Ed. note: This is part 2 of a series that was written after a day of trying intermittent fasting, or IF. As I explained in part 1, fasting is not starvation, and is a discipline that has been practiced for thousands of years by cultures around the globe. Here’s how it went.

On Saturday I decided that it was the right time to try intermittent fasting (IF). As I explained in part 1 (“20 hours without eating: the intermittent fasting experiment“), IF is essentially giving your body a break from food for a set period of time, and then eating the calories and nutrients you need during a specific window. If you are trying to lose weight, the key is during your eating times you take in the appropriate nutrients while maintaining a reasonable and healthy caloric deficit.

In my case I chose to fast for 20 hours, starting at 9PM the previous evening and having only water (and a cup of coffee) until 5PM the next day. I also asked my wife to make dinner for the family to be ready at 5 or so, just so that when the fast was over I could actually eat something substantial and more importantly, planned (in my mind, no plan might equal disaster food-wise). I also asked her to make something extra tasty .

Of course, I wasn’t sure if I could even make it that long mentally. Could I actually last 20 hours without giving in to cravings of, well, anything? How would I do physically and more importantly, emotionally? I decided to go for it, knowing that if things got too out of hand I could always stop. The results were pretty surprising.

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Ed. note: This part 1 of a post that was written on Saturday after a day of trying intermittent fasting, or IF. Note that fasting is not starvation, and is a discipline that has been practiced for thousands of years by cultures around the globe. That said, I approached it as an experiment, with some pretty surprising results.

The idea of intermittent fasting (IF) has intrigued me for some time. I am a big fan of the website Fitness Spotlight, and have read their exhaustive research on the subject of IF several times, always wondering whether it is realistic for me. Today, I gave it a shot.

A little context: Before I tried the fast I had a doctor’s appointment at which I discovered a) that I had already lost two pounds on the year at that point, and b) my blood pressure was surprisingly good (122/78) despite increased stress right now. This was great news since it was a significant improvement from borderline high blood pressure a year ago, and made me feel as though my longterm dietary changes have helped my overall health. Of course one measurement is not enough to establish a trend, but I’ll take it until the next BP check. Although I am far from in ideal condition weight-wise, my other vitals appear to be pretty good.

Good news at the doctor’s office, even a little, is a great energizer.

Second, this morning I got up with the kids at around 7:00AM, and felt motivated to go hard after my general dietary goals. I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything last night after about 9:00PM or so. Having been reading about the paleo/primal methods of eating over the past few days, and the use of intermittent fasting in combination with it, it occurred to me that I was in an ideal state to give it a try. I knew that I had a 3-mile run scheduled for the afternoon, so I was curious to see not only how I would deal with it throughout the day, but how it would affect my energy levels.

Why fasting?

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Welcome to Almost Fit. This is part 3 of a series on High Fructose Corn Syrup, and includes the second set of ten reasons why I avoid it. Part 1 was On High Fructose Corn Syrup and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Part 2 was 5 Reasons Why I Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup. If you enjoy this article, please consider sharing it with a vote on Digg or StumbleUpon. Thanks.

In the previous article, “5 Reasons Why I Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup“, I described at length the first five out of ten reasons why I don’t believe a word from the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), much less their expensive ad campaign to try to convince consumers that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is actually good for you. Although they may succeed in that attempt, in my opinion, the campaign is really designed to accomplish something bigger: confuse the public into a state of inaction. And unfortunately, it’s working. I have read more comments across the Web and heard, even from my own family members, more expressions of confusion over the subject than I possibly ever have.

I guess that’s what you get when you spend $30 Million dollars on an ad campaign.

Although my budget is eh, slightly less, my hope is that this series, alongside the many others on the Web (many of which are much more concise, for what it’s worth), will help folks to see through the thin veil that the CRA has dropped over common sense. Read the rest of this entry »

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Can somebody PLEASE tell me what the FDA is smokin’?

We all know that plastics used in bottles and cans were recently implicated as very clear risk factors for infants and young children, but a new study that was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that adults may also be at risk – big surprise.

While the health concern certainly gets me to think twice about using that Nalgene bottle, I have to say that my thoughts really do soar into the upper levels of outrage when I start to think about this. Why? Simple [RANT WARNING]: Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to Almost Fit. This is part 2 of a series on High Fructose Corn Syrup, and includes the first five of ten reasons why I avoid it. This series has been brewing for a long time, but it is in part being offered as a response to the nationwide ad campaign in favor of using HFCS (You can find some of the commercials on YouTube). If you enjoy this article, please consider sharing it with a vote on Digg or StumbleUpon. Thanks.

Despite the Corn Refiners Association’s $30 million dollar attempt to suggest that we poor unintelligent consumers are simply confused about the wonderful benefits of a diet that is rich in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), I still find their benevolent story hard to, ahem, swallow. I guess you could say that I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid. The suggestion that it is our own dimwitted ignorance that causes some of us to avoid HFCS, and that the big government-subsidized businesses associated with corn refining really only have OUR best interests at heart by adding a chemically-produced sweetener to our foods, is insulting at best.

Before I get into it, here’s my disclosure: Although I like to think from time to time that my ever-expanding forehead is thanks to excessive cerebral exercise and fits of right brain vs. left brain blindfolded fire-juggling mental ping-pong matches, I will confess:

I am not a rocket scientist (in the literal, or figurative, sense – but don’t tell my younger sisters I actually admitted it) – so don’t take my word for it. I am also not a physician, or a nutritionist. These are my conclusions, but your mileage may vary. Thus, my suggestion is very clear: Read about it for yourself and make your own decisions.

