Food Addiction is a Science: And You're the Target

You promised yourself today you would only eat a handful of Cheetos.  Just a handful, that is it!  Then you would put the bag back on the shelf and leave it there until tomorrow.  Tomorrow you are starting your diet anyway, so maybe you will just throw the bag away.  However, ten minutes later in the midst of your favorite new reality TV show you see an advertisement for ice cream and your taste buds start tingling.  So, you go to the fridge and decide a ½ cup will not do any harm; besides, it is not like you are addicted.  Or are you?...


How does it make you feel to know large food corporations such as Nabisco, Kraft, Coca-Cola, and General Mills have specific formulas to keep you munching on your favorite snack foods, breakfast cereals and sugary drinks?

There is whats called a 'bliss' point in food taste.  A taste that is not too overwhelming, but distinct enough.  Just enough, that you can keep eating it without your brain telling you to stop.  

So you are most likely, whether you know it or not, addicted to three substances 

- SUGAR - FAT - and SALT... 

the three giants added to foods to dazzle your testbeds and fool your brain.

Did you know that some Yoplait varieties - for instance, GoGurts that we so often feed kids - have the sugar of more than two oreo cookies.

Big deal you say, what's two oreo cookies?  7 grams of sugar.  Still not impressed? 

According to the American Heart Association, kids should only have 12 grams of sugar per day.

So if a kid eats one GoGurt and two oreos, they are already exceeding the maximum.

See how easy it can add up?

Stay tuned for more on food addiction, advertising affects, why we're hooked, chemical additives, and how to stop.

Feel free to post questions, comments, or topics you'd like to know more about - I'm happy to get to as many as I can!

We Are Not Eating Food Anymore

Truth be told, we are not eating food anymore - we are eating food-like matter.

Let me just give you something to chew on for a series I'm going to be authoring entitled...
A Pill for Every Ill: Behind the Scene of Food Additives, Advertising, and Addiction.

This is just something to get you thinking.

MSG and free glutamates are in 80% of the foods we eat to enhance flavor.
MSG is the #1 product fed to mice to fatten them for experiments.

Less than 6% of registered physicians have had formal nutritional training.

Up to 2/3 of people on a "diet" gain more weight then when they started.

Propylene glycol is used in muffins to sweeten and create "fake blueberries."  It's also used to winterize RV's, and before before colonoscopies.

General Mills has a cereal called "TOTAL" - that is called Blueberry and Pomegranate.  It contains no blueberries or pomegranates.

Manufacture's can slap a label "100% fat free" on a product...even if it forms fat after ingested.

Thoughts?...

Thanksgiving is Coming...and so are the Calories

Hello dear readers!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Here are some quick and easy ideas to keep the pounds OFF this holiday season!  More to come as Christmas nears...

Quick Ingrediant Subs to Make!

1. Baked Goods


Oils and butter in these recipes can be substituted with apple sauce, prune puree, or bananas.

2. Chocolate

Use fewer chocolate chips than a recipe calls for or substitute with cocoa powder.

3. Whole Milk, Whipping Cream

Lower fat milk or imitation whipped cream will reduce your calories greatly

4. Butter

Use healthier fats like light cooking spray, canola oil, whipped butter, olive oil, peanut oil, or a trans-fat-free margarine.

5. Salad Dressing

Salads may seem super healthy, but just a tablespoon of some salad dressings can set you back 100 calories. Instead use reduced-calorie salad dressing, lemon juice, reduced-fat cottage cheese, or herb-flavored or wine vinegar.

6. Cheese

Instead of the usual cheese, try reduced fat cheese. I bet neither you nor your family will be able to tell the difference.

7. Sour Cream, Mayonnaise

Use a plain fat free Greek yogurt--it has the same texture and similar flavor to both sour cream and mayonnaise.


8. Gravy

Put your gravy into the refrigerator before serving. Once it gets cold the fat will collect at the top, skim it off, defrost, and serve.


Dinner!

9. What to Serve

Serve low calorie foods like Canadian bacon, roast beef, raw vegetables, light cheese, dip made with fat free yogurt, and/or homemade salsa.


10. Lean Your Meats

Make your meats lean by removing the skin and fat before eating.


11. A Full Plate

Fill up half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables like salad, green beans, spinach, or broccoli.


12. Portion Control

If you have trouble with portion control, drink two large glasses of water right before you start your meal and continue to take sips between bites.

Dessert, yum!

13. Low-Calorie Sweets


Make a lower-calorie dessert like Angel food cake topped with light whip cream and fruit.

