Facebook Makes You Fat and Crazy; Chocolate Milk is Good for You

Have you ever been asked to be a part of a study? I have, once, on weight loss. I was hand-picked AFTER I lost a lot of weight, so, now I am skeptical when I read reports about “success”. Two recent studies that have been posted talk about two of my favorite things, Facebook and chocolate milk. Facebook makes you fat and crazy, according to one study, and chocolate milk is the perfect after workout replenishment. Who are these people? Are they us?

The chocolate milk study… damn that sounds good right now… sorry, the chocolate milk study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, states that chocolate milk in and of itself, may be an excellent alternative to sports drinks like Gatorade. I guess the main point the study makes, is that while sports drinks may be great at replenishing electrolytes and immediate use carbs/sugars for faster recovery to be able to go out and do it (whatever your “it” is) again, milk also has more protein to repair muscles. And, while a glass of regular milk may have some protein and carbs, popular chocolate milk has twice as many as many replenishment sports drinks, and therefore a better full package option. Great, let’s do this!

Now, I sit down in front of my HP Touchsmart All-in-One computer and check Facebook and because Facebook makes me feel good about myself (loser friends) or bad about myself (oh crap, I’m the loser fiend) I am more likely to grab a cookie over a granola bar, or perhaps better yet, a chocolate milk. This, according to another study, published at RT.com, is exactly what is happening to many of us.

The two researchers, who are both professors of marketing, conducted five studies on 100 Facebook users to determine how use of the social media giant affected the lifestyles of the study participants. Those who spent more time on Facebook generally had a higher body mass index, increased levels of binge eating, higher levels of credit card debt and a lower credit score. One particular study found that those who browsed Facebook for five minutes were more likely to choose a chocolate-chip cookie over a granola bar as a snack.
Later it says… 

And if weight gain, rude behavior, credit card debt and low credit scores aren’t enough to convince users of the negative effects of Facebook, a second study shows that Facebook users are more likely to suffer from psychotic episodes.
So, according to these two studies, chocolate milk is good for you post-workout and Facebook is making you fat and crazy. But wait, who are these people? Well, in the instance of the chocolate milk study, these people are active cyclists, and the study comprises of them drinking the chocolate milk between cycling activities. So, if I’m training from the Amgen, I can afford some Nesquick… good to know. Glad somebody paid top dollars to researchers to figure that one out.

As for the Facebook study, I don’t know who the subjects were. The report states some very “general” terms, like subjects had a higher body mass index. Note, it didn’t say higher body fat, it said BMI, which is a crap number anyway. Also, no race, age, gender or other information was provided. I’m sure they have it all, but if it’s not in what you read, don’t make any rash decisions off of it.

Okay, so, my point is, don’t trust headlines (not even mine) for your news on fitness and nutrition. If you really want to know more, drill down and learn more. Find a study of interest and think it may apply to you? Then find out who the subjects were and if the circumstances and results are like your life. If not, stick with what you know.

Brian Jagger is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer who used to top the scales at well over 300lbs. He has lost the excess fat, become fit and now works as a personal trainer/fitness coach and part-time working actor on various TV and film projects. Jagger is also the co-host of the fitness for all focused podcast “FitBody Radio” which can be heard live weekly at FitBodyRadio.com or via podcast through the itunes store.

It's Okay To Throw Away

Many in recent years have talked about how we as Americans have to get over our need to “clean our plates”. We’ve been told not to listen to years of “the starving people in third world countries” rhetoric so many of us grew up on, and to instead not eat everything we can. That, is of course, what many of us would agree is correct. We don’t need to eat everything on our plate, whether it be a home cooked meal or the traditionally over-portioned food delivered to us while dining out. We don’t even need to eat everything we buy to make these meals. Here is where we really have problems... then what? Are we really, gulp, supposed to just throw away perfectly good food? For our health... YES!

It’s one thing to not eat everything on our plate, it’s a whole other to actually allow it to be thrown away. How many times have you asked for a “doggie bag” with some intention to later eat that food, or to take it to the kids, the spouse, the neighbor, etc., only to, for one reason or another, find yourself eventually throwing it away? Did you feel less guilt because you had good intentions? Why have guilt at all? Excess food hurts our body and shortens our life. It literally kills us. There is no need to feel guilty for throwing away food from a restaurant. Or is there?

What about the starving children? Well, you could stay in instead of going out and donate the difference to a local (and reputable) food bank. What about the money wasted? You paid for it, and we can’t waste money! It’s already been paid for, so why not eat it? To not eat it would be wasting money (even though to eat it is literally hurting your health). But think about this, you don’t eat the extra Raid poison pellets under the sink that are about to expire. At the end of the day, it’s all just unused chemicals.

I write this, because I know it, all to well. My challenge, personally, isn’t the restaurant. I have overcome that guilt and will just leave a half-full plate. My challenge is when I break, as I have from time to time, and justify the continued eating of a food, one that is not just a little, but a lot out of my comfort zone for proper health. “Well, I bought this cake for my kids, but I can’t let it go to waste, I don’t want to waste my money. so I’ll eat a slice. Well, its still sitting there wasting my money, time for another slice.” Basically, I’d rather eat an unhealthy, horrible food than throw it away, since it cost money. Why? Because it gives me/us another excuse, and like cleaning our plates, we've been taught not to waste.

The solution? Just don’t buy it in the first place of course! If you were thinking that, you are reading the wrong column. Breaks happen, bad judgement happens, weak days and even weaker moments win sometimes. We continue the war, but lose the battle. That said, if we have a weak moment, if we lose that battle, if we buy too much, or the wrong thing... we need to be strong, stand-up and remind ourselves “it’s okay to walk away from a plate of food, and it’s okay to throw away food I shouldn't have”. The money you save in your health and well being will pay you back for your perceived loss now. If you lose one battle, fight that much harder to win the next one, throw it away.

Brian Jagger is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer who used to top the scales at well over 300lbs. He has lost the excess fat, become fit and now works as a full-time personal trainer/fitness coach and part-time working actor on various TV and film projects. Jagger is also the co-host of the fitness for all focused podcast “FitBody Radio” which can be heard live weekly at FitBodyRadio.com or via podcast through the itunes store.