Continuing the Trend
The week has certainly started off right. Before I get into that, I do need to correct myself on something. Yesterday (Sunday), I said that I didn’t exercise. That was out of habit that I said that. In reality I walked over two miles, although I don’t know exactly how far it was. That is important because I chose not to exercise today because of my walk yesterday.
Eating was great today – I chose to do an intermittent fast, skipping breakfast and lunch. My supper was a good sized ribeye, steamed veggies, a salad, and several peanuts. I also had an apple for dessert. Tomorrow will probably be very similar.
Have you heard of social contagion? I need more information to be able to come up with my own conclusion, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Do you need a reason to eat foods high in antioxidants? Probably not, but I am going to give you another one. It seems that there is a benefit to consuming food or drink high in antioxidants while eating. The benefit is that these antioxidants seem to significantly slow the oxidation of vitamins and the lipid peroxidation (neither are good). I’ve not found anything to back my thoughts on this, so take it with a grain of salt, all-to-often we find a study that shows something is good, and we run with that. The problem, as I see it, is that we may be mitigating the benefit of certain things by consuming them in a different fashion than they were meant to be consumed. What do I mean by that? Green tea may be great for us, but the real benefit of green tea may come if we drink it while eating other foods. Just a thought.
Your dinner sounds superb!!! Mmm…ribeye, steamed veggies and a salad (I would have had bleu cheese dressing) is a combination I love.
Hope you are having a good time while you are away!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 18th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
It was delicious Kimberley. So far the trip has been good, I hope that continues.
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I have read a lot that there is more to antioxidants and vitamins than just popping a pill. There seems to be some other synergistic thing going on where we get maximum benefit from consuming the whole food rather than just an extract.
That’s why I try to eat a lot of superfoods. Go blueberries!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 18th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Blueberries are one of my favorites too, although I think they are trumped by strawberries in my book.
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Congrats on good eating & exercise! You are back on track!
I tend to agree with your comments on the other articles. So many studies out there & they change form year to year or tell us one thing, one year & come back 5+ years later & tell us something different.
I try my best to eat well most of the time but I do enjoy here & there too. Life is for living & you can’t eat perfect all the time.
Also there are diets saying to eat this & that together or separately. I try to eat healthy mini meals with protein/carb/healthy fat in each one if possible but I don’t worry if it is not just like that. As long as I am doing it a good % of my time, I feel fine.
Very interesting stuff Steve!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:17 am
Thank you Jody. This morning has started off well too.
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Hey steve,
I truly believe in social contagion.
When I was fat, my friends felt no pressure.
I think people help each other in their dysfunction.
When I started losing…I had one friend lose thirty pounds and my mom has lost 15 as well.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:18 am
This is an interesting perspective Chris – I am glad you commented on this.
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I think there may be something to social contagion – certainly worth considering. It sounds like you had a really good day. I had a similar dinner, but with a chicken breast. It was good to have a protein/veggies meal. I was really hungry and I felt very satisfied after dinner.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:18 am
I did have a great day – I am hoping today is a repeat of that.
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Social contagion is real for sure.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:19 am
I think there is something to it. The thing I am not sure I agree with is the degrees of separation. I am not sure though.
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Hmmm, social contagion, eh? Just read the article and it is indeed interesting but the jury is out here, for a while at least.
I can’t say that I ‘knew’ of anyone in the loose circle of family/friends/acquaintances becoming obese during the period I did. Similarly, I do know people trying to lose weight right now, but cannot get my head around their chances of success influencing or being influenced by my own.
I’ll try to ignore those ‘sceptical bells’ which are ringing loud and clear in my head. Can’t rule out that there may be an element of truth in there somewhere, but…
On another thread – way to go with the eating! Dinner sounded really rather nice indeed!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Thanks Deniz!
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I think families with pregnancy show the whole social contagion thing well. Most men gain weight while their wives are preganant. It’s a fact that’s called “sympathy weight” instead of social contagion.
Food combining is something that has been done for years. The Mennonites, who tend to eat a lot less meat than most of us, are particularly adept at this. For example, combining beans and rice produces a ccomplete protein. I always find it interesting that lamost every culture has some form of beans and rice.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
I hadn’t thought of this, but you are exactly right Helen. I think that is exactly what sympathy weight is.
Also, I had not heard of the beans and rice being a complete protein. Thanks for sharing.
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hmm… deep thoughts on antioxidants! Thanks for that!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
You are welcome Amy!
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Yummy dinner! I’m glad you got in a rest day. Mine was a rest weekend!
I’m back to work today, though, so it’s a gym day…
The social contagion article was interesting. I wonder if knowing someone who knows someone who is obese makes obesity more “real,” and therefore, an acceptable option, you know? Interesting…
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
That may be what it is Beej. I would love to see some more information on this.
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I’m just trying really hard not to live off of bagels.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Isn’t it funny how certain food can get such a grip on us?
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Great link about social contagion. I find it to be a strong influence– if my husband eats right, I feel stupid if I don’t; if other bloggers are making progress, I want to too. Though in large groups it gets a little chaotic and the connections seem more tenuous to me.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
This is another great point. I think anytime our sphere of influence is smaller, it has a greater effect on us.
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There is no doubt in my mind that good healthy real food is the way to go for a healthy strong body. But I take my vitamins anyway! Just in case.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
There is nothing like a little extra insurance, especially if it isn’t hurting anything.
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