7 Day Fitness Blog

This (Good Nutrition) vs. THAT (Bad Nutrition)!  An Experiment...

My first sentence was going to start out by me telling you to NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, however, it’s already too late!  How come, you ask?  Well, the average American already does!  Does what, you also ask?  Let me get into the disturbing detail of what my last two days have been like…
Let me start out with a little preface to build the suspense.  I was reading a story in a popular magazine that women read (Cosmopolitan, one of my favorites!), and there was an interesting article written by a woman who decided to take a whole week off of her normal diet (and by the word diet, I mean, the food and drink a person normally consumes, NOT a quick weight loss scheme or fad) and only eat the foods that she saw on restaurants and fast food joints on commercials that she saw on primetime television.  Now, if you don’t know, primetime is the worst time for consumers to watch television because these hours of viewing are filled with commercials that advertise the worst foods we could possibly eat.  Okay, well, not really, but many of the options are not healthy, full of preservatives, fillers, fats, sodium, calories—things we should eat sparingly, right?  Well, after reading this article, I decided to do a little experiment of my own, but not as extreme as what she did. 
My day normally goes like this:
-Breakfast:   A high protein Formula 1 shake by Herbalife (about 250-300 calories) and bottle of herbal tea
-Snack:  mozzarella string cheese and an apple or banana and peanut butter
-Lunch:  a turkey sandwich on wheat from Subway, or a salad with grilled chicken and a bottle of tea/water/Crystal Light packet
Then, I repeat the snack and breakfast (which is also my dinner).  This plan helped me lose almost 50 pounds in 3 months (with the edition of 3-5 days a week in the gym, which I normally do anyway, so nothing unusual there).  So, today (which is Friday), I decided to go off the grid and add some excitement in my life (can you feel the sarcasm?)!   I decided to do what the average American does that has a family and a busy schedule and survive my day solely on fast food.   I have 2 darling daughters, 2 jobs (a 9-5 and a part time evening job), and 2 businesses, plus a puppy, so telling anyone that my life is hectic is an understatement!  So back to my experiment, this is what I decided to eat today:
-Breakfast:  Not a cotton pickin’ thing!  ;)
ack In The Box and an order of 10 mini churros, which were delicious, by the way.
-Snack:  I forgot what that was by 2pm, because I was in a narcoleptic state, and my sugar high from the churros had disappeared, leaving me crashed and burned, and I forgot to mention CRANKY and ANNOYED!
-Dinner:  Back to Jack In The Box—another order of 10 mini churros (I think I have an addiction now) and an order of 3 mozzarella sticks.  This “dinner” left with sore teeth and a singed tongue.
What were the results of my experiment?  Well, on a normal day, I am so full of energy from getting healthy nutrition to my cells and throughout my whole body, that I annoy my boss.  I normally do somewhere between 50-80 prior authorization cases at my job and talk people to death!  Today, however, it was quite the opposite.  My boss was not even aware that I was there after our department meeting.  Why?  Because I was snoozing for half of the day from the nutrition deficits and the major changes in my diet.  Luckily I didn’t get caught!  I was tired, cranky, hungry, hungry, and hungry.  I couldn’t concentrate because I was still unsatisfied after I ate, and the heartburn I have?  Oh my goodness, no bueno!   I haven’t had heartburn since I had my 3-year old!  Oh, did I tell you what the difference in calories is from my normal day to what I had today?  Let me enlighten you! 
NORMAL DAY:  ~1200-1400 calories
EXPERIMENT DAY:  ~2500 calories, double what I eat on a normal basis, and I still wasn’t full?  Terrible. 
So, what does this mean for us as a population of people who are seemingly dependent upon fast food meals?  It means we have to do better.  We must find avenues to make us less dependent on the garbage that is put out by these restaurants and feed our bodies better so that we can lead happier, productive, and healthier lives.  This is what I suggest.  Stock your refrigerator and cabinets with healthy foods, fruits, vegetables, and good whole grains.  Find some time on an off day and prepare snack bags with healthy items in them and fill your purse or desk at work with these items, instead of hitting the vending machine or eating 100 calorie packs.  One of my co-workers suggested buying a personal blender which is less than $20 at your local Wal-Mart.  You can make healthy shakes/smoothies at work with minimal noise.  Lastly, find lean proteins that work for your flavor palate and put some fiber with it to keep you full for hours so you’re not foraging for junk food.  One of my favorite books is called Eat This, Not That!  It is a guide that tells us if we must go out to eat, what to substitute to minimize calories and fat so that you still eat good and healthy.  Google it!