In reading Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism, I have been trying to amend my daily diet to reflect some of her principles. She suggests foods to remove from your diet and foods to add. There are no really big surprises in WHAT she suggests (down with trans fats, artificial sweetners, and stuff we already know is bad for us, and eat stuff that's more natural). But eliminating some of these foods has been a real challenge.
Let's talk about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). This annoying sweetner/preservative has snaked its way into many of our foods. It's cheap to produce (cheaper than using actual sugar) and helps to extend the shelf life of many items in the grocery store.
Some studies show a direct link between foods that have HFCS and obesity. This is kind of a "uh huh, and..." for me because HFCS is in stuff that is sweet or overly sweet, and makes you crave more sweet things! Sure, it may be lower in calories....but I'm usually hungry about 20 minutes later!
There was a study released last week that asserts that HFCS is not any different, nor does the body handle it any differently, than regular sugar. Guess who funded that study? The Corn Refiners Association. Hmmm....
After further research and general thought, I decided to make an effort to eliminate this sweetner from my diet. It would seem like that would be easy enough to eliminate....but that crap sneaks into everything! I really had to start studying labels at the grocery store...which was very frustrating (still is). Even this week, I found two offenders (so far) in my fridge. Now, neither are things that SHOULD be in there (chocolate syrup and pancake syrup lite)...but I digress....
This begs the question of "Why try?" If it's in everything and there are studies to assert its equality among table sugar, then why put in the effort to eliminate it?
This is JUST my opinion...but why opt for something that has a chemically engineered sweetness as opposed to either a) a little bit of the real thing and feel more satisfied or b) go for something more natural, like fruit?
After years and years of eating "diet" foods bought in the freezer section to help "curb" that desire for a good piece of cheesecake or a fresh chocolate chip cookie, do you know what I ended up with? An intense desire for a good piece of cheesecake or a fresh chocolate chip cookie. The "fake" stuff just doesn't cut the mustard for me anymore. But, I can have a few bites of REAL stuff and feel just fine (as long as I promise myself a few bites and not destroy the whole cake/batch of cookies, which we all know we could do).
The absolute best decision is to go the all-natural route, and I don't think that's a huge surprise to anyone. So why is that so hard? I think it's our general conditioning. I am so impressed with children who opt for the natural option rather than the junk food. Recently a good friend of mine told me her daughter declined cake at a birthday party because she'd "had too much sugar at [another] birthday party." That "other" birthday party was several weeks before. A coworker told me her daughter will opt for carrot sticks over a brownie.
WHY? You may be asking (I know I did!!)
These little bodies are programed to eat, well, Food. I don't think it's until we realize that the processed or not-as-healthy stuff is always the tastier choice and something that we "shouldn't" do, but let's do it anyway.
I'm not saying I never crave junk food. Brad and I treat ourselves to a special treat almost every week. I count the calories and move on. We're not going to get our treat every night (holy $$$$$) but it's special when we do. In the meantime, I work hard to make the best choices possible. Sometimes I succeed and others....not so much. But when the situation is "not so much," I take my lumps and move on, vowing to make a better choice next time. I'm by no means perfect, but I like knowing I'm making an effort.
So, what's next? With the HFCS thing almost under control, I think the next will be the hydrogenated oils. Ugh, those are gross. The compliment to this elimination will be the introdution of more legumes. But - that'll have to wait :o)
What's one "offender" you would like to eliminate from your diet? What's your action plan?
Just curious, have you noticed a difference with how you feel since you've been cutting out HFCS?
ReplyDeleteIs High Maltose Corn Syrup the same as HFCS? That's what's in the Fiber One granola bars that I eat daily. They're 2 WW points. What would be a good, FILLING substitute that I could throw in my purse?
From a little online research, Maltose is considered less harmful because the body can metabolize maltose without strain on the liver. It IS a chemically engineered sweetner, so I would proceed with caution.
ReplyDeleteA good filling subsitute I would suggest would be almonds. I LOVE almonds. 12 almonds (half an ounce) is 2 points I believe and would be enough to take the edge off the hunger. Also, there's always the option of making your own granola or trail mix (which I've never done).