Carbs evil ? Let's break it down some more.

I am copying and pasting this post from David Gillespie, an Australian Author who has just published a book called "Sweet Poison - Why Sugar is Making Us Fat". It is an excellent article and I couldn't have written it better myself. As you Aussies know, Kerry Armstrong is spruiking the "benefits" of Coke which is frightening in itself and in North America, consumers are being bombarded by a similar campaign selling High Fructose Corn Syrup as being natural and "fine in moderation" because it comes from corn. David Greenwalt from Leanness Lifestyle recently sent me a copy of the HFCS commercial, then sent a page of related scientific studies which link HFCS with addictive behaviour etc - I loved this because not only did I see how awful the commercials were, I got a big wad of scientific studies which satisfied my inner propellor head, you all know how much I love stuff that has had studies done on it.

Bottom line is, nearly 100% of the population don't do well on this sort of crap. If you're talking about carbs being evil, we'll it's these sorts of carbs that fit the bill. Let's talk about HCFS being the work of the devil, not your Uncle Toby's oats!


Here is the except of David Gillespie's Article, published in "The Courier Mail " and "The Australian". I haven't read the book yet, but I plan to.

The Coca-Cola Chronicles: Big Sugar drops the other shoe

TUESDAY, 28 OCTOBER 2008

David Gillespie, author of Sweet Poison: Why Sugar Makes us Fat writes:

Here I was thinking that the Kerry Armstrong episode was merely the bumbling of ham-fisted PR mongers. I imagined the poor Big Sugar flaks being soundly spanked for underestimating the intelligence of the buying public.

Alas it appears it was I who misunderstood the higher arts of persuasion. Little did I realise that the Kerry Affair was merely the opening salvo in a far bigger campaign for hearts and minds. It is not a campaign for my heart or mind and probably not yours. I’m not an employee of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and I certainly don’t sit on the Parliamentary Inquiry into Obesity.

The Big Sugar campaign is not about convincing you and me that Coke is health food (although if we happen to come away believing that, it’s well and good). No, it’s about convincing ACMA (and Parliament) that Big Sugar does not market to children under 12. In fact Coke are so responsible that they’ve been voluntarily abstaining from such practices for years.

ACMA is proposing to update its Childrens Television Standards. At the start of its consultations it had toyed with the idea of (gasp) regulating the advertising of food and beverages to children. But after receiving some forceful submissions on the point, has decided now was not the time.

So what is Big Sugar worried about? When you read the fine print, the report says that ACMA won’t regulate for now. But the door has been left well and truly ajar. ACMA says it may change its mind if anyone comes up with a standard way of labelling foods which are high in fat, sugar and salt. This would then allow them to seriously consider rules aimed at limiting the advertising of such foods to children.

This is where those busy bodies over at the Parliament come in. Their inquiry into Obesity is turning up quite a few submissions from folks like CHOICE who want to see a traffic light system of labelling introduced to help consumers identify such foods. Big Sugar has attacked CHOICE for daring to propose such a thing, even suggesting that their researchers cooked the books.

Big Sugar doesn’t plan to sit back and meekly let unambiguous labelling be implemented so on Friday, the Second Act of the master strategy was unveiled on the media stage. Big Sugar in the guise of the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) announced they had a plan. They would voluntarily sign up to a code of conduct that says they won’t advertise to kids under 12.

What’s wrong with Big Sugar’s voluntary ban? Surely they’re helping out by jumping the gun? Well, in a word, no. This way they get to define the word ‘children’. In its initial examination of the need for reform, ACMA had been dropping disturbing hints about bans that defined a child as anyone under 16 (rather than 12).

Even worse than that, with ACMA doing the drafting there’d be no chance to parachute in weasel words like the ones proposed by Big Sugar. An example appears in the wording of the voluntary ‘ban’ itself when it says the ban should be applied “unless those products represent healthy dietary choices … presented in the context of a healthy lifestyle.”

If you want to know what that looks like, you need look no further than Coke’s new website http://www.makeeverydropmatter.com.au which is choc full of healthy lifestyle messages for Coke drinkers.

Big Sugar’s hope is that by showing what terribly good corporate citizens they are, they’ll head the Parliamentary Obesity enquiry and ACMA off at the pass. Parliament won’t insist on traffic light labelling and Big Sugar will avoid the cascade effect of ACMA implementing actual bans rather than voluntary ones written by Big Sugar.

