With out water, you DIE! With out salt in your system, your brain stops functioning, and you DIE! With out certain vitamins, you can get really sick and, yes...DIE! With out sugar, you will...BE FINE! So why does it seem if my four year old daughter were to go a meal without at least one form of sugar, she would perish?
I've already explored and vilified sugar in depth, and I've done as much daddy blogging as I really need to do in this lifetime, but Edle's eating has been nagging at my conscious this past week. Last week was her first week at public school pre-K, and she is becoming more independent of our influence on her diet than ever. Is she eating enough/too much? Is she eating well? If her choices at home are any indication....
She is sugar-mad, and she doesn't much care where it comes from. She loves the fruit-filled smoothie pops I have on hand, which I make from my own very healthy smoothies. When offered, she'll never say no to just about any fruit. Ice cream is a must-have treat at least once a weekend, though that "once" is a result of her asking every day during the week and multiple times on the weekends. When we she was younger, we bribed her into potty training by promising her m&ms if she #2'd in the proper space -- the first time I gave her an entire packet of M&Ms and they disappeared in about 2 minutes. Ever since it's limited to 5 m&ms of her color choices. I'm starting to find she's avoiding food she previously liked, and just focusing on the fruit, smoothie pops, ice cream & sweet things that are on offer when we go out. Help me Dr. Phil, is my child doomed?
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| Yes, Norberto, your child is doomed, unless you watch my show, buy the products I recommend, and sit through all the commercials. |
Unlike adults, who often find overly sugary things unpleasant, Mennella says kids are actually living in different sensory worlds than adults when it comes to basic tastes.I'm not arguing that it's OK to eat lots of sugar, only that my Edlebug may be biologically hardwired to eat more of it to supply fuel to rapid growth. That's not to discount the fact that so much crap is marketed to kids with more added sugar than ever before, literally taking advantage of this biological hard wiring to sell more crappy sugared cereals at the expense of children's health.
"They prefer much more intense sweetness and saltiness than the adult, and it doesn't decrease until late adolescence. And we have some evidence they may be more sensitive to bitter taste," Mennella says.
A reason for this may be that a preference for sweet, caloric substances during rapid growth may have given children as an evolutionary advantage when calories were scarce. That notion is supported by the fact that sugar doesn't just taste good to children -– it actually makes them feel good, too.
The ethical implications of gearing marketing of children's food to increase the "nag factor" to help open their parent's purse strings, regardless of the health impact, or even health cost, is a basic flaw of capitalism, and why it must be tempered with a healthy dose of enforced & incentivized social responsibility. (I'd say "socialism", but the word has been so misunderstood and abused by so many f'ing crazy people, I don't even want to go there.)
Sure, the Disney & Nickelodeon channels geared at the littlest kids have very little advertising, and don't interrupt their cartoons with sales pitches. However. if my daughter were to see a Disney Princess-branded crack pipe at my local drug bazaar, she probably wouldn't know what it is....but she'd want it.
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| These are multivitamins, right? |
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Had a hard time this week finding a topic to pontificate on, had to consult the list of 50+ random ideas I jotted down at the time I started this blog. This was already in draft Tuesday night when I made a grilled pork tenderloin, and on a whim decided to cook it to medium rare (130) instead of medium (145) -- oh my goodness, it was 5x more tender and 10x more delicious. After next week's weigh-in, our irrational and outdated fear of pork must be addressed - I can't believe I unconsciously been overcooking my pork tenderloins this past few months!
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| So little sleep, so much bad stock photography. |
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Got one more packet of storebought frozen soup and three large containers of frozen homemade chicken stock ready to go. Thinking lots of dried mushrooms, whole wheat matzo balls, some minced vegetables, hmmmmmm..... feels too easy. Maybe it's a good starter soup for the season, before I do a proper split-pea with bacon and then maybe some gourd-based blender soups, mmmm, soup season!
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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2485
High calorie count again, starting to suspect hormones triggered by less sleep might be contributing. Gonna start getting stricter with sleep immediately, will report in a week or two with some good internet-thinkin' about the subject then.
MONDAY COUNT: 2335
Finally, a day within budget, he he. Despite double snack in the evening.
AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal
BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal
Surprised how hungry I was for this, despite eating way too much yesterday. Suspect that sugar cravings might have been part of it.
Surprised how hungry I was for this, despite eating way too much yesterday. Suspect that sugar cravings might have been part of it.
LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, lentil soup, health salad, 590 cal
PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal
PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal
DINNER: 8:45pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, in black bean sauce, 375 cal
EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Cheetos's, 600 cal
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WEEKEND REPORT
Ate horribly, more on Saturday than Sunday. Was going to do a megaride on Sunday, but due to unexpected events outside my control, had to stay back with the family. But I did sleep 10 hours Saturday night, 8 hours Sunday night, and found myself napping both days for an hour or two, the best you can when your responsible for two little kids. Made me surprised how great it feels to be well rested, it's been too long.
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TUESDAY COUNT: 2325
Lifted weights for the first time since before last week -- I still had to go easy, and even skipped a couple of things, but definitely felt better, the muscular pain from over-training is backing off. Still feel twinging is my quads, but hopefully I'll be able to hit it hard on a ride tomorrow morning.
AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal
BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal
LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, madras lentils, steamed string beans, 600 cal
PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 100 cal
PM SNACK: 7pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal
DINNER: 8pm, grilled pork loin, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, kimchi, 615 cal
Decided to cook the loin to medium rare (130 degrees) instead of medium (145) -- oh my. It was already good, but this is 10x better.
