Aspartame

Do you ingest Aspartame? You really need to understand what it is. I am posting a copy of an article from Natural News.com originally posted December 4, 2011. Read labels and don't give this stuff to your kids.

Health Basics: What is Aspartame?

by S. D. Wells

(NaturalNews) Over a billion people consume aspartame in their foods and beverages across the world, believing it to be a safe ingredient, but what they probably don't know is that aspartame currently accounts for over 75% of all side effects complaints received by the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) for the past 4 years. It is banned by health-conscious countries all over the world, especially where there is a national healthcare system in place.

Aspartame is best known by the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet One and Spoonful. Aspartame is a synthetic chemical combination which is comprised of approximately 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol. Aspartame is found in thousands of foods, drinks, candy, gum, vitamins, health supplements and even pharmaceuticals. (http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/...)...

Each of the three ingredients in Aspartame poses its own dangers and each is well documented as causing a long list of side effects and dangerous health conditions. Watch for the ingredientAcesulfame Potassium, which is just another name for Aspartame.

Phenylalanine: Even a single use of Aspartame raises the blood phenylalanine levels. High blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses. Because it is metabolized much more efficiently by rodents than humans, testing and research on rats alone is not sufficient enough to denounce the dangers of Aspartame for human consumption. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain cause serotonin levels to decrease, leading to emotional disorders like depression.

Aspartic Acid: Aspartic acid is considered an excito-toxin, which means it over stimulates certain neurons in the body until they die. Much like nitrates and MSG, aspartic acid can cause amino acid imbalances in the body and result in the interruption of normal neurotransmitter metabolism of the brain. (http://www.holisticmed.net/aspartam...)

Methanol becomes Formaldehyde (Embalming fluid): The most prominent danger of Aspartame is that when ingested, the methanol (wood alcohol) is distributed throughout the body, including the brain, muscle, fat and nervous tissues, and is then metabolized to form formaldehyde, which enters cells and binds to proteins and genetic material (DNA). Methanol is a dangerous neurotoxin and a known carcinogen, which causes retinal damage in the eye, interferes with DNA processes, and can cause birth defects. (http://aspartame.mercola.com/)

The EPA's recommended limit of consumption of Methanol is 7.8 milligrams per day, but a one liter bottle of an Aspartame-sweetened beverage contains over 50 mg of methanol. Heavy users of Aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily, which is over 30 times the EPA limit.

Suspiciously similar to the symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Multiple Sclerosis, Aspartame's long list includes dizziness, headaches, behavioral changes, hallucinations, depression, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain. Also, many illnesses can be worsened by ingesting Aspartame, including chronic fatigue syndrome, brain tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, mental retardation, and especially diabetes.

Birth defects: According to Dr. Louis Elsas, Pediatrician Professor of Genetics at Emory University, Phenylalanine can concentrate in the placenta, causing mental retardation of a fetus. Also, formaldehyde in the blood stream of a pregnant woman can cause her immune system to target the fetal tissue as a foreign substance and destroy it, the result being a miscarriage. This can happen before she even knows she is pregnant. (http://www.dorway.com/dr-elsas.txt)

Aspartame is known to cause weight gain

Products labeled Diet, Light or Zero most likely contain at least one of the major synthetic sweeteners, and Aspartame is used more widely than the three carcinogenic S's: Sucralose, Sorbitol and Saccharin. Nearly all diet sodas, gum and most candy (not chocolate - yet) are loaded with Aspartame. (http://buildingbodies.ca/diet-pop-d...) Some chewing gum brands contain only synthetic sugars, which are acid creating. The body in turn creates fat cells to store that extra acid, and this is why many people who consistently eat Aspartame will ironically put on weight.

Natural sugar-free alternatives: Xylitol and the Brazilian Stevia leaf (Not Truvia) are natural and do not cause side effects or nerve damage; however, truly effective weight loss starts with organic vegetables and cardio exercise. To be safe, simply avoid all "diet foods" and moderate sugar intake. (http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxif...)

