It's really not that hot, it's been around 98 today which is warm but not as bad as it sounds for any non-Texans reading this! It's just that it's humid, which is the problem. It's just humid enough that my lungs don't like it. So I'm forced to have the a/c on high in the car, which then makes me cold but that's the only way I can breathe! So I just put up with it. I really prefer drier heat. But I live in a humid area. Sigh.
I've been doing some research on nutrition. When I had my physical in January 2007, my triglicerides were "a little high" according to the doctor's office. I was very casually told to watch my carb intake, but mostly they wanted me to start watching fat and cholesterol. So I did that, then made a drastic reduction in fat and cholesterol after the gall bladder surgery. I never really worried all that much about carbs, since a higher carb/low fat diet is recommended for people without a gall bladder. However, I've been reading up on it lately and I'm kind of ticked off at the girl in the doctor's office. She wouldn't really give me any info on why I should watch the carbs or even a suggestion of what would be a good level. I have lost quite a bit of weight, 50 pounds that I know of but actually more than that since I didn't weigh until well after I'd started losing. But I have been stuck for too long now for it to be a plateau, so I started doing some reading.
And I found out just why carbs are so bad, it has to do with the way our bodies process sugar which is basically what they convert to. That's the very simplified version, anyway. Among other things, I discovered that the way carbs convert leads to a specific reaction THAT CAN CAUSE PANCREATITIS WHICH IS FREQUENTLY FATAL!
So I'm going to start watching carbs. I have already taken some steps, and will continue to work on it. I am not going to cut them out, I'm not going to follow the Atkins diet because I think it is a bunch of bunk in a lot of ways. But I am going to start making a few more adjustments. The Atkins diet actually does work at first, although it's not a permanent change. It works because the carb conversion process doesn't really happen much when you restrict carbs. Which makes sense, although that is not really how the Atkins program is put out. (The Atkins program does have a lot more fat intake, which has it own set of problems and not anything I could do or would even want to.)
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the sugar version of trans-fat. It's not really a natural substance, and the human body can't really process it well. It's also a possible factor in pancreatitis, because of the carb connection. And it's in nearly everything that is sweetened, read a few labels and you will be very surprised.
This sounded surprising at first, but non-fat salad dressings are actually not as good as low-fat versions. It's because they are generally all sweetened with HFCS. So I'm switching my salad dressings to low-fat or oil & vinegar made with olive oil. And I'm going to start checking other non-fat product labels, for example we use non-fat mayo. I am willing to bet that when I read the label, it will say HFCS as one of the first ingredients. I won't get rid of what we have now, since I don't really eat that much of it but when I run out I will get a low-fat version.
Ingredients are listed in order of quantity, starting with the largest amount and working down. I've been reading labels for fat and trans-fat amounts for quite a while now, I'm going to start reading a little closer.
I don't think that the same person still works at the doctor's office, the doctor was in her own practice but she has joined a group practice and I don't think that all of her employees went with her. Otherwise, my Inner Texan would probably get to come out and play. Which might be fun for me...
Ok, off of that particular soapbox. But there will be another one soon! There always is.
I finished registering Otter for driving lessons today. I had already set her up with a phone call, but I had to go sign the paperwork today and pay for the class. She's officially registered now, she has two days of classroom on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. The actual driving will be scheduled sometime after that. Time to be determined later on, we won't wait too long after that but it might be after school starts.
Well, I guess I'd better go make dinner for Bill before he wastes away to nothing! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment