SUGAR Part Dos
Well, well. Here we are.
Call me the bearer of unsweet news, the headless honeyman, edward sugarhands…whatever you choose. A few weeks has changed nothing.
SUGAR is still a NIGHTMARE on ANY STREET.
If you have ANY body composition concerns, and ask Beau, Angie, myself, or anyone else at the gym what you’re doing ‘wrong’ because you are eating ‘strict’ paleo and not getting the instant results you are searching for. I can guarantee you will be faced with a question related to the makeup of this ‘paleo’ you speak of.
Part uno provided you with a pretty good base to start thinking on your own, but lets break your (possible) relationship with this result-blocking horror story down by looking at a few of the sugar villians that may be standing in your way:
CARBOHYDRATES
Hold onto your movie collections, I am not saying that all carbohydrates are all bad. Quite the opposite. Many carbohydrates have place in healthy, well rounded eating, regardless of the particular goal. (That in itself is a different topic.) The point here, in Sugar Part Dos, is to hit home the fact that your food intake is made up of three parts: Protein, Fat, and Carbs. There is no part called: Sugar. In a rudimentary attempt to get you to realize the effects consuming the sweet stuff can have, I want you to recognize that CARBOHYDRATE=SUGAR. No chance you will touch a white potato, but don’t give a second thought about chowing down a banana while deciding about what to make for breakfast? Chew on this:
Groundbreaking!
Am I saying don’t eat potatoes or bananas? Nope. Eat what you want. All I ask is that you start PAYING ATTENTION.
FRUIT, JUICE, AND SMOOTHIES.
Just.Don’t.Do.It.
Yes, fruit is real food. Yes, it contains ‘healthier’ sugar than in processed-food options. NO, you do not NEED an apple a day; or to round out each meal, with fruit. It’s not a great snack. ESPECIALLY if your goal is body composition. If you are looking for something sweet to end your night on, grab a few berries and then go brush your teeth. Done-zo.
Here is Robb Wolf’s take on fruit in his Quick Start guide for paleo:
“Fruit
Limit fruit to 1 serving per day if fat loss is your goal. A serving is not a whole watermelon. If you want to screw things up and not make progress, eat all the fruit you want, it’s your nickel, ride the ride as you like. In order of preference: Berries, melons, citrus, apples, pears. Bananas, papayas and mangoes are great for athletes post workout but dodgy for folks who want to lose fat.”Pretty understandable…right?
Juice. Step away from the juice. There is nothing healthy or natural about consuming juice. If you want fruit, eat it in it’s natural form. Aaannnd…don’t give juice to your kids. The end.
Take a look @ the Carbs, Sugars, Fiber, and Calories. (PLUS,who ever drinks ONE 8oz. CUP of juice?!)
Speaking of fruit and juice, I am currently looking at a smoothie recipe in a ‘health and fitness’ magazine that has: 1/2 cup mango, 1/2 cup pineapple, AND 1 whole banana. That is SIXTY GRAMS CARBOHYDRATES that you can consume in, oh, depending on your susceptibility of ‘cold headaches’…approximately 2 minutes. Excuse my language, but…HOLY SHUGAR. See above for what we just said about fruit…Grab a pork chop and a handful of blueberries and you get to omit the cold headache AND the fabulous ‘spare tire’ look.
NOT SUGAR-SUGAR.
Do not fall into the trap of feeling that keeping the sweet by skipping the sugar is a good idea. Well…sucralose has been shown to decrease ‘good’ gut bacteria by 50%. What is it we are always talking about? Your gut and inflammation. Aspartame has been reported to cause dizziness, seizures, depression, and weight gain…to name a few. Saccharrin, the oldest Frankenstein of not sugar-sugars, has shown that the body has to expend essentially no energy once the sccharrin is consumed. Hence, unlike when you are burning calories after eating natural sugars…nothing happens.