Sources for this article include

http://www.holisticmed.net/aspartam...

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxif...

http://www.unhinderedliving.com/asp...

http://www.dorway.com/dr-elsas.txt

http://buildingbodies.ca/diet-pop-d...

http://www.thenhf.com/article.php?i...

http://www.organicconsumers.org/art...

http://www.wnho.net/fdas_approval_o...

http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/...

http://www.wellsphere.com/men-s-hea...

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartam...

http://www.issplendasafe.com/

www.alsearsmd.com/aspartame-ant-poi...

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartam...

http://www.mothering.com/community/...

Friday's Shoulders

Roy changed the training, he said we will be doing something similar to this for the next couple months. He wants to see how I respond to it. Shouldn't take too long to find out, my body adapts and responds quite quickly. 


Friday- How many times have I told you I love Fridays? I get to do everything I love! I hit the gym when they open at 5:00 am and I walk on the stairmill for 20 minutes, actually I was kind of rocking out because I was listening to some new music and closed my eyes and zoned out, when I opened my eyes I found people staring at me laughing. I get into it sometimes, it's actually the only way to make it through the cardio!


Then abs, I practice my Dragon Flags and hanging leg lifts. Then stretching and just a little boxing, not too much since it is shoulder day with Roy.


Work lasts all of 4 hours...ha ha off at 11:30 and then I drive to Roys.


We stretch and start with barbell shoulder presses. He goes pretty heavy, that's the new program for a while. Low reps, heavy weights, several sets.


The back of the bench is all the way upright. I start with maybe 80 pounds, he loads on more and it is too much but I do the reps. I am only aiming for 6 reps so the weight will be heavy, all the way down to my chest, slowly then power up, try not to rest at the top, just keep going.


I think we find a good weight at 90 pounds, it's hard but doable. I do 6 sets, that's quite a bit. You have to think about the total volume. So what if you normally do 3 sets of 10? That's 30 reps right? I did 6 sets of 6, that's 36 reps- more than you and most likely heavier weights. And, we all know:

Heavy weights = big muscles

The rest periods are of course longer. So we can't do a lot of other things. We move into the second exercise I will do, dumbbell shoulder press.

Again the back of the bench is straight up, so I will lift heavier weights. I think I start with 25 and quickly move to 40 pound dumbbells, again, 6 reps. 6 sets of 6.

That's it!

No boxing :( we are out of time. Time is not always my friend, in fact, it is probably the one thing I complain most in the world (other than my son's cat, Thor). I never seem to have enough time to do everything I want to do.


It makes me think though, of my all time favorite band ever- the Rolling Stones. And, one of the best songs "Time is on my Side". While there is so much I want to do everyday, I need to remember, that time is on my side. It's there for me if I want to be free. I have all the time to do what I choose in life, and while I may not be able to fit it all in one day, I can do it another (and maybe the next Friday).


(Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video of the very, very young Rolling Stones below).

As usual, I mix up my protein/carb drink (1 to 4 ratio) and drink it with BCAA's and hop into the car- it's off to Whole Foods for grocery shopping then to the eye doctor to have a silicone Punctual Plug inserted into the tear duct of my left eye. Hmmm, I wonder, do I take off my make up first? Nah! Be daring! Plus, I still want to look good when I walk in the office! I will shop, eat and then go to the Doctor.

Friday...did I tell you I love Fridays?

Monday Morning Motivation

Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be.

~ Marsha Petrie Sue

No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away.

~ David Matthew

You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.

~ James Allen

The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it: so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.

~ Elbert Hubbard

Positive thinking by itself does not work. Your embodied vision, partnered with vibrant thinking, harmonized with active listening, and supported with your conscious action - will clear the path for your Miracles.

