bits and pieces

Too Much Sugar

Posted by admin on Mar 21 2007

So, I’m looking at myself on the bathroom scale in the wee hours of the morning and I realize that I am no spring chicken. My early days of tip-top fitness and shape have passed and disappeared under nearly 50 pounds of extra weight. Yah, I know. It’s hard to believe that was just 15 years years ago during my college days when my body saw a leaner weight and a fitter profile.

How do I get to the bottom of what’s wrong? Well it’s too cold and wet outside right now to go out for a run. (excuses, excuses) and I refuse to eat a “poorer” diet than I already have. I say poor because it is devoid of any enjoyable indulgences. No fat, no cholesterol, no cheese, no red meat, no this, no that. No to just about everything except the foods that I habitually have disliked in my earlyer years.

Gone are the days with lightning-fast metabolism that could suck away the calories in the blink of an eye. Of course, things were different during college. I ran and worked-out daily, rode my bike between classes on an immensely huge campus and ate less due to lots of general stress.

All that hard work studying landed me a desk job that has virtually turned me into a squishy, pudgy side of veal. I’ve upsized my pants size twice in the last decade and it peeves me to no end.

Who can I blame? First of all, I blame SUGAR. It’s in just about everything and this ugly, empty calorie has no nutrition value save the calories it brings to your body. What’s worse is that food manufacturers have cut corners with a substitute to this already bad ingredient: High Fructose Corn Syrup. While empty calories in the form of sugar is bad, the body still has a fighting chance to burn it up and use it immediately. High fructose corn syrup is a different deal. For some reason it doesen’t get utilized as much and instead finds its way to your (oh horror!) hips, bell, but and thighs…

Lately my kick has been in “kicking” the sweetener habit. I suspect for the next month or so I’ll wean myself off with artificial sweetner; then perhaps upgrade to no sweetener at all (or at least a healthy alternative such as honey). Let’s see where this experience leads me. Any positive weight loss would defnitely be welcome.