Seeing God & Satan in Nutritional Labels

MURIKA.

Democracy only works if the populace is informed, educated and empowered. The less popular and/or less ethical seek to misinform (Fox News), devalue education (the dismissal of the "educated liberal elite" and the triumph of "belief" over science) and depower (so-called "voter protection" laws that push minorities, elderly, students and the poor off the voter rolls) so they can achieve power, despite the protection of democracy from tyranny.

Get out and vote. Unless your drivers license is expired, then F@CK YOU.

To paraphrase those of faith, the greatest trick the Devil ever performed is convincing us he doesn't exist. Eating is political, and anyone who says otherwise is performing a trick. Your purchasing power at the grocery store is your vote. But how can you vote for what is best for you if you are not educated on what that is?  God knows "home economics" being taught in schools has been relegated to the dustbin of history.  Home-Ec was a catch-all place to teach cooking & nutrition, personal finance and basic good citizenship beyond "RA RA MURIKA!" McDonalds and the like has always insisted their essentially terrible products are part of a "well balanced diet",  but how do we balance? Our educational system has abandoned that responsibility. Your on your own, as the truth isn't profitable for corporations.

Old school school.

Well, not completely on your own. You gotta read the labels. And I do read the labels. And it's annoying as hell when you pick up a small bag of chips, read that it's 100 calories per serving, think, "Oh, that's cool" then find out the bag is four servings. It's a good thing our left-of-Republican-crazy-pants executive branch of government has spurred the Food & Drug Administration to recently announced a redesign of the labels to account for exactly this kind of trickery.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is hoping that its newly proposed updates to the Nutrition Facts Label for packaged foods and beverages will enable Americans to make more informed dietary choices in their daily routines.
Based on current scientific information as well as changes in the way Americans typically eat and drink, the FDA is recommending that the label should emphasize total calories, added sugars and such nutrients as potassium and Vitamin D.
The agency also believes that serving-size requirements for foods and beverages need to be revamped to align better with current consumption trends.
First Lady and nutrition advocate Michelle Obama voiced support for the proposed changes, saying, "You as a parent and a consumer should be able to walk into your local grocery store, pick up an item off the shelf, and be able to tell whether it's good for your family. So this is a big deal..."

I like that "calories from fat" are going away -- a remnant of the go-go Susan Powter 90s.  The two big stars are that portion size will now reflect reality rather than wishful thinking (a packet of M&Ms bought for $1 is usually not two servings) and 1950s scale (a burger today is typically 12oz of meat versus the 50's 4oz that still define a burger serving today.)

Why? Follow the politics....which follows the money.....

The real big star is breaking out sugars into an "Added Sugars" subcategory. It is in this little line where an educated consumer can ask, "Is this real food, or junk?" and this line will pretty much unequivocally answer it. Beware any politician, special interest group or pundit who thinks this line should go away -- they are part of the unpopular group in a democracy who want to misinform you, keep you uneducated, and take away your empowerment for the benefit of the industries that profit from selling that which hurts us.

The problems are clear, but grouping these industries gives us a better way to look at the struggle of consumers, of ordinary people, to regain the upper hand. The issues of auto and gun safety, of drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction, and of hyperconsumption of unhealthy food are not as distinct as we’ve long believed; really, they’re quite similar. For example, the argument for protecting people against marketers of junk food relies in part on the fact that antismoking regulations and seatbelt laws were initially attacked as robbing us of choice; now we know they’re lifesavers.
Redefining the argument may help us find strategies that can actually bring about change. The turning point in the tobacco wars was when the question changed from the industry’s — “Do people have the right to smoke?” — to that of public health: “Do people have the right to breathe clean air?” Note that both questions are legitimate, but if you address the first (to which the answer is of course “yes”) without asking the second (to which the answer is of course also “yes”) you miss an opportunity to convert the answer from one that leads to greater industry profits to one that has literally cut smoking rates in half.

Not to be shrill (but for the sake of the point, I'm goin' there), but this really is a battle between good and evil, between God & the Devil, between the populace of a democracy and corporate power which seeks to profit from them at any cost. If you still don't think eating is political, then Satan (or, in their human form, lobbyists for the Food-Industrial Complex) has won.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2,804

High caloric intake, but also a relative uptick in bike riding. Last weekend was a total 160 miles, and the aftershocks were felt in my increased hunger the first half of the week. The last two days of the week also got 50 miles shoved in there, with another uptick in eating. Feel good, clothing still feels lose, though I suspect my thighs might be getting a little bigger...

