NUTRITION

Life Without SUGAR - The Update

These are the foods I used to eat on a regular basis that I do not eat anymore- at all:

Bread, Bagels, Crackers, Cereals, Chocolate, Rice, Jelly, Candies,

 

Foods I used to eat that I still eat:

Sweetened creamer in my coffee, chocolate chip cookie dough or cookies on cheat days, tortillas every once in awhile.

 

Foods I didn’t, or barely ate, that I eat more of now:

 

Fish, Vegetables, Nuts

 

Hardship Level:  ZERO

 

How I feel:  AMAZING.  It is the most wonderful feeling to sit at a restaurant, not reach for the bread, and not miss it.  It is an incredible high to go to the grocery store and pass up almost everything.  It is beautiful to have a cheat day and eat my chocolate chip cookie dough without guilt or remorse.

 

My body feels stronger and more healthy.  My energy level is far more balanced.  My performance at Crossfit is improving. I am finally rid of most of my belly fat.  My body looks more defined.  But how I FEEL is the most exciting aspect of not eating sugar.  I feel proud to have done it… I feel happy to be able to keep it up…. It feels like an achievement, an accomplishment, a benchmark. 

If I can, anyone can. I know that.

 

Eileen

You Can Still Have Pancakes!

Paleo Pancakes!!

This will make enough for 2 people. You can also add a side of scrambled eggs and/or a sausage.

2 whole eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 apple, cored and chunked
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
coconut oil for cooking

Combine all ingredients, except blueberries, into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and add blueberries. Heat a large pan on medium heat; add coconut oil and cook small pancakes 2-3 minutes on each side (these are hard to flip, so when they are ready, jab the spatula underneath fast)

Eileen's Successes Continue

Eileen has stepped up to the plate and really dug in, learning on a consistent basis about her diet.  What her intakes were, what they should be.  She has been giving it a very solid effort and has been a really great example of what happens when you make even small changes.  Many feel it IS an all or nothing game, and can't conceive of taking it on.  But it isn't.  Just like anything, it's a learning process to get better and everyone approaches from a different way.  The biggest take-home from her experience is that just making small changes makes a big difference.  Then, maybe you can make more changes down the road once these ones have become a normal part of your life. 

RESULTS

I think I am living proof that even the most sugar-addicted amongst us can make radical changes without doing anything perfectly, or even near perfectly.

 I’m not zoning by the book.  Or should I say by the scale.  The most I could commit to was to try, and I mean try, to eat the eyeball appropriate amounts of proteins carbs and fats in each meal.  I have bought a lot of fish and fake soy meats because I am still a veggie.  The verdict on soy meats for the crossfit zone is mixed at best.  The easiest way for me to get carbs thru veggies is to keep buying pre-made broccoli salads at new frontiers. I know they are not officially zone appropriate.  I have substituted my cravings for carbs with large handfuls of mixed nuts throughout the day.  I know I eat far more nuts than I would be allowed on a strict diet.  Given the unpredictability of many of my days, my snacks are sometimes natural energy bars which are not balanced zone bars, or handfuls of nuts on the run.  On many days I still drink a coffee with sweetened creamer – DREADED SUGAR.   Until last week I had one or two beers each night. 

 What I have done is cut out TOTALLY – all breads, burritos, rice, bagels, potatoes, and grains.  Not to mention an absolute moratorium on candies, chocolates, cereals, munchies or chips. While I did 90 percent of this months ago, it’s only been about three weeks that I’m doing it totally.  In the last week I decided to give up the daily beers and drink once (maybe twice) per week.

 WHAT INCREDIBLE RESULTS!  Three weeks in and I eat less than I have in years.  I don’t suffer from cravings.  I go to crossfit when I can, which is from 2 –4 times a week and am back to taking tennis lessons which are heavy aerobic workouts.  The body fat is melting.  I mean melting.  Radically fast.  I’m thinner and leaner and stronger than ever.  I believe I may even see definition in my midsection if I keep this up.  Unheard of!  I feel good about myself and even proud to be doing this – this imperfect diet change, for only three weeks.

