% weight loss that week.

Jasmin was the first female to win a weigh-in. She has run a consistent second place in the competition.

The show has been running weekly totals without listing overall weight loss. After 6 weeks, Kurt is 1st with a 14.2% weight loss; he has lost 50 lbs. from his original 352 lbs. Jasmin has a 12.5% weight loss, losing 25 lbs. from her original 200 lbs. Her 1-lb. weight loss last week didn't help those numbers. Jeff is 3rd with a 9.75% weight loss.

Does that mean Dawn Jackson Blatner, who we know in real life, has the second-best diet behind the wild diet?

'The Biggest Loser' still avoiding healthy food options

My Diet Is Better than Yours proves valuable with helpful food tips

Previewing 2016 weight-loss TV shows

The show's dynamics have shown 2 very successful diet plans, some OK plans, a very strange plan that is now gone, and the newest one that has a lot to do with timing.

Latasha's new plan involves nutrient timing from Rob, a certified sports nutritionist. She says she trusts his plan because he looks like he knows what he's doing. His bandanna on his bald head makes him look like he doesn't know what he's doing. At least Latasha now knows what she is supposed to eat.

The program is "eating specific nutrients in specific amounts at specific times." Portion size is crucial: protein should fit in a palm, vegetables should fit into both fists, and fat should be the equivalent of both thumbs.

From my limited knowledge of nutrient timing, the program is about getting carbohydrates to the body when the body needs them. Seemingly, you might see a subtle difference if you are trying to be in very good shape, but the program doesn't seem to do as much for someone who needs to lose a lot of weight. Feel free to argue differently in the comments section.

Rob actually said supplements are a big part of the nutrient timing program. That's not really a diet program.

Latasha has been taking well to the program, and psychology is very important in these diet relationships.

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"Food isn't what make you happy," Dawn noted. We've seen more psychology than superfoods on the air. We know behind the scenes there have been many food swaps. We see lots of food dynamics from the wild diet but not the superfood swap.

Jasmin and her husband had a Mexican bowl for date night with her husband: lettuce, homemade salsa, red onion, guacamole, and fajita meat. We don't know if that came from Dawn, but that sounds tasty and healthy.

Dawn's big moment comes in Episode 6 came in finally convincing Jasmin to give up her fat clothes. At the date night meal, Jasmin is wearing the pants that she kept to try and fit into wearing. Keeping those clothes makes sense, but Jasmin needs a lot of help in giving up clothes she'll never wear again.

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We live in a society where we associate sweet potatoes with sweet potato fries. The wild diet guy is dealing with trying to get carbohydrates into Kurt's diet so he can train well for the half-marathon.

By boiling the sweet potato, the glycemic index is cut about in half. The on-air graphics said the glycemic index for the baked sweet potato is 94, but 46 for the boiled sweet potato.

I'm not that strong a believer in the glycemic index, but your body has that kind of extreme contrast based on how you cook a sweet potato, you should include that in your thought process.

The other wild diet tidbit might have come straight from Kurt, but asking questions in restaurants is important. Don't drive everyone off the beaten path with a litany of questions. But ask about the food you will be served. Knowledge is power.

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Under the clean momma plan, we had very little about food, so we didn't learn much about Latasha's eating habits. Turns out she had been eating 10 oz. of cheese a day. Even by American standards, 10 oz. of cheese daily is a lot. Rob was concerned about the loss of good bacteria from eating the cheese.

Does that raw milk cheese is healthier if it is less processed or does that apply to all cheeses. The bandanna doesn't help us figure that out.

The fat would be the biggest concern in eating that much cheese. My thought is that most regular cheeses are bland, and Latasha could add flavor in other ways while cutting unnecessary fat and calories.

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Taj gave out kale chips to her students. They didn't react well to the kale chips but they also knew they were kale chips. I'm not a fan of surprising people, but the exception can come if the food is crunchy and could pass for an odd-colored potato chip.

You would think these kids would have learned the reality TV test: if there are cameras in the room, you should pretend to like the food you are trying.

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The no diet guy had an interesting take on grocery shopping. He preached the "shop the perimeter" technique, which is quite important. But he wanted Jeff to sharply cut down the time spent in the grocery store to focus, streamline, and not be swayed by temptation. The shopping trip time went from 45 minutes to 13 minutes.

