The Fresh Diet Announces 365 Contest Winner

Jennifer van Dam of Hackensack, NJ Wins One Free Year of Food

 (Miami, FL) May 16, 2012 — The Fresh Diet America’s premier at-home meal delivery company announces today that Jennifer van Dam, of Hackensack, NJ, is the winner of their Fresh Diet 365 Contest.   Ms. van Dam entered the contest in late February with the hope of winning free meal delivery service from the company for one (1) year.  The prize awarded, which is 365 days of The Fresh Diet’s Premium plan, includes daily delivery of three (3) meals, and two (2) snacks per day to her home, starting Monday May 21, 2012.

“My Mother is a severe diabetic who has had several medical setbacks from the disease,” says Jennifer.  “Her wish for me has been to lose weight so that I don’t end up a diabetic myself yet ironically, I have put weight on while caring for her and juggling a career.  So, while it was a long shot, I entered anyway, leaving the door open to luck, faith and chance.  I’m now looking forward to many things, including losing upwards of 60 lbs. without medication and of course, not cooking or shopping or for a whole year.  I can’t begin to imagine how much time and money this gift from The Fresh Diet will save me!”

With the recent exception of assisting a weight-loss subject on CBS’ The Doctors show in January, this is a first for The Fresh Diet in terms of granting a prize that has such a significant duration and monetary value.

To schedule an interview with Jennifer van Dam so that you may inquire as to what she plans on doing with her savings and her new body, please contact Kathleen Berzon, Director of PR at: kathleen@thefreshdiet.com.

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Stay tuned to find out who won ONE FREE YEAR OF FOOD from The Fresh Diet!

8 Most Absurd Currently Trendy Diets

by Staci Marks

America is diet-obsessed. Even though countless nutritionists and health advocates have proven time and time again that the best way to lose weight is by keeping a sensible diet and exercising regularly, we look for fast ways to drop the pounds without the trouble of a long-term lifestyle change. Each year, a new round of diet trends graze the magazines, convincing women and men alike that a thin physique can be accomplished by taking some diet pill, eating one food for every meal, or even eating a special fruit supplement that will magically displace the appetite. Some of these fads work on the short term for losing weight, but even then, without some permanent revisions to the diet that got you in your current weight loss quandary, the weight will go right back on after the diet is stopped. The following eight diets are some of the latest, most ridiculous diet trends available.

1. The Baby Food Diet

   Celebrities have reportedly been opting out of real meals for pureed, jarred baby food in order to shed the pounds. In the Baby Food Diet, the dieter must replace either two meals or daytime snacks with jars of baby food, replacing higher calorie options. A jar of baby food can have as little as 15 calories inside, and up to 100. Exchanging high-calorie or high-sugar snacks like cookies or potato chips with baby food might be good, but chances are, you won’t get much satisfaction from the baby food. It is bland, eradicates the pleasure of chewing, and while pureed fruits and veggies might not sound that bad, the mushy meat portions may be enough to derail your willpower. Likewise, since baby food is ultimately made for babies and not adults, it does not contain all the nutrients and vitamins adults need to have a healthy diet. Baby food is devoid of fiber, calcium, and vitamin D, all of which adults need in order to have a balanced diet.

2. The Air Diet

   The Air Diet, or as the French refer to it, “L’Air Fooding,” is where you may cut your food, swirl it into your fork, and lift it to your lips, but only pretend to take a bite. You can do this with real food, or you can simply use “pretend” food. If you’re thinking this diet sounds remarkably close to anorexia, you’re right, but celebrities like Madonna are reported to use this diet to keep their frail frame. Additionally, the Air Diet allows you to snack on “water soup”, which is quite literally hot water with a dash of salt. They say that the simple act of eating, even if you’re not eating anything at all, will psychologically fulfill your need to eat and will effectively manage your cravings.

3. Sleeping Beauty Diet

   The Sleeping Beauty Diet adheres to the idea that if you’re sleeping, you’re not eating. Thus, under this diet, you are supposed to sleep a ridiculous 20 or more hours per day, allowing for one meager meal in your short waking hours. Supposedly, the sleep is meant to regulate your metabolism, encouraging weight loss, but this was not founded on scientific research. Likewise, the diet calls for the administration of heavy sedatives to aid in sleeping at odd hours, and they’re probably also necessary because sleeping with a growling tummy is near impossible. There’s really no way to do this diet for any extended period of time, particularly if you have any responsibilities, like a job, or any personal relationships that would require your waking presence. As soon as the diet is retired, you’ll be sure to gain back the weight because it doesn’t require any real change in your eating habits other than slumbering starvation. There are also marked negative side effects to oversleeping, including depression, dizziness, headaches, and hallucinations.

