Buy Walking VideosLose The Beer Belly!
This is an interesting commercial from a few years ago:
I love the final line:
Reebok Whatever your goal.
9/29/2007
9/28/2007
The Biggest Loser Uses Bodybugg
Two years ago, I wrote about Bodybugg, which is an overpriced gadget that attaches to your arm to measure your caloric expenditure:
Sometime last year, 24 Hour Fitness jumped on the Bodybugg bandwagon, offering the Bodybugg for $350 instead of the original cost of $500. Since 24 Hour Fitness is a major sponsor of The Biggest Loser, all the contestants are wearing a Bodybugg.
Now that Bodybugg is $150 cheaper than it was before, do I think it’s worth it? Part of me says no. You can get all that information from a $100 heart rate monitor and a food journal. Why spend the extra money?
Of course, another part of me was surprised at how happy I was with the Nike+. I could have kept track of my runs with a running journal for almost free, but that $20 gadget changed my running habits for the better. I loved seeing the graphs of my runs and how well I was doing. Maybe the Bodybugg would do that for my eating.
Am I going to shell out the bucks for a Bodybugg? No, but I’m less certain about how worthless it is after experiencing the Nike+.
9/27/2007
Nicole Lee Gets The Perfect Running Shoes
Nicole Lee bought the new iPod Nano with video and a Nike+ running kit to go along with it. Unfortunately, the Nike+ running shoes were killing her feet:
She decided to go to a specialized running store to have her feet fitted to the perfect running shoe:
This was the procedure: They measure your bare feet. Then they ask you to roll up your pant leg, and walk around as they look at your gait, posture, and so forth. After that, they get a sense of what your “problems†are — whether you over-pronate when you walk, or you tend to lean a little toward the left, etc (These guys are trained to notice these things).
He then placed them on my feet, and encouraged me to go walk around the store, run in place, even jog around the block and come back. And I have to say, these shoes are amazing. He even taught me a special “butterfly†lacing technique meant to secure the shoe further.
I don’t know why that whole procedure scares me so much. There is one of these stores in Salt Lake City and visiting it has been on my list of to-dos for a long time. I guess I’m scared of having these professionals judge my running and walking style. I felt more comfortable going to the Nike store in Las Vegas and running on their treadmill in front of the whole world to test the shoes than to be evaluated by a “professional.”
Not Nicole! Kudos to her for going in and getting the best running shoes for her feet!
9/26/2007
PostSecret: Eating
I worry about this all the time. I learned to binge by watching my father overeat. Will I teach my unborn children to binge. It’s enough to scare me away from having children.
Of course, there is the opposite fear. My child will watch me binge, be disgusted with me and become anorexic.
I have no idea how to raise a healthy child eating unless I eat healthy myself.
PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.
9/24/2007
Runner+ Challenge Winners (09-17-07)
Last week’s runners were awesome and it looks like we have some stiff competition going.
It was a tight race betweenmephista and manical all week, but mephista won in the end.
At the last minute, mvb99 took the win for Level 2. He’s competing on Level 3 next week.
Sjanky won the Level 3 challenge and squeaked into next week’s Level 4 challenge with only one mile to spare.
After winning last week’s Level 3 Challenge, SLBplus has won the Level 4 Challenge. Looks like he’ll be running on Level 5 next week!
myztikjenz busted out of the Level 5 mileage and graduated to Level 6 with this week’s win.
Once again, Rasmus is the true running champion! He ran almost 90 miles this week! Props to Rasmus!
Congratulations to all the competitors! Join us at Runner+ and show off your mileage!
If you exercise by running or walking, you can compete in the Starling Fitness Challenges on Runner+. All you need is an account at Runner+ (free) and you can log your miles there. If you have a Nike+iPod kit, then your runs will automatically be added, but the site will also allow you to add your runs manually. If you would like to compete against runners on your level, here are the links for this week’s challenges:
Level 1 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 0-10 miles a week.
Level 2 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 10-20 miles a week.
Level 3 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 20-30 miles a week.
Level 4 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 30-40 miles a week.
Level 5 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 40-50 miles a week.
Level 6 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 50-60 miles a week.
9/23/2007
Forerunner 305 Keeps Track Of EVERYTHING
Our friend, SLB+, wrote a review of his Garmin Forerunner 305. It looks like it keeps track of EVERYTHING: heart rate, elevation and pace.
