Eat Fat

I switched any home use to pure cane sugar and with the exception of a novelty once in a while (tried crystal pepsi & ecto cooler) I keep a close eye on HFCS and don't buy things with it. No pop, if i want fizz i drink organically flavored sparkling water. Lots of barely sweetened tea and water. Quitting the pop(soda for you weirdos) has led to a natural cutback in candy consumption, probably because I'm not looking for that processed sugar anymore.

Also, fast food can suck it. That crap is the devil. I can't explain how much better I feel since i quit eating that stuff. When i was 22 i cut out fast food and pop and lost 80 pounds in 6 months changing nothing else about my life.

Yeah, I only drink soda as a 'treat' of sorts when I go out to eat now, which is probably a few times a month depending on special occasions. That alone made me feel much better, and when I first made that change I lost about 40 lbs. Does everything else really have that much sugar in it? I tend to never look at the health information labels, so I really have no idea.

In reply to gearheadE30:

If it comes pre-packaged, chances are high that it's got a bunch of salt, High-fructose corn syrup, added sugars, or various other preservatives. None of it is good for you.

I just made scrambled eggs (2) for breakfast. In baconfat. with whole milk. and cream cheese. and some basil from the garden.

At this moment I actually don't care if it was healthy or not.

secret.. bacon has sugar in it..

I also try to cut out the dextrose as well. It's a sugar.

Robbie wrote: I just made scrambled eggs (2) for breakfast. In baconfat. with whole milk. and cream cheese. and some basil from the garden. At this moment I actually don't care if it was healthy or not.

Yummm. I had eggs over medium fried in unsalted butter one piece of toast floated in butter ("toasted" in a pan) and some heavy cream in my cup of coffee. Breakfast of champions.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

I like to cook my bacon in the oven with honey and Tabasco all over it. But typically I don't eat much bacon. I love it burnt, but I figure i probably shouldn't eat a ton of food that has to be burnt to be good.

Sugar isn't a health food to be sure, but it's not the horrible devil people want to make it out to be. The biggest problem is the amount of it people shove down their pie holes. I don't disagree that sugar is added to a lot of things and I'm sure the sugar industry doesn't discourage the practice. However, in todays' world, nutrition information about pretty much anything is readily available. The amount of sugar that goes into a soda or energy drink is insane, but people snatch them up like...well...candy. There's very little excuse not to know how much sugar you're eating. Most people don't seem to pay any attention to it.

I consider myself to be extremely fit from the perspective of nutrition, exercise, etc... I have a number of health issues, but not related to the topic at hand. I don't eat sugary things as part of my regular nutrition. No cake, cookies, etc... Splenda in my coffee, sugar free soda (and caffeine free), etc... However, I do allow myself a cheat meal once a week and/or a singular treat. You can damn well bet something I eat during that meal/treat has sugar in it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I have a LeMons race this weekend. While I plan to eat a very clean "base" (I feel like crap if I don't), I can promise that at one point, I'll be eating something unhealthy that someone is cooking, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Sugar is naturally in some foods, such as fruits. Sugar is also used by professional athletes before heavy training or a game as a quick energy source. I don't have any real problems with it. Moderation, just like carbs and fats, are the key. Two Cokes, three Red Bulls and candy bar during the course of a day = fast train to crapville.

In reply to Klayfish:

good points.. It's the hidden sugar that adds up. There is sugar in bread, meat, protein bars, microwave meals, burritos.. just about anything packaged that makes having a treat throw you into diabetic shock.

I just looked at the package of hot dogs since I was going to eat one for lunch (standard oscar mayer issue).

Big bold letters on the front of the package claim 0g sugar (along with 110 cal, xxg sodium, etc). Then on the back, the nutrition facts say there are a few g carbs but there is no line for sugar.

THEN, in the ingredients, corn syrup is listed before the "2% or less" section, indicating to me that corn syrup makes up more than 2% of the dog. Each dog is 57g. 2% of 57g is about 1.2g. I expect some rounding in the nutrition facts, but I do not expect 1.2g to round to 0g. What gives? Is corn syrup not considered to be 50-100% sugar?

In reply to Klayfish: Based on your previous posts, I'm guessing you already know most of this, but there are different types of sugars, and your body processes them differently. So the type of sugar you ingest can also play a role in how you feel, and how you look.

Glucose is commonly found in starchy or carb heavy foods, and is most easily converted into energy by our bodies. It's processed in the pancreas and is commonly called "blood sugar" since it's transported in the bloodstream. Diabetics know glucose very well as insulin is a by product of your body metabolizing glucose.

Fructose is naturally occurring in fruits, but is also most commonly added to sodas and candy. Your body looks at fructose more like a "fat" than a "carbohydrate". As such, it's processed in the liver, and does not produce insulin, or have significant long-term effect on energy levels. It is also more likely to be stored as fat than glucose is.

Sucrose is table sugar. It's basically a mix of glucose and fructose, so your body breaks it down into those two molecules. Your body processes the glucose first since it's easiest to convert to energy, and then the remaining fructose is processed or stored as fat.

