Nutrition

Article courtesy from our friend Skip Chase @ Mt. Baker CrossFit.

Yummy, aren’t they? or are they? What do these products have in common? The box on the left is a ‘treat’ for our toddlers…the other products are found in almost every refrigerator in this country.

Ok….here I go….Hi, my name is Skip and I am a sugarholic!

I’ve written that statement on other posts on this blog. I am going to keep saying it. AMERICA IS ADDICTED TO SUGAR!!!!

I am going to keep saying it and continue to attempt to convince you to convince yourself that you are addicted to sugar, and you must change!!

Why are we addicted to sugar? How did we become addicted to sugar?

Look at the picture of the products, above. What do they have in common? They are loaded with SUGAR! The food manufacturers have been aware of our ’sugar addictions’ for many years and they want to be sure we get our ‘fix’ every time we consume their products. The result…..we keep purchasing their products.

On the left we have a product with a target market of ‘Toddlers’. In the box are small packages of chewy candy. TREATS. In each package are 21 pieces. I have them separated into groups of 3. According to the ‘Nutritional Facts’, one serving size is one package. Within each package there are 28 grams of carbohydrates(sugar/glucose). There are 4grams of sugar per teaspoon. 28 grams divided by 4 equals 7. Therefor, 3 pieces represents approximately 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Ok…did we get that…do we understand? Look at the picture again. The little chewy pieces are in groups of 3. In each package, there are 21 pieces. 3 pieces equal a teaspoon of sugar. Each package represents 7 teaspoons of sugar!!!

We take it a step further….imagine you are sitting at the kitchen table with your toddler. Smiling, happy, it is a beautiful day…God has blessed you with this precious toddler. You reach across the table for the sugar bowl. You grab a teaspoon….you look into your toddlers eyes and say, “I love you so much!” You dig the spoon into the sugar bowl, and offer your toddler a teaspoon of sugar. “Mommy wants you to have a treat!” Your toddler smiles and opens wide. “Yummy”. You repeat the steps 6 more times giving your toddler 7 teaspoons of sugar within a few minutes.
Imagine giving your toddler 2 packages at a time, or sitting at the table while your toddler chokes down 14 teaspoons of sugar. (keep a glass of water handy. I know, I emptied many sugar bowls during childhood) The manufacturer did us one big favor…on the front of the box they write “Easy to chew and swallow.” 3 pieces are by far easier to consume than a teaspoon of sugar!

I ask you….would any SANE mom or dad consider giving their toddler 7 teaspoons of sugar at any time? (please say NO!!)

Why did the manufacturer place 7 teaspoons of sugar into one package for your little toddler? Are you getting the picture?

Now, let’s look at the yogurt.
As a ‘client service’, I began entering clients homes in 2001 to look at their refrigerator and pantry and give them nutritional advise. In 2004, if a client chose to hire me as their personal trainer, they had to give me permission to enter their home, unannounced, if I so choose, to look in their fridge. I did not want to waste my time nor their time and money if they were intending on eating poorly while training with me.

I find fruit flavored yogurt in every refrigerator. The yogurt manufacturers spend millions of dollars to entice us to eat their products. You’ve seen the ads in magazines, TV and on billboards. Cute, sexy gals in tiny bathing suits, and skimpy outfits sending us the marketing message, “If you eat this stuff, you’ll be cute, HOT and sexy just like me!! Eat this luscious fruit flavored yogurt!”

Let’s look inside this little container. In the picture, on the bottom, we an 8 ounce container of fruit flavored yogurt. Enlarge the picture by clicking on it. The label reads “Low Fat Yogurt”. That is one of our purchasing ‘hot buttons’. The other container reads, “99% fat free!” Wow, therefor, it HAS to be good, right? Hmmmmm….let’s read on.

I looked at the nutritional facts labels. The bottom container has 46 grams of sugar.
Ok… remember….4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. The manufacturer, without asking us, “How many teaspoons of sugar would you like in this 8 ounce container”, placed a little over 11 teaspoons of sugar per container.

Go get your sugar bowl. Get a teaspoon. Get a saucer. Using the teaspoon, place 11 teaspoons of sugar on the saucer. Go into your fridge and get a container of yogurt. (go on…you have yogurt in your fridge) Would you put 11 teaspoons of sugar into that tiny container?

Were you aware of the amount of sugar in your yogurt? How many containers do you eat per day? Per week? How many containers of ‘Gogurt’ do your children eat per day? Per week? Per month? Have you looked at the amount of sugar in the other foods they are eating on a daily basis?

Do you look at the nutritional facts label? (most people don’t…they just shop for what they like) Do you know how to read a nutritional facts label? (most don’t)

I have heard many clients say, “Yes, but they have the ‘lite’ versions.” I agree, they do. They still have too much sugar. The next time you go to your local grocery store, go to the cooler with the yogurt. You will see rows and rows of yogurt. You will see, on average, twice as many ‘original’ style yogurt in the case because of the demand. They maintain a larger inventory of the sugar filled original because that is what we primarily purchase and they know WE ARE ADDICTED TO SUGAR!!! The more sugar, the more we will consume and the more we will purchase!

