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 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
