Saturday, September 4, 2010

Aspartame is teh SATAN

Okay, first WOOHOO!  I got my 200th follower yesterday!  I hope everybody is spending a naked weekend in celebration!!!

And on with it...

So yesterday I think I had a communication FAIL. I should never type a blog post swim meet. I was barely coherent. Erm... Sorry about that. May happen more often through the swim season. Forgive me in advance...

But for TODAY... I have the skinny on.... erm... the FAUX skinny. Evil, horrible Aspartame!
 



            =








And this is the real deal. Let me e'splain...


On Wednesday I went for Acupuncture. I have talked a little about my back pain... and recently I've also had SHOULDER pain—the worst part of which... between the two, there is no comfortable sleeping position. On my back or front, my back hurts. On my SIDE my shoulder hurts. Not sleeping makes me a CRAB Tart... more than just being a Cancer, I mean...

But that only explains why I was THERE, what I WANT to explain is what I LEARNED!



ASPARTAME IS SATAN...

Yeah, I'm serious. So what Aspartame does is prime your BRAIN for sweet. SWEET in nature means CALORIES. When CALORIES don't follow, the BODY goes seeking them. It will either HOARD any calories that DO come (whatever the source) and STORE them, because it thinks it has been tricked (it has) and will STARVE if it doesn't get some (it probably WON'T but I'm sure this is a gift of evolution). Or else if no calories come, it will make you SEEK THEM.

I had never heard the mechanism for something I suspected before, but my Acupuncturist explained it in such real terms. And it makes SENSE! There is an evil conspiracy telling us that we just need DIET stuff to get thin, but REALLY it will make us FAT!


I am taking this into account in... three guesses...

(Okay, no, you don't have to guess... not hard enough..)


MY NEW PLAN!!!!

You've heard me grumble that I sort of need... a REASON to start, right? Well the 2nd time of the year I am able to start starts TUESDAY. You heard me... the start of school is a 'New Year' in a way. And so my eating, exercise, fitness plan ALSO Starts Tuesday! For reals! The motivation is primed (I even had my Acupuncturist include a few metabolism points... This weekend is my last hurrah.


And this weekend...

I solemnly promise to finish typing my Cozy, to get a fair amount of editing done, and to ENJOY my last weekend of misbehavior (and hopefully catch up a little on blog reading).

25 comments:

ViolaNut said...

Aspartame also gives me raging headaches. Can't touch the stuff. *shudder* Good luck typing, that's on my agenda for the day too... erm, once I get home from work, to which I should be going right now... :-P

CA Heaven said...

As a satanist I might interpret that statement differently.

Just joking, I see what you mean. I've done the same thing, kind of used the new school years as a start on a more healthy life with more exercise. The problem is that I have to choose if I'm gonna spend my time writing or in the gym ... think I need to do both actually. We'll see.

In Satan we trust >:)))

Cold As Heaven

Will Burke said...

Isn't Aspertame a mental retardant as well?
Yay you on the 200! I'll need to rain-cheque the naked weekend, as it would make visiting my parents a little awkward

Unknown said...

Wow, it's really bad for you! I guess I'll skip the diet coke and just drink more coffee! Please, don't say drinking coffee is Satan because I'm not going to read that blog post. ;)

Clarissa Draper from Listen To The Voices

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Knew there was a reason I hated diet sodas. Good thing I mostly consume water.
Congratulations on 200 followers, Hart! That's awesome.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I always worry about artificial sweeteners! Glad I'm not the only one. I'm a coffee and water girl now. :)

Anonymous said...

Ptooey on artificial sweeteners. Except on the rare occasions I drink soda, I find Pepsi and Coke too cloying. Blerg. I'll drink a diet soda rarely, but I'd rather just stick to water, thanks.

Or vodka. Or possibly beer. Yes.

LTM said...

Paris Hilton tried to tell us "only fat people drink Diet Coke" and what did we do? Put her in JAIL.

I always just heard it killed brain cells... or caused short-term memory loss. hmmm... now me thinking of yesterday's post...

Sorry your back's aching. :o( But yay! 200 followers! Let's get nekkid! Pass the pickle jar! :D

Hart Johnson said...

Leanne-it does the headache thing for my mom, too. Hope work goes fast! (Glad Earl was a bust)

CaH *snicker* Ah! Am I insulting your deity then? The workout versus writing is hard. I try to get the workout IN, but the two do detract from each other for those of us with day jobs.

Will--I KNOW it is bad for creative brain development--I never let my kids drink it. No clue if my own brain is still developing or not, but I had assumed it stopped after a point, so it wasn't as bad brainwise for adults compared to kids. Possibly though. And yes... raincheck on the naked. Parents can be so stuffy like that!

Clarissa--Yes, COFFEE is FINE! (no artificial sweetener, but black or with real sure and real milk--go for it!)

Alex-I drink a ton of water, too, but have had a can a day--that was what prompted this convo...

Elizabeth-yeah, I had a vague worry... so now we know! Coffee and water.

Simon--And VODKA AND BEER! yes--can't forget those. The trouble is the BEER I like is very high calorie, so it needs to be a splurge... need to find a rum or vodka mixer with few calories that isn't diet... hmmmm... or maybe just that is good for me. Vodka/cranberry maybe...

Leigh-*snort* I think that was for the other Coke, hon... Short term memory loss? You mean this isn't just writer's brain?! Eeeek!

Than you so much everyone! Off to exercise!

