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What can you expect? Well you can expect not to be stalked by me, you don't have to worry about getting a ga-zillion emails everyday! What you can expect is to get e-newsletters full of health and wellness tips, tricks, recipes and other strategies for healthy living!

Double — Don't!

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, I start seeing commercials for the new KFC "Double Down". Because why use bread when you can use fried chicken as the bun!

Yes that's right, two slabs of fried chicken in place of the bun and in between are bacon, cheese and sauce. I bet you're wondering what eating one of those little babies will pack in calorie-wise....540 calories, 30 grams of fat and 1,740 milligrams of sodium. To compare a McDonald's Big Mac has the same amount of calories, 29 grams of fat and 1,020 milligrams of sodium. A Whopper from Burger King has 670 calories, 40 grams of fat and 970 milligrams of sodium. The recommended daily salt intake is 1,500 milligrams.

So what was KFC thinking when they decided to create the "double-down". When asked they replied “They’re targeting working-class consumers that have less discretionary income. It’s about quantity. Whether we like it or not, this product will appeal to a signficant portion of the consumer base...” 

Sorry, but when I read that all I see is "what the heck, lots of people can't afford to eat well so lets just kill them off slowly with this one sandwich that has a days worth of sodium then we don't have to worry about it!"


In April, Canada had decided that it would not support the sale of the Double down. Unfortunately as of October 18, it has been made available all across North America until Nov 14. It could however become a permanent feature if sales go well according to KFC.

So what do I say to that? I say DOUBLE-DON'T!

Introducing my new look!

Some of you have been wondering where I've been. I can tell you it's been a busy summer, I've recently launched my own business "LIVE FITNESS" and I have been busy getting the website up and running as well as my new bootcamp classes and personal training! You'll notice my get the skinny blog now sports the LiveFitness look and feel as well.

Over the next little while I will be back and blogging more frequently! In the meantime check out my new website www.live-to-inspire.com

In addition to launching my new company I just got back from Chicago where I participated in the Men's Health Urbanathlon, 12.000 men signed up and only 1,000 women! Stay tuned for photos and details on how the event went.

mission accomplished - 3k run, 30k bike, 7k run!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've written a post. This summer has been especially busy for me between training for my trail races and most recently my Duathlon! This past sunday I completed in 2 hours and 30 minutes a 3 k run, 30k bike ride and 7 k run at the Belwood Lake Sprint Duathlon.

I have to admit I wasn't worried about the first run or even the bike ride...it ws the 7k run AFTER those first two events that had me worried. Running 7 k on it's own tires me out so I was not sure what to expect....it took me about 1:12 minutes to ride the 30k bike, which is slower than normal but I held back in fear f the upcoming 7k run.

Basically when you ride that far and then get off your bike to run they call it a "brick". They call it that because your legs pretty much feel like cement stumps attached to your body until the lactic acid build up in them leaves. For me I made a plan to run/walk the last 7 k and keep a consistent pace which turned out  to be a good plan. After about the 2k mark my legs started to feel normal and I realized I was ok, and I actually felt really great and strong! I have to say keeping my self hydrated in the heat really helped me stay strong!

3 years ago walking down the street tired me out, looking back I have a hard time believing that was me. As I was running the last 7k I had a strange epiphany type of moment where I felt a huge sense of accomplishment for the first time in 3 years. I know that must sound weird...like losing over 115lbs you'd think I would have had that feeling before but this time was different.

If there has one thing I have learned throughout my journey it's how important consistency is.

Here's a shot of me on my bike...with my ghostly white legs!

Don't spread those wings...all over your face

Hey everyone, Kelsey's is celebrating over 30 years of chicken wing goodness by offering you "all you can eat wings, sunday to wednesday for only $15.99--wing lovers unite!"

I bet you think those little wings are harmless, I mean really it's a wing...there's hardly any meat on it which means if you eat a dozen of them that's really like eating a normal chicken breast right?

