As trainers, we consistently receive emails and questions regarding diet and nutrition, can I eat this? Can I eat that? The majority of the time, it’s a client’s diet log with them just proving to their trainer that they are being honest and disciplined.
Personally I am typically never surprised, shocked or awed at what people feed their mouths with. But on occasion I receive emails titled: “Worst breakfast in America”, and I am knocked off of my feet. Here it is:

Bob Evans Stacked and Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes
• 1,543 calories
• 77 g fat (26 g saturated; 9 g trans)
• 2,259 mg sodium
• 198 g carbs
• 109 g sugars

Saturated fat equivalent: 26 strips of bacon
Sugar equivalent: 12 chocolate chip cookies
Sodium equivalent: 12 small bags of potato chips
It’s not a good sign when it takes you nearly five seconds to spit out the name of your breakfast. This bad boy packs in more than 75 percent of your calories for the day, along with more sugar and fat than nine glazed Dunkin’ Donuts, and nearly as much sodium as five Bloody Marys.

So when an individual eats almost an entire days worth of calories in a single meal (unless you’re Michael Phelps), I don’t have much sympathy for common complaints of turkey necks, wind flappers or cottage cheese thighs.

Let’s forget about Bob Evans and his hotcakes for awhile. Here is an article I came across in the Star Tribune awhile back, entitled “Not so happy, happy meals”….just read it:

“Healthy kids’ meals at top restaurant chains are slim to none, according to a report by a non-profit public health group.

Nearly every possible combination of the children’s meals at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Chick-fil-A are too high in calories. The Center for Science in the Public Interested investigated kids’ meals at 13 restaurants and discovered that with the 1,474 possible choices, 93 percent of the options exceeded 430 calories—one-third of the amount of what the National Institute of Medicine recommends that children ages four through eight should consume in one day.

Some of the meal options that were investigated was a Chili’s meal comprised of country-fried chicken crispers, cinnamon apples, and chocolate milk contained 1,020 calories; a cheese pizza, homestyle fries and lemonade contained 1,000 calories. Burger King’s meal with a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk added up to 910 calories.

The report found that 45 percent of children’s meals exceed recommendation for saturated and trans fat, which can eventually lead to increased blood pressure and heart disease.

Healthy options are available on restaurant menus; parents need to navigate their way through the calories, salt and fat to find them. Subway’s kids’ meals came out the best among the 13 chains. Their mini-sub, juice box, and apple slices, raisins or yogurt amounted to less than 430 calories. Parents need to continue to see alternative options for healthy eating while dining out. It’s imperative to gain knowledge about living healthy lives, especially during these crucial years of your child’s life.”

What did you think? It is beyond me how somebody, anybody could assume what they’re purchasing from a fast food restaurant is indeed “healthy”.

Wait, wait, wait…I take it back. It’s the genius marketing behind the product. Fast food is healthy. Why? Because some man or women running the products marketing team says so. After all, they have an endless background in nutrition, right?

Wrong! Their job is to make the product appear to be healthy, even if what you are actually presented with isn’t a mirror image of what is on the menu. At the expense of lying to you and stealing your health, they keep you coming back for more. They keep the turkey necks, wind flappers and cottage cheese legs growing.

I know I’m ranting but all jokes aside. It comes down to education and understanding that just because a products marketing is flashy, and has the words “Healthy” written on the wrapper, that it may not be a good choice to eat.

So you may be asking yourself “how can I educate myself?” Schools have failed to educate the youth and have failed at keeping America thin so we at RPTF are putting the responsibility on our shoulders’. It has always been our mission and will continue to be throughout 2009 to help you succeed through a lot of education and a little bit of butt whoopin. So put down your Bob Evans hot cakes and pick up your phone and call!