My own personal shopping style is more about going for a few items at a time. So the amount of time I spend in a store is very small. This is not terribly practical for a lot of people, but one of those two styles can work for most people.

Note: I will be attending a live screening of the finale tonight. Yes, Dawn is sponsoring the event, but I am paying full price to attend. I'll have more on that next week.

photo credit: My Diet Is Better Than Yours/ABC

The Biggest Loser still avoiding healthy food options

My Diet Is Better Than Yours proved a reality TV weight-loss show can show positive nutrition tips. So let's look at how a long-time player handles the topic of food temptations.

The Biggest Loser is focusing on temptations this season. In Episode 2, the show promised us footage of the contestants dealing with food temptations.

The track record of the program has been about exercise like Ivory Soap has been about pure. The rare instances of nutrition have come when the show featured teenagers. Adults need help, too.

Collapsing on a treadmill!? TV gold. Learning good nutrition? Off-camera, please.

My Diet Is Better than Yours proves valuable with helpful food tips

Previewing 2016 weight-loss TV shows

We were taken to a pretend food court. Since we can't learn anything without a game, the contestants had to identify the correct food based on the nutritional content questions, race down and grab that food and bring the food back to the starting line.

Which one of these dishes has the most fat? chicken parmesan, meat lasagna, pepperoni pizza, cheese calzone

This isn't really a question about actual nutrition; this was more about pointing to which fat food had slightly more fat than the other fat foods. Also, the serving size was chosen at random so the contestants couldn't really factor portions into their thinking, like they would do in real life.

Pepperoni pizza is the answer: 3 slices of pizza with 1050 calories, 48 grams of fat, and 1920 mg of sodium. Half the calories came from saturated fat. We don't know which dish was the "healthiest." That would have been more helpful.

They didn't mention that most of that fat comes from mozzarella cheese. Few Americans know the fat content of food, and the question ignores potential good fat.

Which of these food items is considered to be the unhealthiest on the school lunch menu? chicken burritos, cheese nachos, steak tacos, cheese quesadillas

Cheese nachos won out with 1570 calories, 60 grams of fat, and 2380 mg sodium. We learned that the nachos had more calories than a kid should eat all day.

The question is subjective: based on fat, sodium, calories, or all of the above? Also, cheese nachos can be made healthier with black beans and plenty of vegetables, though school children aren't getting that version.

Chicken alfredo, macaroni and cheese, and pie a la mode were the other answers to the food court questions. Then again, if you aren't sure about these dishes, you won't learn anything advantageous on this show.

CanadianCrossing.com reality TV coverage

The message was AVOID, AVOID but without any positive reinforcement. Jasmin on My Diet was still able to eat macaroni and cheese with healthy upgrades. The Biggest Loser contestants were just scared. Did they learn how to avoid said temptation? Nope. Just learned that BAD was BAD. Sigh.

After the food court games, the contestants were taken to a lab to see how much sugar and fat they were putting in their bodies. Colby, a large man with a thick Georgia accent, has a drinking problem: in an average day, Colby drinks a 6-pack of soda, 3 sweet ice teas, 6 glasses of juice, and a sport drink. That comes out to 1.25 lbs. of "sugar" a day, with a lot of that sweetener being high-fructose corn syrup.

Scary, to be consistent, but helpful in that Colby was consuming mass amount of calories that didn't involve food. A small nugget of knowledge, even if it isn't positive.

The food court losers also had to eat the food as punishment for losing. In the second half of week 2, the contestants had to drag food trucks, and the losing team had to eat off the food trucks for the week.

Yes, these shows are designed to humiliate and play up emotions, but there is so much the people and the viewers could be learning on these shows. Good nutrition would be a significant start.

photos credit: The Biggest Loser/NBC

My Diet Is Better than Yours proves valuable with helpful food tips

We had high hopes for My Diet Is Better than Yours since the program had a real dietitian who I know in real life: Dawn Jackson Blatner.