4. The Snob Diet

   The Snob Diet is all about switching out your processed, fast food culture snacks for refined, unprocessed foods, even if it means opting for a full-fat option. Eating these decadent foods should make you relish them longer, leading to a greater satisfaction with your diet and eventual weight loss. Unlike starvation-type diets, the Snob Diet encourages you to indulge in your cravings, but only dine on the finest food available, and throw it away if it doesn’t do anything for you. For example, ditch the string cheese and opt for a chunk of fresh brie, or dispose of your microwavable Lean Cuisines and cook yourself a pot roast paired with a glass of red wine. For dessert, choose gourmet chocolate with cacao over a candy bar. While these ideas are all well and good if you’re a celebrity who primarily shops at Whole Foods, most of us can’t shell out the money for this expensive dining diet. Likewise, it’s unreasonable to think that everyone has the time or energy to cook a pot roast after they get home from a long day at work, or fix a feta and diced tomato omelet in their morning rush.

5. Six Weeks to OMG

   The Six Weeks to OMG diet was created by Venice A. Fulton, and can be studied through his e-book on the subject. Eschewing common ideas such as eating a hearty breakfast, the Six Weeks to OMG Diet is anything but conventional. One of the main components of this diet involves taking a daily cold bath, which causes the “metabolic rate to shift to overdrive,” in turn reducing the dimpled skin appearance of cellulite. To further the results, Fulton condones drinking a cup of black coffee instead of breakfast, and eating your first meal around 10 a.m. after the body has had time to eat up some of its fat as a fuel source. Beyond that, he recommends eating three square meals per day rather than grazing on small meals five to six times per day. Another recommendation for toning the belly that Fulton suggests is blowing up balloons every day. Following this wacky diet should enable one to lose as many as 20 pounds in the six week period.

6. The Feeding Tube Diet

   The Feeding Tube Diet is probably one of the most grotesque crash diets to gain popularity. Often called the K-E Diet, Dr. Oliver R. Di Pietro created the Feeding Tube Diet to accomplish accelerated weight loss by consuming all foods through a nasal tube for 10 days. Each day, only 800 calories worth of fat and protein (no carbohydrates) are dripped through the tube, while the dieter physically eats nothing. While it must be done with medical supervision, the dieter doesn’t have to be hospitalized in the process, but rather carries a bag of the solution with them at all times during the ten-day span. The diet costs $1,500 and dieters should lose anywhere between 10-20 pounds in the small stretch of time. Supposedly, the dieter is not at all hungry during this period due to a phenomenon called Ketosis, in which the body focuses all its energy on burning fat. However, a diet like this can take a major toll on mood as well as your kidneys. Dehydration could also be an issue, not to mention the body issues you have to have to begin with to succumb to such a desperate diet.

7. The Cookie Diet

   There are a couple different takes on the Cookie Diet, but ultimately they all reflect the same ideas. The dieter eats a small, protein-rich dinner, but replaces every other meal with cookies. A cookie should be consumed every time the dieter gets hungry, around six per day. The initial draw for this diet is the idea that weight loss can be accomplished while eating a sugary sweet several times per day, when in fact, you’re really just lowering your calorie intake to 800-1,200 calories per day. For most people, this is far too little. Likewise, dieters must eat the cookies provided by the corresponding diet package, and they don’t tend to be the tastiest cookies around. The dieter will most certainly become bored with eating cardboard-like cookies every day, and will fail to get the nutrients provided by a varied diet.

8. The HCG Diet

   The HCG diet is administered by injecting the dieter with the hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, which is found in pregnant women. It is also sometimes seen in the form of a cream rubbed between the wrists or sublingual drops. While under these magical shots, drops, or creams, the dieter may only consume a whopping 500 calories a day, supposedly without hunger pangs. The belief is that the hormone jogs your body into eradicating fat before muscle when placed in starvation mode. In January 2011, the FDA made homeopathic HCG illegal and required all doctor-prescribed HCG to carry a notice stating that it has not been proven to cause weight loss or curb the appetite. A 1995 study on the drug stated that HCG had little effect beyond a placebo for dieters, who are ultimately shedding weight rapidly not because of a cream or shot, but because of the state of starvation to which they subject themselves. Meanwhile, the hormone comes with a variety of side effects, including headaches, blood clots, leg cramps, temporary hair thinning, constipation, and breast tenderness.

To read more from Staci at HealthInsuranceQuotes.org, click here: http://www.healthinsurancequotes.org/8-most-absurd-currently-trendy-diets/

Jersey Shore Slim-Down! How Deena Cortese Got Her Best Body Ever

Posted on Apr 26, 2012 @ 08:00AM

Splash News

By Radar Staff

Move over, Snooki — there’s a new skinny girl on the Jersey Shore!

