Ever wonder what's in a Twinkie?
As a kid, I ate several, along with other processed cakes and pies, usually in the lunch I carried to school. I haven't given Twinkies a lot of thought since then, but they are still on the market, and our kids (and adults) are still eating them. All sorts of stories have been told about Twinkies. Like how if you put one in a landfill it would still be there a decade or two later, still ready to eat. (I'm wondering who did that experiement if it's true).
Here's an interesting and scary article today on the Twinkie and its ingredients. Be sure to click on the links too.
Gulp! Take a gander at a Twinkie’s 37 or so ingredients
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Water is boring, what else can I drink?
I often get asked if it is okay to drink flavored waters or bottled juices or store-bought smoothies or other pre-packaged "health" drinks. What do you think I say?
A
"No! Never! You must drink only the purest filtered water carefully shipped in from the fountain of youth instead of drinking that sugary, chemical-laden, bazillion calorie crap in a pretty BPA-infested plastic jug that's going to expand your abdominal girth and eventually kill you!"
B
It depends. Let's talk about your thoughts on the drinks you're asking about, how much water you're drinking and what other types of things you drink during the day or week. (Begin an actual information exchange).
My response is usually something like B.
You hypocrite! You talk about water all the time! You drink out of BPA free containers! You read Jillian Michael's book Master Your Metabolism! How can you not respond with A?
Whoa, Nellie.
Except for the fountain of youth part I think option A is pretty much right on, but a lot of the people
I talk to are new at making changes. They're determined, learning, asking the right questions and taking action. If I throw an answer like that at them they're going to run the other direction. Sometimes it's a good thing to find out where a person is now, and where they can handle going next, before we give an answer.
Plus, I've been there. I spent most of my teenage years to adult life drinking everything but water. Juice, soft drinks, diet drinks, milk, coffee, tea, Yoo-Hoo (ok, stop laughing), lemonade, fruit punch, blah, blah, blah. Once I did that, water was just plain boring and didn't taste good. I had to acquire a taste for water as an adult. Now that I'm reminiscing about my drinking habits I am suddenly reminded of two kidney stones and renal colic due to dehydration. But that's a story for another day. Now water is my primary drink, although I can't give up my coffee entirely. I also drink hot green or black tea. I'm working on giving up diet soft drinks entirely, but for some reason if I eat a treat meal like Mexican I still want a diet Coke with fresh lime.
Sometimes it's difficult for people to be drinking lattes, soft drinks, frozen drinks, alcohol, etc, or hardly anything at all and then all of a sudden go to just straight, plain water and maintain it. I know people who nurse a diet soft drink all day long, and when they start changing their eating and thinking about their drinking they want to know if there is anything else they can drink besides just water. When that happens, it's easy to be deceived by something that seems like it should be healthy. And sometimes it's better to temporarily transition to something less than optimal than to not make a change in the right direction at all!
So I spent a little time in one of our health food stores reading labels of all the bottled options of "healthy" drinks to see if I could find any viable options. You know, things with words like naked, fresh, vital, natural, energy, electrolytes, 100%, enriched, vitamins, boost, etc. Some of them do have natural ingredients, and some are quite impressive. Some of them also have 400+ calories and over 70 carbs in an 8 oz container. You also have to be careful with smoothie bars too in terms of portions, calories, and any syrups or other things they may be adding. I didn't find anything that I thought I would recommend, but I did buy and try this one:
A
"No! Never! You must drink only the purest filtered water carefully shipped in from the fountain of youth instead of drinking that sugary, chemical-laden, bazillion calorie crap in a pretty BPA-infested plastic jug that's going to expand your abdominal girth and eventually kill you!"
B
It depends. Let's talk about your thoughts on the drinks you're asking about, how much water you're drinking and what other types of things you drink during the day or week. (Begin an actual information exchange).
My response is usually something like B.
