Eat Up
By Jeremy Paquin
“So, are you IN or NOT Jo?” My normal quiet lunch time reverie interrupted. Jo stared
into the shoebox filled with tiny bright white neatly packaged Weight Watcher snacks.
I quietly munched on my apple and pistachios and listened to the ensuing conversation
between two of my co-workers.
Jo: “Well, I don’t know Jane…how much again?”
Jane: “It’s forty-two dollars.”
Jo: “And how many points are they?”
Jane: “They’re only 1 point each, and they’re delicious!”
Jo: “Yeah, I have tried them.” Grabbing one from the shoebox, she appears apprehensive
about the sales pitch.
Jane: “Well its forty-two dollars for the whole box. Are you in or not?”
Jo: “I will have to think about it…”
Jane: “Pfft. Look at Jeremy! He’s eating pistachios! I could only have four of those.”
As I finish chewing my thirtieth, I decide to enter the conversation.
Me: “Hand me one of those.” I squint to read the ingredients list at the back. It is
surprisingly long.
Me: “Tell me ladies, what’s the first ingredient?”
Simultaneously, they guess: “Sugar!”
Me: “Nope, try again…”
An uncomfortable silence follows.
Me (slowly): “Maltodextrin. Ingredient number two is sugar. Then palm kernel oil,
skim milk powder, (rate of speech now picking up speed) yogurt powder, soy lecithin,
salt, flavour, wheat flour, lets see, down the list some more, maltitol syrup, glycerine,
sucralose, carageenan, more flavour, more sucralose, chocolaty drizzle? Ok then.
Deodorized cocoa butter? Colour? Sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, oh, and of course,
sodium bicarbonate…”
Jane: “Oh but they’re sooo good Jeremy. You see, us ladies, we’ve gotta have our treats!”
Jo: “Yeah Jeremy, those pistachios would make me fat!”
Me: “Fat? Good fat won’t make you fat!” (My voice begins to raise here). “Your so
called ‘treat’, with its long list of ingredients, was created in a laboratory. How about
eating real food!? Like meat, eggs, fish, vegetables, seeds, fruit, nuts!?”
Unfazed, Jane responds, “But they’re only one point.”
I was incredulous.
Walking out, I reply: “You’ve missed the point.” Pun intended.
A few years ago I read Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong’s trainer) say that the
supplement industry was a colossal waist of money. I thought it was a bold statement at
the time. I was training 8 to 15 hours weekly for adventure racing, “carb-loading” pre-
race weekend, and consuming copious amounts of grains daily: bread, bagels, energy
bars, cereal, rice, and pasta. He suggested eating a constantly varied diet made up of
nutrient rich foods, including leafy greens, lean meats, olive oil, nuts, and fruit. I quietly
pushed aside my multi-vitamins and energy bars and meal replacement drinks and began
deliberately eating different foods each day.
Unfortunately, the misconceptions about food are pervasive in our culture. Our ancestors
did not evolve while eating boat-loads of grains, refined sugars, or laboratory-created
foods. They ate whatever the land produced. North Americans, especially, have fallen
into a capitalist food industry nightmare. We are the guinea pigs of big business. We are
the laboratory now.
An entire aisle at the grocery store devoted to cereal? Another, jammed end to end
with colourful boxes of cookies and crackers? Racks and racks stuffed with chips and
chocolate bars?
Recently, a hockey teammate of mine said: “Jer, you’d be proud of me! I’ve been eating
healthy all week! I’ve had chicken wraps every meal.” Hmmm I thought, healthy living
all wrapped up in one convenient snack.
Only a few days prior to the Catalyst Games, I was minding my own business in the
office lunch room, when another co-worker, glancing at my food selection – sliced apples,
raisins, and roasted almonds – says: “You’re not going to eat ALL of those almonds
are you?” I reply: “No, but I might have 40 or 50 by days end.” She looked at me like
I was clinically insane. “Oh, I could only have 12 to 16,” she said, matter of fact, while
drinking vitamin water and desperately trying to spoon out the remaining droplets of her
zero-fat strawberry mango yogurt.
Eating like our ancestors did is not so hard after all. In fact, there are many cultures that
continue to eat the same as early humans. Three simple examples, from three far away
continents, tell a similar tale:
The Hadza were featured recently in the National Geographic. They grow no food, raise
no livestock and continue to live a hunter-gatherer lifestyle unchanged from 10,000 years
ago. These Africans eat wild berries, vegetables, nuts, and whatever meat they can catch.
Persons visiting the Middle East, whether in Pakistan, India, or Afghanistan, for example,
would sit down with families over almonds, pistachios, and raisins, and endless cups
of green tea. A reporter who recently had an opportunity to interview Hamid Karzai,
the President of Afghanistan, was greeted to a modest lunch menu of warm tea and
pistachios.
In the spring I read “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon”
by David Grann. The Brazilian government estimates there remains as many as 60
tribes who have yet to have contact with the outside world! Upon visiting one such
group, a tribal elder was admiring the author’s wrist watch and offered to trade, which is
customary in the Amazon rainforest. In return, Mr. Grann received at first what appeared
to be only a leather pouch. Peering inside, however, he found it filled with cashews.
Who do you think got the better deal?
Below is a list of food items I ingested during the 7 days leading into the 2010 Catalyst
Games. Many fruits, vegetables and herbs were from my own 160sq. ft garden or
purchased from local farmers. My food intake is like a revolving door. Another week
I might include pecans and walnuts, fresh basil, mussels, tuna, and trout, or grapes,
broccoli, fresh raspberries and watermelon. Constant variety ensures intake of a
wider range of vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients necessary for healthy living.
Peanuts
Cashews
Pistachios
Almonds
Sunflower seeds
Macadamia nuts
Rosemary
Parsley
Crushed chillies
Paprika
Cumin
Dill
Turmeric
Garlic cloves
Granulated garlic
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Mayonnaise
Horseradish
White vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Table salt
Sea salt
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Black peppercorns
Chicken
Steak
Wild salmon
Oysters
Pork sausage
Roast beef
Eggs
Apples
Peaches
Wild blueberries
Bananas
Oranges
Golden raisins
Thompson raisins
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Carrots
Green onion
Yellow onion
Red onion
Zucchini
Green pepper
Celery
Cucumber
Asparagus
Red cabbage
Iceberg lettuce
Avocado
Romaine lettuce
Black beans
Baked beans
Red kidney beans
Water
Coffee (with a splash of milk, no added sugar)
Gatorade (1L each day for 3 days leading up to the Games)
Bread (one serving the entire week)
How many items listed in the one-point Weight Watchers snack? 58. Fifty. Eight.