WRONG! That first plate of 12 wings that you will dive into has about 1,430 calories (naked), 18 grams of "saturated" fat (ya the bad stuff). But wait, that doesn't include the 10 sauces you can choose from to coat your wings. Pick the medium flavour and you add about 300 calories just in sauce, another 12 grams of saturated fat and don't forget the 1,980 mg of sodium!

Ok, let's be realistic here...who goes to an all you can eat wing place only to eat one plate of wings? Kelsey's let's you switch sauces on each order...yippeee, you could try a lighter sauce perhaps the guinness bbq sauce with 110 cals/520mg sodium or just go crazy and get the Hot stripe ranch sauce 340 cals/1,390 mg sodium.

don't be sitting there thinking oh it's not that bad, you have to remember to add those totals to the original 1,430 calories, 18 grams of fat and 1,980 mg of sodium.

Oh and then there is the dipping sauce, you can't forget that! For an extra $2 you can get an additional 150 calories/300mg sodium for every 2 tablespoons.

Who knew those seemingly harmless little itty bitty wings would give you an entire days worth of calories, TWO DAYS worth of sodium and 1.5 days worth of saturated fat...and that's without the french fries. Add those into the equation and that's about another 350+ calories/1,120 mg sodium.

For fun let's add that up...

1 plate (12) Naked chicken wings with Hot Stripe Ranch sauce =
1,770 calories
3,370 mg sodium
25 grams saturated fat

That's just ONE plate!!!!

Now consider this, 1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories...eat 24 wings, you just bought yourself enough calories for 1 pound of fat...and that's only the wings, not the beer you're likely to be consuming or the fries...bon appetite!

KD "Smart" - I think not!

Ok, so you've probably all seen the commercials by now "new Kraft dinner smart, made with cauliflower"...it's Vegetables in made to look and taste like Kraft Dinner! Ya, ok if you think that a combination of white flour and two whole tablespoons of cauliflower equals vegetables... then you might be fooled.



Sadly, I can see it now...parents rushing out to buy this for their kids in hopes they can trick them into eating veggies!

Here's something to ponder before you decide you need to get your kid to eat "healthier"and you rush out to the store to buy that Kraft Dinner Smart... if you compare nutrition facts panels (mental note here please, Kraft Dinner Smart says a serving is 50g while the KD Original says it's 56g) you will find that Kraft Dinner Smart compared to original KD has:

12% more saturated fat
9% more sodium
12% more sugar
4% less protein

Having said that, if buying a refined flour product with more saturated fat, sodium and sugar than its nutritionally void counterpart (oh don't forget about the two tablespoons of cauliflower!) makes you feel like you are making a healthy choice then nothing I can say will ever change your mind!

Stop the Sugar Babies!

Ok, I know I have talked about this a zillion times before...but it has to be said again... studies show that the single largest source of calories for North Americans comes from SUGAR—specifically high fructose corn syrup.
Here is something that might shock you (well I hope it does) most infant formula has the sugar equivalent of one can of Coca-Cola, so babies are being metabolically poisoned from day one if taking formula. A high sugar diet is just as dangerous as a diet high in fat. Most people don't realize how much added sugar is in their foods especially in their "diet, fat free"processed food. Just because a food has no fat, doesn't mean it's good for you.

Now you may be thinking to yourself "but I don't use sugar, I use sweeteners" I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that isn't much better. 

Sugar and sweetners 101:

• Dextrose, fructose and glucose are all monosaccharides, known as simple sugars. The primary difference between them is how your body metabolizes them. Glucose and dextrose are essentially the same sugar. However, food manufacturers usually use the term “dextrose” in their ingredient list. 
• The simple sugars can combine to form more complex sugars, like the disaccharide sucrose (table sugar), which is half glucose and half fructose.
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose.
• Ethanol (drinking alcohol) is not a sugar, although beer and wine contain residual sugars and starches, in addition to alcohol.
• Sugar alcohols like xylitol, glycerol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, and erythritol are neither sugars nor alcohols but are becoming increasingly popular as sweeteners. They are incompletely absorbed from your small intestine, for the most part, so they provide fewer calories than sugar but often cause problems with bloating, diarrhea and flatulence.
• Sucralose (Splenda) is NOT a sugar, despite its sugar-like name and deceptive marketing slogan, “made from sugar.” It’s a chlorinated artificial sweetener in line with aspartame and saccharin, with detrimental health effects to match.
• Honey is about 53 percent fructose, but is completely natural in its raw form and has many health benefits when used in moderation, including as many antioxidants as spinach.
• Stevia is a highly sweet herb derived from the leaf of the South American stevia plant, which is completely safe (in its natural form). Lo han (or luohanguo) is another natural sweetener, but derived from a fruit.  