 Perfection has never been my thing.  I don’t think  I do anything in my life “as prescribed”.  But giving it my “scaled” best is actually enough.  What an amazingly positive lesson to be living when so often it seems that if you can’t do it perfectly, don’t do it at all.     Thanks Crossfit.

Keep up the good work, Eileen!  Congratulations!

Notes on Nutrition

courtesy CrossFit Brisbane

Why worry about Nutrition?

• Nutrition is the foundation of CrossFit development … why? We need energy to perform, leanness associated with health
• Exercise makes you strong/fit, Nutrition makes you lean/healthy
• Everyone initially looses bodyfat if they hit the CrossFit schedule, at some point performance starts to plateau and fat loss stagnates.  Diet is the progression.
• Carb/Sugar is the enemy
• We need glucose for fuel but the amount that we can store is limited and the impact of excess glucose is hugely negative -> body fat, poor energy/mood, ill health
• We are the only animals that will eat excessive sugar
• We need to avoid hyperinsulinemia -> chronic and acute elevation of insulin as a result of habitual consumption of excess carbohydrate “get fat while you sleep”
• We see two body composition problems resulting from hyperinsulinemia  … FAT and SKINNY FAT  … both have bad long term health outcomes
• To avoid health (and weight) problems we need to understand the insulin response and how it affects our bodies
• Life is not fair, different people/different sensitivity, get over it and do what is right for you
• Eating high carb results in the daily roller coaster ride -  7am slow start, 10am hunger, 2pm sleepiness, 6pm crankiness, 10pm chocolate
• “Zero sugar/Zero calories” is a myth if the product produces an insulin response
• Fat does not make you fat, Carb makes you fat.  Dietary fat does not equal body fat.  Fat affects your metabolism and is necessary for survival.  Fat is hormonally neutral, Carb results in Insulin secretion, Protein in Glucagon secretion (simplistic explanation).  However, bad fat can make you unhealthy.
• Insulin allows the cells to accept glucose with excess converted to bodyfat, Glucagon allows the cells to release fat.  A balance of hormones is optimal.  See definitions at the end of document
• Google Taubes eg … Cows starving fat with artificially maintained high insulin
• Genetics play a role, but you make the choices that allow the gene to be expressed or repressed, eg alcoholism
• We are one meal away from managing insulin.  Our next meal matters.
• Treat food like a drug

So what should we do?

• Eat for performance/energy balance -> health/leaness will follow
• Eat enough protein for your lean body mass but not more … “feed the muscle not the fat”
• Eat a balanced meal, meaning 40%C / 30%P / 30%F at each meal to control hormone (insulin) response
• Eat within 30 mins of waking up, must eat breakfast
• Eat within 30 mins of going to sleep
• Eat every 3-4 hours
• Typically three big meals and 2 snacks (adjust snacks to get balance)
• Avoid High GI foods - Low GI foods have a limited shelf life and are typically found on the outer perimeter of the supermarket (if you can catch it or grow it you probably are ok to eat it”
• We have a concept of favourable and unfavourable foods.  Unfavourable have typically negative factors associated, either bad fats (saturated/trans) or are high GI (high insulin response)
• Eat good Fat
• Increase water consumption
• Learn & understand what you are putting into your body.  You are in control of your health.  You are not a victim.  The victims are only ever the people that care for you that have to tolerate your poor health.

The crossfit prescription
“Eat Meat & Veg, Nuts & Seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar, Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.”

The Zone – understanding the CrossFit Nutrition plan

• Simply a practical way to achieve hormonal balance
• 40/30/30 at each meal in correct quantities
• We use a concept of “blocks” to work out how much food you need to eat
• One block PRO = 7 grams, CHO (carb) = 9 grams, FAT = 1.5 grams
• One block of each means a balanced meal (minimal hormonal change) of size “1 block”
• The block is the amount of that macronutrient (CHO, PRO, FAT) that we derive from the food that we intake.  The amount that we need to intake is higher. Eg, ~ 30grams of tuna eaten = 1 block,  7grams of derived pro
• It is a bit confusing at the start but you will quickly work it out
• Once I know what a block looks like for the foods I want to eat it is simple to “build” a healthy meal
• There is an amount of protein that is right for your body composition (lean muscle mass) and activity level
• LBM(lbs) * .7 / 7 = number of blocks per day for the typical CrossFitter. Another way … Medium Female = 11 blocks, Medium Male = 17 blocks … start with that!
• Break it up over the day sensibly