Blatner's contestant, Jasmin, has been doing rather well on the superfood swap plan. Though Jasmin hasn't won an individual week, she actually finished first overall after 2 weeks, even with an injury. After 4 weeks, Jasmin is a comfortable second behind Kurt and the wild diet.

Since this is a reality show on a major network, the overall emphasis is exercise and psychology. Of course, the contestants are humiliated in their quest with the challenges. Jeff, the guy on the no diet plan, said before the challenge in Episode 3 that the challenge was stupid. Duh. All the challenges are stupid. This one might have been the least stupid, but it was fun as hell for a contestant to speak the truth on one of these shows. Thanks to the producers for leaving in the comment.

Dawn is preaching calm along with her superfood swap suggestions. This goes against every instinct on the reality shows. This may be why all of the experts explained their plan early in Episode 1 but not Dawn. Also, she virtually disappears from Episode 2, not even offering a superfood swap.

Previewing 2016 weight-loss TV shows

BalanceofFood.com reality TV coverage

Here are Blatner's food tips from the first half of the show (there are 4 more episodes than run the next 2 weeks, starting tonight):

• In her first superfood switch, the new macaroni and cheese involved whole wheat noodles and a 50-50 mix of cauliflower and cheese in the cheese mix. A good way to sneak in a vegetable while reducing the fat content of cheese without a negative substitution. Jasmin's daughter even liked the switch, though this was on camera. This was a better contrast to The Biggest Loser when Biingo's mother crammed 5 vegetables into a meatloaf. One vegetable is just fine, especially if she couldn't tell the difference.
• Blatner is in favor of treats … as long as they aren't done at home. We see Dawn and Jasmin in the grocery store when Jasmin says she wants the whole cake. Dawn says she can have the cake, but have a piece out in a cafe but don't have leftover cake at home.
• Blatner institutes a cart check to reflect the ratios on a dinner plate: 50% produce, 25% grains, and 25% protein.
• Blatner brings out green popsicles in Episode 3. The producers didn't give us any food tips from Blatner in Episode 2. The ingredient list mentioned were plant milk, almond butter, and spinach. The recipe online mentions bananas instead of almond butter, though both should be fine.
• In Episode 4, Jasmin is at a social event where candy is dominant. Dawn has suggested grapes instead of candy to help resist temptation. Grapes are high in sugar so they are a good alternative to candy, but eventually Jasmin should switch to lower sugar fruits such as blueberries and strawberries. But it's clear that Jasmin has issues with sugar, so grapes are a good transition. Dawn spoke of Jasmin needing to feel in charge and believe that sugar has no power over her.

The only diet to be on par with the superfood swap is the wild diet. Lean protein, meat, fat without processed carbohydrates. Think bacon cheeseburger but on a lettuce leaf.

The wild diet is second on the list for less drama, which is not a coincidence.

Some highlights from the wild diet.

• Put butter instead of sugar in your coffee. The wild diet emphasizes that you "have to eat fat to lose fat." The wild diet also pushes coffee, which for most Americans isn't an issue. Butter would seem to be a better option than sugar in coffee, but I might prefer to use butter in other scenarios. Since butter is often used with carbohydrates, using butter in coffee eliminates carbohydrates from the exchange. Might be smart to limit butter and coffee, but this is a way to do both.
• The wild diet guy threw a dessert party for Kurt's family and friends. They made ice cream with 85% chocolate and sweetened with dates. We also saw grain free cheesecake, avocado chocolate pudding, grain-free cookies, and mint chocolate chip ice cream. The grain-free cheesecake ties into the fat minus the carbohydrates. I make my own chocolate pudding with avocados and can vouch for its deliciousness.
• The wild diet loves the idea of bone broth. We saw them get animal bones and make broth with water and rice vinegar in a slow cooker. They made them look easy on TV but as we've learned, the process to make bone broth takes 18 hours.
• The wild diet mentions convenient protein sources such as canned tuna, sardines, and chia seeds, as well as using hot sauce instead of ketchup.

2 of the other plans were vague on food and the other plan was vegan. The contestants get to stay but the experts get to leave. The vegan lady was dismissed after 2 weeks over communication issues. The clean momma plan was extremely vague and the contestant was nice enough to have the expert last a whole 4 weeks.

• The "no diet" plan is about psychology and strategy. Blue plates since foods aren't naturally blue, for example. One of his relevant ideas is for people to use chopsticks to slow down the eating speed since it takes the brain 15-20 minutes to realize the stomach is full. On screen, we see that "the slower you eat, the faster you metabolize food." We're told to eat free of distractions, but those distractions could help us slow down our eating speed. Chopsticks would be more effective that way if you keep the bowl on the table as opposed to eating with the bowl close to your mouth.
• The vegan showdown came with smoothies in the first week with smoothies featuring kale, bananas, and chia seeds as a cleanse.
• The strong, safe, and sexy plan lady replaced the vegan showdown lady. The vegan plan is the smartest in a long-term situation, but there were communication gaps from the start. The strong, safe, and sexy plan lady says she is a clinical nutritionist, which is still not a dietitian such as Blatner. Her recipe for “egg muffins” sounded like frittatas in a muffin tin. Frittatas aren't fun but “egg muffins” do seem more fun.
• Latasha picked the clean momma plan, which was mostly about exercising at every single conscious moment. Latasha kept complaining to the viewers that she was struggling to understand the food component. I never saw anything where that was explained. The only food moment came when the instructor asked to switch mozzarella for cheddar on a salad since mozzarella had 30% fewer calories. I have a medical bias against mozzarella but would point out that in a dish where meltiness wasn't a concern, that the flavor of cheddar could mean using 30% less of it versus a cheese with little to no flavor such as mozzarella.

The show is about which diet is the best i.e., which contestant loses the highest percentage of body weight. You are an individual person with your own needs. Kurt and Jasmin are doing well in part because the diets they picked suit them. And those diets involve a food philosophy. Reality for you might be incorporating elements from each plan as they suit you.

If cheesecake is your calling, try it without a crust. Have a slice outside the home where you will be less tempted. Serve it on a blue plate.

photo credit: My Diet Is Better Than Yours/ABC

5 questions you should ask presidential candidates about U.S. food policy

As we enter a year that is evenly divisible by 4, this is the season to elect nominees for president of the United States, and then on November 8, actually elect the next president of the United States. The new president will be inaugurated one year from today.

As we've seen under Barack Obama, there is only so much a president can do. There is only so much a First Spouse can do, but damn, Michelle Obama has set a very high bar.

The Dems might get control of the Senate back to start 2017. There are no guarantees in politics, but a number of Senate seats (e.g., Illinois, Wisconsin) flipped to the GOP in a backlash in 2010 that should flip back. Also, the Dems tend to do better in lower races in presidential cycles lately.

The House of Representatives is a different beast thanks to redistricting, also from that 2010 election. The way the districts are drawn, the likelihood of the Dems getting enough seats are extremely slim. And even if that happens, some of those wins will be short-lived.

Food politics: Getting change despite a GOP-controlled House and Senate

The president can play a role in momentum for the nation, or in the case of the United States, not try to push the idea of ketchup being a vegetable.

We finally got a presidential candidate to weigh in (pun intended) on school lunches. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie promised a 11-year-old Iowa boy to do away with the healthy school lunch initiative. The boy had complained that pizza and crispitos had disappeared from the menu.

"I don't care what you're eating for lunch every day. I really don't. I want you to eat whatever your mother wants you to eat and your father want you to eat," Christie said. If his parents really want their children to eat crispitos, they could serve them for dinner or even breakfast.

"I want people to eat healthier. I've been trying to eat more healthy. We all should be trying to do that. It makes us better, makes us living longer, better quality of life, all the rest of it. But in the end, it's your choice."

The theoretical objective is that government shouldn't decide what kids should eat for school lunches. Even in the days of school lunches before Michelle Obama got involved, government decided what kids should eat for school lunches. Deciding that healthier is better has advantages on several levels, including improving school performance. Also, with some households, a healthy school lunch is a child's best meal of the day.

Gov. Christie had a much kinder reaction to Michelle Obama's quest in 2011 when he wasn't running for president.

As a citizen who is determining who to vote for to be the next president of the United States, you should be able to ask the folks who are running where they stand, or don't stand, on food policy. If you live in a state up for grabs and/or choose to reach out to them, here are some ideas on what to ask.