Your point above that people are just ingesting way too much sugar is spot on. Sugar itself is naturally occurring and not all that terrible. But like anything else, when it's not moderated properly, bad things happen.

In reply to Robbie:

The sugar is "after cooking".. I don't trust those things anymore and just read the ingredients.

Robbie wrote: I just looked at the package of hot dogs since I was going to eat one for lunch (standard oscar mayer issue). Big bold letters on the front of the package claim 0g sugar (along with 110 cal, xxg sodium, etc). Then on the back, the nutrition facts say there are a few g carbs but there is no line for sugar. THEN, in the ingredients, corn syrup is listed before the "2% or less" section, indicating to me that corn syrup makes up more than 2% of the dog. Each dog is 57g. 2% of 57g is about 1.2g. I expect some rounding in the nutrition facts, but I do not expect 1.2g to round to 0g. What gives? Is corn syrup not considered to be 50-100% sugar?

LOL! Checking the nutritional content of hot dogs!

In reply to STM317:

Yep. There would be a whole multipage discussion about the different kinds of sugars and how they work, etc...and even I'm not a complete expert in it all. My point is I don't want to paint "sugar" with a broad brush and declare it evil.

I started counting calories and losing weight this spring, it became apparent that avoiding sugar/processed foods is a good strategy pretty quickly (you'll feel like E36 M3 running a deficit while eating lots of sugar). At this point I have more of a problem managing to eat enough, rather than the other way around.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: In reply to Klayfish: good points.. It's the hidden sugar that adds up. There is sugar in bread, meat, protein bars, microwave meals, burritos.. just about anything packaged that makes having a treat throw you into diabetic shock.

Don't forget peanut butter. There is a quite a bit of sugar/HFCS in there. I recently switched to the straight mashed up peanuts in a jar stuff (Smuckers sells one without the organic tax) and don't plan on going back.

Really not hard here. Don't eat processed foods. Avoid HFCS. Don't drink pop. Make your own food. Get at least ~100 or so grams of carbs to keep your brain happy, but you don't need much more than that. Eat your fruits and veggies. Eat your protein.

Don't overthink it. If you cook your own meals using real ingredients, the meals include at least a suggestion of a vegetable and a fruit, and you're keeping your calories in an appropriate range, you're probably ok.

Oh, and pro tip: Eat your protein first. It takes a lot longer to digest and you feel full faster. Also, if you want seconds, wait for 5-10 minutes. Or longer. And drink a big glass of water in between it. Chances are you really aren't hungry, but your brain doesn't realize it yet.

mtn wrote: Really not hard here. Don't eat processed foods. Avoid HFCS. Don't drink pop. Make your own food. Get at least ~100 or so grams of carbs to keep your brain happy, but you don't need much more than that. Eat your fruits and veggies. Eat your protein.

'Really not hard'? For many people this would be an enormous behavior change that requires them to re-think everything they put into their mouths and how they obtain it. The prevalence of obesity and diabetes today is because modern society drives all of the wrong behaviors.

When it comes to food, I'll always be more on the side of "everything in moderation". Of course, specific health issues or whatnot are different. However, I don't see anything wrong with eating a processed food once in a while, or something sugary, or a plate full of pasta. The problem is people will do all of these in a day...every single day. As nderwater said, it's a behavior thing, not a food thing. Learn to have a proper balance, and no food is 100% off limits.

Its not sugar or fat or carbs; its moderation.

Eat at replacement calorie level, mostly plants, when you get fat get it from natural sources. Keep refined foods to a minimum.

IE eat a Mediterranean diet and keep things in moderation.

Modern fat people are caused by serving sizes, and ease of access. A modern small fry order from MickeyD used to be the extra large. A big Mac used to be a large thing. Its kinda tiny now. Many modern plates won't fit in cupboards built in the 30's.

Eat less and exercise more.

wearymicrobe wrote: Its not sugar or fat or carbs; its moderation. Eat at replacement calorie level, mostly plants, when you get fat get it from natural sources. Keep refined foods to a minimum. IE eat a Mediterranean diet and keep things in moderation.

The quality and source of the macros matter. I know you can lose weight by just eating Big Macs if you just eat the calories you require, but that don't mean you're healthy.

Eat more fat. Eat good fats.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: Its not sugar or fat or carbs; its moderation. Eat at replacement calorie level, mostly plants, when you get fat get it from natural sources. Keep refined foods to a minimum. IE eat a Mediterranean diet and keep things in moderation.

The quality and source of the macros matter. I know you can lose weight by just eating Big Macs if you just eat the calories you require, but that don't mean you're healthy. Eat more fat. Eat good fats.

Agreed, but there is nothing natural or mostly green about a big mac.

I am big into setting things up for the week on the weekend and then just eating it through the week. Normally egg whites with some yolks or slow cooker pinhead oats for breakfast. Salad with clean protein, normally steak, on my salad. Then what ever I want that fills in the macro's for dinner. Cheat maybe once every 2.5 weeks on a hamburger with fries and a shake after a deplete day.