What everyone says …

• “I eat pretty well”
• “I think my diet is ok”
• “I don’t eat much sugar”
• “What will I eat?”
• “I will get hungry”

The reality …

• if you are overweight or skinny fat, your diet sucks
• You can eat well (ie good food choices) but in the wrong quantities and balance and have poor nutrition
• Energy levels & body fat are the best indicators of sugar in your diet
• You need to take time to learn to eat different stuff in different proportions at different times
• You will have trouble eating all of the food!!

The “No” list
Remove the following things from your diet (this is your NO list):-

• NO Bread
• NO Potatoes or Starchy vegetables
• NO Softdrink (includes anything that is low/no sugar, eg Coke Zero etc, if it comes in a can do not drink it)
• NO High GI or sports drinks (eg fruit juice, powerade, cordial)
• NO Alcohol
• NO Fried Food
• NO Sugar
• NO Pasta or noodles
• NO White rice
• NO Saturated fat
• NO Icecream
• NO rice cakes, crackers or biscuits
• NO energy drinks

If you choose to eat No list foods, be very careful with quantity and balance with FAT/PRO

What do I eat?

FATS ( a dash)
Good Fats

• Olive oil
• Avocado
• Nuts
• Fish oil

Unfavorable Fats

• Fatty red meat
• Egg yolks
• Organ meats
• Processed foods rich in trans fats

CARBS (2/3 a plate, 2 fists)
Favorable

• Most vegetables (except corn)
• Most Fruits (except raisins and bananas)
• Oatmeal, barley

Unfavorable Carbohydrates

• Pasta, breads, cereals, bagels and potatoes
• Bananas and raisins
• Corn

PROTEIN (1/3 Plate, 1 fist)

• Skinless Chicken
• Turkey
• Fish
• Very lean cut of meat
• Egg Whites
• Low fat Dairy
• Tofu
• Soy meat substitutes

COMBINATION FOODS

• Equal portions of Fat/Carb/Protein
• Milk
• Yogurt (choose unsweetened natural)

Let’s get practical, how to start

1. Small effective changes … no big bang!
2. Buy a scale with Oz/Gram, $15 from the supermarket
3. For one-two weeks record what and how much and when you eat.  Be honest.  Don’t try to adjust.  This is for you, not me
4. Start eating regularly 5-7 times a day, eg 6am snack, 8am breakfast, 10am snack, 12pm lunch, 3pm snack, 7pm dinner, 9pm snack (crossfitters usually need 1 extra morning snack)
5. Add fat and protein to every meal
6. Eyeball method 2/3 carb, 1/3 pro + dash fat
7. Good fats
8. Lean protein (cottage cheese, cheese, ham good for breakkie)
9. Standardise some meals … breakfast, snacks & lunch are low hanging fruit.  You don’t need variety. Change these to quick, balanced and consistent zone meals
10. Dinner is tricky … attack it last once the rest of your diet is sorted
11. Map the number of blocks that you should be eating against your daily schedule .. do the math.  Don’t eat more than 5 blocks in one sitting
12. Spend two weeks weighing and measuring, using the getzoned block chart, and start eating the right amount for your body.  Once you have done this for two weeks you will know how to estimate
13. Talk to your coach in 2 weeks, we are here to help.  It is a gradual staged process that requires coaching.  After two weeks of experimenting, work out a meal plan with your coach.

Listen to your body and adjust as necessary.  It takes practice to get it right, just like the movements that we teach

• Feeling shakey/sad/emotional -> not enough carb/blocks, too long between meals
• Can’t get through the food, change the way you put together your blocks
• Dropping too much weight, add fat 2x, 3x at each meal

Use the block charts to build a meal (www.getzoned.com.au)
Eg 4 block lunch
PRO – 90g ham, 30g low fat mozzorella
FAT – ¼ avacado + 2 macadamias
CHO – apple, 1/3 bananna, coffee
Very quick, feel full

Personalise to things you want to eat!  The above meal works for me, but you might hate it.

What is the payback?

