Random Acts of Cerebration #17
Announcements, Tips, Epiphanies, and Miscellaneous Pontifications
Healthy Packaged Oatmeal?
Any time the subject of oatmeal comes up, I always tell people to avoid the pre-packaged flavored crap. Why? Because it's usually full of sugar, useless calories, and other junk that makes it as unhealthy as kiddie breakfast cereals.
So I was skeptical when I first saw Quaker's flavored "Weight Control" oatmeal. I did a quick comparison to what I usually eat: Quaker Old Fashioned Oats:
Not bad! A little more carbs and calories, but you're also getting more protein and fiber. And believe it or not, the extra protein comes from whey isolate, not that soy garbage!
Now, the Weight Control stuff is still ground up smaller than I prefer. I like the big rolled oats. But I doubt this has much of an effect on the glycemic index, plus you'll most likely be adding more protein and other stuff to this meal anyway, so no big deal.
What I do is mix them. I have one packet of banana bread flavored Weight Control and one serving of plain old fashioned oats. I mix these up with Metabolic Drive and a little fruit.
Overall, I'd rather see a person stick to 100% rolled oats, steel cut oats, or similar, but the Weight Control packets make for a tasty treat and are great for taking on the road when traveling. "Weight Control" oatmeal gets my stamp of approval.
Note to self: When speaking at future seminars, avoid standing next to really huge people. That's me above standing next to a T-Nation reader at a seminar. I'm 6' tall in shoes, but Andrea the Giant here made me look like a Munchkin! His hand is bigger than my head! (Nice guy though.)
There was a new study recently looking at the interplay of smoking and drinking and their effects on the brain: "Alcohol and nicotine work on the same inhibitory amino acids in the brain, which makes the inclination to do both doubly strong."
But what really caught my attention was this: "While among non-drinkers smoking rates are 20 to 30 percent in the Western world, rates are up to 80 or 90 percent among alcoholic patients."
So, heavy drinkers are more likely to be heavy smokers. Physiology and the nature of addiction aside, I find the psychological aspects fascinating. It's really no big surprise: those involved in one risky behavior are often involved in other risky behaviors.
So, heavy drinkers usually smoke. Heavy steroid users often do other non-bodybuilding drugs. (I think TC has written about that before.) Even women who smoke have been shown to sleep around more. It's all about risk-taking behavior.
But this also reminds me a little of what John Davies told me once. He said that diet is largely about respecting yourself. If you respect yourself, you don't eat crap.
I often look at smokers and heavy drinkers and think of them as being mildly suicidal. I mean, if the package says "This will eventually kill your ass" and you put it in your body anyway, well, what does that say about you? There's some sort of death wish going on there, right?
There are definite parallels to mental health and food as well. Most fat people are compensating for something, stress eating, self-medicating in some way; the eating is part of a larger destructive path. As a friend of mine says, "Food is not your problem, but food is how you deal with your problem."
It all sounds a bit hokey, I know, but I've found it to be very true. So, heavy drinkers are more likely to smoke, this new study says. I say, duh!
I've heard a criticism of T-Nation recently that I honestly don't understand. Some people just seem to hate it when a poster replies to an article saying he likes it. You know, "Great article! Nice work! Thanks!" or whatever.
Um, what exactly is wrong with that?
These appreciative posters are often called "yes men" or "cheerleaders." I don't get it. I guess positive feedback makes you uncool or something. Maybe it's the nature of the internet, a place where "u fuckin suk" is acceptable but "Nice article!" is a faux pa.
But as we all know, there's a certain personality type or clique out there who only responds with bitterness and bile. This type of person basically doesn't post unless he's spewing venom, sarcasm, and hatred. What a pleasant person he must be in real life, huh? But some people are attracted to that apparently, because nasty toads like this often develop a following of smaller toads. (For a while at least, then they implode from excess bitterness.)
I really don't get it. Criticism is fine; it can be done in a constructive way. But most of the worst bile spewing toads never respond with anything else. And they really have no desire to think and learn; they just want to condemn and criticize and throw stones.
Interesting. I often wonder what this pattern of behavior says about them. I mean, who sits at the computer all day flinging poo? Get a life! Or at least a girlfriend!
And for those within the fitness/bodybuilding industry who do it, I often wonder how many jobs, book deals, interviews, column offers, etc. they lose every year because of their trollish internet behavior. Who wants to work with these toads?
I used to have a little scrap of paper I carried around in my wallet that said "Your character is your destiny." Some of these folks could sure use a copy of that.
Several years ago, we used to send out an email with links to the new issue of T-mag. That was back when all five new articles came out at once on Friday.
Well, we've started sending out the little reminder email again, but we've expanded it into more of a newsletter. In it you'll find links to the new articles, new exercises, mini-articles and interviews, protein shake recipes, exclusive content, and whatever else we feel like tossing in there.
If you're signed up here as a member, you'll get it delivered every Friday afternoon to whatever email addy you used to sign up with. If you're not a member, becoming one is free, just click "log in" at the top of the screen. You can also hit the "Click Here to Activate" link you see in our Cool Tips section. And no, we don't give your email address to anyone.
If you're a member but aren't getting the newsletter, go to "customize" at the top of the page, then click "save and edit profile." After that you'll be able to check the email address you signed up with and change it if necessary. After you change it, hit "submit" at the bottom of that page. Oh, and if you have AOL, the newsletter could be getting blocked as spam. Bastards!
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 793
Chris Shugart wrote:
<font color="#3399FF"> Note to Self </font>
Note to self: When speaking at future seminars, avoid standing next to really huge people. That's me above standing next to a T-Nation reader at a seminar. I'm 6' tall in shoes, but Andrea the Giant here made me look like a Munchkin! His hand is bigger than my head! (Nice guy though.)
