I Am An Addict

Addictions suck.  If you don’t think so, just try getting addicted to something and then try to give it up.  You know – just put it down, walk away, and never go back.

Easy peesy.  Right?

I am an addict, and soda is my drug.  Despite knowing that drinking soda is akin to consuming liquid toxic waste, I still can’t break my dependency on the stuff. 

I had a moment of epiphany the other day.  It was in a period of desperate tiredness and strong thirst that I grabbed an ice-cold bottle of my fizzy friend and popped the top.  I took a swallow and came about this |  | close to being orgasmic.  I felt all quivery and heart-fluttery.  It's possible my loins even tingled a little. 

TMI.  Sorry.

I think I downed half the bottle in the first few swallows and then came to the sudden realization that I was enjoying this experience perhaps a little too much.

I’m not proud of this addiction.  I’m a bit ashamed, actually, that I can come on here and speak about the horrors and inherent dangers of the chemical hodgepodge that makes up soda while I secretly cower in the corner of a dark room getting my bloat on.

Yeah, I’m a hypocrite.  But I’m an honest hypocrite, and that has to account for something.

A few weeks ago, I tried to quit cold turkey.  I was drinking a gallon of water a day and trying to act like I enjoyed it.  But caffeine is a bitch, and she likes to lay the smack down when she doesn’t have her way.  I made it 2 weeks before I popped the top again and fell off the wagon.  The grip on my brain was loosened and the headaches went away.  The fatigue was replaced by sugar highs and caffeine rushes.  I didn’t necessarily feel ‘better’; I just felt a little closer to ‘normal’.

So I’m back to square 1. 

Again. 

Dammit.

There’s a solution to this problem.  I know there is.  It can’t involve will-power or chemical means because I don’t have the former and don’t want the latter. 

Until a complete solution is found, I shall try to keep consumption in moderation.

And I’ll hope that people can forgive me for being a hypocritical junkie.

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Reader Question

Reader Teresa at our Wo40 Facebook Page asks a really good question.  I'm posting it here for everyone's benefit.

"Question for ya Keith.  I'm trying to lose weight. I have limited my calories to 1200 a day and doing the elliptical 48 mins 4-5 days a week.  Am I eating the right amount of calories?" 

Excellent question, Teresa!  The answer is actually quite individual, so just a "yes" or "no" won't work.  My suggestion is that you go to http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and get 2 numbers.  The first is your basal metabolic rate (BMR for short).  After you have that number (it will show up in the green bar once you hit the "Calculate BMR" button), scroll down a little and click on the "Harris Benedict Equation" link.  Do a little math and get an approximate count of your daily calorie burn.

When you have those numbers, I recommend 2 things: never let your calorie intake go below the first number, and stay about 500 calories below your second number.  I'll use myself as an example:
My BMR is about 1910 cal/day.  My HB number is 2960 calories/day.  My daily intake goal should be about 2400 cal/day and should never fall below 1910 cal/day.

For the record, my wife's HB number is 2075 and her BMR is 1339.  Assuming you're in the same general ballpark as my wife, 1200 calories is too low for your dietary needs.  Cutting calories too drastically will cause your body to retain fat as a source of emergency energy rather than using it now for energy.  The eventual results will be slow metabolism, sluggish feelings, and really slow weight loss.

Contrary to what a lot of people believe, you have to EAT to DROP FAT.  If that isn't good news, I don't know what is!

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9 Foods to Heat Up Your Love Life

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and stores are sporting copious amounts of pink and red merchandise.  It’s that time of year when men are especially pressured to pull out the romance.  Instead of wooing that special someone with a box of chocolates (which also contain loads of refined sugar, fat, and often chemical coloring and flavor.  Blech!), why not show her how much you care with a meal of foods that are not only good for the body, but boost the libido. Here’s a list to get you started.

1. Oysters.  Long-touted as an aphrodisiac, oysters do not disappoint.  Oysters are high in zinc, which is essential in maintaining healthy levels of testosterone (a hormone directly related to sex drive in both men and women).  Oysters also offer a boost of dopamine, a hormone which increases libido.  Consuming them raw seems to be most effective.

2. Garlic.  This flavorful bulb contains allicin, which improves blood flow to the sexual organs.  Just don’t forget the breath mints.