Sugar, Sugar and more sugar!
In addition wreaking havoc on your metabolic processes, excess sugar has a number of other significant consequences.

Nancy Appleton, PhD, author of the book Lick the Sugar Habit[5], contributed an extensive list of the many ways sugar can ruin your health from a vast number of medical journals and other scientific publications.

Am I saying you should never ever ever eat sugar again, no. But if this list doesn't at least make you think twice about the food that you are eating...then that's a problem!

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.[6] [7]
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.[8] [9] [10][11]
3. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.[12] [13]
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.[14] [15] [16] [17]
5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.[18]
6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.[26] [27]
8. Sugar can weaken eyesight.[28] 1
9. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.[29] [30] [31] [32] [33]
10. Sugar can cause premature aging.[34] In fact, the single most important factor that accelerates aging is insulin, which is triggered by sugar. 1
11. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.[35]
12. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.[36] [37] [38]
13. Sugar contributes to obesity. [39] 1
14. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis.[40] [41] [42]
15. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections) [43]
16. Sugar can cause gallstones.[44]
17. Sugar can cause appendicitis.[45]
18. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.[46]
19. Sugar can cause varicose veins.[47]
20. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.[48]
21. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.[49]
22. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.[50] [51] [52]
23. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.[53]
24. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.[54]
25. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.[55]
26. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs),which are sugar molecules that attach to and damage proteins in your body. AGEs speed up the aging of cells, which may contribute to a variety of chronic and fatal diseases. [56] 1
27. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.[57]
28. Sugar causes food allergies.[58]
29. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.[59]
30. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.[60]
31. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.[61] [62]
32. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.[63]
33. Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.[64] [65]
34. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.[66]
35. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.[67] [68]
36. Sugar can cause emphysema.[69]
37. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.[70]
38. Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.[71]
39. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.[72]
40. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide, and it can increase the amount of fat in your liver, leading to fatty liver disease.[73] [74]
41. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.[75] [76] Fructose is helping to drive up rates of kidney disease. 1
42. Sugar can damage your pancreas.[77]
43. Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.[78]
44. Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.[79]
45. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.[80]
46. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.[81]
47. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.[82]
48. Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect your children's grades and cause learning disorders.[83] [84]
49. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves, which can alter your ability to think clearly.[85]
50. Sugar can cause depression.[86]
51. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.[87]
52. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.[88] MRI studies show that adults 60 and older who have high uric acid are four to five times more likely to have vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s.1
53. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone.[89] [90] [91] [92]
54. Sugar can lead to dizziness.[93]
55. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.[94]
56. A high sucrose diet of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.[95]
57. High sugar consumption by pregnant adolescents can lead to a substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold-increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.[96] [97]
58. Sugar is an addictive substance.[98]
59. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.[99]
60. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.[100]
61. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.[101]
62. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.[102]
63. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.[103]
64. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[104]
65. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.[105]
66. Sugar can impair the function of your adrenal glands.[106]
67. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in normal, healthy individuals, thereby promoting chronic degenerative diseases.[107]
68. Intravenous feedings (IVs) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.[108]
69. Sugar increases your risk of polio.[109]
70. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.[110]
71. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.[111]
72. In intensive care units, limiting sugar saves lives.[112]
73. Sugar may induce cell death.[113]
74. In juvenile rehabilitation centers, when children were put on low sugar diets, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.[114]
75. Sugar dehydrates newborns.[115]
76. Sugar can cause gum disease.[116]

I'm all about talking about what's right instead of always focusing on what's "wrong" so the good news is....your body has an amazing ability to heal itself when given the basic nutrition it needs, and your liver has an incredible ability to regenerate.Do yourself a favour and start paying attention to what you're fueling your body with.