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MONDAY COUNT: 2710 cal

SLEPT: 8:30pm - 4am, 7.5 hrs
Felt tired at work, due to 160 miles of cumulative riding over the weekend, but the nap room at work was totally jammed up (1st world problems!) so I somehow muddled through, poor me. The new microwave dinner to get me through this time of no gas oven was good but unsatisfying (they need to include injira with their meals!) and ended up loosening up on the stick at the end of the day while enjoying snuggling with my kids on the couch. Funny how gorging used to help when I felt sad and denied, slightly desperate, and tuned out, now it helps me when….I got hunger issues! And the reasons for those hunger issues make me very, very happy.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 400 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, chicken mushroom soup, health salad, pickles, 530cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, poppa salad with bottled Italian Lite dressing, 110 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, Ethiopian chicken stew and lentils, 500 cal

EVENING GORGE: 7:15pm, almond butter & chocolate syrup, 2 kind bars, small portion of cheetos, small portion of corn chips, +/- 800 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2940
SLEPT: 8:30pm-5am, 8.5 hr
Again, fell down on the budget due to....hunger, I think it was straight-up hunger, not emotional distress or numbness or need for distraction. Still, I should be measuring it and maybe not hitting the only damn source of sugar in the house, he he.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am, Fage whole yogurt with honey, vanilla and almonds, 285 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, steamed string beans, Mushroom masala ,pickles, 620 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, with seaweed sheets , 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, poppa salad with bottled Italian Lite dressing, 110 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm,vegetable, shrimp and jerk chicken patties from Jamaican spot (1080)

EVENING GORGE: 7pm, peanut buter & chocolate syrup, +/- 500 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2140

SLEPT: 8:30-4:30, 8 hrs
Sauteed some frozen mixed mushrooms to add to lunch, with a little sriracha, worsterchire and soy, not bad - maybe a small addition to the arsenal stemming from the gas deprivation.

AM SNACK: 4:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 375 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, sofrito black beans, mushrooms, pickles, 680 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, spicy crackers from Grazebox, 220 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, poppa salad with bottled Italian Lite dressing, 110 cal

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, cashews, 160

DINNER: 7:45pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, diet coke, 435

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BIKE CREDIT: 620
THURSDAY COUNT: 3530

SLEPT: 9:30pm-1am, 1:30-2:30pm nap, 4.5 hr
Between stress and exhaustion, hit the food a bit hard in front of the TV in the evening. Not my finest hour, but grateful this doesn't happen on a regular basis anymore.

AM SNACK: 1:30am,  iced green tea, 0 cal

BIKE SNACK: 2:45am, granola bar, 100mg caffeine, 425 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, Fage whole yogurt with honey, vanilla and almonds, 285 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, vegetarian meat balls, mushroom masala, string beans, pickles, 660 cal
TVP-based protein balls, haven't eaten a similar product in years, not bad. Got a fancy expensive mushroom-flavored brand, another score for opening up the routine, since sauteed chicken breast has been put on hold.

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, tomato crackers from Grazebox, 220 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, kind bar, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, cashews, 160

DINNER: 6pm, slice of Costco pizza, 700 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, cheetos, 300 cal

EVENING GORGE: 8:30pm, digestive cookies, 1,040 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 500 cal
FRIDAY COUNT: 2700

SLEPT: 9:30-6am, 8.5 hrs
Tried to wake at 4am to lift weights, but just too tired to think straight and went back to bed. Will fit in a lift over the weekend. Fit in a good 20 mile ride after work, after a last minute plan-cancellation.

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9am, fruit smoothie, 400 cal

NOON SNACK: 12 pm, momma salad, crackers and mango chutney from graze box, 180 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, pickles, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 3:15pm, donut, +/- 300 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, frosted corn flakes, +/- 150 cal

BIKE SNACK: 6:30pm, homemade granola bar, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, shrimp pad thai, thai salad, fried tofu, +/- 900 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, 2 chewy industrial chocolate chip granola bars, 200 cal