Natasha said...

Lucky me, I had to google Aspartame to find out what it means, because it sounds really terrible. I was never one for Diet Coke (or Diet any other drinks), but I am that lucky gal who can cheerfully live without fizzy drinks.

And I am constantly looking for reasons to turn over a new leaf.

lisahgolden said...

I am pulling for you. I've battled my weight since college. Every day is a chance to do it better, right?

I'm finally seeing results, but it's thanks to a doctor's care and the glory that is the pharmaceutical. I hate it, but desperation makes us do crazy things.

Talli Roland said...

Wow!

I hate aspartame and always have - it just has an icky taste! Glad to hear I'm not alone in thinking it's the devil!

Old Kitty said...

Oh I am so sorry to hear about your shoulder pain - how was the acupuncture? Is that helping? I hope so!!! I am a firm believer in having a good night's rest to start the day fresh and if that's not happening then the day is ruined!! So I really hope the acupuncture works.

Oooh thanks for the heads up on aspartame. I'm not a diet coke (or normal coke/soda) drinker as such but I do like one every so often - but I'll be looking out for this bit of chemical from now on!

Anyway - GOOD LUCK with your typing and writing!!! Tuesday is a great day to kickstart the health regime1

take care
x

Deb and Barbara said...

"Low fat" is Satan too. I have exorcised it from my diet. Now I eat very limited amounts of real sugar and lots of full-fat yogurt and olive oil and I am my best weight ever.

Southpaw said...

There is also a connection between aspartame to panic attacks, depression, and memory problems. It is “the devil.”

Hart Johnson said...

Natasha-when the kids were little I gave up fizzy drinks, and I probably should again, as it is just habit. I like them, but they ought to be a splurge.

Lisa-I've roller coastered my whole life... up, down, up, down. This last time up though, was the highest I'd gone. I am now sitting here at what USED to be my really fat weight thinking it is 'okay but not ideal' because of how bad it got. I'd like to lose about 30-40 more pounds.

Talli-if I looked like you, I never would have bothered with it! Lucky girl!

Jenny--it HELPED but didn't SOLVE. Thinking I need another round, but she also suggested I try pilates for my back, so I am debating that. Maybe when my advance comes...

D&B--YES... fake fat is HORRIBLE. I don't mind the 'skim milk' variety (of yogurt or mozerella, but any fake fat variety I think does the same thing.

Holly--Panic attacks?! Scary! That is one I hadn't heard!

Sue said...

200th Congratulations!

I pinched a nerve in my back last year. You describe the pain well. 12 months of acupuncture and Chinese medicine has worked wonders. Did you hear my squeee of relief the first night I was able to roll over in bed pain free? My Chinese doctor recommends the usual: exercise at least 3 times per week, healthy eating: no additives, less sugars and salts. I find it helpful to have someone checking up on me each week. Unfortunately I suspect home brew beer isn't on the list of recommended beverages ;P

I'll try pilates again now I can move, but for now, I think I'm inspired to go for a walk ......

Al said...

Low-fat products can have a similar effect in terms of weight loss.
Interestingly some research from UQ has suggested that full fat dairy products may lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

CA Heaven said...

No problem, Hart. The most common form of satanism is not a theistic religion ... and I'm not satanist all the time. I'm more like satanist and pastafarian every second day ... today I'm pastafarian >:)

Congratulations with the 200!


Cold As Heaven

Cheeseboy said...

This is the exact reason I stick to plain old sugar.

Anonymous said...

I gave up worrying what was in the food along time ago. Everything has so many additives that we don't know about that worrying will probably just make me seek comfort food, so I may as well not bother. It may be a flimsy rationale, but I'm sticking to it.

Hart Johnson said...

Sue-Very glad the Chinese medicine and Acupuncture worked! Back pain can be a life changer if you don't get it under control (any pain can, really). I walk A TON (it is actually when things feel best) and it IS a good idea!

Al-interesting on the dairy products! I knew nuts and some other natural fatty foods helped, but I hadn't heard anything along those lines about animal products.

Cheeseboy- YAY Sugar!

Cassandra-There is definitely a point that worrying has it's own risk, but I think the less 'pretender' food we eat, the better. Fresh when possible, but the subs for sugar and fat... not so much... It IS best not to worry though.

dolorah said...

The problem is the diet COKE. Uhgh! Diet PEPSI is the only true drink.

Of course, I'm still a fat chick so what do I know? My eliptical is now a clothes catchall for everything that doesn't fit right in the early morning before work. (Or that I don't want to iron when I'm doing laundry but jeesh you can't hang up a wrinkly shirt, huh?)

Well, good luck to you, on both the healthy lifestyle and the writing. Maybe one will inspire the other.

.......dhole

Jayne said...

I went to a nutritionist a few years ago and she told me that diet and low-fat foods were no good at all. So for me sometimes it is more a taste thing - I like diet coke, for example, but don't drink it that often. Sorry to hear about your shoulder and back - hope the pain eases soon.

Hart Johnson said...

Donna--teehee--that brand loyalty is something, isn't it? I have always been a Diet Coke gal, but my BFF is all over the diet Pepsi. The exercise I am pretty good about. My real problems are potato chips and adult beverages... the diet coke though, is getting the potato chip blame...

Jayne-I think if it is rare, you're right, not too bad. If I only had it when I went to the movies, for instance... probably FINE. Thanks for the back sympathy! Still working on it.