3. Basil.  It’s not just for Italians anymore.  High in antioxidants, this flavorful herb is said to increase circulation, stimulate sex drive, and boost fertility.  Plus the aroma of basil is intoxicating.  Basil oil was traditionally used by Mediterranean prostitutes to attract customers (and not just for their famous pasta dishes).  The aroma of basil can also help foster a sense of general well-being, which helps shed stress and can allow us to more easily enjoy “bedroom activities”. 

4. Asparagus.  Aside from its slightly phallic appearance, asparagus is also a good source of vitamin E.  Often called the “sex vitamin”, vitamin E aids the body in hormone production which enhances mood and sexual desire.  As an added benefit, Vitamin E helps prevent aging and natural sexual longevity.  Vitamin E has also been used by some women as a sexual lubricant to heighten sensitivity.  Although what you do with your asparagus is entirely up to you. 

5. Avocado.  Known to the Aztecs as ahuacatal, or “testicle tree”, avocados help increase libido for both genders.  Its high levels of folic acid assist the body in metabolizing protein, resulting in increased energy levels.  Obviously a good thing inside and outside the bedroom.

6. Almonds.  The high levels of essential fatty acids found in almonds, provide the basis for healthy male hormone levels which regulate sex drive.  What’s in it for your lady?  Studies show that just the smell of almonds can act as an aphrodisiac for women.  Makes me wonder why there isn’t more almond-scented aftershave out there on the market.

7. Nutmeg.  This wonderfully aromatic spice has traditionally been used in Indian medicine to boost libido.  Recent animal studies have shown nutmeg to have the same effect as the drug Viagra on mating behavior. 

8. Chilies.  Capsaicin, the substance that lends chilies their heat, can also lend some heat to your love life.  It stimulates nerve endings, raises heart rate, and triggers the release of endorphins causing you to just feel doggone great.

9. Dark Chocolate.  A 2006 study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that women who ate chocolate on a daily basis had higher sexual function than woman who did not.  Dark chocolate contains high levels of serotonin, a mood booster, and phenyl ethylamine which mimics the brain chemistry of a person in love. So maybe it’s not such a bad idea to buy her the box of chocolates after all.

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Going Mental

What happens in your mind usually goes off without any help from you.  It's not until we've been made aware of something that we begin to take control of the things that happen in our minds.

Let's look at a couple of detrimental thought processes that will absolutely kill your progress in dropping fat.

Thought Process #1 - Clean Your Plate

Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday.  Mom used to tell me, "There are starving children in Africa, and you're going to leave all of that perfectly good food on your plate.  Clean your plate!"  Effectively shamed into submission and despite feeling full, I begrudgingly ate the remainder of my mashed potatoes and corn so, presumably, the poor starving kids in Africa would live another day.

Further, my father was a pretty tight-fisted kind of guy when it came to money.  Throwing food away, he claimed, was akin to tossing dollar bills in the garbage.  He brought that military mindset into the house - "Take all you want, but eat all you take."  So rather than scrape the last bits of uneaten food from our plates into the garbage, we found ourselves eating in excess when our eyes were bigger than our bellies.

Having this message imparted to us day after day, is it any wonder that my entire family (3 children and both parents) have at one time or another struggled with being overweight?

"Clean your plate" is a TERRIBLE message.  Basically it's saying, "Ignore your body's cues and eat beyond necessity." The feelings of guilt that were thrust upon us as children are unfounded - after all, will throwing away 2 ounces of baked potato and the last bit of chicken REALLY cost an African child his life?  Eating every morsel of food from your plate isn't honorable or moral.  It's counter-productive to your weight and fitness goals.

If you haven't quite figured out portion control, then just paying attention to your body can save you a LOT of unnecessary calories.  It works like this: If you can feel your belly bulging - even slightly - then you're done eating.  It doesn't matter if there's still half a chicken breast and a few green beans on the plate.  Feeling full means you ate too much, so stop before you reach that point.

You don't have to clean your plate.  Eat until you are satiated, and not a crumb more.

Thought Process #2 - Get Your Money's Worth

I do enjoy the opportunity to go to the local buffet restaurants.  I don't do buffet very often, but when I do, a measure of self control is in order.

We have a little tradition in our family.  When one of us has a birthday, the celebrant gets to pick a restaurant for lunch or dinner.  As fate would have it, both my younger son and younger daughter chose buffet restuarants for their birthday meals. 