“The sweetness tells your brain that calories and micronutrients are coming in; however, when they don’t arrive, your body shouts out for nutrients and sends you on a quest to find more food.” (Source: Rich Food, Poor Food by Jayson Calton, PhD and Mira Calton, CD. p.21)
LOW FAT/LOW CALORIE BANDWAGON
For my paleo people reading, I hope you have been rid of the myth of this last example. Sugar is the only food on the planet that is fat and carbs at the same time. It is made of glucose…and fructose. This has been, and continues to be, a reality. If you continue to reach for turkey bacon, fat-free yogurt, or extra-firm tofu in an effort to improve your health, I beg you to reconsider. Start looking at ingredient labels. Choose words you know. Don’t overload your liver with fructose…this paves the way to mitochondrial meltdown, which is as bad as it sounds.
“I am suspicious of anything that says low-fat or diet, because you know that means that they have had to compensate with a lot of these added sugars. If there is more than 5 ingredients…it is probably processed food, and there is probably not much real foods in there. It is almost impossible to buy those packaged foods without getting all of those extra sugars which are going to be just toxic for your metabolism”. (Sickeningly Sweet part 2)
Eat.Real.Food.
Meats, seafood, eggs, veggies, nuts, seeds, and berries.
Keep sugar where it belongs…from natural sources in minimal quantities. Your outer-parts (a.k.a your a$$), your inside parts(a.k.a everything from your liver to your attention span), your children, and your GOALS will thank you.
Hasta La Vista, Sugar.
Until Next Time…
Mallory
ShareUnlikely Duos
The sweater may be the weirdest part of the pic.
Just like Mutt & Jeff (or Martha & Snoop), sometimes delicious food comes in very interesting duos. Combinations that on first look, may sound intimidating.For example:
Mean Green Salad
- In a LARGE bowl, toss shredded kale and b.sprouts.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together until combined.
- Pour dressing over veggies.
- Work dressing into veggies, either by ‘massaging’ it in using clean hands, or any other creative way you can think of. (You want the dressing to ‘soak into’ or ‘marinade’ the greens.)
- If adding fruit, stir into massaged greens.
Ah, Sugar…Oh, Honey Honey. Part Uno
Poison? Am I Being Excessive? You Be The Judge!
I wish I were smart enough to figure out how to make that song play over and over while you were reading this post.
But then, perhaps that would defeat the purpose of you actually reading this post…
Luckily for both of us, it appears I am not smart enough(today…bets are off for later posts!).
Now let’s move onto the not so lucky part for you.
We are about to try something new in the land of the CFR nutrition blog. In an attempt to get my creative nutrition
If you find this humorous, I like you.
juices(ew) to instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano, I am going to shake things up and try something new. Every now and again, you will be presented with a two-part blog series. The idea behind this is that we here at CFR do not just want you to read and believe. That’s the washed-up, antiquated way of doing things that got so many people into a high cholesterol, bordeline diabetes, spare tire state in the first place.
In Part Uno (that means one, for you French & German students), I am going to ask you to watch(or read) something.
Something fascinating. Something that will change the way that you think about nutrition. Something by a very smart person (not me!) who knows what he (or she!) is talking about (not Beau, either! That one is not a joke. “Beau Knows” but these will be by someone else. Holy crap…does anyone else now want a “Beau Knows” tshirt?!? Seriously.)
Something to make you think.
For those of you who balk at the idea of furthering your health and longevity by becoming a student in addition to a blog
Part Dos
reader (only judging you a little)…or if you are just having a crazy week and don’t have time to investigate part uno of the post, part dos (that’s two…) will be the cliff note (spark note if you have no idea who cliff is) version which outlines why the information in part uno is important to us at CFR, and/or how it can be of use.
In the time between parts uno and dos, your job is to watch (or read), and then post thoughts, questions, ideas, comments, additional links, revelations, etc to the comment section of part uno.
Recap…
Part Uno=Think
watch or read & post to comments
Part Dos=Review and Apply
Now…back to the “sugar sugar” of post uno, part uno.
