For the first time in the last, I don’t know, twenty years? I went an entire day without consuming any off the following foods, food additives, or beverages:

Salt: According to this article at Web MD about the relationship between salt and heart disease, the appropriate amount of salt for an average adult is about 1 TEASPOON per day.

Sugar: According to this article, the World Health Organization recommends that the average adult consume less than 10 TEASPOONS of sugar, per day. (One granola snack bar has TWO teaspoons of sugar!)

Caffeine: According to this article at the Mayo Clinic website, caffeine may (temporarily) enhance weight loss, by increasing the amount of fluid that our bodies excrete, but, in the long run, caffeine may contribute to heart disease, loss of sleep, and high blood pressure.

MSG: There are many conflicting reports about the effects of consuming mono-sodium glutamate. Whenever I eat foods that have MSG in them, I feel bloated and my fingers swell.

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Again, there is much debate about the effects of consuming HFCS. My opinion? I find it odd that many of the foods to which I am “addicted” contain HFCS.

Soft Drinks: (Soda, Pop, Cola, Coke) I once heard, and this could be COMPLETELY FALSE, that it takes 10 cups of water to “remove” the harmful chemicals from one can of soda from your body. Is this true? I have no idea. But, I cannot imagine that any beverage containing “acid” could be good for me or my body.

I went to the gym today and I WORKED OUT. I really pushed myself to FOCUS on one specific goal and to push myself. Normally, I go into the gym without a “game plan”. Today, I focused on forty-five minutes of intense “cardio”. I used the elliptical, my new favorite piece of exercise equipment. (Am I the only one who wants to put a “z” in the word “exercise”?)

How do I feel after working out AND avoiding all of the above foods? Strange, somewhat hungry, and exhilarated.

After getting home from the gym, I was still a bit “restless”. So, I headed to the local track and I walked for 1/2 a mile and I RAN FOR 1/2 MILE! Yes, my friends, your chubby little pf blogger actually RAN FOR 1/2 MILE! (Okay, I ran for 1/4, walked 1/4, ran 1/4, walked 1/4, but still, you get the picture!)

Basically, I consumed raw fruits, stir-fried vegetables, lots of water, and a little protein. It amazing how LITTLE food I actually needed to eat to feel “full”. My theory is that, when not slathered in the above “unhealthy” food additives, the food actually gets to “do it’s job” of “filling me up”.