When I tested the Garmin Forerunner 205 at CES a couple years ago, they were unable to be REALLY tested because they didn’t work within the building.
Because of the bulk of the unit and the lack of ability to work when I am running on a treadmill (half the year), I decided that my Nike Imara was better for me than the Forerunner. After enjoying the tracking that the Nike+ does, however, the Forerunner looks even better. Too bad it costs $240 right now. I think I’ll stick with my Nike Imara and Nike+.
9/22/2007
Acomplia Causes Suicidal Thoughts
Another reason to go the healthy eating and exercise route to weight loss:
It looks like there has been a snap in the approval process for Accomplia:
The drug, which has been in development for some time and is already available for prescription in 18 countries under the name Acomplia, has proven quite successful in earlier trials, with patients consistently losing weight and keeping it off while also showing signs of better-regulated blood sugar and cholesterol levels. If approved, the drug will be marketed in the United States as the potential bestseller Zimulti. It was initially advertised as a double-purpose weight-loss/ smoking cessation aid, but in 2005 officials raised concerns when it came up for approval in that capacity due to a “lack of efficacy” and, again, possible psychiatric side-effects.
Don’t be the guinea pig. When this drug comes out, let everyone else try Accomplia and wait until it has been on the market for at least five years. Then you’ll know whether it works or not.
9/20/2007
The Biggest Loser: Never Picked For The Team
I didn’t watch The Biggest Loser all last year because I hated the new “Barbie” that they replaced Jillian with. This year, however, Jillian’s back and she’s out for blood.
They started The Biggest Loser out with a bang by having a race across the desert to be the team captain. Once you won the race, you could choose who you wanted to be on your team. The only problem was, you could only choose five people and that left six people never picked for a team. Those six were to go home while the two teams worked out with “Barbie” and Bob.
When Jerry picked Kae for the Blue Team, she was the first to be chosen. The look of shock and joy on her face for being the first one picked was genuine.
She said, “Jerry picked me as the first person and that’s why I was so surprised. Me?! First?! I’ve never been first before!”
I’ve never been picked first before either. In fact, every fat kid knows the feeling of being last or almost last, just praying that they pick your best buddy after you just so you won’t be last.
Yes, The Biggest Loser vividly recreated that feeling of being picked last for six people right off the bat. But instead of being picked last, they weren’t picked at all and told they had to go home. As the people who were never picked for the team were waiting for their bus to go home, I felt that sick feeling in my stomach of never being picked.
Julie said, “I feel like the fat kid at camp. As a person who’s overweight, you deal with disappointment a lot, but this felt like just one more rejection.”
Then a black motorcycle pulled up.
Julie predicted it perfectly, “Who is that?! Please, God, tell me that’s Jillian!”
The motorcyclist pulls off her helmet, and Julie got her wish. Jillian is back! She screams, “You’re not going home! We’re the new Black Team! You’ll wish you were goin’ home, Dude!”
While the Blue and Red Teams are competing in the typical Biggest Loser fashion, Jillian’s Black Team has been hiding in the desert, training with bags of sand and abandoned industrial tires. For every kid who got picked last, the Black Team is there. Jillian won’t let them forget it. She screams while they work out:
“I expect NOTHING less than the BEST! Aren’t you the ones who were not chosen? Don’t let me find a reason why! Why weren’t you chosen?”
Julie answers,
“Because I wasn’t strong enough.”
Jillian replies,
“Show me you’re strong enough!”
Next time you’re thinking about skipping your workout, remember what it feels like to be chosen last for a team, get to the gym and show me that you’re strong enough.
This season is going to kick ASS!
9/19/2007
Ask Laura: How Is Patrick Deuel Doing?
I wondered how Patrick Deuel is doing? Haven’t seen anything after his surgery.
Karen B.
Back in 2005 and 2006, I had written about Patrick Deuel. He used to weigh over 1000 pounds, but eventually lost enough weight to get down to 370.
How is he doing NOW, though? Despite its name, weight loss isn’t about weight loss, it’s about maintaining a healthy weight. Once you lose weight, you have to keep eating healthy. How is Patrick Deuel doing? Rocky Mountain News did an update back in April:
Patrick Deuel said Tuesday that he hasn’t stepped on a scale since last summer, which was the last time he saw his doctor.