In an attempt to really give you all the bigger picture of why eating meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and berries is THE best choice you could make when you wake up tomorrow (in addition to lifting heavy sh!t, of course!), I am always on the lookout for clear, readily accessible information. I know that while most people at CFR strive to be healthy, they also do not have the time to read every new book, article, or blog that comes around.
SO…in the next 25 minutes, you will get a two-part rundown of why the Standard American Diet is making us fat and sick…or, as Dr. Lustig, who you meet in today’s videos puts it (so eloquently) “How did the entire world get this fat, this fast?”
All you need to do is skip one facebook stalk-session, a half-episode of Duck Dynasty, or do some multitasking and load it on your phone while you eat lunch or cook dinner. Part Uno this week is for you to watch the following:
AND this:
Initial take home thoughts to wet your whistle:
- A calorie is not a calorie (3:35 video one)
- 40% of thin people have chronic metabolic diseases and will DIE of them (10:08 video one)
- Sugar is FIFTY times more potent then total calories in explaining diabetes rates worldwide ( 1:46 video two)
- If there are more than five ingredients, it is probably a processed food, and there’s probably not much real foods in there (7:06 video two)
Are you thinking yet?…Fired up about something?…Totally confused?!?
…POST, before Part Dos, DARN IT!!!
Until Next Time…
Mallory
The 2013 Paleo Challenge WINNERS
Guys, we must tell you how how totally blown away we are by this most recent Paleo Challenge’s participants and results. This was by far one of the toughest to judge because of the amazing hard work and dedication shown by all of you. I know it’s quite an honor to hold the title, and not to sound cheesy, but our hope is that all of you consider yourselves champions this go round. In 5 short weeks, we saw an astounding amount of body transformation. This goes not only for the newest challengers, but for those who have been with us for years! A few of you went into this challenge seriously looking like you had nothing to lose. Somehow, even the most badass of you managed to improve your WOD times, up your game in attendance, eat perfectly and chisel down what looked like an already amazing body in our eyes. You should all be so proud of yourselves. And not simply for the aesthetics…the dedication it takes to eat clean with careers, families, all of life’s demands AND manage to get your tail to the gym 6 days a week is beyond what most people could begin to undertake. And you all did it ALL the way. We seriously couldn’t be more honored to be part of this journey with you. We hope you all learned more about yourselves, your bodies and how proper food as fuel can make a difference in every aspect of your life. Congratulations to all of you on a job well done. We applaud your efforts, your blood, sweat and tears and can’t tell you how much we enjoyed your killer success! Now without further adieu…the 2013 winners!
1st Place and a $600 cash prize goes to…drumroll please…JOHN KNEISLY
2nd Place and $200…BETH BAKER
3rd Place and $125…RODNEY MCCLINTON
4th Place (not per our usual to have a 4th place but this little lady earned it!!)…$75 to BRITTNEY CASSIDY
Again, CONGRATULATIONS on an amazing challenge to all of you. We hope you feel as much pride in yourselves and your efforts as we do for all of you!!
ShareThrow.Out.Your.@#%$.Scale
Alright, challengers…ALMOST there!
Be sure to remember these dates as you amazing ladies and gents finish up:
March 25th – After photos must taken BY THE PARTICIPANT.
March 28th – The post Paleo challenge workout must be completed and recorded by a trainer. Paleo challenge food points must be turned in. An email must be sent by this date by the participant to beau82nd at gmail dot com. The email must include both before and after photos, total food points, number of days you made it to CFR during the challenge and Paleo challenge pre workout times and post workout times.
Now that the details are taken care of, lettuce get down to business. (Just seeing if you are paying attention!)
Turns out, as awesome sauce as we try to be at CFR, there was something missing from the most recent paleo challenge. It’s our bad, really. We forgot to tell you back on Feb 23rd to…
THROW AWAY YOUR SCALE
“Um…how will I know if I am making progress if I don’t have a scale?!?”
Good question. Fair question.
Right now, many of you equate the number on the scale with your health and fitness. Clearly, to have better health and fitness, the number on the scale must continue to go down.
