So many calories, so little good for you. Yes, there is a lot written in this blog about food. Perhaps that is because food is one of the few areas we can actually spend money on. And the other thing, as I have personally found out, is it is also an area one could actually improve one's physical, mental, and emotional states.

The physical aspect is proven by the weight loss and a decrease in the cholesterol level in my bloodstream. Without using any drugs, I lowered my overall cholesterol number from 206 to 187 in less than six months. That was mostly due to a change in diet and not much exercise. I have not had a test in the last year, and since my diet has continued and my exercise is up, I can only assume that my cholesterol is even better now.

While the commissary list is heavy on the non-nutritional junk food, I usually stay away from most of the junkier stuff. Okay, not all the way away.

I found it ironic that despite all the hate directed at McDonalds, their latest financial reports show a continued increase in profits. Not just increases in sales, but they have managed to continue to squeeze more profit out of the way-too-many dollars that we, okay, not me but the rest of you, silly weak-willed consumers hand over to Ronald on a way too frequent basis.

So I guess the outrage at the way mean old tricky Ronald has managed to empty your pockets and packed your waistlines and blood vessels has not really caused too much damage to good old McDonalds? Yeah, it is easy for me to sound so self-righteous seeing as the one area the fast food industry has not yet penetrated is the prison system.

Not enough disposable income? Well, that is not entirely true. We do occasionally get the overstock and post-dated discards from some of the fast food giants.

So I thought I would share a little lesson that I have learned about watching what you eat and saving those dreaded fat calories for when they would really count. I was thinking of a pint of Hagen-Dazs Chocolate Chocolate-Chip. Yeah, they did actually sell that here a few years back and I am glad they took if off the list. It was way too hazardous to my waistline.

So what with all te mackerel I may be feeding myself a little too much mercury (I will need to get that checked at some point) the average calorie/protein mix cannot be beat. You mix 3.25 oz. of pre-cooked long grain rice, 4.25 oz. of mackerel, a tablespoon of mustard and chili-garlic sauce, a dash of Mrs. Dash and dinner is served. So what do you have from a nutritional standpoint?

Product / Calories / Fat cal/grams / protein / carbs / cost
Rice / 350 / 12.5/2.5 / l0g / 79g / 50¢
Mackerel / 130 / 35/4 / 23g / 0g / $1.25
total = 480 / 47/6.5 / 33g / 79g / $1.75

For Comparison - Junk Food

Product / Calories / Fat cal/grams / protein / carbs / cost
M&M peanut candy / 250 / 120/13 / 5g / 30g / 50¢
1.74oz. jumbo Blueberry donut / 480 / 230/26 / 3g / 59g / 65¢

3.75 oz. Heavenly Trail Mix 10 Oz. $2.60. Contains: Peanuts (coated in "confection coating" dried pineapple, cranberries, almonds, coconut flakes.

I brought one bag at noon yesterday, mixed a bunch into my weekly pint of generic ice cream, and by 12:22 PM today (Saturday) it is all gone. The bag shows that there is supposed to be 9.5 servings per bag. So in just over 24 hours I have inhaled 9.5 times 140 calories = 1330, 80% of those calories are fat = 760.

Okay, all is not lost; the protein is 3g = 28.5 g. The point of the above is that I do not as a rule buy the trail mix. Is it good? Yes. Can I make it last a week? I guess not, and the bottom line is that it is not all that healthy. So just because it is "Fresh Start Natural Foods", it is not always so. True, it is the execution that is a problem. But even if the bag lasted a week, would it be any better for me?

The point I find with most junk food is that it does not take the place of the "meals." So even though I have inhaled the 1330 calories, I have not decreased the normal food I eat. So yes, in my humble opinion it is not just the number of calories you intake but where they come from.

Personally I find that if I do not get a bunch of protein, my brain seems to fire a little slower.

As I have mentioned in prior postings, eating in the chow hall on a regular basis provides for a diet rich in carbs and fat, but low in protein. So while the mackerel may not be the best thing for me in terms of possible mercury, in terms of cost and nutrition it is the best deal around for me.

There was mention on the radio recently that they have been studying the genetic link that exists in humans as far as the body's response to fat intake. That is that when the body is ingesting a high fat food source, it tells the brain that this is a good thing, so feed me more!

While it is not very scientific, I certainly find that my mackerel and rice meal is just the right amount of food and it leaves me satisfied. On occasion I have doubled up on the mackerel when I though I was extra hungry, and by the time I finish the bowl with only an extra 130 calories, I feel overly stuffed.

Yet eating more than one bag of M&M's (250 calories each) is no problem. So in my not so humble opinion, it is finding what types of messages your brain sends out as you eat various foods that is the key to keeping the body functioning at peak efficiency.

As I explain to people who laugh at me drinking a Diet Coke while eating a pint of ice cream, it is that I know I like sugar and fat, I just want to "save" them for the places in my diet where I can really enjoy them. Sugar-free chocolate? No thank you. Fat free cheese? Not. And let us not forget pepperoni!

So there you have it, the food world of a Federal inmate. Go out and enjoy some extra cheese pizza or a pint of Hagen-Dazs for me!
  ¶ 5:26 PM