14. Fruits

Poached or baked fruits with a light whipped topping also make great desserts.

15. Cakes and Pies

Gingerbread is a lower calorie alternative to the usual cakes and pies.
After the Meal...

16. Walk it Off

Make activity a habit after your meals--whether it be a walk or an interactive game, get the whole family involved so that you can all burn a few extra calories and lead a longer, healthier life together.

Stay tuned.

Samantha

America's Addiction

Hello dear readers!  

I hope you are all doing well on this lovely Tuesday morning (almost afternoon).  For many of us, I would hazard to say almost all Americans - we have a serious addiction.  An addiction that often causes iritability, sleeplessness (or worse sleep!), headaches, and the list goes on.  An addiction, to sugar.  Why?  Practically all of the foods you consume today have sugar in them.  If its not added natural sugar, then its refined sugar.  If its not refined sugar, its fake sugar.  Either way you slice it - its sugar, and its addicitve.  Highly addictive.   For most of us, this picture rings true however, whether you realize it or not, is another story. 


 Fun Fact: Today, an average American consumes 2-3 pounds of sugar each week. While at the end of the 19th century (1887-1890), the average American consumed only 5 lbs. per year.

    


Check out the pictures below.  Even drinks that claim "natural" sugar, or make "healthy" claims, have sugar.  More then you probably thought.    How about this thought: do NOTHING different to your diet and exercise habit but add only ONE glass of apple juice every day.  In one year, you will gain 10lbs.





      
   
   


Enjoy your Tuesday everyone!


 Stay tuned. 

Sneaky Ways to Burn Calories

Hello dear readers,

Look at how faithful I'm being!  Two posts in a row!  Told you I'd be back.

I thought you all would be interested in this... how do we burn calories, without really "working out?"

Here are 8 "sneaky" ways...

1. Don't sit still! If you're a nervous leg bouncer or pencil tapper, you're in luck. On average, fidgeting can burn between 300-350 extra calories per day, though that number will vary widely depending on your fave form of fidgeting. (For example: pacing will burn more calories than table drumming.)

2. Laugh...a lot! According to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study, "Ten to 15 minutes of laughter could increase energy expenditure by 10 to 40 calories per day, which could translate into about four pounds a year."

3. Spice it up! Research shows that chili peppers can boost your metabolic rate, causing the body to burn 50 more calories a day.

4. Chomp away! Chewing gum burns roughly 11 calories an hour. Make sure you use sugarless to avoid added calories and cavities. Extra credit for walking at the same time.

5. Clean up! Don't groan at your to-do list, thank it: light housework like dusting and laundry burns 170 calories per hour. Tackle bigger chores like washing the car or cleaning the gutters and up your burn to 204 calories per hour.


6. Shop 'til you drop! Roaming the aisles and swiping the credit card is more taxing than you think. The typical grocery shopping trip incinerates 156 calories per hour. Up that burn even more by parking far away from the store, carrying your groceries to the car yourself, and multiple trips to bring them inside. Just don't ruin that burn by filling your cart with junk.


7. Drink up! According to Men's Health, drinking eight pints of ice water a day will cause your body to expend 123 calories of heat to warm that water to body temperature. When it comes to water, the colder, the better.

8. Just dance! Just 20 minutes of dancing can burn 100 calories. If you don't have the smoothest of moves, just turn down the shades, crank up the tunes and go nuts!


*Calories burnt are based on a 150lb woman

Stay tuned.

Obesity - making your fuel efficiency go down.

Hello dear readers!

So amongst blogging about fun ways to help you stay fit and healthy, I've also decided to take a look at the newest obesity, health, and fitness news.  I'll read the article, summarize it, and add a few thoughts.

This article definitely caught my attention.  They made the claim that the more obese you are, the more your fuel efficiency decreases.  A pretty bold claim if you ask me.

"Allstate Corp.’s The Allstate Blog says obese Americans are hurting the fuel efficiency of vehicles, contributing to more than 1 billion gallons of fuel wasted each year."


Did you catch that?  1 BILLION GALLONS OF FUEL WASTE.  

That, is intense.  

Or check this out...

"In 2000, the airline industry said it used 350 million more gallons of fuel than it did in 1990 just to haul the additional weight Americans gained during the decade, Centers for Disease Control researchers say"

Wow.  That's all I'm sayin...wow!

Stay tuned.

Dear Readers: My Apologies

I will write soon - hopefully today, maybe tomorrow.

Life has just gotten a little too chaotic, but I miss writing dearly.

I will come back to you very, very soon.

Promise.

Until later,

Samantha