CONTINUOUSLY FALL
Right?!?! Without that number, how else could you possibly know that you:
can now run a 200m sprint?!?
….lift heavier weights?!?
… have gained days, months, maybe even years of healthy living?!?
…cured your eczema?!?
…have a firmer backside and less jiggly arms?!?
…have less acne?!?
…fit back into your sexy pants?!?
Wait a minute…what is this blog-lady talking about? My scale only has NUMBERS. None of that other mumbo-jumbo!
You guys are so smart…you hit the nail on the head. Your scale only has NUMBERS. Your scale DOES NOT tell you any of those things listed above. I mean, come on now. Who even likes NUMBERS, anyway!?!? (Sorry, math teachers and accountants…and bankers. And anyone with a checkbook (smartphone?). Maybe you guys like NUMBERS. Lettuce exercise your imaginations and pretend NUMBERS are your new frenemy.)
Fat≠Muscle
5lbs vs. 5lbs
Does anything about that picture look equal to you?
You can make EPIC changes in your health and fitness, speaking in terms of your body composition from here on, WITHOUT LOSING WEIGHT. True story. There could be very little change, no change, heck-even an INCREASE, on the NUMBERS on that stupid, stupid scale, and your body composition could be steadily improving.
Improving Body Composition!
I’m not trying to hurt the scales’ feelings by calling it dumb. It just is a poor, POOR representation of the changes you are making by: lifting heavy weights, doing smart WODs, and eating a diet full of protein, healthy fats, and delicious, natural carbs (er…sounds familiar, what is that called? OH yeah: PALEO).
Read this, and tell me after if you don’t think your scale is a dumbass afterword:
Someone weighing 200 pounds with a body fat percentage of 25 is carrying around 50 pounds of extra fat. That same person weighing 200 pounds with 10 per cent body fat would be carrying around only 20 pounds of fat.
What would the scale say for each person weighing 200 pounds?
Correct. It would say “200″ pounds.
Would those 200 pounds look the same?
No.
Would your scale still say 200 pounds?
Yes.
Do you think your scale is stupid yet?
Why waste precious time daily -before you shower but after you’ve worked out and gone to the bathroom (twice, just in-case) and crossed your fingers on your right hand only-or weekly, or twice daily, or WHATEVER- on a measurement that is stupid and leaves you feeling like you aren’t making any progress, when you CLEARLY are moving right along?!?
The Moral of the Blog Is:
Instead of getting frustrated by what the stupid, no-good hunk of plastic and metal that lives on your bathroom floor tells you; pick a smarter way to judge the ‘body composition’ area of your health and fitness. Not NUMBERS.
You could:
- Check out your before and after pictures from the paleo challenge…what differences do you see? The proof will be in the puddin’ on that one. (Didn’t participate in the challenge? No problem, your camera works even on non-challenge days; I checked with the manufacturer.)
- Look at how your dead lift, bench press, or back squat has gone up in the past few weeks. That means your lean muscle mass is increasing!
- Wear your sexy pants, sans muffin top. (Used to seem kinda weird that the NUMBER on the scale didn’t move but those pants went back on, didn’t it? (The fat must have transferred somewhere else, right?!!?) Now you know better than to be duped!)
- Wave hello and goodbye without fear of the ‘jiggle’!
- Wonder who’s good lookin’ arse that is in the mirror you just walked by…oh, that’s right…it’s YOURS!!!
Do whatever. Just stop getting sucked into a NUMBER on a stupid scale.
Everyone stops counting their age at 29. So, new challenge rule:
You can keep your scale if you weigh less than 29 pounds. Otherwise,
Throw.Out.Your.@#%$.Scale.
Seriously. Try it for 30 days. Notice you continue to kick a$$ and take names, without giving a hoot about a NUMBER. (Then un-hide it and throw.out.your.@#$%.scale.)
You know you can do anything. You are awesome sauce.
Until Next Time…
Mallory
Share