Deuel, who once weighed 1,072 pounds, was down to 370 in November. Too many holiday sweets and his attempts to quit smoking have taken a toll since then, he said. He guessed that he now weighs 425.
For all of us, weight isn’t a stationary number. It is like the waves and it ebbs and flows with our health, emotional state and physical activity. The important thing is noticing when it is ebbing too close to obesity and working to keep it at a healthy level.
Via: melting mama: Patrick Deuel Rebounds a Bit. (Like the rest of us?)
9/18/2007
Wanna Go Golfing? Part 2 of 4
“We thought we’d take you to the driving range so you can practice before we try to play a game.”
My mom is so nice to me. She is obviously worried that I’ll be embarrassed by my horrible golf skills, so she wants to protect me. Little does she know that I have no embarrassment about anything athletic. I just assume I’ll be horrible and if I perform even halfway good, I’m ecstatic.
Mike and I meet Reed and my mom at the the driving range. I pull my new clubs out of the trunk and look for them. I spot Reed with two buckets of balls and we hurry to catch up to him. I show off my golf clubs to Reed. He helped me pick them out over the cellphone, so I’m excited to show them. Compared to my mom’s they look beat up, but I’m happy to have my own toys to play with. I don’t share very well.
“Do we have to pay?” I ask.
“You have to pay for the balls. They’re six dollars a bucket,” Reed replies.
Golfing is a lot less expensive than I expected it to be. I paid $35 for my clubs and now only $6 for a huge bucket of balls.
My mom starts instructing me while Reed pours some balls into the small bin, “When you’re driving, you use the 1 wood, but we’re going to start you out on the 7 iron. You want to hold your club like this.”
She holds her golf club and her thumbs and forefinger form a “V” on the club.
“You should lock your pinky fingers.”
Reed cuts in, “She doesn’t have to lock her fingers. I don’t, see?” Reed holds his club so we can see. He doesn’t lock his pinky fingers because he’s missing his pinky on his right hand. He laughs at his joke.
Reed takes over the instruction, “Now, you are going lift back, swing and hit the ball. Don’t forget to follow through.”
I aim for the 100 sign in the distance. I swing and hit the ball about 50 yards, halfway to the sign. Reed and Mom cheer. Mike takes his turn and hits the ball nearly to the 100 sign. We all cheer for him.
“Well, you’re better than I was the first time,” Mom says.
The four of us keep driving balls. My furthest almost reaches the 100 sign. Mike hit one past the 150 sign. Reed continually hits the 200 sign without a problem. Lots of times, I took a swing and hit nothing.
“You looked up. Your club will go where your eyes go, so you have to keep your eye on the ball,” Reed offers.
I had to keep my eye on the ball when I played tennis, but I didn’t expect it in golf. It’s not like the ball is going to bean me. It just stays on the ground. When I keep my eye on the ball, however, I hit the ball. When I don’t I don’t.
“Let’s move you to the 1 wood,” my mom suggested.
Now, I can’t hit the freakin’ ball. It’s like I had to learn all over again. After several practices with the ball on the tee, I was finally able to do it again.
We hit the yellow balls until they were all gone. That took about thirty minutes.
Then we practiced putting and pitching. We used our own balls for that, so it was absolutely free. I couldn’t believe our luck. All this golfing for only six bucks? I thought golf was for rich people.
After hitting the ball as hard as we could, it was a surprise to try to putt. Our balls went far further than we expected and even further than they would have at a miniature golf course. Somehow the green was smoother and cleaner than astroturf. I have never seen grass like the grass by the hole.
Reed let Mike use his fancy putter that cost more than my entire set of clubs, but it didn’t seem to stop Mike from slamming the ball across the green. Both of us kept overshooting the hole. Putting seems to be our weakest points right now.
We practiced pitching from the rough. That felt better because we needed to give it some power to get it close to the hole.
Mom and Reed made us stop practicing after an hour. “You’re going to be sore tomorrow if you do any more.” I could already feel the ache in my right forearm, so I didn’t argue.
“We’ll go golfing again next Sunday. This time we’ll get a tee time and play a game.”
I could hardly hold in my excitement.