In this, the latest of our "7 Questions with..." series, Diet-to-Go chief editor John McGran sits down with TODAY Show regular Joy Bauer to get the skinny on holiday weight gain and the foods to enjoy -- and avoid -- this Thanksgiving. Diet-to-Go: Let's bust this holiday myth once and for all: Are we really doomed to gain 7 pounds over the holiday season?Joy Bauer: No, that's a myth, thank goodness.The average weight gain during the holidays is actually "only" around 1 pound, but that can add up year after year-so you definitely want to be conscious of your choices...

Happy days are here again: My scale number is back to moving in the right -- as in light -- direction! My scale tells me that I lost 2.6 pounds this past week for a four-week total of 12.4 pounds. For those of you who like statistics, that's a healthy average of 3.1 pounds lost per week.I have to confess... I have done well even without starting my fitness plan. It excites me to think of how my metabolism will kick into overdrive once I start walking and working out on a regular basis.As I glance out my home office...

Can the same fast-food company that nudged us into eating a late-night "fourth meal" and entertained us with a talking chihuahua really give us a Drive-Thru Diet plan that will help us drop a few pounds?Ay caramba... do you really have to ask?OK, so maybe Jared was able to lose some weight eating Subway's low-fat line of sandwiches, but Mr. Bad Food is finding it hard to swallow that "Christine" trimmed off 54 pounds by making repeated runs for the border.In case you haven't seen the ads, a gal named Christine claims she lost 54 pounds by eating the bulk...

The nationwide recall of 248,000 million pounds of beef by Oklahoma meat-packer National Steak and Poultry affects beef shipped to restaurants, hotels and institutions... NOT the beef you buy at the supermarket.As of Wednesday morning, 21 people in 16 states have been sicked by a potentially deadly E. coli bacteria linked to the tainted cuts of beef that range from steaks to sirloin tips.According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service had listed Moe's and Carino's Italian Grill as restaurant chains affected by the E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria. A number of independent eateries...

Mr. Bad Food feels a need to come clean this holiday season. Not only do I watch American Idol, but over the years I have used my home phone to cast votes for a select few contestants. The only eventual winner I voted for: Carrie Underwood who took top honors in Season 4.So why I am risking my Man's Club membership with such a confession? The truth is I was seeking a lead-in for today's blog on Carrie's fitness and diet secrets!The gorgeous queen of country music discusses all aspects of her life in the January issue of Self magazine,...

Do you hear what I hear? A paunch of politically correct individuals is waging a smear campaign against our beloved Titan of Toys, Santa Claus!The issue: Santa's jelly belly! Some folks who are bound to end up on the naughty list are claiming a fat Santa is not only a bad Santa but also a poor role model for our youth! "I'm pushing to reduce the size of Santa by 25 percent," said Ernest Berger, president of Santa America, a non-profit that arranges Santa visits for kids in tumultuous home situations.With an elfish twinkle in his eye, Berger told The...

Oprah's got her Book Club and Mr. Bad Food has his Book Nook.Consider this a place where you can get insights into hot-off-the-presses releases like this month's gem: Love Your Body, Love Your Life by body image expert Sarah Maria.While New Year's is often a time for hope, the bustling end-of-the-year holiday season can be a time when we are especially hard on ourselves.We feel fat or maybe we're depressed about our inability to stick with a diet. We get to a point where we don't even like to look into a mirror.Sarah Maria wants to end your negative body...

I don't know about you but whenever I see TV commercials that show active men and women looking all smiling and happy because they take vitamins or supplements... well, I start to feel bad about the fact that I do not choke down such things on a regular basis.I usually make a mental vow to start taking a daily vitamin. The new gummy ones for adults are especially attractive to a kid at heart like Mr. Bad Food.But after watching a recent Good Morning America report that basically says most people can get the vitamins and minerals they need from...

If you've been stocking up on Slim-Fast drinks in preparation for a New Year's diet, you need to know that Unilever is recalling some 10 million cans of its ready-to-drink products in the U.S. and Canada. The problem: The drinks may be contaminated with a bacteria that can make you sick.This past Thursday, a spokesman at Unilever's U.S. office said the recall is "due to the possibility of contamination with Bacillus cereus, a micro-organism, which may cause diarrhea and possibly nausea and/or vomiting." I don't know about you, but it's certainly not the way I want to lose weight! The...

The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to pull the popular weight loss drug Meridia from the market. The group says the drug needs to be yanked immediately because of heart-related risks.Public Citizen claims 84 heart-related deaths have been reported to the FDA in patients who took Meridia. Thirty of the people who've died were reportedly 50 or younger, and 11 were 30 or younger."We would hope that the science behind the results seen in this study would mandate the only appropriate FDA action to protect the public health: immediate removal of Meridia from...