Try for 1 week to stay off the sugar, you'll be amazed how your body reacts. Chances are you will stop craving the white stuff....and for those of you who are trying to lose weight, you better go buy new pants because you're going to need them!

---

Johnson RJ and Gower T. (2009) The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That is Making You Sick and Fat, Pocket, 416 pp 

Appleton N. Lick the Sugar Habit (1996) Avery, 2nd Ed. 272 pp.  

Wanted: Hotdog designer

According to American pediatric doctors, one in particular named Dr. Gary Smith, HOTDOGS need to be redesigned, yes you read that right.

Nutritionists have long warned of the perils of hot dogs: fat, sodium and preservatives to name a few...but now the American pediatric doctors are warning that hotdogs need to be redesigned because they are a choking hazzard to children. 

"Hotdogs and some other items should not be given to children under three," said Kristen Gane, a program co-ordinator for Safe Kids Canada. "Children under that age do not have the molar teeth needed to properly grind food."

I do not want you thinking I am making light of this situation, more like I am questioning WHY people are feeding small children hotdogs to start with. I will not even get into what they are made of and how they are made. The average all beef (and I use that term lightly) hotdog has 15 grams of saturated fat OR more!

I find it funny that these doctors are more concerned about the slim chance your kid may choke on a hotdog because you didn't cut it up into itty bitty pieces BUT they are less concerned that you are feeding them to your kids in the first place. So, feed your kid hotdogs, help contribute to childhood obesity and other long term health problems...but make sure you cut them up really small so the don't choke.

The pediatricians are calling for a commitment from food manufacturers to design new food and redesign existing food to minimize choking risks. 

Don't feel bad for the poor hotdog, the Pediatrics article says that round candy, grapes, marshmallows, meat sticks, sausages, chewing gum and peanut butter are also high-risk foods that can act as plugs in throats of young children. They would like all high-risk foods to be redesigned, well not nuts and grape items because for now mother nature makes those...for now until some mad scientist figures out how to make them.

''Parents should also avoid feeding nuts, raw carrots, popcorn kernels and some hard fruits and vegetables to young children and when serving hotdogs to older children they should be sliced lengthwise''

I think what the new choking hazard labels actually need to say is ''hey parents, use common sense when feeding your small child small items that they could choke on'' Who feeds their kid popcorn kernels?

Quick—grab a bubble and shove your kid in it!

For those of you thinking about taking a chance on eating a hotdog or heaven forbid feeding one to your small child, consider this first...

"All hot dogs are cured and cooked sausages that consist of mainly pork, beef, chicken and turkey or a combination of meat and poultry. Meats used in hot dogs come from the muscle of the animal and looks much like what you buy in the grocer's case. Other ingredients include water, curing agents and spices, such as garlic, salt, sugar, ground mustard, nutmeg, coriander and white pepper."

However, there are a couple of caveats. "Variety meats," which include things like liver, kidneys and hearts, may be used in processed meats like hot dogs, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that they be disclosed on the ingredient label as "with variety meats" or "with meat by-products."

Further, watch out for statements like "made with mechanically separated meats (MSM)." Mechanically separated meat is "a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue," according to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

There's a fungus among us!

I find it interesting to listen to what people have to say in supermarkets...ya, that probably sounds kind of weird. Anyway, like today for example, as I stood waiting patiently for the stock person to refill the mushroom shelf. I happened to overhear 2 women chatting about how mushrooms have no purpose and are just empty calories with no nutritional value and that is why they don't eat them.

I thought for a moment about defending my little fungus friends but then decided to blog about them instead, mostly to avoid seeming like a crazy person in the market but also because this was not the first time that I have heard people bashing mushrooms.