~ Sumner M. Davenport

Ferry Plaza Market

Saturday I was up at 5:15 and hit the gym for a quick 1 1/2 hour workout- LEGS! I trained hams, quads and threw in some calves (for what it was worth, I was pretty shot by then). 


I don't like rushing through my weekend training but sometimes I must make sacrifices!


I got home at 7:45 and rousted the boys, we had to pick up Lauren at 8:30 for our eating excursion in San Francisco.


I had the music on and nothing was satisfactory to the boys until I hit on Led Zeppelin, then I demonstrated the hair flying around, head banging car dancing only a crazy mom can do at 8:30 in the morning...and a mom who grew up with Led Zeppelin...(I know all the words....)


After every competition this is my dream destination, but after my October competition we were all so busy we never made it! So two months later, here I am having fish tacos and red wine for breakfast at Mijita. 

Lauren and Cooper enjoyed theirs, we also had quesadillas.  It was a bright but blustery day by the bay, coats were on most of the time.




Below David is introducing Lauren to raw oysters from Hog Island, David bought a bucket full!  Lauren liked them too! I have to hand it to her, not many people would be this adventuresome. Here- take a raw mollusk on a paper plate and stab It with a toothpick and stick it it your mouth...yeah...

After we ate and drank our way through the market, (tacos, wine, champagne, oysters, cheese), we stopped at Red's Java House for burgers.  The bartender was a little too overzealous when he opened David's beer, so the bottle flowed over the top when he plonked it onto the counter. He laughed and said "Hey buddy, keep it and I will give you another too! I think the stuff is organic or something, that keeps happening so I have been drinking them all day!"

I think David shared the beers....I had some very bad red wine, but  the atmosphere made up for it. Cooper and Lauren were having fun, the people watching was great! 


David really was having fun, he was just a little grumpy after I elbowed him as he walked up with my wine. The peels of laughter didn't help matters....He wiped it up and I drank the remains.

Red's has some seriously good burgers. There is nothing fancy about this place, nothing. In fact, they even have a sign "We do not serve lettuce or tomatoes" ha ha We decided it was because those are fresh items and would require monitoring or regular shopping..

My haul for the day? Two bags of Blue Bottle Coffee the fantastic, organic coffee we enjoy at Chez Panisse.  Lauren bought some for her father too. Sunday I shall have the Bella Donovan and....

A slice of this! My absolute favorite spelt and rye bread from Acme Bakery. When I told the guy at the counter I wanted 4 he looked at me like I was an oddball. I cannot really imagine any better breakfast than a THICK slice of this, toasted, with peanut butter and then a cup of scrambled egg whites on the side. I want to go to bed early so I can eat it sooner.


This bread is hefty and chewy, David described it to Lauren like thick cardboard, but I think it's more like semi dried oatmeal...I love it. It is only made twice a week, and available in San Francisco or Berkeley. I suppose it isn't high in demand. David is slicing and wrapping it up to freeze as I type this.

Then we bought a 2.5 pound rib eye from 4505 meats, look it's as big as my head! The four of us will have it for dinner on Sunday. 

I will serve it with roasted baby turnips that I bought and some steamed Romano beans. The turnips will be cleaned and dried, coated with fruity olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a small open pan in a high oven until soft and almost caramelized on the outside, they will take on a sweet flavor, perfect with meat. 

Tonight (Saturday) I shall make clams (from Hog Island) with chorizo (from 4505 meats) and onions and wheat beer. It's like a Spanish stew, served with homemade aioli.

David will continue to eat the oysters he bought, I will find shells all around for days...

So was any of this on my "diet"? Nope. I am OK with that. I do believe it is important to eat clean and healthy, and I do 90% of the time. I also believe it's important to celebrate life and the things that bring us together, days like this. How many more times will my 17 year old son want to bring his girlfriend and hang out all day with us? Not many...How many days can I diet? Too many to count.