Deena Cortese, who joined the cast of the popular reality show during season 3, looks unrecognizable lately after dropping a massive amount of weight, and RadarOnline.com has exclusive details about how the Guidette has followed in Snooki’s weight loss success.

PHOTOS: Check Out Deena Cortese’s Amazing Slim Down

The 25-year-old has dropped several dress sizes with the help of The Fresh Diet – a meal delivery program, which offers well-balanced, low calorie meals dropped off daily at your home.

Deena, who started the delivery diet about 2 months ago, is on the 1200-1400 calorie a day program, and it’s obvious that her calorie-slashed diet has been effective from the looks of her dramatic body transformation!

“About to eat my @FreshDiet breakfast,” Deena Tweeted late last month. “I’ve only been on it a month and I’m already getting so many compliments I feel great!”

PHOTOS: Jersey Shore Cast Makes Pizza

Though The Fresh Diet allows users to choose their own breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, a rep from the company tells RadarOnline.com that Deena allows the New York kitchen to choose her meals 99% of the time.

Other stars who are fans of The Fresh Diet include Maria Menounos, Sherri Shepherd and Jonah Hill.

See below for a sample of Deena’s daily menu:

Meal Delivery

Healthy Graduation Gifts

Giving up access to those college cafeterias can be a tough break for the kid who doesn’t know how to cook. It can also mean feeling like they have no place to turn but the drive-thru or pizza delivery. Set up your graduate with a healthy meal delivery service, which more or less caters nutritious, pre-portioned, heat-and-eat meals right to their door. A leader in this category is The Fresh Diet, as well as Bistro MD. They generally cater to a broad variety of dietary needs, like gluten or vegetarian, arrive fresh-frozen in cooler boxes, and can be scheduled for a month of service or more.

Slide 5 / 11

To read more or see the rest of the slideshow, click here: http://www.dietsinreview.com/slideshows/healthy-graduation-gifts/meal-delivery/

A Fresh Diet That Delivers

Posted Monday, April 23, 2012 by NewBeauty Editors

Unfortunately due to my hectic schedule, eating healthy has taken a backseat to my other commitments and priorities. I was eating small, unbalanced breakfasts, skipping lunches altogether, partaking in quick drive-through snacks, and eating late-night dinners after 9 p.m. Sound familiar?

Even worse were the side effects of my poor eating choices. I was repeatedly finding myself irritable, ravenous and upset with myself for paying such little attention to how I was treating my body.

I woke up one morning, cranky and annoyed at the 15 pounds I had managed to acquire over the year, looked in the mirror and decided something had to be done. Blaming this downward spiral on my tight schedule, I knew I had to be realistic in my plan of action. With minimal time in my day to grocery shop for fresh ingredients and to prepare and pack meals—a personal chef would have been a great option, but a little on the unrealistic side—the idea of a delivery diet seemed to make sense.

I chose The Fresh Diet and signed myself up for a one-week trial to see if I would notice any changes to how I was looking and feeling. The decision was easy; the three gourmet meals, two sides and two snacks are not frozen, freeze-dried or vacuum packed like so many other delivery plans I’ve seen. The meals are actually prepared by real executive chefs in local kitchens, and delivered to your door each morning before 8 a.m. I could choose the ingredients I dislike (i.e. cilantro and beets), select my daily calorie amount and choose all three meals and snacks from their extensive daily menu options. But I had my apprehensions. What would it taste like? Would it be enough food? Did I have to give up dessert?

I was pleasantly surprised. Each morning, I was welcomed by a green, insulated cooler on my doorstep containing the day’s meals. The cooler bag was great because my lunch was ready to take with me. The food consistently tasted delicious and left me satisfied. But the real icing on the portion-controlled cake was that I got to eat dessert—every night!

After my first few days on The Fresh Diet I stopped craving sugar, was much less irritable and had noticed a little extra room in my jeans. (I actually had to wash and dry a few pairs to keep them from falling off.) I was no longer eating dinner late at night and I always had something nutritious and enjoyable to eat at lunchtime, no matter where I was. The convenience and quality of this meal plan made it easy to incorporate into my somewhat inflexible routine. I’ve already signed myself up for the month-long program.

