Month: October 2015

Categories
Sweat

Fit Over Fifty: One Couple Proves It Pays To Try

As a gym owner, I hear a lot of excuses. Most of the time people tell me all the stuff they can’t do before they even try. People say things like, “I’ll never be small” or “I’ll never be able to run again.” The truth is, you really don’t know what your body is capable of until you try.

As a trainer, my job is to convince people that it’s always worth trying. And every day I see people accomplish things they never thought possible. Some people think it is impossible to lose weight. Others may think it’s impossible to do a certain task. Many people think it’s too late to get fit or to tighten up loose skin. No matter what the goal is, it’s always possible to improve.

Try And Try Again

Despite being in their fifties, Brad and Valerie Ward decided it was worth the effort to see if they could reshape their bodies. They always considered themselves pretty healthy. They worked out and didn’t abuse their bodies, but they weren’t happy with the results they were getting in the gym.

Like many people who go to the gym day after day, they weren’t seeing their work in the mirror. Something had to change. “After many years of fads and fitness trends,” Valerie admitted she was ready to try something new. That’s when she decided to do one of our boot camp programs, BCx Bikini Boot Camp.

The program was designed to teach women how to get ready for a National Physique Committee (NPC) Bikini or Figure competition. Even though Valerie wasn’t completely convinced she could get in good enough shape to compete, she wanted to at least try. As Valerie began to lose weight, Brad also started to take things up a notch. He not only supported Valerie’s journey, but he began his own journey too.

He watched her body undergo radical changes. He cheered her on when she competed for the first time and decided to join her the next time she got on stage.

Although both of them had always been self-proclaimed gym rats, they learned they couldn’t get the results they wanted by just being strong in the gym. They needed to be strong in the kitchen too.

“I would convince myself that if I ate fries at lunch, I would just run another few miles when I got home. But that wasn’t working,” recalls Valerie.

The two learned that diet was the key to success. They learned to weigh and measure food and track calories and macronutrients to get the results they wanted. After they combined a proper diet with proper training, the weight started falling off.

Aim High, Hit High

Competing wasn’t really the goal, it was what they felt they needed to help them reach their goal. The goal was to get in the best shape possible–not to win a trophy or even be on stage. Entering the competition was the accountability they needed to follow through. And they far surpassed their expectations.

Not only did they reach their weight goals with a combined loss of over 120 pounds, but they also both took home first place trophies in Masters Over 50 in the NPC Daytona Beach Classic. They did well on stage, but the biggest reward has been their new lease on life.

“For us, this was the way toward the end of middle age obesity and the beginning of our future living the healthiest lifestyle possible,” Valerie explained. They have completely reinvented themselves and are enjoying a great boost in confidence and a host of health benefits too.

Brad doesn’t just look healthy, he is healthy. He no longer needs blood pressure and acid reflux medicine. Both of them are as strong and healthy as people half their age and have become role models at our gym.

I’m sure they never dreamed they could look and feel this great in their fifties, but they would never have known unless they tried. Fortunately they didn’t let their past failures or age prevent them from trying. Their efforts paid off in more ways than they ever could have imagined.

Categories
Wellbeing

Is Online Dating a Viable Option for Love?

It’s hard to believe that the first online dating site Match.com launched 20 years ago. Meeting a partner online has become as much a part of our culture as hamburgers and fries, and it’s often responded to with the same feelings of love and hate. Still, it’s a big part of our culture and it offers a unique opportunity for meeting that someone special.

Everyone wants to find love and in todays super busy (albeit disconnected) world making online dating a viable option for many relationship seekers. Nearly nine-in-ten Americans are online, and dating on the Web has grown in both popularity and acceptance according to the Pew Research Center. The use of online dating is both an act of convenience and desperation. It has become harder and harder to meet a significant other in the modern day culture due to busy schedules and the natural reduction in socialization since the onset of the internet. As a society we are either working or behind our computers making it less likely that a random personal connection will be made.

The stigma has lifted from online dating, and it has become a bit of a pop-culture phenomenon with sites like Tinder and Ashley Madison coming on board. However, there are still many people who feel that dating online is only something people do when they have no other viable options. As a matter of fact, the Pew Research Center also reported that 21% of Americans agree with the statement that “people who use online dating sites are desperate”.

I had a friend once tell me that if you’re not online dating you’re not dating. While this sounds like a reasonable assumption the vast majority of relationships still begin offline, and it’s been found that only 5% of Americans who are in a marriage or committed relationship say they met their significant other online. Even the people who are dating don’t seem to be as lucky (or maybe it’s lazy) as you would think because one-third of online daters have not yet met up in real life with someone they initially found on an online dating site. Even though the stigma of online dating has subsided it would appear that many people are still finding a partner through more traditional means.