Mushrooms actually have a tonne of benefits! Although they are not a true vegetable in the sense that they do not have any leaves, roots, or seeds, and really do not need any light to grow. So what exactly is a mushroom? It is a fungus, which grows in the dark in a nutrient rich compost mixture...not just poop like most people think.

Mushrooms are brimming with protein, B vitamins (riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic), and minerals (selenium, potassium,and copper). They're low in calories and may have antibacterial substances to help the body. Cooked fresh mushrooms offer the most nutritional benefit versus the canned version that may have more sodium.

There are over 2,000 varieties of edible mushrooms, in fact mushrooms are one of the top five natural foods for antioxidants and are the only non-animal food source of Vitamin D


Plus there is mounting evidence that the humble white button mushroom can assist in reducing the risk of certain forms of cancer, promote immune function ward off viruses, bacteria, reduce inflammation, combat allergies, help balance blood sugar levels and support the body's detoxification mechanisms! Being rich in fiber, protein and Vitamin B, mushrooms help maintain a healthy metabolism which is beneficial for everyone but especially for people trying to lose weight!

Monkey see, monkey do!

What are you waiting for?
Experts agree that caring extra weight and especially obesity increases a person's risk of serious illness. Many of the illnesses associated with obesity, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer, are very serious and often fatal. In most cases, those who are severely obese over a period of time are most likely to suffer from such diseases.

Other conditions associated with being over-weight and or obese are hypertension (high blood pressure), gall bladder disease, reproductive problems and sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Osteoarthritis, which may result in severe pain in the weight-bearing joints such as the knees, ankles, feet and hips, is also common.

Having been over 314lbs at one point in my life I really get frustrated by people who say "well I'm just comfortable with the way I am" I know for a fact that "overweight" is NEVER comfortable. STOP making excuses and realize that you are worth the time and effort! "But I don't have time" Really—well I'm pretty sure dying prematurely isn't really going to fit your schedule either then.


I get increasingly frustrated when I see people around me who know they need to make a change but choose to do nothing about it. There is going to come a time in the not so distant future when the problems you could have avoided are knocking at your door. Having said that, some of you may already be experiencing some of the problems associated with being overweight and or obese and it is not to late to make a positive change.

Monkey see, monkey do!

Although overweight and obese parents are more likely to have kids who are overweight partly on the basis of a genetic predisposition to put on extra pounds, to a much larger extent kids who are overweight are simply copying the lifestyle of overweight parents.


According to a recent British survey, a lot of parents are still ignoring their kids' weight problems. Several hundred parents, parents of all weights – overweight, obese, and normal weight – did not see their kids as having a weight problem.

Even when a child was obese, half the dads and a third of the moms still thought their child looked just "about right". Even worse, three-quarters of the parents of the overweight kids were not "concerned" about the child's weight.

Research shows that the longer a child remains obese, the more likely s/he will become an obese adult.

How to lose weight fast!

You didn't seriously think that when you got to this page I was going to tell you there was some way to lose weight fast did you?

What I am going to tell you is that some things never change. People have been looking for fast weight loss plans, ideas, pills, gimmicks and ridiculous contraptions for years! Which would explain why the diet industry is a BILLION dollar industry.

Just to prove my point, I thought it would be fun to share a bunch of "diet" ads from years ago that I came across that claim to help you that "ugly fat" once and for all.

Take this one for example...I'm pretty sure they are telling you to eat all of the healthy food and leave the crappy high fat stuff for the soldiers?

 One of my other favourites is this ad, which pretty much insinuates that boys don't like "fat girls"

MMM, all you need hot water and the weight will come off!

I'm hoping this one wasn't actually selling a diet program and was referring to "diet" as it was intended to be used. But it still weirds me out that they used a baby photo and the word "diet" in the same ad

Who needs exercise when you can hook yourself up to a....vacuum?

And of course, the "10 day miracle diet"

Last but not least one of my personal favourites, a little clip that I have talked about before from a program that I actually paid for...I'm not kidding, thank you home shopping network.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoQbJ1vInH8