• Lots of energy
• Better training performance
• Clearer thinking
• Lean body
• Improved health
• Reduced food bill

Resources

• CrossFit journal 15
• CrossFit Journal 21
• Both available for about $5 from CrossFit Store on www.crossfit.com
• Bock chart from www.getzoned.com.au
• “Enter the Zone” by Dr Barry Sears

Definitions from Wikipedia …

Insulin is a hormone with intensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems (eg, vascular compliance). Insulin causes most of the body's cells to take up glucose from the blood (including liver, muscle, and fat tissue cells), storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by most body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source (ie, transfer of lipids from adipose tissue to the liver for mobilization as an energy source).

Glucagon is an important hormone involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Produced by the pancreas, it is released when the glucose level in the blood is low (hypoglycemia), causing the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose and release it into the bloodstream. The action of glucagon is thus opposite to that of insulin, which instructs the body's cells to take in glucose from the blood in times of satiation.
 

Eileen

When I decided to stop eating sugar, it was in response at least 30 years of sugar addiction and Lisa Ray’s Challenge for Crossfit Flagstaff – Stop eating sugar!  Taking out the bagels, breads, cereals, spoonfuls of jelly, chocolate candies from candy bowls strewn about town, rice dream snacks, etc.cetera, was surprisingly easier than I thought.  When you are ready, you are ready.  Doing it in the context of Crossfit was the way I discovered I was ready.

 

When I stopped sugar, the word was ZONE.  Or PALEO.  You need to ZONE.   You should go PALEO to get the true benefits! Go ZONE.  Measure.. plan…ZONE.

 

I knew that was right.  I didn’t doubt the wisdom. But for me, taking all of that other stuff out of my diet was enough.  ENOUGH!  Don’t PUSH me any further. I’m not ready.

 

I don’t know how many months have gone by, but a new shift is taking place.  Apart from my beers and the occasional cheat day, I really have stopped eating all that crap I used to call food.  A kitchen sans breads, bagels and cereals is normal.  Eating with at least a nod toward zone is normal. NORMAL.

 

And now, guess what? I’m curious!  CURIOUS!  What would happen if I zoned?  How will I feel, how will my body change?  I don’t go to crossfit daily, to say the least, but I adore everything about crossfit and how it’s changed the way I feel about myself.. how I  look and how I act around a set of weights, pullup bar or a stopwatch.

 

How will ZONING make even more of a difference?  This enquiring mind wants to know.

 

So.. I’m not sure of the exact start date yet, probably as of this coming Sunday, my curiosity will have gotten the better of me and I will officially start my own ZONE CHALLENGE.

 

Anyone else want to come along?

Carbo-loaded Week Away!

Ok, so I haven't posted since I have been gone to Montana and Calgary.  Sometimes no internet, mostly no time.  Oh the temptations!!  I didn't eat any of this stuff above, but couldn't resist the birthday cupcakes below!  Not with my nieces looking like they did!  We all celebrated our September birthdays while we were together in Montana. 

   

Sometimes, you just gotta live, huh Girls?

This one pretty much says it all.....on display and everything!

Lisa's Food Log

Ok, here's to keepin' things tight for a bit!  I'm about 11 blocks per day, 2x fat.

August 6

Breakfast:
1 eggs (1 block protein)
2 cups coffee w/cream (16 blocks fat)
Fage yogurt with 1/2 tsp. honey (1 block protein, 1 1/2 blocks carb, 4 blocks fat)

Late Lunch:
Macy's Restaurant
slice of quiche w/cheese, jalapenos, mushrooms -cut away almost all of the crust (3 blocks protein, 1 block carb)
Coffee w/cream -5 blocks fat

Dinner:
5 oz. chicken w/mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese, olive oil, roasted red peppers (5 blocks protein, 2 blocks carb, 3 blocks fat)
1/2 cup sweet potatoes (1 1/2 block carb)
1 oz. 85% dark chocolate (4 blocks fat)

Daily total:  10 blocks PRO, 6 blocks CHO, 32 blocks Fat (15 blocks Fat replaced 5 CHO, leaving me at 17 blocks Fat)

August 5

Breakfast:
1 1/2 cups coffee w/cream (11 blocks fat)

