Thursday, September 23, 2010

Have You Heard About "Corn Sugar" and "Genetically Modified Salmon"? - WTF?

Hey Everyone,

Today I have to post about something that has just been killing me for quite some time now and this week I think it has hit a tipping point. There are so many foods out there that claim to be healthy, boasting labels and check marks on their boxes, promising whole grains and "all natural ingrediants." I have tried to use a lot of my blog posts in the past to help people decipher the myths from the truth because some people will actually believe that General Mills Fruity Pebbles are good for their kids because they have a check mark on the front.. but how do we know whats real and whats a lie to get us to dig in our pockets? Have advertising and genetic modifications of food gone entirely too far?

Last night in my one of my MBA classes, we were discussing business ethics..what makes a leader ethical? what makes a PERSON ethical? and then someone said the magic words.. "What about truth in advertising?"  I promise you folks, probably 80% of the "healthy" foods that you see advertisements for are not actually good for you at all. Most are filled with chemicals, preservatives, salt and replace sugar with fat or vice versa.

One of the main culprits of the disastorous eating habits of the United States is a compound that has been getting a lot of hype in the last few months..High Fructose Corn Syrup. HFCS has become the main ingrediant in so many common foods.. look at your breads..yes thats right even whole grain breads, yogurt, cereals, drinks, ketchup, pasta sauce.. everything you can think of that isnt something like a pure fruit or vegetable. HFCS has been rumored to mess with the your bodies natural metabolism causing major problems with digestion and proper nutrient absorption. It causes weight gain and mood swings.. but some people think that even with all these side effects from this chemically created artificial sweetener.. there are some people who think that regardless .. HFCS is getting a bad rap!

Has anyone seen the commercials talking about how HFCS is the same as table sugar? "its ok to feed to your child HFCS in large quantities of fruit juice ma'am.. it is the same as table sugar!..dont worry little lady.. you just dont understand ; )" Smile.. wink** What those commercials dont tell you is that processed white table sugar has its own slew of problems it can cause in your body. In other words.. yes it is the same as table sugar.. in the sense that they are both horrible for you if eaten regularly.. and with it being in everything! How are you supposed to avoid it?!

SO since the American people have started to get wise to the issues that HFCS can cause.. (how dare we want people to educate themselves on healthy habits.. tisk tisk..what are you thinking?) The food industry gurus-that-be.. have decided that people arent giving HFCS a chance because there is an unfair stigma attached to it.. so they need to change the name.. to do what? Confuse people into continuing to buy it and hurt themselves and their childrens health.. yep.. thanks Corporate America! You're Awesome!

The FDA was approached by the Corn Refiners Association recently to allow the name change from High Fructose Corn Syrup to the much friendlier "Corn Sugar." I know that people are smarter than to fall for this.. please dont..Dont listen to commercials that say its ok.. please just reach for an apple instead : )

The other story thats been in the news lately has literally blown my mind. Scientists have succeeded in creating genetically modified salmon. Basically, our population has exploded so much.. and we are using so much more food than we should be.. that we are over fishing and not allowing the water ecosystems enough time to replenish themselves. We are wiping out some fish species because of our overconsumption. So the solution was not to stop being glutonous but was instead, to use chemicals and the science of playing God to create more fish.

The FDA is in the process of examining the modified fish and determining whether or not it is safe for human consumption but the general concensus is that they will approve it. I dont know about anyone else but I am not all that confident in the "research techniques" of the FDA..

I dont understand why we have to add chemicals and processing to food that could be delicious on its own? Fruits and vegetables are delicious and they are good for you.. they help you grow, live, play and work.. while Twinkies are delicious and they help you do nothing.. its a no brainer!

What are your thoughts on genetic modifications of food? Processing? Chemical additives?

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Dont Have Much Time To Work Out?

Hello everyone!

So today is ridiculously busy day for me. I hate wednesdays this semseter because my day starts with me getting up at 630am to get out the door for work by 730am and then I dont see my front door again until 10pm. I work from 8am to 4pm everyday and I really do enjoy my job. I am surrounded by wonderful people and I learn something new everyday! So the upside is that even though I have to get up early every day, I do love coming in to do my job. Its not what I pictured myself doing right out of college but its opened up so many doors to me and I am so thankful. So I def dont mind coming into my little office everyday.. it does make for a pretty groggy morning though. I have an hour after work before my night class which lasts for four hours : / So basically it goes work, gym, class, say goodnight to the love of my life.. and then passing the F out. haha

I shouldnt complain because I am sure that most every one out there right now reading this is thinking.. " youre preaching to the choir sister!" because everyone has such busy lives these days. So if you only have an hour or 45 minutes in your day to even contemplate doing anything physical.. how do you make the most out of your time?

I was pondering this exact thought today as I was thinking about my day and then I had an epiphany. Lately I have had to move my cardio inside and so I have been on the treadmill which I get bored with very easily. I have been able to make myself do at least 3-5 miles a day but I get off and dont feel accomplished. So I thought of a circuit routine!