For more on fresh diet visit The Fresh Diet

To read more, click here: http://www.newbeauty.com/dailybeauty/entry.aspx?id=5883

Healthy Living

‘Jersey Shore’ Star Deena Nicole’s Shocking Slimdown Won’t Last

Deena on April 1It’s like clockwork. As we get closer to summer, the cast of Jersey Shore seem to hear their bikinis calling. Because after Snooki dropped weight, JWoww cooked her way to weight loss, and now, Deena Nicole is showing off new teeth and a slimmer shape. On Twitter, the former, fellow “meatball” posted a recent pic in which she’s posing in a red and white polka-dot romper. The caption? “Summer days ” Which I guess we can conclude she’s looking forward to even more now …

Well, good for her! And sure, she’s going to feel sexier cruising down the boardwalk now, but I’m not so convinced that her slimdown plan is a permanent solution.

Last month, she tweeted that she was on a diet — the Fresh Diet, specifically, which is a meal delivery service.

Hmm … can you really see Deena — or any Shore star for that matter — being able able to stick to a pre-packaged meal plan while partying the summer days and summer nights away? I don’t think so! I mean, come on, what is she supposed to do when she goes out fist-pumping the night away at a restaurant-turned-club? Bring a little pre-packed salad? Ha.

More from The Stir: ‘Jersey Shore’ Star Deena Nicole’s Plastic Surgery Is Undeniable (PHOTO)

And this isn’t just a commentary on their willpower. I don’t think anyone can realistically or affordably stick to a pre-packaged meal plan for very long. The mere word “diet” suggests a temporary solution, a quick fix. If you just want to lose weight for a short period of time when cameras are going to be rolling, I guess that’s okay, but if you could avoid the yo-yo effect, wouldn’t you?

Seems to me like Deena Nicole could stand to learn a thing or two from JWoww, who has obviously gone about her slimdown the healthiest way of all the Shore ladies — not by popping diet pills or eating pre-cooked, processed food from a factory. She’s cooking her own, real, whole food herself. Now, that’s a healthy lifestyle change and weight-loss plan that has the power to last a lifetime.

Click here to read more: http://thestir.cafemom.com/healthy_living/136520/jersey_shore_star_deena_nicoles?fb_ref=post_top&fb_source=tickerdialog_oneline

Jessica Smith, The Fresh Diet’s resident Fitness Guru will have you getting ready for swimsuit season in no time with this super short, but effective, total body summer shape up workout that you can do from anywhere – and no equipment required!

Move #1: Squat and Twist

Start standing with your feet hip width apart, and arms crossed over your chest. Lower into a squat by bending your knees and pushing your hips back behind you (as if you were about to sit down on a chair), keeping your back straight and chest lifted. Stand up out of your squat, draw your abs in tight and turn your body to the right, lifting your left heel off the floor. Return to your start position and repeat on the other side. Do as many reps as you can, switching sides each time, for one minute.

Move #2: Plank to Push Up

Start on the floor in a modified push up position, with your hands wider than your shoulders and the midline of your chest lined up between your thumbs.  Bend your elbows and lower your chest to just above the floor, keeping your back straight and abs tight. Press back up and then straighten your legs, lifting your knees off the floor into a full plank. Hold for one count and then return to start position.  Do as many reps as you can for one minute. (Want to make it harder? Reverse it – do your push ups on your toes and then gently tap your knees on the floor into a modified plank in between each push up.)

Move #3: Rear Lunge and Lift Off

Start standing with your feet together, hands on your hips. Do a rear lunge by stepping back with your right leg (keeping your heel off the floor) and bending both knees about 90 degrees, making sure your left knee stays behind your toes and your body remains upright. Next, shift your weight into your left foot and press up out of the lunge, lifting your right foot slightly off the floor as you stand up. Step your right foot back to the floor and lower into your rear lunge again, and then finish by stepping your right foot back to your left and returning to your start position. Do as many reps as you can, switching sides each time, for one minute.

Move #4: Crunch and March

Start lying on your back, with both knees bent, feet flat on the floor and your hands clasped behind your head, elbows wide to the sides.  Do an abdominal crunch by lifting your head and shoulders off the ground, pulling your abs into your back, and lifting your right knee into your chest as you crunch up. Lower your right leg and head, and then repeat with the left knee. Do as many reps as you can, switching legs each time, for one minute.

Move #5: Back Extension Reach

Start lying facedown on the floor, with both legs extended out straight, toes on the ground, and your hands clasped behind your head. Extend your spine and your chest off the ground as your open both arms out and reach back towards your feet (thumbs facing up). Slowly lower back to the floor and bring your hands back behind your head. Do as many reps as you can, with control, for one minute.

Want more workouts and summer shape up tips? Join Jessica’s FREE, 6 week #sexysummerabs challenge by visiting her online at www.10poundsdown.com.

Carnie Wilson likes to cook for Wilson Phillips’ reality show crew