Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

I’ve been a member of the SparkPeople website for several years and love it. (It’s free and if you haven’t signed up, then you should be.) Anyway, I receive several emails from them a day regarding health and nutrition. One of those emails usually compares to foods and shows which one is the better choice of the two.

I’ll admit, most of the time I don’t read them, simply because I don’t have time, and also because I rarely eat out so I don’t have to worry about those temptations, but this morning I clicked just out of curiosity to see what the challenge was.

The question posed was- Which is the better choice- a Snow Cone or Cotton Candy?

Now this was a no brainer for me. After all, I have been around long enough to know that cotton candy is nothing but spun sugar, and after all, the bulk of a snow cone is ice which has no calories.

Imagine my HUGE surprise when I saw that the cotton candy was the better choice. While NEITHER one of them are good choices, the fact is-

Cotton candy is lighter in weight and lighter on calories. A large (but lightweight) 1.5-ounce serving is worth approximately 175 calories and it’s completely fat-free! While Sno Cones are made of mostly ice (calorie-free), that syrup really adds up. The average Sno Cone weighs about 12 ounces (half of that is ice and half of that is high-sugar syrup) and packs 540 calories into a seemingly “light” dessert. Every squirt of that syrup contains up to 100 calories alone! If you want a sweet treat, don’t let that Sno Cone fool you–it’s only masquerading as a low-calorie food.

Can you believe that????? 540 calories in a Snow Cone????? I would have NEVER figured that one to be true.. but I learned not to be fooled by appearances, because as you can see- they can be deceiving.

For people who know me, this will not come as much of a surprise, but I actually spend a lot of time thinking about health, weight loss, fitness and doing the best for my body. There was a time when I was looking for a quick fix and if that meant thermogenic fat burner then that’s what it meant, but somewhere along the way, I had one of those lightbulb moments that Oprah talks about so often and I realized that it wasn’t the way to go.

There’s a story inside of me, and it wants to come out. I share bits and pieces here and there, but there’s so much more. I’ve only scratched the surface. What makes me different than anayone else? Not a thing. I’m human and have struggles just like the rest of us, but sometimes we have those lightbulb moments and we change the way we think.

What was your lightbulb moment?

I was reading an article last night about calories and it showed a breakdown of calories, and I thought I’d share it with y’all. It was something that I knew already, but I hadn’t given much thought in a long time, and I was grateful for the reminder.

For those of us who are working on getting rid of the weight and living a healthier lifestyle (or trying to), I thought this may be of some interest to you.

Our bodies need carbs, proteins, healthy fats in order to give us fuel and function properly, but each of those calories aren’t created equally. The breakdown follows:

• 1 gram of fat =   9 calories
• 1 gram of carbohydrates=   4 calories
• 1 gram of protien=   4 calories
• 1 gram of alcohol=   7 calories
• 1 gram of sugar=   4 calories

As you can see, there is a difference in the calorie count of these things.   Don’t avoid fat just because there are more calories per gram, but it is something that you want to use sparingly, AND make sure it’s ‘heart healthy’ fats-   Such as Olive Oil, nuts (walnuts, almonds- raw),  Omega 3 Fatty acids which are found in some fish.   It doesn’t mean eat all you want just because it’s ‘good for you’   but it’s fats that your body needs in moderation.

I think maybe I’ll do a series on calories, based on my own personal education and learning experiences.