Over the last week or so, I’ve posted about carbs, protein and fats, and why I think they get a bad rap when it comes to weight loss.
So who is the bad guy of weight loss?
Nominees include trans- and saturated fats, processed foods, white flour products, and portion sizes that are waaaay to big. But nutritionally speaking, I believe the bad guy to be sugar; in particular, High Fructose Corn Syrup.
HFCS is a man made sweetener that food companies love for a variety of reason. It’s sweeter than sugar, and it’s cheaper than sugar.
It’s very calorie dense, and it makes the appetite control functions that nature built into us shut down.
Read that again.
It makes the appetite control functions that nature built into us shut down.
I work with a guy that I watch drink, at the very least, a 2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew every morning. That’s because of the HFCS. We can eat and drink more than we should because our appetite control is getting shut down by the HFCS.
I’ve read that the average American is consuming over 60 pounds of high fructose corn syrup each year. Is it any wonder Americans, including our children, struggle with obesity?
HFCS is one of the things I check for when I read a list of food ingredients. If it’s near the top of the list, I check the label for the amount. If it’s 10 grams or less, I don’t worry, but if it’s more than 10 grams, I do not eat that food.
Start reading food labels, and you’ll be surprised by how much HFCS you see in our food products.
Start avoiding HFCS, and you may be surprised by how quickly you can start shedding pounds.
Lose Weight With Me 
April 3, 2007 at 8:23 am |
I stopped eating/drinking anything that contained any amount of HFCS (also, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils and artificial sweeteners, but I’ll try to stay on topic). Now, whenever I eat something that even has a smidgen of the ghastly stuff, I get a terrible headache. It makes me shudder to see how much HFCS people, especially kids, are sucking down everyday through soda and juice drinks.
I’m really not a kill joy. I love a ginger ale or cola as a treat, but there are plenty of natural brands that are made with sugar (www.boylanbottling.com makes some of my favorites). During Passover, you can even buy Coca-Cola that is made with sugar instead of HFCS (which is prohibited during the the Jewish holiday since it is made from corn).
April 3, 2007 at 8:42 am |
Hey, Red, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I appreciate it.
I’m with you on hydrogenated oils and artificial sweeteners. I figure those are posts for others days.
Thanks for the link for natural soda. I can’t wait to check it out.
Be sure to keep coming back!
🙂
Brian
April 3, 2007 at 3:37 pm |
Great post! I have just recently read how bad the stuff is. It is really amazing how many products contain the HFCS.
April 3, 2007 at 5:43 pm |
Thanks for the heads up in this post. After reading it I raced to my cupboard and fridge to check the labels.
FWIW I had nothing 🙂
Keep up the great posts
April 3, 2007 at 7:26 pm |
Hey, Princess, thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you had nothing. 🙂 Keep your eyes open for this stuff…it’s bad.
Be sure to keep coming back.
Brian
April 3, 2007 at 7:29 pm |
Hi, Cuttingback, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
It IS amazing how much food now contains HFCS. And it’s horrible for us. I hope that people will wake up and educate themselves about this and other food chemicals.
Hope to hear from you again.
Brian
April 4, 2007 at 12:14 am |
I don’t think we have this evil stuff in the UK. I’ve had a look on the web for references to it, and it looks like its too expensive to produce/import in Europe (mainly because we don’t have much maize production over this way). We make do with sugar!
Also zero sugar drinks are very popular in Britain, so the huge quantities of sugar are not only easy to avoid, they’re also socially acceptable.
April 4, 2007 at 7:09 am |
Hey, Drunkenspaniel, thanks for stopping by!
I think you’re much better off with sugar than with high fructose corn syrup. Keep reading labels, though, just in case it slowly creeps over there! 🙂
Be sure to keep visiting.
Brian
April 4, 2007 at 6:17 pm |
I swore off soft drinks in general (Mountain Dew in particular) several years ago and know that it has really helped with my weight loss. When I enjoy the rare “treat” Dew its not that great… Just kind of sloshes around my stomach with an unnaturally heavy weight.
I mostly stick to black coffee and water these days.
Travis
April 4, 2007 at 7:41 pm |
Hey, Travis, thanks for stopping by again!
I was a serious Pepsi-holic before I made my life changes. I’ll drink one maybe once a month now, and I’m not even sure why. It tastes too sweet and it does feel heavy in the belly.
Like you, I’m mainly coffee and water, along with occasional green tea.
Brian
April 12, 2007 at 7:18 am |
It’s amazing how much of that stuff is in the foods we buy at the store every day. HUGE difference since I’ve stopped us it it.
Oh, and consider this an invitation to join us over at FatBloggers.net. We’d love to have you aboard!
April 12, 2007 at 8:23 pm |
Hey, Rick — thanks for stopping by.
I’d love to join you over at fatbloggers.net…I’m honored!
Brian