Every station is 30 seconds moving followed by 30 seconds rest time

Treadmill uphill sprints - set the treadmill to the highest grade and a sprinting pace.. sprint for 30 seconds and then let yourself rest for 30  for 10 sprints

Jumping Jacks - same thing 30 seconds on and 30 seconds stopped

Jump rope - 30 seconds jumping and 30 seconds stopped

At the end of the session you will have gotten 30 minutes of your heart rate being elevated use the other 15 to get some really good stretching of your legs in and you are set for the day! Just thinking out loud : )

what do you do to get in a quick work out??

Monday, September 20, 2010

Fall Time = Sickness



Good Morning Everyone,

So I am deeply saddened to say that I woke up this morning with a sore throat, runny nose and watery eyes that have not gotten better as the morning has gone on. I was really hoping that I was going to be able to dodge the "fall cold" but alas I have not and I am bummed! The best part of the whole thing is that I know that its my fault that I got sick.. boo! haha Its hard to admit that you might not have taken care of yourself the way you should have.. even if it is only for a day or two.

This weekend was so necessary because work has been more busy than usual lately..which is wonderful! I love being really busy at work because it makes the day go faster and you feel so accomplished at the end of the day, as if you didnt waste a single second but it does really wear you out! If you read my previous blog post, you know that Friday night was such a great way to unwind with coworkers, good drinks and good baseball... and yes if my wonderful boyfriend is reading this post.. I did say that the Pirates played some great baseball on Friday! haha <3

The only thing that wasnt so great about that night was that it set me up for a tailspin of a weekend. This weekend was full of traps for healthy eating and unfortunately I let the tastiness of some of this food get to me. It is perfectly ok to eat less than perfectly some times, actually I would say that its good to let yourself eat what you want in moderation but I am paying the consequences now.

 Saturday was a busy day because I went to coffee with one of my friends, had to do school work (Blah) and then I met with my good friend Kim to go to a going away party for our friend Tammy who is moving to Florida this week. The party was in Ellwood city so it was about an hours drive for Kim and I to get there. It was a bonfire which was amazing because I love bonfires but unfortunately bonfires also usually contain one of my biggest weaknesses which is the mixture of salty potato chips and sweet smores : )


MMM... if you dont like smores you can stop reading right now and get the heck out of my blog! haha They are just the perfect combinations of foods but unfortunately it is so easy to over do it.. and I have to say that I did for sure!

Sunday was the Steelers game of course (How bout dem Steelers?) and I was so excited because I had friends coming over to watch the game! We all decided to bring different things to the party and so I was up early cleaning and cooking. I decided to make an old favorite that everyone would like for sure so I made Cheesy potatoes.. mmmmm Dont they look good?


I finally mastered how long to bake them to get that amazing looking browned cheese : )

 I understand that not everyone shares my love of healthy food and so when people come over to my house they dont necessarily want to eat salads, fruit and chicken so I made something for everyone and it turned out so deliciously. One of my friends brought over steaks that I didnt even get a chance to take pictures of because they were just so delicious looking that they were eaten pretty quick!

We also had a steelers cake to celebrate their victory! It was so good but it made me feel so tired after eating it! Sugar makes me crash uncontrollably which is why I try to stay away from it..even though it is my achilles heal.. I dont always do so well but I am working on it and every once in a while is fine. I wanted to nap but I couldnt because I was going to drive up to my moms to skype with my sister and my new little Niece who live in South Korea for the next year. Sydney was so cute and she fell asleep right in front of us on the screen.. I am going to love being an aunt thats for sure! I was so busy and drained this weekend that I didnt even get in much exercise except some walking and a quick little run.

Whether its true or not I feel like it was the combination of no exercise and not eating a balanced diet that may have helped the process of me getting this cold. I usually have a really great immune system but your body needs to be treated better than I treated it this weekend in order to run at top efficiency : ( So I will take the blame and I will spend some time trying to get my body back to tip top shape!

I started off by replacing my morning coffee with lemon tea and honey for my sore throat ...

                                          

and I made sure to eat a healthy breakfast with cheerios and a half a banana. I packed a lunch that was a good combination of protein, veggies, fruits and complex carbs and I even had a mid morning snack that was new and had some really good vitamins and calcium.

My lunch today consists of an apple, sunflower seeds,
baby carrots and a turkey sandwhich on a whole grain
bagel round : )
                      




Today is also back to the gym where I can hopefully sweat out a little bit of this cold! Please do not take this to mean that if you are sick that you should still go to the gym.. every person is different but I only have a little bit of a sore throat and not a full blown illness. Please if you are feeling ill make sure to drink plenty of water and see a doctor.


I will kick this cold in record time! Just watch me ; )

What are some of your home remedies? what do you do to make yourself feel better when you are sick? Do you still work out when you have a cold?