First, my son chose Chinese.  At $7.99 per adult, it's often tempting to say, "I'm gonna make sure they LOSE money on me."  That is a very, very dangerous mentality to have.  My daughter chose Golden Corral.  $8.99 per adult for dinner.  That represents an even bigger challenge.  It's as if the pricing is challenging our ego by saying, "Ha!  You'll NEVER eat $9 worth of food," to which the more determined mind says, "Oh, yeah?  Just watch me."

And the self-abuse begins.

Businesses like this are going to make money off of you.  Unless you stay for hours and eat every piece of shrimp in the building, it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to out-eat the bulk-rate pricing restaurants get for their food.  The only rewards you'll receive if you do manage to out-eat the menu price are a stomachache and more girth.

There's no prize for beating the cost of your food at a buffet restaurant.  Years ago, I used to think it was funny when I said, "They're not going to make money off of me!"  Now I realize what I was really saying: "This restaurant is out of my price league, so I'm going to eat until I'm sick to make sure I get every penny's worth."

If you find yourself having this thought upon entering a buffet restaurant - the thought that you're going to out-eat the menu price - then do yourself a favor.  Save the money and eat a meal at home (all the while remembering to avoid Thought Process #1).

Hopefully being aware of these mental processes will help you take control of your eating behaviors.  Be well!

Starvation Diets

A friend recently told Alice that she is on a calorie-restrictive diet in order to lose weight.  Basically, this friend is consuming about 1000-1200 calories per day in an attempt to reduce the number she sees on the scale.  Just last year, I had a friend tell me that she was eating 3 salads a day - less than 1000 calories - as her regular diet.  The most extreme example of a starvation diet was the acquaintance who told us that he was limiting himself to one apple and one banana per DAY.

It's apparent that there is a pervasive mindset in our culture that causes people to believe that starvation is a viable means to dropping pounds.  People appear to believe that restricting calories is good, so restricting MORE calories is better.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Myth - It's the number on the scale that is important - the smaller the better.
Reality - Weight and fitness are independent measures of overall health.  Thus, a smaller number on the scale isn't automatically an indicator of better health.  When a dieter restricts calories as in the examples above (an apple and a banana??), they will see a smaller number on the scale, but not as a result of fat loss.  Muscle depletion is an inevitable result of caloric deprivation, making the body feel weak and sluggish.  As more and more muscle mass is depleted, the scale weight will go down, but at the expense of overall wellness.  If weakness and fatigue are your goals, then a calorie restrictive diet is the way to get there.  Otherwise, a balanced approach to eating and exercising will yield a much better result.

Remember, starving third-world children and victims of amorexia would see small numbers on the scale.  No one would mistake their conditions for being healthy.

Myth - Calorie restrictive diets will get me to my goal weight faster.
Reality - Calorie restrictive diets slow the metabolism to a crawl, resulting in slower weight loss.  The body is an efficient machine that is very perceptive of its environment.  When calories are restricted to starvation levels the body switches into a mode that will get the most benefit possible from the reduced calorie intake.  In other words, the body shuts down to a crawl in order to utilize as few calories as possible.  The result is near-impossible weight loss and extreme fatigue.

Myth - I can calorie restrict for a while to lose weight and then resume normal eating.
Reality - You can, but the bounce-back effect will actually cause weight gain.  When the body is starved, it powers itself by using available resources from the muscles.  This fuel is used to power essential functions like the heart, brain, and organs while leaving the muscles to wait for future resources.  Once normal eating resumes, the "extra" food fuel is grabbed out of the bloodstream and quickly crammed into every available space in anticipation of another famine.  The result (bounce back) is a heavier body with a slow metabolism.  To avoid this problem, a balanced approach to eating is required.

Myth - Calorie restrictive diets are generally safe.
Reality - Calorie restrictive diets can result in a variety of physiologic, emotional, and social disorders.  Dieters that have reduced their food intake to starvation levels may suffer from such problems as fatigue, sexual dysfunction, reproductive dysfunction, depression, moodiness, and a preoccupation with food.  Extended periods of starvation-level dieting can result in muscle depletion, which by extension may result in failure of the most important muscle in the body, the heart.

Eating to drop fat is not rocket science.  Truly good nutrition isn't any more difficult than starvation, but the effects of eating well will be far more positive in the long run.  For more information about eating for overall health, see our article on Eating for Fat Reduction.