Funny story about that exact guy. I'm standing at the front desk of the hotel checking in and he walks up beside me. I took one look at him and said "you've GOT to be here for the Test Fest"
Join date: Jun 2005
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 7271
Damn Shugs, this article is all true. Does that make me a "cheerleader"? You nailed with the smoker/drinker thing. It has been an obvious observanse that smokers drink and drinkers smoke. I knew there was a tie in with the two, because I was bad for bumming a smoke when I got a bit drunk. Never wanted a smoke sober, but something about alcohol and cigarettes. Bad combo though. Headache from hell the next day.
Join date: Feb 2005
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 7321
I have thought about the cheerleader thing also recently. There are many times that I say, "Nice article" on certain programs even though I won't try them because of whatever reason.
However, that doesn't mean the guy writing it didn't put it together, and spend alot of time doing it.
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 1342
1) Chris I must say that i like your hair cut and those side burns. I went to the barber today and he cut them a little too short. I usually have them down by my earlobe and he went all the way to my ear hole. I feel violated.
2) I hate the smell of cigarette smoke especially if it's in a persons breath. I think rinsing out with vodka works as a mouth wash thats why most people drink that are smokers, and i would prefer my would be lady friend to do some drinking if she's a smoker. :)
3) about those cheerleaders, I don't like the ones with the thoughtless comments. What gets to me is when people say something is good or bad without explaining their reasoning. I guess i'm used to the quality of stuff that gets published on this site considering i've been reading it since 1999 so i know that its gonna be good at getting me to think. If i was like one of those cheerleaders i'd be writting "great article" for almost every article that was published in T-Nation. I leave that comment for really special occasions. I know the T-Nation communitty has grown a lot over the years so there is a greater opportunity for "special occasions" for other readers. my little rant. laters pk
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 1342
Also Arnold(tm) makes this whole grain wheat bread that has 19g carbs and 5g fiber per slice. they add inulin for the extra fiber. It's a little more expensive, paid $3.29 for a 24oz loaf, but i want to try it out. laters pk
FightinIrish26 wrote:
I have thought about the cheerleader thing also recently. There are many times that I say, "Nice article" on certain programs even though I won't try them because of whatever reason.
However, that doesn't mean the guy writing it didn't put it together, and spend alot of time doing it.
Yeah, I see nothing wrong with a "thank you" as a reply. T-Nation paid hundreds of bucks for the article and gave it to the reader for free. So nothing wrong with thanking the Nation or the writer or both.
And BTW, the writers get paid for articles, yes, but they come back and field questions and answer PMs on their own time. But of course thanking them makes you an ass-kissing, Biotest whoring cheerleader, right? (Wrong.)
El_Animal wrote:
I've tried the weight control oatmeal and I like it as well. i havn't thought of mixing it with my regular oats though. I'll have to try that.
Chris have you seen Kashi's rehash yet? I bought a box and it's so-so. The protein is from sopy though. Macros look like this:
Protein: 9g
Carbs: 25g
Sugars: 1g
Fat: 2g
but there's even less than the weight control oatmeal!
Interesting stuff with the smoker/drinker study btw.
Haven't seen that yet. I generally avoid Kashi products because of the soy though.
Chris, I am a hard loser, weight, not life. I recently read an article about eliminating wheat from your diet if you are a hard loser. Any thoughts or advice on this subject. Great article!!
fitn51 wrote:
Chris, I am a hard loser, weight, not life. I recently read an article about eliminating wheat from your diet if you are a hard loser. Any thoughts or advice on this subject. Great article!!
While most people prone to easy fat gain do better on reduced carbs, I think most of this wheat-specific stuff is minutia.
I went from 165 to 140 back in the day (high school time) and then slowly have added that weight back on with weight training etc. I recently hit a high of 194 due to poor diet, lack of training, whatever excuses I could throw out. So I'm down to 182 again and trying to shred my way to 170-175 or so. I'm getting stronger but the fat doesn't seem to be disappearing despite the weight loss. So I guess I'm curious. Am I a FFB?
I could attribute my weight gain before to a very poor diet, lots of junk food, soda, etc. Now that I'm back on track I feel much better, more energy etc. Don't seem to have a huge problem needing carbs, but everyone gets cravings for pizza or cookies from time to time.
I went from 165 to 140 back in the day (high school time) and then slowly have added that weight back on with weight training etc. I recently hit a high of 194 due to poor diet, lack of training, whatever excuses I could throw out. So I'm down to 182 again and trying to shred my way to 170-175 or so. I'm getting stronger but the fat doesn't seem to be disappearing despite the weight loss. So I guess I'm curious. Am I a FFB?
I could attribute my weight gain before to a very poor diet, lots of junk food, soda, etc. Now that I'm back on track I feel much better, more energy etc. Don't seem to have a huge problem needing carbs, but everyone gets cravings for pizza or cookies from time to time.
Just curious to get your thoughts,
mike
It's a pretty arbitrary term, but no, based on what you've written, I don't think you are.
Join date: Jun 2004
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 1528
Chris,
About the 'cheerleading-yes-mandom'. I've never heard criticisms and wouldn't care. But I do think that what catches the eye is that the first post that comes out after an article is usually free of substance. It's as if the person just wanted to be the first one to post a reply. Because they don't comment on what particularly they've found most interesting and neither is their salut a precursor to a comment or question.
Just about every article posted here on T-Nation deserves many complements and just a plain old thanks. However sometimes you wonder whether that first poster even read the piece. Just my two cents.
