High-Fructose Corn Syrup - More bad news

I've known there was something wrong with High-Fructose Corn Syrup for a long time, and now here's more bad news:

A study has found that there is mercury in many food-derived product additives including High-Fructose Corn Syrup. Here is a human-readable document with the information about the study.

The press release begins, "Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brand name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient-including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's."

If you are not reading product labels for additives, start doing it. This stuff is pervasive! It's in everything, and sometimes it's the first ingredient (i.e. 2nd ingredient in most soda aside from carbonated water....) Dangerous (for more than just this reason....). We absolutely need to go back to basics -- or as close to basics as humanly possible.

And this mercury discovery is on top of all sorts of other implications for HFCS -- obesity, complications for our sugar metabolism, empty calories, etc. My nutrition teacher said there were two huge nutritionally devastating trends to keep an eye on: HFCS and Partially Hydrogenated oils -- keep them both out of your diet and you'll be much better off for it, he warned.

Thinner....

Update: Mom is down 52lbs now.

I just bought new clothes today so I can stop stalling my weight loss and get back into gear. I was afraid if I lost more weight, I wouldn't have any clothes that fit me for the winter! It's easier in the summer in 1-size dresses, but I'd be too cold in the winter. I deliberately "cheated" on my diet for a couple weeks, just maintaining my weight. Now, armed with several new slacks, a nice warm wool/cashmire blend sports jacket, and new blouses, I'm ready to take on the next 20lbs.

So here I am at 155lbs or so. I'll be heading firmly into size 12 territory, and once I do, I'll have to abandon the size 16s I've been "getting away with". The size 14 clothes I still have will see me through the transition up to the brink of size 10, but there wasn't enough clothing for the whole cold season in New York.

Onward, and downward! :)

One Size fits me

174.6lbs. 36.5"waist, 45.25" hips. [Ed. oops, just noticed the typo -- I don't weigh 74lbs, nor do I ever want to!]

The way my body is built, I'll never have a 20" waist, but I'm going from "rather plump" to "pleasantly curvy" which is a change for the better.

I felt for the first time in a while like I could wear a dress yesterday -- 80 degrees, and I feel less than fat. A dress that would NOT fit me just last fall, now fits well and will only look better and better as I take off weight. I put on a different dress first, but while it fit, it was still too tight in the gut-hip area, where I'm carrying what my mom calls the family belly, so my daughter wore it.

I've been having discussions with my weight-loss partner (my mom) about rewards for a good job done on a diet, about feelings of entitlement when traveling or socializing. It's just not healthy to think that you spent so much money to go someplace you deserve to have a large meal (or dessert, or snacks, or...). The two are unrelated. Our society brainwashes us into thinking that white flour, sugar, potatoes are "rewards" and these messages are hammered into our head from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep.

If you spent a lot on a trip you should darned well enjoy the trip, enjoy healthy choices, enjoy your food, relax, get extra sleep, get some extra exercise in the pool or workout room, but don't think that you deserve to treat your body badly because you're spending some extra time away from home or with friends.

I spend a lot of money every month on networking events, often those events come with breakfast, lunch or dinner. I also go to committee meetings where the fare of the morning is donuts or bagels (I've come to call them the "donut meeting" and "bagel meeting" respectively when talking about them to my partner, just to really point out how ridiculous this "culture" is.) I can think to myself "Well, I pay my $400/year for membership in this chamber, so I deserve the free breakfast!" And that type of thinking can get me into much more than $400 of health concerns and illness, and new larger clothes purchases to accommodate my brainwashed mentality. Several members of said chamber are in trouble healthwise and taking drastic measures to change their weight, and I find that very very alarming. I drink my shake religiously before going, treat myself to an herbal tea when I get there, and instead of fussing with food, I pay attention to the meeting! I can network better without a mouth full of bagel anyway.

We need to reconsider what we put into our mouths. 500 years ago there WAS no white sugar, or white flour, or white rice. It's not in our genetic or metabolic make-up to properly handle them, much less "high-fructose corn syrup" and "hydrogenated fats". To watch our weight, every calorie that goes into our body has to carry nutrients with it, and any nonsense calories that go into our body aren't holding up to their end of the reasons we ingest food in the first place. High-glycemic foods like potatoes, sugar and white flour cause a bounce-back reaction that leads to cravings, and cravings lead to binge eating and overeating. I watch people put 3-4 spoons of sugar into their drink, eat 3 pieces of white-bread before eating a full dinner, a plate full of french fries, etc. I just have to choose differently than they do, not feel deprived. I think of those things as fat cells going right into their bodies, and they're far less appealing.

I miss those starchy sugary foods just like the next person would, but I know better. Even if it takes a lot of mental willpower, discipline, and self-talks to stay away, I know I can change my own mind about anything, and I'm determined to erase the nutritional brainwashing and damage done by our culture, so I can live a healthy and long life.

Next goal: halfway point: 166.0lbs - squarely size 16 pants, and the original broadway cast recording of Evita (my reward, a 2 album set). Not going out to dinner. Not dessert. Not ice cream.

Infernal TortureTrack

[forgive my basement!]

Ok, who invented this device? It looks like something out of an inquisition's nether chambers. But it's a NordicTrack, skithing. I'm not a skier, much less cross-country (or is that cross-county?) skier. I have this thing thanks to Freecycle. I got on it for 20 minutes yesterday. I attribute my lack of tremendous backaches to the leucine. I have a minor ache reminding me to warm up before exercising.

