Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The making of an action hero pt28

Entry #27. I’m losing my patience with nutrition articles. I get that the media focuses coverage on trendy issues. I get that people want to know how to lose weight, increase their metabolism, improve their energy, sleep better, eat more healthily, and generally find that one combination of elements that will fix all their problems. But, I read this article yesterday and about lost it: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/27/5-ways-your-healthy-diet-is-making-tired/?intcmp=features I’ve been reading “expert” suggestions as to what foods to eat, when to eat them, how to prepare them, and which foods to avoid for many years. Up until recently all the advice could be distilled down to a few simple truisms: • Lean meat, especially poultry, is better than red meat. • Where possible one should avoid processed foods, especially those like sausage and bacon which are filled with preservatives and other undesirable elements. • Dairy, especially cheese and whole milk, is important but only in moderation. • Eggs in small quantities are ok, but should be strictly rationed. • Fruit juices are good, because they contain a good selection of vitamins and minerals. • As a general rule, carbs are bad. • A variety of fruits and vegetables should be part of any diet Now I come across this article recommending red meat. Other recent articles have suggested that an egg a day is a good thing. Certain kinds of carbs are apparently not only desirable, but essential. Two articles suggested that people drink chocolate milk after exercising to restore fluids, nutrients, and carbs. Chocolate milk? Red meat? I could have been eating steak all these months and nobody told me??? You can find thousands of these little gems with a simple use of Google-fu. The issue I find in almost every one is that the author has a bias toward something, be it organics, some sort of product, vegetarianism, or some such limiter to their viewpoint. This kind of bias further distorts the provided information when it is focused on solving a specific problem, lack of energy, weight loss, apatite suppressant...etc. Context is critical in these situations because believe me when I say that just because red meat helps with iron deficiency doesn’t mean it should make up 50% of your daily intake. The brunette likes to say that if she waits long enough someone will discover that carbs are the secret to the universe. It seems, according to this article, that she might be right. . As I said, context is everything. I am on plan for the power week. I didn’t stretch Monday evening, but have hit every other goal. Tuesday’s weigh in was 289.6 pounds and this morning came in at 288 even. Tomorrow’s fasting before the doctor’s visit is the part I’m not looking forward too. I’ll probably use the larger container for my shake and make sure to pack it with spinach, oatmeal, blueberries, banana, and almond milk. That shake is going to have to last me from 6am Thursday through 9am Friday…so it’s going to be as nutritionally dense as I can make it. Intake for today: Breakfast=health shake with stuff in it. Work meal=a container of tuna salad, Greek yogurt, and an apple. Dinner=The brunette’s left over mac and cheese and a small bowl of basmati rice, asparagus, turkey meatballs, onion, garlic cloves, bell pepper, and cilantro in an Indian red sauce. I do enjoy crossing ethnic boundaries when making food.

No comments:

Post a Comment