Where do you stand on the FDA's move to include added sugars on nutrition labels? What additional moves would you work toward as president to increase consumers' knowledge of the food they are buying?

When we finally get nutrition labels that reflect added sugars, we will get that separation between fruit and milk sugars vs. added sugars to give a better reflection in sweet foods. The previous Canadian conservative government wanted to lump all the sugars together, defeating the purpose of added sugars.

Added sugars should be measured in grams, not teaspoons

What's Tempting: Tracking added sugars

What's Tempting: Food labels listing added sugars

Adding sugars, especially high-fructose corn syrup, is a way for food companies to make foods more addictive. The litany of synonyms for sugar help to throw off consumers looking for sugar in listed ingredients.

This is an example of government regulation that aids consumers without being overbearing in the marketplace. The next president can do more to help consumers through FDA action.

Would you continue to have a "nutrition czar" in the White House? How much priority would a "nutrition czar" have in your administration?

The Obama Administration brought in Sam Kass as a senior policy adviser for nutrition policy and executive director of Let’s Move! Kass served in that role from the start of the administration until leaving in December 2014.

Debra Eschmeyer, who co-founded Food Corps (an AmeriCorps type service program), replaced Kass in those roles.

The surgeon general used to play a larger role in health policy. But the obstruction has limited having a surgeon general in the position, and even when a person is finally in power, little is said about food and nutrition. Policymakers are aware that the United States has a senior policy adviser for nutrition policy, but average Americans would have no idea (unless they read BalanceofFood.com.)

President Obama needs to replace Sam Kass with a nutrition czar

This is not a knock at Eschmeyer or Kass but a reality check that increased visibility would help people possibly rethink their approach to food. Michelle Obama is an excellent spokesperson but more people should know what Eschmeyer is doing to help people.

There is a concern that this push toward better nutrition will suffer when the Obamas leave, even if the next president comes from the Democratic Party. Bill Clinton has certainly been active in nutrition and exercise concerns. The next president should take what is there and build onto that success.

While we would be tempted to have this post reach to a cabinet level position, that person would be subject to confirmation by people who don't believe the government has a role in a better food policy.

In 2010, Congress passed a 6¢ increase in school lunch funding, the first such non-inflationary increase in 36 years. But Congress hasn't passed any increases since then. Are America's children worth a better investment in their school lunches? If you don't think money is the answer, what can we do to improve the nutrition our kids are getting in their learning environment?

We know children can be, well, selective, in their eating habits. Making food nutritious can change the taste of foods, particularly if your palate is used to, well, junk. While steps have been taken to improve the nutritional content of school lunches, patience wasn't part of that package.

The news has been grandiose from Washington but on the local level, the backlash is louder and more effective. Still, we are better off than we were 5 years ago.

Election Day back when school lunch reform made headlines

The next president can build off this limited success. Building momentum beyond a 4-year or 8-year term as president has been a significant burden for those who believe in long-term, progressive growth. Still, the potential for 16 years in a positive direction could do wonders for a really tough area of concern in school lunches.

What would you include in a national food policy?

By the absence of an official national food policy, we still have one. But we should have an official national food policy and work toward reaching those goals.

"We have the My Pyramid, I mean, MyPlate. Isn't that enough?" A start, but not close to what we need.

What's Tempting: National food policy

Sadly, our unofficial national food policy is a race to the bottom. The school lunch program best exemplifies this short-sighted madness. Maybe we do need a "Bill of Rights" for food policy. Our proposal in 2008 was for the incoming president pick Michael Pollan as Secretary of Agriculture. Mark Bittman might have been better suited, even if he has crossed over to the food producer side.

A national food policy should be a balance of the ideals of a food supply, but also have a voice and contribution from food producers, though that balance should be more in favor of the former than the latter. As for the contributions of food producers, see the next question.

What should the private sector, the food suppliers, do to improve the food supply in this country?

Question 4 should apply to both major political parties, but the GOP isn't interesting in a national food policy. Maybe 50 local food policies, though as we've seen with the European Union, a unified front can do wonders for food quality. If Question 4 doesn't interest the Republicans, Question 5 should be entirely relevant.