The food I ate and bought may not be low fat, but it is all (except the greasy burgers) from purveyors of local and sustainable goods. The greens were crunchy and just harvested, the coffee roasted the day prior, the meats local, the breads still warm as I placed them in my bag. The champagne? Came from France...ha ha but where else does real champagne come from?

Sunday I can get back into the groove, and enjoy my toast and coffee, thinking about the weights I will push the rest of the week.


And it gives me something to dwell on too. I do love to spend days like this and the fact that I don't do this often makes it oh so very special to me. We laughed and had such a good time, and luckily didn't get pulled over by all of the cops prowling Highway 280! 


Check out the video below to see Red's. Go straight to 10:24 because it's long! (Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video)

Wednesday's Quads

Wednesday, and every once in a while, I would get a "twinge" in my stomach thinking about my training session that evening with Roy. Last week it was really difficult, but I was sick. I think I had a cold, but the funny thing is, everyone around me at the university seems to have some horrible illness that is keeping them out of work for days. Maybe I had that too and it really wasn't just a cold and I am not as much of a whiner as I made myself out to be!

I worked all day then arrived at BodyComp at 5:30 and changed, I would attack this beast and win!

My adductors were still tight, they had been sore over one whole week due to this workout so Roy had me stretch them well. As he set up the squat rack I told him I had been dreading this all day. He laughed and said "I was just thinking- I'm glad I'm not the one who has to do this workout!" 

great

"I was sick when I was here last week, this was really hard" I told him. "Yeah, I read your blog" he said.

Why didn't I tell him then? Why on earth would I? That would have meant he would lighten the load - or tell me to go home, neither of which I was prepared to do. So I didn't tell him until after when it was too late. ha ha

But today I was feeling GOOD and I was there and ready to go and really wanted to test this workout. Was it really that hard or was it the illness that made it seem hard last week?

After stretching Roy had me warm up with the "ladies" bar, just a few squats. I then moved to the regular Olympic bar, loaded with plates and chains. 

"Hey! This is the weight we ended with last week!" I exclaimed.

"Yes it is" Roy said. That was it.  I think with the chains it was 105? I have to ask. Down I went, all the way to the ground 20 reps.

rest

But not long, I hadn't quite caught my breath when he said "Go!"

20 more reps, rest. 20 more reps, rest. 20 more reps, rest. 20 more reps, rest.

100 squats, with chains, ass to ground and I was actually paying attention to tempo, so I was not sloppy.

Whew! But that was the easy part because the front foot elevated split squats were really the killers. 

 

Issac was there training a very cute little girl, maybe all of 10 years old, who comes in on Wednesday nights, he really is good with kids. He makes her feel special and smart. Just what all little girls need. Her dad leans against the wall watching and commenting occasionally. Even he can see this won't be fun.

20 pounds dumbbells in each hand, left foot out front on the boards, right leg behind and I am stretching out, my left knee out in front as far as possible, stretching the back right leg, the adductor is pulling. Look up, back straight, sink down as far as possible and then up, but not all the way up, only about half way so that the tension is ALWAYS there, no resting spots here.

20 reps on the left leg

20 second rest

20 reps on the right leg

rest

Repeat for a total of 80 reps on the left leg and 80 reps on the right. But it's really like 160 reps on each leg because each leg is working, although in a different way all the time. 

That is the killer. My legs were pumped from the squats but with these, not only are they pumped  they are swollen and burning. 

Rest

Now the sled. How much weight? I think it was 140 pounds because I remember seeing all the 45 pound plates and then this dinky little 5 pounder on top! ha ha 

push to the garage door, push back. Driving up with the knees, power in the glutes, pushing as hard and fast as I can.

again

again

again

By the time I get to the last set I am oh so slow, but I am still driving with the knees and I fall to my knees. I am done.

