Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

I remember in the 1970's and 1980's that we were told to avoid eating saturated fats, so we started reading labels. If palm oil or coconut oil or lard were there, we avoided the food. The thing that we didn't understand was that to keep many products stable on the shelf, the manufacturers had substituted a stabilized form of vegetable oil called partially hydrogenated (insert food name) oil. It seemed like no big deal, but what we didn't know (and I don't think the food manufacturers knew either) was that the chemical changes in these oils made them almost impossible for our bodies to break down.

The result is that these fats tend to build up in our bodies and appear now to contribute more to things like heart attack risk disproportionately from other oils. That means we should get back to reading labels and try our best to avoid foods that contain these chemically modified oils.

I've heard the question asked, "How much of these partially hydrogenated oils (also known as trans-fats or trans-fatty acids) is safe to consume?" The response I consistently hear is, "None."

While you may not be successful in eliminating all of these from your diet (they are often used in restaurant foods), if you don't bring them into your house, it will move you further along the health curve.

So, when possible, avoid these trans-fats and when you can choose a food that's free of them, do so. One of my vices is Nacho Cheese Doritos (see, regardless of the good front, I'm not perfect!), but I go out of my way to buy the Doritos brand because they are free of these "bad" fats, and when I'm in a deli or store and they have the Wise brand Bravos (their equivalent), I elect to forego them as they endanger my health. I hope the people at Wise "get wise" soon (couldn't resist that pun) and also change to a "no trans-fats policy" like Frito-Lay has done.

This is just one choice you can make today to live healthier.

Monday, May 16, 2005

There's A Name For It - Volumetrics

I have been a proponent of eating high volume, low calorie density foods as a means of losing weight. I had thought it was called volumizing, but recently heard it referred to as "volumetrics" and on seaching the term, quickly found that that seems to be the term that's used. It appears that Penn State is the research center leading this concept. I can say that from my experience, it works at letting you lose weight without hunger.

Some links:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060194839/104-2870121-1939913?v=glance
http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/author_xml.asp?authorid=14364

Friday, May 13, 2005

A Stern Lecture

One of the blogs I read is Vince Heminson's Boston or Bust. Vince is also trying to qualify to run the Boston Marathon, but he's going at it from a different perspective. Vince has ongoing weight issues. He just struggled through a marathon in a time that he found disappointing. The reason why this is matters is simple, Vince is trying to get his weight down to 180 lbs, from his current 200 or so by his fall marathon. Unfortunately, Vince is hungry.

I sent Vince a link to a piece I wrote last November about losing weight (http://scootersweightloss.blogspot.com/2004/11/losing-weight-by-food-substitution.html). Vince's response was:
"Ahhhh, Scooter.
Renunciation is good for the soul.
And there are many worse fates in life than being a little hungry.
When you get down to brass tacks, a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit.
Ergo, ipso facto, I'm going to be hungry on occasion.
I've been down this road before.
The journey is not so bad and the destination is worth the trip."

While there are things that ring very true in his response, I find the need to respectfully but forcefully disagree. Being hungry stinks! Being hungry most or all the time REALLY STINKS! So, since I've lost weight hungry and have lost weight without hunger, I must reiterate my point - YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT HUNGER! I'm convinced that losing weight without hunger is both better for you mentally AND easier on the body.

When I was spending time hungry, I found my muscles seemed to shrink disproportionately. While that's not a big deal to someone who's living a normal North American lifestyle, when you get into the slightly (OK, maybe more than slightly) abnormal world of racing a marathon (vs. just running one or completing one), the stakes are higher. If your muscles have self-cannibalized, you won't have the strength to complete a good marathon.

Therefore, I've written this post to Vince (and anyone else who might benefit) to say that I am firmly convinced that you can lose weight both without hunger AND without cannibalizing your muscles. You do it by eating plenty of healthy, unprocessed (or minimally processed) foods. These foods should be high in fiber and large with respect to their calorie content. This means lots of fruits, vegetables and whole (unmilled) grains. Intake of meats should be limited and when possible, leaner cuts selected. Refined sugars and oils should also be significantly restricted. It's as simple as that!