Lunch:
2 eggs, 1 oz. hard cheese (3 blocks protein)
7 cherries, 1/2 peach (1 1/2 blocks carb)
1 piece sprouted, whole grain toast w/cashew butter (1 1/2 blocks carb, 2 blocks fat)

Snack:
6 cashews (2 blocks fat)

Dinner:
Diablo Burger restaurant
Burger w/1 piece bacon, cheddar cheese, beets, and guacamole on bed of lettuce (6 blocks protein, 1 1/2 block carb, 5 blocks fat)
6 oz. red wine (1 1/2 blocks carb)

Snack:
6 cashews (2 blocks fat)

Daily total:  9 blocks PRO, 6 blocks CHO, 22 blocks Fat

Not really getting much exercise, so I'm fine to be low on carbs and replace it with fat.  Should cut back a bit on the fat too.  I'm going to try to take my coffee blacker.  No more 8-10 blocks every morning in just cream.

August 4

Breakfast:
2 cups Coffee w/cream (20 blocks fat)

Mid-afternoon Snack:
handful cashews, peanuts, raisins, 4 M&M's (10 blocks fat, 1 1/2 blocks carb)

Dinner:
Karma Restaurant -this is what I saved my calories/blocks for all day...NOT the best way to eat, but I did it today knowing we were ending our day here.
Edamame (3 blocks protein, 3 blocks carb)
Sashimi w/no rice (10 blocks protein)
Sushi roll w/beef and crab, another with Shrimp (3 blocks protein, 3 blocks carb) -tore off a lot of the rice

Daily total: 16 blocks PRO, 7 1/2 blocks CHO, 30 blocks Fat

Not the most balanced day, ate too much in quantity all at once at dinner, but good quality food.  Replaced 3 1/2 blocks carb with 10 1/2 blocks fat, leaving me at 19 1/2 blocks fat.

August 3

Breakfast:
1 sausages (1 1/2 blocks protein)
Mixed berries in plain Brown Cow, full fat yogurt (2 1/2 blocks carb, 1 block protein, 4 blocks fat)  -special note: Fage yogurt is WAY better than Brown Cow full fat yogurt!
Coffee w/heavy cream (8 blocks fat)

Lunch:
4 oz. BBQ beef w/1 Tbs. BBQ sauce (4 blocks protein, 1 block carb)
handful cashews (10 blocks fat)

Dinner:
The Tinderbox restaurant
Meatloaf-around 4-5 oz. (5 blocks protein, maybe 1 block carb -not sure what else was in it)
Green beans and mashed potatoes -cut away 2/3 of the mashed potatoes (2 blocks carb)

1 oz. 85% dark chocolate (4 blocks fat)

Daily Total: 11 1/2 blocks PRO, 6 1/2 blocks CHO, 26 blocks Fat

Pretty decent day, especially with eating at a restaurant!  Wasn't sure about that meatloaf, but it was pretty dense in the meat and perfect fist size portion, so I'm fairly confident I didn't go overboard on the hidden carbs in that one.  Replaced 4 1/2 blocks of carb with 13 blocks of fat, leaving me at an even 13 blocks of fat for the day.

August 2

Breakfast:
2 sausages (3 blocks protein)
Mixed nectarine and berries (3 blocks carb)
Coffee w/heavy cream (8 blocks fat)

Dinner:
6 oz. salmon (4 blocks protein)
1 oz. hard cheese (1 block protein)
7 cherries (1 block carb)
9 oz. asparagus (3 blocks carb)
4 oz. red wine (1 block carb)
cashews (around 10 blocks fat)

Daily Total: 8 blocks PRO, 8 blocks CHO, 18 blocks Fat

A little shy on the intake today.  Got busy and forgot about lunch.  Got to dinner and went a bit crazy on the cashew bag.  Then, mowed through the asparagus before I realized I had eaten more than I intended to.  I guess if you're going to go overboard on something, asparagus and cashews ain't too bad...!