BUT, to me, that is the best part, because in my opinion, you don’t have to be a scientist, nutritionist, physician, or politician (I jest) to see through the murky veil that the CRA is casting. All you need is a little common sense, to take responsibility for what you eat, and an ability to read at a 5th grade level. Toss in a little discernment when you watch expensive television ads, and you can find the truth.

Because as you might have noticed, and as one reader pointed out in the comments in part 1, the novel notion of “truth in advertising” is very much dead.

[Pause, take a breath. Resume.]

On with the show. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to Almost Fit. This is part one in a series on my opinion on High Fructose Corn Syrup. I’ve broken it into three parts, with the next two focusing on the specifics. If you enjoy this article, please consider subscribing to Almost Fit. It is free, as always. Thanks.

There are very few things that I avoid more consciously these days than High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). And despite what you may have been led to believe recently by a gigantic ad campaign, people like me do not make this choice out of ignorance as a consumer.

As you have likely seen, the Corn Refiners Association is in full swing on a huge ad campaign to restore the broken faith of the American public in the benefits of using HFCS in our collective diet. In one ad, the CRA suggests that there are not solid reasons for avoiding it – in fact, it is kind of, well, what all the healthy, cool kids drink. The Mother who avoids HFCS is portrayed as far less informed (she is made to look like the fool, actually) than the Mother who happily feeds her children HFCS-laced products. In fact, the Mother who avoids HFCS for her kids has nothing better to say then, “….um….nice shirt?”

What are not mentioned in the ads are, well any real facts at all. Things like the minor detail that HFCS is not considered safe, even by the food producers themselves, for infants. Though from anything I’ve been able to find, they won’t say exactly why. Or that HFCS, not just fructose, has recently been linked to increased rates of obesity and diabetes, yet again.

Is it any surprise that the Corn Refiners Association and Big Tobacco are related through their PR companies and strategists?

So what is the truth about HFCS? And what are the solid answers surrounding why I think it should be listed next to industrially produced trans fats as something we should avoid? Read the rest of this entry »

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In this morning’s Oregonian, the front page includes an article on a proposal to require chain restaurants to display key nutritional information on their menus and menu boards (“Plan would let diners count calories on menu“). Portland of course is not the first major city to consider the idea publicly, but given the progressive nature of the political scene here, it would not be surprising if the rule was approved.

According to the proposal, this would not affect small businesses. Here is a summary, as quoted from the Multnomah County Health Department’s information site: Read the rest of this entry »

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Ed. Note: This is a reprint (with a few changes) of an article I wrote a while back as a guest post for the guys at GetFitSlowly – Mac and J.D. are some of my principle inspirations for writing about this process, and their site is highly recommended. I’ve had several requests to repost the article here, so I am doing so today. If you enjoy it, please give it a vote via your social networking tool of choice, such as Digg or StumbleUpon. Thanks. Oh, and if you’re new here, welcome to Almost Fit. Please leave a comment and introduce yourself.

When it comes to food, exercise, and our obsession with obesity, the French appear to break all of the rules of Western thought. By and large those who live a traditional French lifestyle eat for pleasure and satisfaction, they often smoke (arguably a stereotype), and they drink regularly. Despite a diet proportionally high in things like saturated fats, the French have remarkably low rates of heart disease and obesity. Welcome to the French Paradox. Read the rest of this entry »

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This article is part 2 in a series. The first article is here: “Retrain Yourself on Food Portion Sizes – Part 1.” If you enjoy this series, please consider subscribing to Almost Fit or sharing it with others via Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook, or your favorite social media tool. Thanks.

In case you haven’t been on speaking terms with your scale for a while, or you’ve been avoiding all forms of news and information in favor of continuing to blindly support that questionable Krispy Kreme investment, it may come as a surprise to you to learn that we Westerners have a bit of a problem with our weight.

(And yes, that last statement is my official entry for the Understimator of the Year Award, which I have a sneaking suspicion is somehow tied to the Darwin Awards.)

In the, “what the heck is wrong with what we’re eating” category of Almost Fit, today’s article is part 2 of the discussion of portion size. And I’m going to reveal the spoiler for this series, so look away if you don’t want to know the truth: The portion guidelines I’m going to list at the end of this series probably won’t work for you (at least not at first, if you’re anything like I was 6 months ago). Read the rest of this entry »

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Ed. note: This is just a post-April Fools Day update: This may be a complete fabrication…I may have completely imagined it…but you be the judge. If you like this story, please consider buying the live Jackalopes I’m selling on eBay Pets, or purchasing the pieces of an alien craft that look remarkably similar to the silver sheathing on rolls of household insulation that I have from our remodel. Or, if that doesn’t interest you, you might consider subscribing to Almost Fit. Its your call.

Anchorage, AK – A newly discovered plant that has been unearthed in the Arctic is proving to be the most effective natural weight loss compound found to date, with no known side effects. Global warming may be having an unexpected benefit: incredibly rapid weight loss, completely naturally.

In a press release issued by the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, researchers at the North pole have discovered a plant compound that apparently kept dinosaurs lean, and may explain the genetic mystery of the dietary habits of Eskimo cultures who have historically eaten incredibly high levels of saturated fats with little or no negative effects on weight and cholesterol. The new compound is derived from what researchers have named Lactuca Shackliola, or, “Shackleaf lettuce” (pictured).

“We pulled up the core sample, and there it was, stuck to the outside of the coring rod,” Sylette Rivermorelandstein points out, holding a photo of a purplish wilted leaf stuck to a metal rod.

“Most of our samples pull up a lot of silt and occasionally plant matter, but nothing like this. Its a direct result of global thermal incubation,” she said. “For some reason, I just had to taste it. And it was quite good!” Read the rest of this entry »

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