I know this may sound shocking to some but I used to work for a tabloid newspaper. At the Sun, we weren't all that concerned with celebrities, but because we were a sister paper to the celeb-smearing Globe, we got to see all the trashy stories and photos before they went to print.The photos of stars who were either deemed too fat or too skinny seemed to draw the most attention. What is it about our insatiable appetite for images like this?While tawdry tales of Tiger Woods may be grabbing most of the headlines these days there remains plenty of...

Here in Eastern Pennsylvania they give the school kids an extended Thanksgiving holiday. I think the real reason there is no school the Monday after turkey day is because close to one million well-armed hunters hit the woods for the first day of deer season.I am not a hunter -- never have been -- but I am a parent, so what this means to me is that my two kids have an extra day to run wild, run free. And as most parents will grudgingly admit, any day that the kids are home from school is a holiday from dieting...

Diet-to-Go now offers five weeks worth of super delicious meals that are a perfect fit for people suffering from diabetes. It's our popular Diabetes-friendly Balance line of meals that were crafted to fit within the guidelines set forth by the American Diabetes Association.Here's what Diet-to-Go's registered dietitian Rebecca Mohning MS, RD, LD has to say."Diet-to-Go meal plans are beneficial for customers trying to lose weight AND control their blood glucose levels. The meals are portion controlled so there is no need to worry about carbohydrate counting and keeping track of calories for weight loss."The meals offer a diet low in...

This Thanksgiving will mark a first for my family - we're going out to dinner at a restaurant rather than host family or visit family for our turkey day meal.My wife refuses to make a complete break from tradition so she will be roasting a turkey breast Thanksgiving morning so we will at least have "leftovers" for sandwiches.My question: Can they truthfully be leftovers when the turkey breast will go untouched on Thanksgiving? Hmmm... Anyway, while I am looking forward to a fuss-free holiday for a change, I must admit I am a little saddened by the prospect of sharing...

Special for DiettoGo.comby Frederic J. Vagnini, M.D., FACS, & Lawrence D. ChilnickAuthors of The Weight Loss Plan for Beating DiabetesDuring the holiday season many dedicated dieters or those who follow special diets for diabetes, heart disease or other conditions not only "fall off the wagon" but also leap into the deep end of the pool. Don't feel guilty. This is a normal reaction to attending large family dinners where everyone makes food loaded with seductive carbohydrates.We also go to multiple parties -- sometimes on the same day -- where the hosts have hired caterers who specialize in delicious appetizers and...

I ain't afraid of no ghost...I ain't afraid of no witch, either.What really frightens me this Halloween season are the fun-sized candy bars that will jam my children's goodie bags - and turn dad's belly to jelly!Yes, they dare call them fun size even though there's nothing fun about overindulging on your favorite - and even your not-so-favorite - candies and treats at Halloween.What's also scary is that I've found in recent years that a growing number of well-meaning guys and ghouls have started handing out king-sized candy bars as their terrifying treat of choice!If you ask me, king is...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from Women's Home Workout Bible (Human Kinetics, 2009) by Diet-to-Go fitness contributor Brad Schoenfeld. Read the feature then see how you can get a free copy of this economical and insightful new book! Setting Up a Home Gym: The Essentialsby Brad Schoenfeld, DTG Fitness Pro& author of Women's Home Workout BibleFirst, the good news: You don't need to spend a fortune on a home gym. No matter what your budget is, you can build a gym that suits your needs. Now for the caveat: The less money you have the more savvy you...

I love fall! I think it's the prettiest and most dramatic season of the year.I was flying into Boston last week and, as I was looking out the window during the descent, I couldn't help but notice the sporadic dots of reds, yellows, and orange colors starting to take over the green foliage.Fall starts out gradually and slowly, so much so that if you don't take time to notice the one leave here, one leave there... you wake up one morning and fall has suddenly spray-painted the landscape. But like all things, the changing leaves got me thinking about weight...

Diet-to-Go has partnered with HCI Books to give away 10 free copies of the hot new title The Secret to Skinny by the Nutrition Twins, registered dietitians Tammy Lakatos Shames and Lyssie Lakatos.Winners will be chosen at random but to be eligible for a shot at this great book we want you to go to the Diet-to-Go Community ForumYour secret can be anything from a full length mirror on your fridge to replacing regular mayo with fat-free mayo.Subtitled "How Salt makes You Fat and the 4-Week Plan to Drop a Size & Get Healthier with Simple Low-Sodium Swaps," The Secret...

It's the most wonderful time of the year -- football season is about to get into full swing. Man, there's nothing like this time of year, especially for a northern boy like me. The days are getting shorter, the air is finally starting to chill, and I have season tickets to Penn State football!If you're like me, you'll soon be celebrating the wins -- and mourning the losses -- with food and drink. It's called tailgating... even when it's done in my TV room, where the only tail belongs to my dog Scruffy.And it's something that usually leaves us feeling...