Decided to cook the loin to medium rare (130 degrees) instead of medium (145) -- oh my. It was already good, but this is 10x better.
EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 675 cal
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2510+
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2510+
Excellent early morning ride to Coney, got 90% of my legs back after feeling over-trained all week last week. Noticed the bike credit has decreased since adjusting the cyclometer to my new weight (was 30 lbs heavier when I got it), which is great -- in these matters, only getting closer and closer to the truth will set me free.
AM SNACK: 3:15am, caffeinated granola bar, iced green tea, 485 cal
BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal
BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, Fage yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310
LUNCH: 1pm, grilled pork loin, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, 600 cal
PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, 100 cal
PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal
PM SNACK: 7pm, peanut butter crackers, 180 cal
PM SNACK: 7pm, peanut butter crackers, 180 cal
DINNER: 7:15pm, mahi mahi, asparagus, whole wheat cous cous, 900 cal
EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal
BINGE: 9-9:30pm, almond butter & chocolat syrup, bowl of peanut M&Ms, another bowl of Fritos, +/- 1000 cal
When I got home to cook, I knew I'd be a bit tired, but this was a different level -- light headed, unfocused, drained on top of the usual tiredness -- it was very similar to a bike bonk, when my blood sugar drops and my head gets fuzzy and everything just....slows....down. The only thing to do is stop, eat something, and hold on tight. I ate some peanut butter crackers to help me keep going in cooking my meal. Ate some extra cous cous, which I thought would hit the spot, but when I was done still felt hungry. Went straight to the Fritos, and still didn't feel right, but left the kitchen to help with getting everyone off to sleep. By the time I was released back into the kitchen, I was just...not feeling right, still physically hungry. I knew after an hour, my body should have stabilized and my blood sugar should have come up. So I binged. I shouldn't have put syrup on the almond butter, because that just made me super-crave chocolate. Can't beat myself up to hard, as this was not just a typical binge, but a reaction to putting my changing body through trials and seeing the results. Next time, will try to eat a little more during the day and if I binge, skip the sugary stuff within it.
BINGE: 9-9:30pm, almond butter & chocolat syrup, bowl of peanut M&Ms, another bowl of Fritos, +/- 1000 cal
When I got home to cook, I knew I'd be a bit tired, but this was a different level -- light headed, unfocused, drained on top of the usual tiredness -- it was very similar to a bike bonk, when my blood sugar drops and my head gets fuzzy and everything just....slows....down. The only thing to do is stop, eat something, and hold on tight. I ate some peanut butter crackers to help me keep going in cooking my meal. Ate some extra cous cous, which I thought would hit the spot, but when I was done still felt hungry. Went straight to the Fritos, and still didn't feel right, but left the kitchen to help with getting everyone off to sleep. By the time I was released back into the kitchen, I was just...not feeling right, still physically hungry. I knew after an hour, my body should have stabilized and my blood sugar should have come up. So I binged. I shouldn't have put syrup on the almond butter, because that just made me super-crave chocolate. Can't beat myself up to hard, as this was not just a typical binge, but a reaction to putting my changing body through trials and seeing the results. Next time, will try to eat a little more during the day and if I binge, skip the sugary stuff within it.
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2870
Way over budget, but had a rare opportunity to take myyself to the movies, and the popcorn seemed like a proper treat. Probably would have prefered to go home and go to sleep, but that wasn't an option, unfortunately.
AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal
BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal
LUNCH: 12:45pm, grilled pork loin, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, 600 cal
PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad with hummus, 150 cal
PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal
DINNER: 7:30pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, chips, diet coke, 760
EVENING SNACK: 8pm, movie popcorn, 700 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2385
Long lost cousin over for dinner, didn't measure dinner but kept it healthy.
AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal
BREAKFAST 2: 7:30am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal
LUNCH: 1pm, sardine & avocado on whole wheat toast, steamed asparagus, sofrito black beans, kimchi, 565 cal
Bought frozen steam-in-bag asparagus as an experiment at an early morning food shop in the hood, as I had no veg to go with lunch. Oh my god, NASTY. Limp, flavorless, mushy, but a few parts were tough & fibrous, too. I rarely can't finish a premeasured meal, particularly when I'm hungry, but despite dousing it with sofrito black beans, I couldn't get through the last 1/3 of them.Going to try other steam-in-bag veg for microwave convenience at work, but this was just....disgusting.
Bought frozen steam-in-bag asparagus as an experiment at an early morning food shop in the hood, as I had no veg to go with lunch. Oh my god, NASTY. Limp, flavorless, mushy, but a few parts were tough & fibrous, too. I rarely can't finish a premeasured meal, particularly when I'm hungry, but despite dousing it with sofrito black beans, I couldn't get through the last 1/3 of them.Going to try other steam-in-bag veg for microwave convenience at work, but this was just....disgusting.
PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad with hummus, 150 cal
PM SNACK: 4:45, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal
DINNER: 6:30pm, grilled chicken breast, quinoa, roasted broccoli, baked acorn squash, homemade apple crumble with vanilla ice cream, +/- 950 cal
WEEKEND REPORT
Ate horribly, more on Saturday than Sunday. Was going to do a megaride on Sunday, but due to unexpected events outside my control, had to stay back with the family. But I did sleep 10 hours Saturday night, 8 hours Sunday night, and found myself napping both days for an hour or two, the best you can when your responsible for two little kids. Made me surprised how great it feels to be well rested, it's been too long.
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