Reply #39: A story about HFCS [View All]

[distantearlywarning]

I have a metabolic condition that makes it very easy for me to gain weight, and very hard to lose it once it's on. I have been on many diets over the years with little success, even in the beginning when most dieters have success.

This past summer, I spent 2 weeks in Europe (France & Germany). Given my difficulty with weight loss in the past, I was quite surprised, shocked actually, to find that my pants were loose at the end of those two weeks. This was despite eating pretty much whatever I wanted, which included cheese, creme brulee, croissants & coffee with cream etc.

I also felt much better mentally and physically than I had in the States. Now, this could have been due to the fact that I was on vacation, but the change just seemed like it was more than that. Also, I started to feel bad again within two days of returning to America, even though I was still technically "on vacation". It was a very clear and abrupt transition mentally and physically once I started eating here again.

I racked my brain trying to figure out what could have been different in Europe vs. America. I walk just as much here as I did there on a daily basis, and my diet here was "better". Or so I thought...

I finally decided that the one thing that they don't have in a lot of European foods is HFCS. Although I don't drink sugared soda, I thought maybe other foods that I was eating might contain HFCS. Imagine my surprise when I found that almost everything in our kitchen cabinets contained it, including bread, low-fat crackers, and vegetable soup. Also, the "diet" bars that I have been eating for 4 years include HFCS as their 1st ingredient!!! All I was told to look at was calorie, carb, & protein information, so I really didn't think much about looking closely at ingredients. All of you fat haters out there can call me stupid, but I suspect that about 99% of Americans don't know exactly what's in the food they eat either.

Anyway, after this shocking discovery, I purged every HFCS item from my kitchen that day. I am now reading the ingredients on absolutely everything we buy, and anything containing HFCS or any other crazy thing that doesn't appear to be actual food is banned from my house.

The result: Despite not exercising or consciously dieting since I got back, my weight has already dropped 2 lbs in 2 months (not a lot, but pretty damn good for eating pretty much whatever I felt like). This week I'm actually starting to work on nutrition and exercise again, and I'm eager to see what will happen this time without HFCS in my life.

I also continue to feel good mentally and physically. It's hard to describe, but I always felt like I was walking around in a weird fog before. I guess I was used to it, because it wasn't until I was in Europe 3 days that it started to lift and it was like I was a totally different person or something. And I had all these weird gastrointestinal problems and other physical issues for years that have completely disappeared now.

I am firmly convinced that this shit is poison. And corporate America dumps it into everything.

If you are having trouble losing weight, or you feel bad all the time, fatigued and ill, take a look at all the HFCS you are consuming and get rid of it!