August 1

Breakfast:
Fage Plain Yogurt w/ 1 tsp. honey  (1 block protein, 2 blocks carb, 5 blocks fat)
Coffee w/heavy cream (6-8 blocks fat)

Late Lunch:
Steak  (4 blocks protein)
Mixed blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (3 blocks carb)
Coffee w/heavy cream (6-8 blocks fat)
Small handful almonds (5 blocks fat)

Early Evening Snack:
small handful trail mix -mostly peanuts, few raisins, 4 M&Ms  (3 blocks fat, 1 block carb)

Dinner:
BBQ pulled pork and beef w/1 Tbs. BBQ sauce (taste test between Big John's and Stachmos -I think I like Satchmos best!) (5 blocks protein, 1 block carb)
6 oz. red wine  (1 1/2 blocks carb)

Daily Total: 10 blocks PRO, 8 1/2 blocks CHO, 29 blocks Fat- 1 block under on PRO, replaced 2 blocks of CHO w/6 blocks Fat, and about right on fat.  Should probably cut some down on the fat this week since I am taking a week off CrossFit.

Today was not different from how I typically eat, I just weighed and measured what I was eyeballing to see if my eyeball is correct.  I have grown in my portion sizes of late, and I have been eating way too many tasty desserts!  That was the major difference today.  None of that excess!

What Are CrossFitters Eating?

Get OFF the Scale!

Get off the scale, People

by Justin Scars, CrossFit Scars

The only weight you should care about is how much are you lifting.

Get off that damn scale. Matter of fact, pick it up and put it away. Put it in the place next to the Christmas ornaments, or have some fun and throw it around the backyard like a frisbee into the concrete garage wall. That will at least make you feel good for a little bit. Don’t let it be in your sight. Out of sight- out of mind. The only time I would prefer anyone to go on a scale is when they feel awesome about themselves. Only when you feel you look good, feel good, have tons of energy and are performing workouts and “other activities” well. Then, when you look down at the little whitebox of evil, realize this is the weight you should like and is good for you, NO MATTER what the number is. Try it- only weigh yourself when you feel good.

The next part of this blog I will explain my idea of why the scale is junk. I hope no one gets too offended by the following remarks; if you, do i’m sorry that you don’t feel the same way and can’t see my perspective. First I will start my answer to why the scale is junk with another question- What does the scale do, really? Does it tell you how healthy you are? NO. Does it tell you how to change the number it gives? NO. Does it tell you that maybe you drank a lot of water today and that’s why it is heavier by 2 pounds? NO. Does it make you feel bad about yourself when it’s not what you were hoping for? YUP. Don’t get me wrong, it is a tool, but that is all it is - a tool. It doesn’t tell us how we look, feel or perform. Society has screwed people’s minds to base their enjoyment, quality of life and confidence by that stupid number that blinks when you step on it. It is a tool that, in my opinion, is the most overused and manipulated number in society today. It is a tool to tell us weight, not how we should feel about ourselves.

Everyone has an ideal weight, but no one can tell us what that is by a chart of height, frame and size of your pinky toe. You have all heard of body mass index (aka BMI or BS). According to that chart, I am underweight for my size and frame which would make unhealthy. What a load of crap. The way you should find out if you are overweight or underweight is by looking at what you can do. Can you lift, throw, jump, run and do everyday activities? How well can you do them? Would losing a few pounds help or hinder your overall level of fitness? Once you decide if losing or gaining weight will increase the majority of your ten physical fitness attributes then you know what you should do. Why base everything off your level of fitness and performance instead  of the number on the scale- because fitness directly effect your quality of life. The better your fitness, the more you enjoy playing with your kids and hiking through trails. The longer you live and are able to play with your grandchildren and show the young-ins that grandma and grandpa have mad skills. That is what life is all about.

Here is an example that drives me nuts- The person who smokes to lose weight or stay skinny so they feel good about themselves. They might lose weight, sure, they most likely will die younger and live a lower quality of life because they aren’t healthy and can’t walk up a flight of stairs without coughing up a lung.

As extreme as this is, it’s truly not much different when people eat very little or try to starve themselves to lose weight. They might do it and they might even feel good because a scale says they lost weight, but how good is that person feeling about themselves. They a fragile. Over time if they trip on a curb they may break like a glass vase. It might even look good but you have to be sooo careful not to break it.

