Know Your Enemy: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Don’t let this happen to you…

Instead, get educated! To keep on with the video theme, watch this one…

While the polish is not so high on the second video, it does speak more of the truth. It is, however, an oversimplification of the problem.

What you need to know is this:HFCS does not belong in the human body and it’s hiding in plain sight everywhere. I’m just waiting for the Corn Refiner’s Association to change the name to further obfuscate the situation.

If you would like to read more, with more scientific backing including references to clinical studies and descriptions of the actions that HFCS has in the human body, go here.

(The article opens in a new window or tab, depending on your browser.)

I have a huge amount of respect for the author, Dr. Lonnie Lowery. He lays it out like it is.

I lost 3.4lbs and 1.5% body fat TODAY!

quick fat loss- 3.4lbs in 1 day!

My Stats and Goals…

The best way I have found to keep making progress is to keep setting goals. The best goals are 1)reasonable and 2)specific. For example: if you decide that your goal is “to weigh a lot less really soon,” then it is probably not going to happen. You don’t know how much less or when, and you have no waypoints to check progress and reevaluate if necessary.

On the other hand, if you decide that you want to “lose 2 lbs a week for the next 4 weeks,” you are far more likely to stick to the process. As you progress, you will meet (or not meet) the short-term goals and either continue on your path or modify it as necessary.

Despite knowing this, I have often fallen into the trap of setting very high goals for the sake of  “extra motivation.” I have proven to myself that this method does not work for me (and have seen it not work for many others) and have abandoned it. I suggest you do, too.

My long term (non-time specific) goal has been to achieve a lean (<10% bodyfat) 215lb. bodyweight. I have spent several years at this, and only recently, as I have narrowed the scope and clarified the steps, have I started to really make progress.

My current weight is 196.6 lbs. and bodyfat is at 14.4%.

I am going to attempt to gain muscle and lose fat to achieve my desired 215lbs at<10% fat by my birthday- June 25th. That gives me about 90 days to pull it off. Not easy, but not nearly impossible.

On January 19th I began a “bulking phase,” which basically means I started eating as much (clean food) as I could, getting plenty of rest, and working out hard but smart and went from 184.8lbs and 10.9% bodyfat to where I am now. I gained 11.8 lbs. in about 70 days, not all of them very focused- I have the rest of my life to deal with, too, just like everyone else.

I have also set some strength goals for myself to be achieved by my birthday (this is the big 3-5, so I have a lot riding on my success.)

My personal lifting records for the “big three” lifts are as follows:

Bench Press 300lbs

Deadlift 430lbs

Squat 365 lbs

All of these are competition-legal lifts with free weights.

My goals for June: Bench Press 315lbs, Squat 400, Deadlift 500. This will give me a 3-lift total of just over 1200 lbs, good enough to get my name on the board at Loprinzi’s Gym in SE Portland.

So, I have well-defined, realistic goals and a definite timeframe to achieve them in. Step one  completed.

Step two:I need a Plan…luckily, i’m a personal trainer so I know how to get these kinds of things done! Hopefully, i’ll get some “before” pictures up so we have something to compare me to in 3 months. More tomorrow…

Welcome to the FitPortland Blog, Courtesy of Winslow Jenkins at Sustain Fitness, LLC

 Readers of fitPortland blog are entitled to a free introductory personal training session. Email me to request yours!

This is the beginning of something great! I will be blogging about health, diet, and fitness. Check back every day for pictures, video, and health tips you can use and the opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas with others in our online community. Feel free to post your questions, whether they pertain to the day’s post or not. I love to answer your questions and will do the best I can to provide references for your further edification.