Sarah Palin's diet/fitness philosophy likely similar to Michelle Obama's approach

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Sarah Palin could help improve food supply if she argued policy, not politics

Like with climate change, Republican politicians can deny the problems. But people who vote Republican know our food supply is not managed well. Farmers who vote Republican know we need changes. Like climate change, we need a dialogue from all sides of the equation.

Food producers need to be held more accountable in their practices. As we've seen in other countries, these need not be intrusive. Just that people should know what they are buying.

Republicans, especially politicians from that party, like to talk about free enterprise and unfiltered capitalism. Many of the criticisms from the left, such as subsidizing GMO corn and soybeans, would also be criticisms from the right if the question were framed in a way that would appeal to them.

The populism of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump has shown there is a cry from both sides of the aisle over significant change, including the food supply. The best way to appeal to Republicans is to skip past the politicians, pundits, and the crony class right to the people who struggle financially to put food on the table.

Previewing 2016 weight-loss TV shows

My Diet Is Better Than Yours matches trainers with individuals on a 1-on-1 basis, but the teams will compete against each other. ABC will run the show in 2-hour blocks over 4 weeks starting Thursday at 8 pm Eastern.

Shaun T, who you might recognize from the infomercial about Insanity that you've seen if you left your TV set on Comedy Central before you went to bed, is the host of the program. Celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser will be along to create and host challenges.

The "star trainers" are Carolyn Barnes, Jovanka Ciares, Jay Cardiello, Dawn Jackson (Blatner) and Abel James. This is the part where I mention that I know Dawn Jackson, as in Dawn Jackson Blatner.

I do like the potential on the 1-on-1 relationship but am less impressed with the game show mentality. But this is reality TV after all.

Because I know Blatner, I did check the bios of the other "star trainers." Dawn Jackson Blatner is the only trainer who is a registered dietitian nutritionist. Barnes, Cardiello, and James are about fitness rather than diet. Ciares describes herself as a "former entertainment executive turned Wellness expert, detox specialist, nutrition educator, and author." I don't see the word "dietitian" in that description.

Blatner's Superfood Swap plan revolves around versions of favorite foods made with healthier ingredients.

We talk about the disconnect in these weight-loss TV shows between exercise (which looks good on TV) vs. food (which gets ignored on TV). A competition between 5 dietitians would make for a more educational show vs. loud people who might be TV worthy.

We are rooting for Blatner to succeed not because I know her and like her, but because we finally have a dietitian on TV, even in a skeptical reality TV show format.

We have complained about the disconnect between dietitians who have information and people who need that information. Dawn Jackson Blatner is very good on television and has a chance in this show to show that dietitians can help people lose weight.

In the interest of full disclosure, here are stories I have written that mention Dawn Jackson Blatner:

What's Tempting: Snacking for dinner

What's Tempting: Moving vegetables from the crisper

Temptation of the Week: Nutrition swaps

How much meat per week makes you a 'flexitarian'?

I do plan to watch the show to get a full impression and will report back. I plan to be objective in writing about the show and giving an honest assessment. I know Blatner would expect nothing less from me, despite knowing each other.

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The biggest news for The Biggest Loser is that Bob Harper is the new host of the program. Harper replaces Alison Sweeney, who has hosted the show since 2007. Caroline Rhea, who is one of my favorite comedians, was the original host for the first 3 years.

Admittedly, I haven't been watching lately but I can't think of a single thing Sweeney ever added to the show.

Dolvett Quince and Jennifer Widerstrom remain as trainers. If you thought Jillian Michaels was still on the show, her last season was in 2014. If her loudness was still ringing in your ears, you are forgiven for thinking she was still there.

Harper ought to be a vast improvement as host. We aren't likely to watch, but we are glad the show has a host who will add to the experience for the contestants and the viewers.

The theme for Season 17 is temptation, something we address quite often at BalanceofFood.com. That theme might sway us to write about this season but don't count on anything similar to the coverage of many years past.

The Biggest Loser starts out tonight with a 2-hour premiere at 9p Eastern on NBC.

photo credit: My Diet Is Better Than Yours/ABC
tweet capture: Twitter.com/djblatner