To wrap this up- Get off the damn scale and feel good about yourself because of what you do or what you are working on doing, not because a stupid piece of plastic blinked 5 pounds more then you expected. Ask yourself how do you look, feel, perform and what’s your quality of life. If you need to be lighter or heavier to achieve the fore-mentioned, do it through healthy nutrition. Don’t cut corners.

Oh yeah, when you get to the point of feeling in tip top condition give the scale the finger for me.

King Corn

King Corn

 You Are What You Eat 

A Summary of the Documentary by Lauren Ruck 

      Corn, corn alcohol, corn gluten, corn extract, corn flour, corn oil, corn oil margarine, cornstarch, corn sweetener, corn sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, popcorn, cornmeal, cornstarch. King Corn is a documentary that follows two young men from the cornfields of Iowa to the local grocery stores you and I shop at. Their efforts strive to show, you are what you eat. What is it exactly that you eat, that we eat, corn, lots and lots of corn.  

      These two young men, Ian and Curt begin their journey with a sobering fact. We all will someday die, but maybe sooner than we thought. We are the first generation in American history that has a shorter life expectancy than our parents, and it is because of the food we eat.  

      At the University of Virginia Ian and Curt visit Professor Steve Macko. Steve specializes in hair analysis. He states that hair is like a tape recorder of everything we put into our bodies. Steve takes samples of Ian and Curt's hair and analyzes it. He says that he can tell from their hair that the carbon in their bodies originates from corn. Corn these days is nearly unavoidable. Every food that has been sweetened is likely to have been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The meat we eat is mainly corn feed, which is turned into the cow's biomass and then consumed by us. That cookie, made with cornstarch. You get the picture.  

      So, Ian and Curt set out to do a little research for themselves. They moved from their homes in Boston, to Iowa. They rented one acre of farmland and started the process of farming corn. They applied for their permits, bought their supplies, and with the help of the local farmers, planted one acre of corn.  

      Industrialized corn has changed drastically over the past 20-30 years with one goal in mind, yield. With the advancement of technology, we not only have hi tech equipment to aid in the process, we also have genetically modified corn. These modifications allow each plant to tolerate being planted very close to one another allowing more plants in a smaller space.  

      On Ian and Curt's acre they were able to plant 31 thousand corn seeds. With the help of some heavy machinery they process look all of 18 minutes. On average a one-acre plot of corn will yield 5 tons of food, none of which is eatable. The corn must first be processed. Ironically, the Iowa corn farmer can no longer feed himself.  

      While Ian and Curt waited for their corn to grow they decided to explore all the different place corn ends up. They started with, cows. Currently cows that are bread for market are fed a diet of 60% corn. As it turns out corn actually kills cows, as they are intended to eat grass. However, corn also makes cows fat, fast. Grass fed cows take several years to reach market weight. Corn fed cows typically reach market weight in 120-140 days. The problem is that after about 60-90 days on a corn fed diet the cows develop stomach ulcer and acidosis. If not treated they will die, the treatment, antibiotics. Currently livestock consume 70% of the antibiotics in the United States.  

      Ian and Curt also followed corn into the grocery stores. Corn is found in almost every product on the grocery store shelf, mainly in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Prior to 1970 no one ate high fructose corn syrup because it was too expensive to make. Now it is by far the dominant from of sugar in food. High fructose corn syrup has no nutritional value, causes adverse metabolic affects, and is merely empty calories.  

      This increased exposure to corn and corn products has caused an explosion of obesity and disease, namely diabetes. Today 1 in 8 New Yorkers have diabetes. These numbers are a direct result of our nutrition.  

      Part of the problem is that the government rewards the over production of cheap corn with subsidies. In fact if corn farmers merely grew and sold corn they would lose money hand over fist. The only profit in farming corn comes in government subsidies. We are also part of the problem. We like cheap food, we demand it, and they supply it. On average in this country we spend about 12-15 percent of our income on food. In generations past up to 50% of a family's income was spent on food. We spend less of our income on food than any other generation in history.  

      

I am left reminded of one of my favorite John Mayer songs titled Gravity. He reminds us that maybe, "twice as much aint twice as good and cant sustain like one half could, it's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees." It this case wanting more might send up to our graves. 

For more information click the title above and for the actual documentary video, click here.