I am addicted to sugar. However, my fear of diabetes (my brother passed away at 42 due to diabetes. My mom suffers with diabetes)far outweighs my desire to eat it. When I walk into the grocery store, my eyes see all the items filled with sugar and a ’switch of desire’ goes off. I’ve learned to repeat to my self, “Poison, poison, poison!!” and I pass on by, and refuse to pick it up.

So, you ask, “Skip, what’s wrong with sugar?” (Excerpts from CrossFit.com-Start Here)-Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is THE primary culprit in nutritionally caused health problems. High-glycemic carbs are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, sodas and most processed carbohydrates. Processing can include bleaching, baking, grinding and refining. Processing of carbohydrates greatly increases their glycemic index, a measure of their propensity to elevate blood sugar.

The problem with high-glycemic carbs is they they give an inordinate insulin response. Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a pandora’s box of disease and disability. If you research ‘hyperinsulinism’ on the internet you will discover a gold mine of information pertinent to YOUR HEALTH available there.

*Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates will generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone isulin into the bloodstream. Insulin then lowers the blood glucose. All well and good. The PROBLEM is that insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of FAT in case of future famine. So the insulin that’s stimulated by excess carbohydrates aggressively promotes the accumulation of BODY FAT. In a nutshell, even though carbohydrates themselves are fat free, EXCESSIVE CARBS end up as excess body fat!

Hold on…it gets even worse. Not only do the increased insulin levels tell the body to storecarbs as fat, they also tell it not to release any stored fat. This makes it impossible for you to use your own stored fat for energy. So the excess carbohydrates in your diet not only make you fat, THEY MAKE YOU STAY FAT!!! It’s a double whammy, and it can be lethal. (*excerpts from ‘Enter The Zone’ by Dr. Barry Sears.)

We begin the process with our toddlers and burden them, unknowingly, with a sugar/high-glycemic carb addiction leading to a lifetime of health concerns and problems. Now you know, SO STOP!

The CrossFit dietary prescription:
Protein should be lean and varied and account for 30% of your total caloric intake.
Carbohydratesshould be predominately low-glycemic and account for 40% of your total caloric load.
Fatshould be predominately monounsaturated and account for 30% of your total caloric load.

Need help? Talk to one of our members…walk in our door. We will teach you how to eat and how to feed your family.

There is another terrible poison in those luscious little toddler treats and most of the foods targeted to our children….Do you care?

Start reading the nutritional facts labels on EVERYTHING you eat. NO EXCUSES!! It’s your life and health.

http://mtbakercrossfit.blogspot.com/2008/01/coming-soon-my-newest-rant-poisoning-of.html

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We’ve been in this for three weeks now. We are probably going through the same feelings of bread & sugar withdrawl. People’s heads looks like donuts, you can smell sugar like a wolf on the prowl, and TV commercials are ridiculously tempting.

Really now. I mean, really what was a little tiny piece of a cookie going to do to me anyhow?! Personally I’m a B & B addict…yeah the worst kind….BEER and BREAD. The future didn’t look so bright as I longed to shop through the grocery store aisles and not just the outskirts.

Until Monday…the Filthy Fifty…enough said! 500 reps in one workout def has its way of humbling you. This was one challenge I knew I wanted to go at full-on, no holds-barred. Bring it. 

By the time I knew it time (on our sweet new clock) was ticking away and everyone ahead of me finished…I wasn’t going against the clock anymore. The mental challenge was just as though as the physical one. Me vs. Me. I could have been in that gym by myself that night.

The sound of friends cheering me on faded as I completed that final dreaded set of burpees. Jump! Last one of the day…I conquered it.. I didn’t care what time I finished in, or who I had beat. I had finished! I knew going into the workout I would never quit. It finally became clear what I had to do. I had to submit to a decision.

I finally made a decision to stick with it. This challenge took on a whole new light – one that wasn’t so negative! I began to find some new things, different things that I would replace in my diet to make it work for me. (like coconut milk ice cream hollar)

It all comes down to making a decision and sticking with it.

Goodbye Kashi helllooooooo eggs & nuts!

I’m on board 100% of the way.

Recipe of the Day
Chicken Noodle Soup
We’ll replace the traditional noodles with spaghetti squash!
Time: 35 minutes
• 1 lb diced chicken breast
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 2 small zucchini, chopped crosswise
• 1 cup onion, diced
• ~30 oz chicken broth
• 1 spaghetti squash (about 1 1/2 cups, pre-cooked)
• 2 tsp thyme
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Carefully split the squash in half lengthwise; dig out the seeds and discard them. Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes. (you can always use pre-cooked leftover squash and save this step)

Once you’ve popped the squash in the oven, wait about 10 minutes to start the soup. Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium pot. Chop the veggies and dice the chicken. Add to the pot, along with the spices. Once the broth begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for around 15 minutes.

Once the squash is done, scrape out 1 1/2 cups and add it to the soup. Stir well, then serve.

Zone info: 4 servings at 2.3 carb blocks, 4 protein blocks, minimal fat. (21g carb, 28g prot, 4g fat)

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