Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I've made a yogurt drink for breakfast five days a week for 30+ years (nonfat plain blended with fruit juice & fresh fruit such as OJ, banana & cinnamon). No digestive problems. As a woman in her mid 60s, there's a great side benefit...no loss of bone mass with age. I looked at Activia and realized the high sugar content would add 26,000 calories to my diet which translates to 7+ pounds with no added benefit. And it costs more than other yogurts. I believe yogurt is a beneficial dietary food for most anyone not lactose intolerant. Whether the Activia additive makes a difference, only you can decide.

I am a 43 year old male. i am overweight and i eat what i want when i want it. i know it is bad...I was asked by my wife to try this each morning. I have had numerous issues with not being regular and so forth. I am beginning the second week and i have to say this stuff has worked VERY well for me. I have not changed my diet in any way other than to eat one of these per day in the morning. Pain gone, constipation gone, hemmoroidal bleeding gone. I hope it continues. i will let you know if things change. i wish everyone success in feeling better.

Paula's a real Southern gal......who flirts with men, other women, kids, even pets ......who usually respond by flirting back. I've lived in her community for 30 years and I can say she has been very animated every time I have seen her. The accent is real and many Southerners sound just like her. She and her family are very generous and support many local charitable organizations.

Come on people, the reason 'empty calories' and 'junk food' are normally a bad thing is that, when you eat them, you're not usefully contributing to the key elements of a balanced diet, so you will end up needing to consume more food in order to get the recommended daily allowances to keep your body running in good condition.

If you live in a third world country such as India, much of your diet consists of the empty calories in white rice, and you'll probably end up with the diseases and early deaths that malnutrition brings. At the other extreme, the likely result in a Westerner is that you'll be eating more calories than you're burning, so you'll put on weight.

Once in shape, swimmers generally don't have a huge mass of muscle to build or maintain, so their requirements for proteins, vitamins, and so on are only 1-2 times those of 'normal' people [ref]. But they have a massively larger need for calories (i.e. 4-5 times), and of course the easiest way to get that massive dose of additional calories is through 'empty calories' - lots of fats and sugars.

If he were to keep the same diet once he stops swimming competitively he'd be breaking scales not records!

Oh yeah and Phelps at 6'4", wearing size 14 shoes (also used in the single kayak races later on) seems to use his calories efficiently, don't we think? as Right N points out, look at the results. And look at the man's body. Do you see an unhealthy man? He's not skinny, but he is stream-lined. He's able to swim 8 races in, what, 6 days? Breaking records (some of which he set) in every single race (one was only an olympic record, the other 7 were world records) some won thanks to 3 teammates. It does seem like lots of sugar and carbohydrates, but it clearly fuels his engine.

None of us can compare what we do and how we eat to the regimen of an elite athlete, no matter how active we are, can we? It's just flat out different for them.

Someone left a comment regarding the "empty calories" in the things Mr. Phelps was eating. Although the things he eats are not viewed as health food by the health gestapo they are far from empty calories. Just look at the results Mike is getting, he is a champion. Do a little more research next time.

Used to be a Paula fan. Now - not so much. Pitiful and sad, as is the entire excuse of a "food" network. If they (the producers,etc.) are truly orchestrating this, then more shame heaped on their heads. She's become a cliche and an embarrassment....bless her heart. She needs to say "NO" to the whole over-the-top behavior thing.

I met Paula at a book signing, and she was genuinely warm and friendly. She did not personify a genteel southern grandmother nor did she act lewd and obnoxious. She fell somewhere in the middle, sharing funny and sometimes racy stories but nothing in poor taste. She stayed long after the close of the booksigning, just talking in general to a group of us and engaging us in conversation about our different food experiences. She was very charming and at the time, I wished I could have someone like her as my next door neighbor.

I agree that her recent behavior on FN has been outlandish, undoubtedly orchestrated by the powers that be at FN. They needed a BIG personality to replace Emeril Live, complete with his inuendos (playing with sausages, etc.). Enter Paula's Party. Unfortunately, they went way over the top. They exploited her natural tendancy to be a little baudy and went straight for lewd. I use my remote to tune her out, but I can't help but contrast the person I met to this tv personna. Please bring back the old/real Paula.

I apologize. That someone is on television certainly warrants declarations about their substance use/abuse problems.

Though she's often completely over the top and bordering on obnoxious, I have to agree with Jerzee Tomato. I only wish I could be as well off, heavily made up and as surrounded by young, attractive men when I'm her age. Hell, I'm twenty-three and have none of that going for me, it's something I aspire to.

That being said, sometimes when I'm suffering from horrible boredome, I'll watch Paula's Party and I'll literally have to flip the channel because she embarrasses me so badly. It makes me cringe for her, so I'd rather not watch.

I've never cared for Paula... her show makes me feel like I've gained weight just by watching it. And her personality is, as many others have said, over the top. Rachel Ray is high-energy, Paula Deen is maniacal!

PerkyMac, look at it this way--at least she's not flirting with people who ARE related to her!

I think we should all speculate more about who is and isn't "drunk," "drinking too much" or "on/off their meds" and so on.

Don't like to watch someone on television? Cool. Don't think much of a person based on what you see on television? Also totally fine.

But could we please, literally in the name of decency, shelve the unnecessary and entirely baseless comments on what substances may or may not be in play?

I don't like Paula's Party as a show, personally (though I've seen only a few minutes of it here and there, so that's a sense and not a totally informed opinion). But how on earth would I know whether she were on anything?

I think she is repulsive and borderline sexually harassing people. I find the Neeley's as repulsive with the kissing, gimme some sugar, blah blah blah.

Keep your bedroom behavior in the bedroom and cook the damn food.