You hypocrite! You talk about water all the time! You drink out of BPA free containers! You read Jillian Michael's book Master Your Metabolism! How can you not respond with A?
Whoa, Nellie.
Except for the fountain of youth part I think option A is pretty much right on, but a lot of the people
I talk to are new at making changes. They're determined, learning, asking the right questions and taking action. If I throw an answer like that at them they're going to run the other direction. Sometimes it's a good thing to find out where a person is now, and where they can handle going next, before we give an answer.
Plus, I've been there. I spent most of my teenage years to adult life drinking everything but water. Juice, soft drinks, diet drinks, milk, coffee, tea, Yoo-Hoo (ok, stop laughing), lemonade, fruit punch, blah, blah, blah. Once I did that, water was just plain boring and didn't taste good. I had to acquire a taste for water as an adult. Now that I'm reminiscing about my drinking habits I am suddenly reminded of two kidney stones and renal colic due to dehydration. But that's a story for another day. Now water is my primary drink, although I can't give up my coffee entirely. I also drink hot green or black tea. I'm working on giving up diet soft drinks entirely, but for some reason if I eat a treat meal like Mexican I still want a diet Coke with fresh lime.
Sometimes it's difficult for people to be drinking lattes, soft drinks, frozen drinks, alcohol, etc, or hardly anything at all and then all of a sudden go to just straight, plain water and maintain it. I know people who nurse a diet soft drink all day long, and when they start changing their eating and thinking about their drinking they want to know if there is anything else they can drink besides just water. When that happens, it's easy to be deceived by something that seems like it should be healthy. And sometimes it's better to temporarily transition to something less than optimal than to not make a change in the right direction at all!
So I spent a little time in one of our health food stores reading labels of all the bottled options of "healthy" drinks to see if I could find any viable options. You know, things with words like naked, fresh, vital, natural, energy, electrolytes, 100%, enriched, vitamins, boost, etc. Some of them do have natural ingredients, and some are quite impressive. Some of them also have 400+ calories and over 70 carbs in an 8 oz container. You also have to be careful with smoothie bars too in terms of portions, calories, and any syrups or other things they may be adding. I didn't find anything that I thought I would recommend, but I did buy and try this one:
Fuze Slenderize in Strawberry Melon. It has 2 servings in the 19 oz bottle, for a total of 20 calories, 4 carbs, 5 mg sodium, no protein. It has sucralose and 5% juice. The flavor is good, but intense! Honestly, a person could take this one bottle and add it to multiple gallons of fresh water for a hint of taste. Better yet, see below. This one is not righteous, it's just the one I tried. It is not going to make you slender!
The real answer is, if you need flavored water or a smoothie, make your own at home! Use ingredients like water, ice, fresh fruit, whey protein, veggies, agave nectar or a dash of honey, cinnamon, non-fat milk, non-fat plain yogurt. Shakeology is one I'm getting into since starting Beachbody programs and coaching, you can add any of these things to it, or nothing at all. Other than that, start adding water while you cut back on or eliminate other drinks. Use lime or lemon to add some flavor if necessary, It helps with thirst you may not realize you have, and the other drinks aren't so enticing any more.
What do you do when you get bored of water, or when you want something different to drink? What is out there that I am missing? Leave a comment!
The link above for Shakeology will take you directly to my Shakeology website as an Independent Team Berachbody Coach, http://www.shakeitwithkelley.com/
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
2010 Battle on the Bluff Results
The NPC 2010 Battle on the Bluff Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini was held July 24 at Sam's Town Hotel and Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. Promoter Chris Caudy, owner of Next Level Training, Memphis (also an NPC judge and bodybuilding champ), delivered an outstanding event as expected! As you may know, this is just the second year for NPC bikini events, and the bikini girls really turned out!