Oh, and you don't have to be perfect. Just make good, solid choices most of the time, and when you make a "bad" choice, keep it small and get back "on the wagon" quickly.

So, you've shared in getting Vince's lecture. For some intersting posts about running, visit Vince's blog at: http://vanishingtattoo.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Wandering Aimlessly

Having just qualified for Boston, I wanted to recover a bit, so found byself sitting on my butt a lot in the last week. I've pretty well decided that I'll run the Steamtown Marathon on October 9th. (http://www.steamtownmarathon.com/) I'm not sure how seriously I'll take it, but I need to keep some pressure on myself to stay in shape. Steamtown has the reputation of being fast and a net downhill, so it will give me some idea what running Boston will be like.

Steamtown also has a National Historic Site that should be wonderful for a railfan like me. (http://www.nps.gov/stea/) For those of you who are too young to remeber the age of steam railroads (and don't get me wrong, replacing them was the right choice for both environmental and cost reasons) being around a real steam engine when it's running is very special. That cloud of smoke being belched into the air, the sound of a real steam whistle, and the chuff-chuff-chuff as the wheels begin to turn ever so slowly make the experience special. If you get the chance to ride a real steamer, do it!

For those of you reading this for weight loss and health stuff, I have a couple of things that I'm planning to put up in the next several days.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Boston!

I get to run Boston! On Sunday, I ran the Long Island Marathon in just under the 3:30 needed for a guy my age to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. As I've been analyzing my data from the race, I've realized two things: 1) I did run a bit too fast in the early stages and it cost me after mile 20 and 2) in the cool, overcast conditions, I managed to overhydrate and it caused me some difficulty.
For me, running the Boston Marathon has been a lifelong (OK, well almost) dream. When I watched Frank Shorter win the Olympic Marathon at Munich in 1972, running the unfathomable distance of 26.2 miles captivated my imagination. Boston is the granddaddy of them all, it was first held in 1897, in response to the Olympic Marathon of the first modern games of 1896. It is the oldest annual marathon in the USA (and maybe the world).
Boston also has the distinction of being the only marathon in the USA that requires qualification.* This is a system instituted in the 1970's, during the running boom to limit field size. In the time since, the standards have been loosened slightly. Also, it is possible to enter Boston by doing charitable fund raising, but among those who regard themselves as runners, getting in that way is regarded as a form of cheating. (Don't get me wrong, it's valid and honorable, but those who aspire to Boston because it's Boston, getting in that way is not regarded as being quite on the up and up, thus those who have the competitive streak feel obligated to do it the hard way.)

For more information about the Boston marathon, visit the BAA (Boston Athletic Association) website at www.baa.org.

*In fact there is one other marathon that requires qualification, but it's not held annually - it's the Olympic Trials Marathon.

Monday, May 02, 2005

The Cost of Free Parking

I've often felt that the car and how we use it often impacts us in negative ways. I spotted a discussion from a UCLA scientist on what he indicates is the high cost of free parking. The basic analysis is mathematical, but the conclusion is really clear, and we can see in in may of our hometowns.
Do you have a shopping mall near you? How much of the malls land is dedicated to parking and how much to stores? If I had to guess, it's probably 2/3 or so for parking and just a third for the stores. That means that the stores are paying taxes land that just gets used part of the time (and for a non-revenue purpose) which raises your cost of goods.
Perhaps more significantly, all that paved land means that that land is not covered with a crop nor with trees, either of which oxygenate the air and reduce absorbtion of solar heat. Should we destroy all parking lots? No! Should we look at improved public transit and/or using the bicycle to do some of our shopping? Yes!
The story that I saw can be found here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4622062