12-07-10 Tuesday, Continued Studies and Updates

I had a plan to go very deep on nutrition this week. I have had to make some adjustments this week due to the unforeseen schedule destroyers, so I wanted to still share some good info today and then move on to my updates.

First, I wanted to cover sugars and fats. The main thing I feel everyone should recognize is the effects. The reason for this is because anyone can say do this or don't do that, but people don't listen to this kind of conjecture without a hint of evidence to back it up. I decided to cover both sugars and fats in this one post because they are so interrelated. The problem I am running into is the amount of detail needed to fully cover the sugar fat spectrum. So instead I am going to give you some great links that cover this information in a clear, short, but very concise list.The following links were chosen because of the variety of information that is covered as well as the shortest articles I could find with this information. Great places for further information aside from these are the mayo clinic, and Dr. Oz, both are great and very in depth resources.

Sugar: first know the names. There is many forms that sugar comes in, as well as foods that produce excess sugar in the body. Beware of all carbohydrates, this doesn't mean cut them completely, it just means know what ones you need, and what ones have no nutritional value what so ever. A couple of rules to help you find them when reading your nutrition facts labels. I'm sure I will miss some but this is a basic list.

#1. read the labels- not enough people just do this simple step.
#2. if the ingredients say enriched and or bleached in reference to flour or wheat...stay away.
#3. you only need 32 grams of sugar a day, if you know you will have a boost of protein in a sitting, then you can allow a few more carbs due to this being the fuel the body uses to process the protein. If you are trying to loose weight, stick to a lower number, between 15 and 30grams per day.
#4. corn syrup, dextrose, saccharin, aspartame, lactose, fructose, are all harmful if not monitored, natural sugar is the best and if needed should be the only sugars consumed.
#5 carbs are sugar, sugar is simple carbs.

If you start studying anywhere start here, know what's good and what isn't. here's the links to get you started.

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Sugar-Lovers-Beware&id=9389
http://www.organicnutrition.co.uk/articles/is-sugar-bad-for-you.htm
http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutrition/carbohydrate.asp?printpage=true
http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutrition/sugar.asp

Fats: There are four to be aware of! Read you labels!

Unsaturated, (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated), The good fats.
Trans, unnatural and bad cholesterol (LDL) causing. Partially Hydrogenated oils = Bad fat
Saturated fats (Four Legged animals, tropical oils, some poultry, as well as dairy) = Bad fat.

http://www.odec.ca/projects/2004/thog4n0/public_html/typefat.html
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=532
http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/cells-tissues/fat-cell.htm

OK, that's enough homework for those of you not aware, or even those wanting more details on these. For those of you who know about these things I expect feedback and more references.

12-07-10 Progress Report. I have had a few days of emotional trials and non stop busy-ness, so I feel my food has not been as good as it should be. However I feel like I have made up for this in my working out. This is no excuse for the dessert I had at dinner last night, but I am overlooking that at the moment...lol.

I did the entire Yoga workout without struggling, this is huge because I have been doing this workout for more than two weeks and I have had a few spots that caused me to drop a knee or stop that part early. I was not dealing with this issue at all on Sunday. I did the whole thing and was ready for more. I then moved on to a one mile walking workout that was actually perfect for me. It offered a substantial challenge, but I was able to do the whole thing only struggling in the peak of the workout. The pace was high but I kept my breathe. This was huge considering my hips and back factoring in to walking in general, and not previously allowing a great distance for me to travel.  So, WOO HOO!

So the last thing that I did was a gift for my Uncle Scott. This is a man who is revered in our family as a true hero, a real manly man. He has conquered two of the four main military corps, earning incredible honors and ranks. He has traveled into deployment with honor and valor, only to come home just as gentle and kind as before he left. I love this man, (no "alternative" overtones in your mind please...lol). This man has decided to add more push ups to his daily workout, matching the amount that I do. Now, maybe its a guy thing, but when your bro, your buddy, your pal, lays down a challenge like that. YOU CAN'T BACK DOWN!! Now I would be disrespecting his commitment and love if I did not do all I could to share some of my struggle with him. So out of complete honor to his efforts to support me (<<<not kidding here), I had to do as many as push ups I could humanly manage. Now I remind you, my last weigh in was 514 and I have not worked out like this in at least 15 years, and I have been nearly docile for 2 years. I did 20 push ups. I did it in three sets 12,5,3. And they are girl push ups, but I did them and freaked out everyone in the house, including myself. I was done at 12 and really struggled to get that last one, then I sat there and said that's not enough, Scott deserves more from me, so I squeezed out 5 more. Then I was so close to 20, I had to keep going. The last 3 were probably the hardest push ups I have ever done in my life, each one harder then the last but I heard scott screaming in my head pushing me on. He was like " HOLY SH^!...I HAVE TO DO HOW MANY MORE?"....Yah baby!

Anyway, this has been an ugly week and I am working on getting it back on track, as always I love you all and thank you for reading and supporting me in all the wonderful ways that you do. James.