It may seem like Big Sugar is jumping at shadows, but as Simon Chapman pointed out in Friday’s edition of Crikey, Big Sugar has paid attention to what befell Big Tobacco. They know it’s better to stop this particular train before it leaves the station. If they can’t, they fear it won’t be long before the only place you’ll be able to see a Coke ad will be in the sealed section of an adult magazine. Posted by David Gillespie at 10:50 PM

Tired!

Whew, I'm tired tonight - I have just realized that I've reached another milestone today - teaching an RPM class three days in a row and pulling up fine! The second injection has also helped my shoulder no end and today I did some heavier seated rows and bent over rows without any issues. Hooray!

Tomorrow begins my foray into the world of live coaching again. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by what I have to do but I'm just going to try and cruise as best I can. I have learned over the years that it is better sometimes to let go than to try and do everything. I must remind myself of this post when I'm next tearing my hair out over something I have little control over.

My current project of slapping the sugar fairy down is faring more successfully than last month. I am pleased to report no sugar breakouts though I've been having some rather ridiculous dialogue with my Inner Sugar Beast who keeps telling me that it is imperative that I bake "for the sake of my family". I've been whacking back with "my family are getting more enjoyment out of all the fruit I bought over the weekend. Really, I'm sometimes embarrassed by the what the irrational inner voice says, especially when I put pen to paper.

After a cup of tea and a piece of Koko Black chocolate (I bought myself a stash whilst in Melbourne) I am off to bed :)

Slaying the Sugar Fairy

Today I am still plodding along attempting to slay the sugar fairy. It is amazing how your inner Beast can tell you all these lies about why you need to eat bunches of sugary crap. Today I have witnessed this terrific internal argument between my rational self and my inner sugar fairy. It goes something like this:

Sugar Fairy: "It's cold and raining and the kids deserve cookies. Why don't you go down to the shops and buy some chocolate chips and some sugar and you'll be set to bake all afternoon."

Normal Liz: "The kids don't need to eat cookies all holidays to feel worthwhile or loved"

Sugar Fairy: "But it's something for them to do!"

Normal Liz: "In reality you're just giving me another excuse to overdo the sugar/fat by putting me in a situation where I'm feeling weak (PMS) and in front of my big trigger (home baking).

Sugar Fairy: "But you keep saying you're in control"

Normal Liz: "I may be in control but I know at certain times of the month my boundaries need bolstering".

And on and on it has gone all morning. This phenomena, I am sure, happens to a lot of people. What many of us do is remain clueless about the fact that we're not beholden to our inner sugar fairies - we have the option of saying "no" at all points. We're not helpless against the onslaught of food cravings - we need to face them squarely as see them for what they are - cravings - and let's face it, whilst a craving is uncomfortable, I've never seen a craving KILL anyone.

I've just polished off a piece of salmon and some greens for lunch - it was delicious and just what I needed to give that fairy a good smackdown for the afternoon.

end of week wrap up

Wow, it's been a long week and not much blogging going on in my corner of the Universe. Things on the fitness front have been progressing, albeit slowly. I am up to walking on the treadmill at 5.6km/hr and yesterday I went into the RPM room and did a Track 2 by myself - I was huffing and puffing by the end of it - I have really lost quite a bit of fitness. The plan is now to attend RPM three times a week and sit up the back of class and do what feels good and ditch the rest. I estimate it will probably take about six weeks before I feel ready to teach again, but we will see.

Have had two shoulder treatments this week and am achieving much better range of motion. Still have to book in for MRI scan though! I have high hopes of being able to start training with weights again in 4 weeks.

It is amazing how much condition one can lose when you don't consistently exercise - I feel flabby and weak now, but know in the fullness of time, this will be a distant memory. I think achieving a fit body is akin to a small miracle unfolding - it is exciting to progress and get better and better.

Seems like I am PMSing with everyone else in blogland right now - had an unusually large sugar hit yesterday which has seen me pay for my indiscretions with an upset tummy and hangover type headache this morning. Sometimes an ugly eating episode can make you feel so glad you eat well the rest of the time. I feel ordinary now, but in another 48 hours I will be back to my old self. It takes three days to detox from a sugar blowout. I'm sitting here sipping a post dinner peppermint tea - I enjoyed grilled salmon and veggies - a favourite here.