2010 Battle on the Bluff Results
(placement, name, competitor #)
Teenage Bodybuilding
1st Tyler Starich (1)
2nd Reid Nichols (2)
Men's Novice Bodybuilding
Novice Lightweight
1st Jim Kurtz (6)
Novice Heavyweight
1st Christopher Beaty (16) Overall Novice Winner
Masters 40+ Men's Bodybuilding
Masters 40+ Lightweight
1st Tad McCarty (91)
Masters 40+ Heavyweight
1st Kirk Warren (21)
2nd Nathan Palmer (20)
Grandmasters 50+ Men's Bodybuilding
1st Mike Kimble (22)
Bikini
Bikini Short
1st Heather Bell (32) Overall Bikini Winner
Bikini Tall
1st Anna Hurt (36)
Bikini Masters
1st Anna Hurt (40)
Figure
Figure Short
1st Carolyn Ocampo (44)
Figure Medium
1st Yelena Lapoua (48) - Overall Figure Winner
Figure Tall
1st Kristen Carver (58)
Masters Figure
Masters Figure Short
1st Carolyn Ocampo (60) - Overall Masters Figure Winner
Masters Figure Tall
1st Kelly Easby Smith (64)
Junior Men Bodybuilding
Junior Lightweight
1st Mike Kimble (66)
Junior Middleweight
1st Ronnie Shumpert (68)
2nd Marty Shettlesworth (69)
Junior Heavyweight
1st Bayne O'Grady (70) - Overall Junior Men Winner
Bodybuilding Women
Women Lightweight
1st Leslie Heidmann (74) - Overall Open Women Winner
Women Middleweight
1st Brenda Skillern (75)
Open Men Bodybuilding
Open Lightweight
1st Rick Kaiser (76)
Open Middleweight
1st Tad McLarty (80)
Open Light-Heavyweight
1st Deshawn Glass (84) - Overall Open Men Winner
Open Heavyweight
1st Sam Gidden (90)
Links
Chris Caudy, Owner/Trainer, Next Level Training
Battle on the Bluff, Facebook
Battle on the Bluff website/entry form
We were so disappointed that we didn't get to attend (Jimmy was competing at the Nationals in Pittsburgh) but Chris was kind enough to share results with me so that I could share them with you!
Special shout out to Dottie Wendler, Nicole Conner and Terry Kimble for their first bikini competitions! Great job! Also, shout out to "Rabbit" Broadnax, without a doubt my favorite high-energy crazy man to watch in the gym!
Here are some facts to know about the competitors and entry requirements:
- Novice means first contest ever.
- Masters Men's Bodybuilding is age 40 and over.
- Grandmasters Men's Bodybuilding is age 50 and over.
- Juniors are those who have never won an overall title in an NPC contest and have not ever placed in an NPC open contest.
- Only the top 5 in each class were awarded trophies.
- Women's Figure Short is up to and including 5'4", Medium is over 5'4" and including 5'6" and Tall is over 5'6".
- Women's Bikini Short is up to/including 5'3" and Tall is over 5'3".
- Women's Master Figure is 35 years and older.