I like that the machine is very very low-tech. I don't have to turn on the heart monitor, which runs on 2 AAs (and I have rechargables anyway). I know I'm a computer geek -- see all the computers in the basement? -- but it's nice to know that I don't have to use any electricity to get my workout.

My iPod will be my sanity savior. I did 20 minutes without my iPod yesterday. Dumb. But at least I got some time in getting used to the motions to make on this thing, and I'm not sure if I was more sweaty and tired when I was "done" or just plain bored. To ease the boredom, I became a member of the Manager Tools website which is terrific for entrepreneurs, business people, and geeks who are wannabe managers to learn business etiquette and good practices. I usually listen to them while driving. Episodes are a 1/2 hr long or longer, which is perfect as a distraction from the fact that time is passing that I could be doing something else for my business while I exercise. I'll be actually doing something for my own professional development while exercising. Guilt-free exercise. Yay.

If you're not a business person, check out the choices of podcasts out there, whether through iTunes or other podcast directories (podcast alley, etc.) because there is tons of interesting programming out there -- probably even podcasting about weight loss -- that you can listen to while exercising (or driving, but I'm not sanctioning any activity that causes anyone to sit on their rump one minute more than necessary! If I spend a few extra minutes exercising for a show that goes overtime, it's ok....). If you don't have an iPod or other "Mp3 player" you can still make audio CDs from them, or maybe you exercise near your computer, then you can just play them over the computer speakers. I like an in-my-ear experience, so my iPod is great.

My other exercise-of-choice (and this one DOES use electricity) for the winter is DDR (Dance-Dance-Revolution, on the Playstation 2) which is fun, but I can't really listen to podcasts while doing DDR, I'm too busy listening for music queues for dance steps. However, that has it's own advantages, so I'll blog about that once I'm back on the dance mat....

Do I weigh too much? The camera lies....

Just kidding about the lying. It's true. I weigh too much. Egads. Hard to look at. I hope I look fatter on camera than I do in real life -- eternal optimist, I guess. I'm glad I'm on a diet. I have to keep this blog around as a reminder. Whew.

I hate taking photos, but at least my partner and I can laugh together. That makes it far more tolerable. I stood in front of his pies, laughing about playing Vanna to them, then I did it....here I am showing off the pies. They're the Pièce de résistance! I'm going to resist. Nya.

So I weighed-in at 197lbs at 5'3" -- and I'm on a diet. I told you about the pies, and took a photo yesterday evening -- well, now there's about 1.125 pies left -- that's to say about 1 pie and one whopping slice or two petite slices. And it really wasn't me. I had a shake this afternoon with a frozen banana blended in. It was awesome. I got to choose a free item from the unmentionable company today, and I chose the 28 day supply of the supplements (metabolism regulation) you're supposed to take on this plan, because they're one of the more expensive single items, and I want to make sure I stay on the plan.

Anyway, time to run to see a potential client. I hope Ecto is working to post on my blog.

My first (real) diet plan

Ok, today my weight loss plan starter kit arrived and I'm ready to take a plunge. [Product name and company logo smudged out on purpose.]



It was like opening a box for an Apple laptop -- an experience in design. I dutifully put the battery into the pedometer, used the enclosed measuring tape to measure my waist & hip size -- wonder if I should measure bust, thighs, or arms, too....I can't enter my weight in the charts or the software because I don't have a scale, so I guess I should give in and buy one, just for curiosity's sake.

Then it was time to have a shake. I washed the shake cup. I measured a cup of (organic) milk (I have only 1% -- need to get skim!) into the cup ("Is that ALL?") and went to add some protein shake powder into the cup. Opening the canister could have been easier, but I managed that.

Then it was time for the scoop. Scoop? "2 scoops of powder." Yeah, that implies a scoop. So I tapped the powder around, with inevitable small dust clouds and breath-holding (I'm not supposed to BREATHE the protein powder!) and then I had to make the plunge. I stuck a finger in and pushed around, located the scoop, and managed to dig it out with minimal mess and a powdery finger.

2 scoops of powder into the cup, screwed on the cap, put on the two safety belts (there are closures for the drinking hole and the airhole), and shake shake shake.....hrm, a little powder on the sides, shake shake shake....hrm, it's a tiny bit but I can't get it into the liquid ....shake shake shake aw fergettit. Must have gotten powder on the freshly washed side of the cup.

Well, here I am about to take a sip.... I better gulp to get it over with faster. Oh -- that's pretty good. It's heavy (probably should be), and a little powdery but what do you want from something so full of protein? (16g) But it actually tastes good. Like real vanilla. Almost -- dare I say it -- like the flavor (not the temperature) of ice cream. I'll enjoy blending it with frozen mango or banana in the summer. Mmmm. Ok, that was good. I was really hungry. I still feel a tiny bit empty but since there's actually some protein powder and drink stuck to the container, I'm going to wash the pill I'm supposed to have with it down with a water rinse of the container.

...addendum: This was about 1pm. About 5-10 minutes later, I felt full. At about 3:30 I was hungry again, and I had the chocolate snack bar because lately I've been grazing on chocolate chips. So I figured this early in the plan, I better make sure I get a chocolate fix. The chocolate bar is sufficiently large -- not large, just sufficiently large :) and the taste is fine. It's not like a terrific brownie, but it is much better than a brownie (a la mode) I had at an ice cream parlor at one point. That brownie was not worthy of the name. So I can certainly live with this chocolate snack bar in place of that brownie.

Now off to see about a scale. More later...

40-inch-waist, 48-inch-hips -- and counting. [ed - got the scale: 197lbs, size 18 (almost 20). Goals: size 12 or 135lbs. Whatever looks and feels the best.]