Friday, August 24, 2007

Shapely Secrets

I've been all revved up the past few days to write about a new TV obsession (which is quite significant because I don't watch much TV), but I saw an infomercial I HAD to write about first. It's actually still on, but I felt myself trying to remember all the key components so I rushed in here.

Side note: It's important to my pride that it be known that I have never bought anything from an infomercial. The only exception was when I was little, like 6, I begged my parents to buy me the Frankie Valli silver greatest hits album (it was actually a collection of albums). I wanted it so bad, mostly for the song Big Girls Don't Cry. I was totally shocked when they bought it for me because I had never known them to buy things from TV...and they still don't. I think there was one other incident of TV infomercial buying when my equally-persuasive little sister simply could not live without a food dehydrator. My reasoning for why I needed this set of records must have been fairly compelling, and to this day I'm pretty touched when I think of them calling to order these records for a little kid.

Anywho, so the product at hand is a weight loss program that promises a loss in 1-2 dress sizes in 14 days. I'm expecting some little machine, or pills, or maybe even videos. Then this strangely shaped thin women in bad jeans comes on to explain what we all want (these are as she stated them): 1. Fast results 2. Weight loss as fast as possible 3. Weight loss with as little effort as possible. Let's ignore the redundancy of 1 and 2. Women in the ad came up one by one to tell their stories. There were tears and shocked shrieks as they realized they'd lost 9 inches from their thighs...or 1, 2 or 3 dress sizes! Amazing.

I chuckled a little, thinking of my sweaty sessions at the YMCA, and the heart-healthy benefits from said sessions. She continues by explaining that in 7 minutes a day, yes I said 7, I can lose two sizes with "motionless" exercise. I'm all for isometric exercises and all, in fact some of my weightlifting sets include them. But this program, it's got to be created by a genius! One can either stand up or sit down. There are specific activities done while still (they didn't show them on the program because I'm sure it would become all the rage and nobody would buy the tapes because they'd already swiped them from the program), and allegedly work 5 muscle groups at a time and work "muscle-to-muscle" (ok, I've been working out since I was quite young, I have no clue what that means).

Let's say this program does actually work. Is there any other benefit to these "exercises"? Perhaps increased tone, cardio, strength? Or maybe it will make me sleep better or feel less depressed? Even though these women got me really excited about their results - I think the Y is where I'll continue to go (wow, I'm really a sucker, I could be getting these same results in only 7 minutes a day).

Monday, August 20, 2007

My Feelings Today...

Relieved
Michael Vick entered a plea deal today for illegal dogfighting and participating in executing at least 8 under performing dogs by hanging, drowning, and other means. I originally had Happy as my heading, but I don't feel exactly happy, maybe more like not super disappointed. I have this strange thing going on where I feel more empathy/sympathy for animals than humans. I guess with animals they're completely at our mercy in most cases. They want to be loved by their owners and people can kick them around and beat them and that animal still just wants to be played with and told that they're "a good boy/girl".

Crabby
I feel pretty crabby today. I think I'm keeping it in pretty well because a couple people at work asked if I'm tired, because I seem really quiet. This could also be translated into "wow, you're not as obnoxious as usual". Part of how I can tell I'm crabby is that every time I want to punch someone in the face I start shoving high calorie objects in my mouth...brownie, chips, twizzlers off "A's" desk, etc. Normally when I feel like this I go directly home, plant myself on the couch, and strategize the most efficient way to get butter down my gullet (butter is my stress thing...usually I'll sneak some butter on popcorn...not the usual fake butter substitute crap we buy...REAL BUTTER). I'm trying something different today, I'm going to the gym instead.

Terrified
Fred Thompson terrifies me. I guess not that he terrifies me, but that there's enough support of him and his beliefs in our country that he's considering entering the presidential race. His key points? He vows to do everything he can to ban abortion and get a Constitutional Amendment passed banning same sex marriage. Um, personally, I feel that we have bigger fish to fry in this country besides striving to take away rights of women and same sex couples. WAY BIGGER FISH...most of which is the wreckage of the current president that I dare not speak his name. I can tell that the current president isn't stellar because when I was talking with my dad last night, a proud republican, he didn't get upset when I called him "the devil" (the president, not my dad). So back to Thompson - I really have a hard time with his views and it makes me feel like we're never going to break free of judging and hate.

Excited
The Fiance and I are going kayaking in September. Nothing fancy, just going on the river for a day and staying in a cabin near Big Piney. We've both kayaked, but we want to do it more. If I were to include it in a 10-year plan, I would say that I'd like to have our own kayaks. I think we're both feeling a little old and tired. How is that possible - we're in our 30's? I think we just need to get out and do new things.