- Lightweight: up to and including 125 lbs
- Middleweight: Over 125 lbs and up to/including 140 lbs
- Heavyweight: Over 140 lbs
- Lightweight: Up to and including 154.25 lbs
- Middleweight: Over 154.25 lbs and up to/including 176.25 lbs
- Light Heavyweight: Over 176.25 and up to/including 198.25 lbs
- Heavyweight: Over 198.25 lbs
2010 Battle on the Bluff Results
(placement, name, competitor #)
Teenage Bodybuilding
1st Tyler Starich (1)
2nd Reid Nichols (2)
Men's Novice Bodybuilding
Novice Lightweight
1st Jim Kurtz (6)
2nd "Rabbit" Broadnax (5)
3rd Scott Quick (4)
4th Mars Pope (3)
5th Adam Geoff (9)
6th Jerry Thomas (8)
7th Johnnie Richardson (10)
8th Ron Grubbs (7)Novice Heavyweight
1st Christopher Beaty (16) Overall Novice Winner
2nd Tony Lucas (14)
3rd David Allen (15)
4th Austin Barr IV (13)
5th Jesse Johnson (11)
6th Sidney Ray Eudy (12)Masters 40+ Men's Bodybuilding
Masters 40+ Lightweight
1st Tad McCarty (91)
2nd Jim Kurtz (17)
3rd Johnnie Richardson (19)
4th Marty Shettlesworth (18)Masters 40+ Heavyweight
1st Kirk Warren (21)
2nd Nathan Palmer (20)
Grandmasters 50+ Men's Bodybuilding
1st Mike Kimble (22)
2nd Spike Huber (25)
3rd Kevin Anthony (24)
4th Mike Farah (23)
5th James Boyd (26)Bikini
Bikini Short
1st Heather Bell (32) Overall Bikini Winner
2nd Brooke Mozley (27)
3rd Aya Nakane (34)
4th Nikki Rollins (33)
5th Nicole Conner (31)
6th Karen Avent (28)
7th Ashley Pauletic (29)
8th Terry Kimble (30)Bikini Tall
1st Anna Hurt (36)
2nd Dottie Wendler (37)
3rd Callie Steward (35)Bikini Masters
1st Anna Hurt (40)
2nd Karen Avent (39)
3rd Callie Steward (38)
4th Terry Kimble (41)
5th Michelle Huber (42)Figure
Figure Short
1st Carolyn Ocampo (44)
2nd Amanda Benton (46)
3rd Shea Bakeris (47)
4th Jo Chambers (43)
5th Lavoris Anderson (45)Figure Medium
1st Yelena Lapoua (48) - Overall Figure Winner
2nd Cindy Steele (49)
3rd Crystal Wheeler (50)
4th Janna Demonbreun (51)
5th Amanda Rogers (54)
6th Kelly Easby Smith (55)
7th Erin Fitzpatrick (52)
8th Tenelle Jones (53)Figure Tall
1st Kristen Carver (58)
2nd Tymika Glenn (57)
3rd Angela Panozzo (56)Masters Figure
Masters Figure Short
1st Carolyn Ocampo (60) - Overall Masters Figure Winner
2nd Amanda Benton (62)
3rd Shea Bekeris (63)
4th Jo Chambers (59)
5th Levoris Anderson (61)Masters Figure Tall
1st Kelly Easby Smith (64)
Junior Men Bodybuilding
Junior Lightweight
1st Mike Kimble (66)
2nd Tyler Starich (65)
3rd Igor Butorsky (67)Junior Middleweight
1st Ronnie Shumpert (68)
2nd Marty Shettlesworth (69)
Junior Heavyweight
1st Bayne O'Grady (70) - Overall Junior Men Winner
2nd Shane Pickard (73)
3rd Kevin Anthony (71)
4th Sam Bradshaw (72)Bodybuilding Women
Women Lightweight
1st Leslie Heidmann (74) - Overall Open Women Winner
Women Middleweight
1st Brenda Skillern (75)
Open Men Bodybuilding
Open Lightweight
1st Rick Kaiser (76)
2nd Justin Hamm (78)
3rd Reid Nichols (77)Open Middleweight
1st Tad McLarty (80)
2nd Rob Stamey (81)
3rd Farsha Jones (79)Open Light-Heavyweight
1st Deshawn Glass (84) - Overall Open Men Winner
2nd Kirt Warren (82)
3rd Spike Huber (83)Open Heavyweight
1st Sam Gidden (90)
2nd Antionne Scott (89)
3rd Brett Cotter (85)
4th Cornelius L. Smith (86)
5th Nathan Palmer (87)
6th Tracy Evans (88) Links
Chris Caudy, Owner/Trainer, Next Level Training
Battle on the Bluff, Facebook
Battle on the Bluff website/entry form
In Search of Healthy Eggs
The recent egg recall caught my eye, particularly since I eat about 6 egg whites and a yolk or two every day. Over time eggs have become one of my favorite sources of protein. I would even go so far to say that when I don't feel like eating meat or figuring out appropriate combinations of plant protein, I just reach for some eggs, any time of day.
