The BeachBody newsletter this week was all about sugar. Most of the information was stuff that I already knew but there was one point that caught my eye. There was a study done where a bunch of poor unfortunate rats were split into two groups. One group was fed a solution of sucrose (sugar) and the other group was fed a solution of High Fructose Corn Syrup (a chemically engineered sugar made out of corn). The rats on HFCS got fatter than the rats on sugar. Here's a quote from the study:
"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity," said study leader Bart Hoebel, "but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests."
The only thing worse than the fact that HFCS is poison is the fact that manufacturers put it into just about everything on the planet. If it has been processed at all, there is a good chance that there is HFCS in it. I was looking for a site that shows foods that have HFCS in them and it turns out that there are a lot of sites that list the foods that DON'T have HFCS in them. It's easier.
In fact, from looking over the list, if it's not a one ingredient food (you know, like what's the ingredient list for an apple?), you should probably assume that HFCS is in it.
I was listening to or reading something this week (dammit, now I can't remember where I heard this information) and the speaker or author said that HFCS was in everything so that people stayed addicted to it. I'm sure you've heard the fat, salt, sugar thing. It's the same theory. All foods, no matter the logic, are trending toward having fat, salt, and sugar in them to keep people addicted to food that isn't good for them. HFCS is a cheap way to implement that plan.
Of course, then the US government pays lip service to "fighting obesity" while subsidizing corn production and the FDA approval system sold to the highest bidder.
If you want to be healthy, it's up to you. Shop the outside aisle of the grocery store, buy as many one-ingredient items as you can, read labels, and avoid HFCS as best you can.
I want to be clear that I haven't nothing against sugar (in moderation and eaten intentionally) but HFCS is not good for you and it's especially not meant to be part of every. single. thing. you put in your mouth.
Allow me to step off my soapbox and introduce today's exercise. It's just like yesterday's except different. The Underhand Row is another back exercise and I actually like it better than the Overhand Row. The difference between them is the hand position (as you would guess from the names) and where you pull the weight to. They can be done with barbells, resistance bands, and as shown here, dumbbells.
We are doing both the overhand and underhand version this month. They both target the back but hit it from different angles.
Tomorrow, I'll show you the whole circuit. "Whole" makes it sound like there's a lot to it. There's only 4 exercises in the circuit. Yesterday, I did the circuit 12 times. I strongly suggest that you don't do that unless there is something wrong with your brain.
Here's my food journal for yesterday:
- First thing - Shakeology.
- Breakfast - Eggs, turkey bacon, and grapefruit.
- Snack - Nothing. I was asleep. I stayed up late (for me) the night before and then did 12 of my Chest/Back circuits. When I was done exercising, I ate breakfast so my muscles had some fuel, and then I went to bed for a nap. Friday's are long days for me so there usually has to be a nap in the day somewhere and today I chose to go right back to bed.
- Lunch - Chicken tenders, crab salad (very little because it wasn't good), and a sugar-free Monster drink (one of my guilty pleasures).
- Snack - Grapes.
- Dinner - Chicken breast, cottage cheese, cantaloupe, honeydew, and grapes.
- Snack - Shakeology.
When all the planets line up, I like to go for a run on Friday but that rarely happens. The nap takes priority over the running on Fridays. Without a nap, I would be awake for about 22 hours every Friday and that gets old in a hurry. So for this Friday, it was a nap in the morning and some writing in the afternoon that had to be done before I went to work.
It's all a balancing act.
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