In case you need a little summary, here it is:

100 back squats (all the way down, PAST parallel)

80 front foot elevated split squats left

80 front foot elevated split squats right

8 runs with the sled, approximately 40 feet each run

This was all after getting up at 4:00 am and doing:

20 minutes on the stairmill

15 minutes abdominal exercises

15 minutes stretching

10 minutes boxing on the heavy bag

I pull on my sweats, mix up my protein/carb drink and down my BCAAs. Chat a bit and then hop in the car, the very cool night air feels good with the top down. Home for a big dinner, time to fuel the body.

Victory

vic·to·ry

  [vik-tuh-ree, vik-tree] noun, plural -ries.

1.

a success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war.

2.

an engagement ending in such triumph: American victories in the Pacific were won at     great cost.

3.

the ultimate and decisive superiority in any battle orcontest: The new vaccine effected a    victory over poliomyelitis.

4.

a success or superior position achieved against any opponent, opposition, difficulty, etc.: a moral victory.

How do you measure your victories? Who is your enemy? What is the battle?

For me, Victory is measured by achieving what I set out to achieve for myself. Fighting the long, hard battle of the diet, the deprivation, the exhaustion, the never ending training, the longing, the excitement, the anxiety, the list is endless.

The Power

Power because I am the one who is making the choices, the decisions, every exercise, every cardio session, every meal. It's my choice whether I do it or not.

I can quit at any time, but I will never feel the thrill of the victory will I? I won't ever quit.

I am my own opponent, there is no one else I am competing with.  I want to be the best I can be, and when I am, I have won the battle. But the battle isn't over, there's another one ahead.

Setting a goal for myself, a tough one, is daunting, but it is exhilarating too. And when I have achieved that goal, there is yet another.

My enemy? Myself. Self doubt can creep in, fear of failure, of letting myself and those around me down.

In the end, when the battle has been fought, I bask in the light knowing that I have done something many could never even imagine starting let alone finish.

And I feel the Power again.

Typical Competitor

I was talking with someone about women who compete- specifically the "type" of woman who does this. I am sure everyone has their own idea of the typical Figure Competitor and I am sure most of those ideas are

Dead

Wrong

So, what do you think? I can guess (from talking with many people), that there are a few stereotypes.

1) The self centered bimbo

2) The bored housewife

3) The uneducated gym rat

There are certainly some of those, but I assure you, they are not the norm. The women I know who train seriously and those I have met at competitions are very intelligent women who know exactly where they are going and what they want.

Most competitors I have met hold full time jobs, and usually very demanding positions. Many of them have children and many are married. 

This leads us to the ever present question "I don't know how you can do it all!", this is the question we hear most I think. We do what every other woman does and we make the time to devote to our diet and training, and compete, with each competition taking on a  small "life" of it's own.

We do it because we are all driven - driven to succeed, driven to excel, driven to improve, driven to learn.

Once you get to know several women who compete, you will start to learn that there is a "fire", a "spark" that we all have, something that many other people lack. That fire is what drives us to do what we do, every single day.

Typically a successful athlete or competitor is an "A" type personality, and often we are very regimented in our lives. Routine is our friend! I can tell you that routine and structure are vital, and without it, we would not be where we are now.

I am a very structured person. I have all of my Thanksgiving Day menus on my computer, with excel spreadsheets of my grocery shopping, complete with day of purchase, store and person responsible. This makes the big day much easier to manage. 

I have all of my workouts on spreadsheets too.

My gym clothes are in a large covered basket in the bathroom  in "packets" (shorts, bra top, peds) all ready  to "grab and go"..I get up at 4 am so I cannot very well disrupt the rest of the family that early, nor do I want to figure out what to wear!

Pre and post training drinks and supplements are mixed and portioned into trays every weekend, and  stored in baskets ready to grab what I need the evening before, placed on the counter and ready when I need them. 

Cooking is scheduled and done while other events take place, then food is weighed and frozen, to be consumed the following week.

It all takes time, lots and lots of time.

You will find that most competitors will have similar stories, a desire to accomplish the impossible, the thrill when a difficult task is mastered. 


They are a special breed- few and far between.