The first thing I did when I saw it online was to look at the FDA egg recall list. Thankfully, none of the eggs we had purchased were on the recall. It did make me wonder though, how do people who don't have regular access to the internet and missed the newscast know there's been an egg recall? We're assuming everyone knows, and that the grocery stores are promptly removing the offensive eggs from the shelves. I'm a little skeptical about that when I have to check expiration dates so closely in my local grocery and warehouse stores to keep from buying something outdated.
Let's assume the eggs in your fridge don't have salmonella. That's a good thing, but it doesn't end there. You could still be eating all sorts of things you don't even know you're eating.
So today an article appears on the internet regarding how to buy the healthiest eggs. Great! I eagerly opened the article and read through it, only to realize at the end that the article title was deceiving. You're not really given an answer on how to buy the healthiest eggs. Disappointing, but there was some good information and a few good links in the article that you can use to come to your own conclusions. (By the way, I don't really find the linked article that states the recall isn't expected to grow particularly comforting since there have already been 550 millions eggs recalled). Here's the article: Worried about bad eggs? How to buy the healthiest ones. Sadly, the most informative part of the article is on how labeling continues to deceive us. Be sure to read the true definitions for the following:
cage-free
free-range
free-roaming
organic
natural
pastured
Omega-3-enriched
certified humane
United Egg Producers Certified
LocalHarvest is a helpful link in the article where you can find local farmers and markets near you. From what I can deduct, there isn't a good store to shop or brand to buy when it comes to getting eggs. Instead, it sounds like we need to be looking for farmers who pasture their chickens (for real) and feed them organically.
Guess I'm going to have to go buy my own baby chicks and raise them. I'm thinking my dog & neighbors won't like that. Hmmm...I do have a big backyard though...
Other posts you may find interesting:
Food Inc., The Movie Review
The first thing I did when I saw it online was to look at the FDA egg recall list. Thankfully, none of the eggs we had purchased were on the recall. It did make me wonder though, how do people who don't have regular access to the internet and missed the newscast know there's been an egg recall? We're assuming everyone knows, and that the grocery stores are promptly removing the offensive eggs from the shelves. I'm a little skeptical about that when I have to check expiration dates so closely in my local grocery and warehouse stores to keep from buying something outdated.
Let's assume the eggs in your fridge don't have salmonella. That's a good thing, but it doesn't end there. You could still be eating all sorts of things you don't even know you're eating.
So today an article appears on the internet regarding how to buy the healthiest eggs. Great! I eagerly opened the article and read through it, only to realize at the end that the article title was deceiving. You're not really given an answer on how to buy the healthiest eggs. Disappointing, but there was some good information and a few good links in the article that you can use to come to your own conclusions. (By the way, I don't really find the linked article that states the recall isn't expected to grow particularly comforting since there have already been 550 millions eggs recalled). Here's the article: Worried about bad eggs? How to buy the healthiest ones. Sadly, the most informative part of the article is on how labeling continues to deceive us. Be sure to read the true definitions for the following:
free-range
free-roaming
organic
natural
pastured
Omega-3-enriched
certified humane
United Egg Producers Certified
LocalHarvest is a helpful link in the article where you can find local farmers and markets near you. From what I can deduct, there isn't a good store to shop or brand to buy when it comes to getting eggs. Instead, it sounds like we need to be looking for farmers who pasture their chickens (for real) and feed them organically.
Guess I'm going to have to go buy my own baby chicks and raise them. I'm thinking my dog & neighbors won't like that. Hmmm...I do have a big backyard though...
Other posts you may find interesting:
Food Inc., The Movie Review
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