Thanks for posting this,
Sunny!
The thing about
potatoes makes sense...but be aware that the majority of those nutrients are
in the skin, not the meat. So what he says is right--a baked potato (if you eat the skin) with some kind of fat (or acid or protein) that will slow down the absorbtion of sugar is healthy...but highly processed potatoes are no better than eating sugar.
Someone oughta write to Cooking Light--they do this awesome little sidebar in every issue where they compare two foods in terms of health, fat, and calories. The two kinds of potatoes would be a good one!
As for
protein, that's just what my nutritionist has been saying to me, too. However, do keep in mind that the recommendation for protein needs (take your goal weight and eat that amount of grams) is meant for
MEN. Women may need a bit less--it's worth talking with a nutritionist or doctor to see, okay? My nutritionist has me eating 110-120g of protein a day and my goal weight is 175. He says that the amount he has me on is high for what they'd usually recommend, since we're trying to get my metabolism back to normal. So I think he'd find me eating 175g to be way too high!
Just check with professionals before you start deciding how much protein to eat, okay?
I get what he's saying about
fructose, but I still agree with Dr. A that High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is a highly
unnatural form of fructose...not at all like the fructose you'd find in, say, an apple...) just doesn't work well with our digestive systems. As an average "Jane" (not a moderator!) I'd have to say that it also is more likely to spike your blood sugar than regular sugar...and much more likely to spike it than fructose will. My mom raised me on fructose only--we weren't allowed to eat things with sugar in them when I was little and my mom only bought fruit juice or fructose sweetened food. You can actually get crystallized/granulated fructose, which she also used. My blood sugar stayed very low most of the time and I didn't have the ups and downs that happened when I started eating regular sugar. It wasn't until I was consuming HFCS regularly that I started having the horrible ups and downs that caused intense cravings. That was when I really started gaining weight, exponentially.
So I honestly think there is a difference between HFCS and sugar, though it may not be the fructose that's the problem.
The
butter information was really interesting! I love butter too--I use it in baking when Smart Balance wouldn't work as well. I also use it if I have WW bread somewhere (like at Panera) that doesn't have Smart Balance. I could carry SB with me, but I find eating a little butter now and then not so bad...glad I have some back up for that!
It was a really well written article with lots of great information--thanks so much for sharing it,
Sunny!
As to eating things you really love,
Kara and
Rennie, even Dr. A says that you should let yourself indulge every now and then!
Research shows that dieters who "cheat" once in a while have much more success than those who don't. Just keep in mind what Dr. A says--
- Eat the full fat, regular version, not some light substitute (he talks about this in the part about ice cream).
- If you have cravings afterward, jump on P1 for as long as it takes to get rid of them
So next time you have a potato,
Kara, put some sour cream and trans-fat-free margarine (or butter!) on it, okay?
(or a big serving of low fat cheese!)
Interesting Article about Food Myths
I'd say I agree with what he put up in the article almost completely. It seems to jive with what I've been reading/hearing from other fitness people.
People will believe what they want to believe, including me, but SB has proven that healthy carb eating is the way to go. I can eat the same amount of calories in bread and starchy foods that I do on South Beach and guess what...I gain weight! Maybe we should write Myth Busters... 