Pros and Cons

Online dating expands the market for daters, and it’s also less intimidating for people who might be shy or who are socially anxious. The risk of rejection is equally as high with online dating as it would be approaching someone in person yet the sting is less when shielded by a computer. This makes online dating a viable option for the daters who feel insecure or less confident in their chances of making a connection. It’s also a good option for people who don’t get the opportunity to socialize due to work schedules, being new to a city or being recently divorced with few single friends.

The downside of online dating comes into play around follow through and etiquette. There are no hard and fast rules for manners online so people tend to behave badly by failing to respond to emails or making lewd comments they would never make in person. Online daters end up experiencing multiple incidents of rejection simply because a lack of response is equally as hard as hearing no. Another downside to online dating is that it can be time consuming turning it into a “job”. It could take hours to search and sift through all of the sites members to find just one or two viable options. Time is definitely a big factor for many people who use online dating as a means of meeting a partner.

Fit or Flop

Online dating is a fit mainly because it increases the chances and creates a greater opportunity to meet that someone special. Love is a numbers game so the greater the pool of people, the bigger the chances of success. It’s particularly a good fit for the people that would be considered to be in a “thin dating market”. Many individuals have a limited number of available partners within their immediate social circles including people who are older, divorced or have other unique qualities that might be marginalizing.

Online dating, while being a good viable option should not discourage or diminish a person’s efforts to meet someone in real time. Daters need to be mindful of not relegating their dating option to the internet while neglecting to utilize their social time for the same purposes. Every situation offers the chance for connection if the intention and openness is there.

Resource:

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/5-facts-about-online-dating/

Categories
Wellbeing

Do You Suffer From Cyber-Envy?

Think back to a first date. Remember how you wanted to look your best? You wanted to present your best self, look “put together,” sound successful and be engaging. Viewing other peoples online image is like being on a perpetual first date. On a first date people are generally a filtered version of themselves designed to make the best impression possible. The problem is that some people’s online personas never move beyond the “first date” to a more genuine and balanced self-portrayal.

I don’t know about you but I generally don’t post pictures of the dinner I burned last night or photos of myself as I roll out of bed in the morning. I don’t take videos of the disagreement I had with my hubby right before we went out to dinner! Even thought I do intentionally try to post less than ideal moments, parenting fails, and disappointments, my online presence is still slanted toward the positive. For example, I’m writing this while in my robe with my hair in a pony tail, and not a stitch of make up on and I’m not going to post a picture of me in my current state with this article.

If you struggle with envying other people’s virtual lives, the first thing to do is to remember is that cyber life doesn’t equal reality. It is a filtered version of reality. It’s always skewed toward the positive aspects, the successes, the fun activities, the times that things are going well.

When you see someone’s newly decorated kitchen or family photo with matching outfits, it’s easy to turn those feelings of envy into ‘shoulds’… I should be like her or my family should be like that. I should get family photos taken like that, or I should redecorate my kitchen. Just because someone else posts a photo online that is appealing to you doesn’t mean that you should change anything about your own life. Celebrate the positive things that your friends are experiencing and recognize that it’s only half of the story. Someone else’s successes and accomplishments mean absolutely nothing about you or your life.

One of the gifts of being a therapist for two decades is having glimpses into the darker parts of people’s lives, the stuff that is never posted on Pinterest. I have felt the painful burdens and the stinging disappointments of individuals who look like they have their lives put together on the outside. My clinical experience has helped me to know that everyone has struggles and challenges and that there is always more to the story of a person’s life than they are sharing online.

If cyber-envy is bringing you down and you’re having a hard time separating online personas from the realities of life, you may want to unplug for a few days. Go on a “digital cleanse” and take a break from Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or reading your favorite blogs. Stepping back from social media can help you get more connected with you own life. While you get yourself centered again, try investing more time and energy in your face-to-face relationships. Focusing on your real-life and practicing gratitude can help shift your focus from what you wish you had to what you do have.

Instead of letting cyber-envy fester, consider letting it inspire you! For example, if you see some amazing photos online from a friend’s weeklong family cruise, instead of thinking, “I’m a horrible parent… Our family has never taken a cruise!” you can think instead, “That looks so fun. I think it’s time to start planning and saving to take my family on a fun trip.” Notice the things that other people are posting and consider that it be information about what you like to do or that you’d like to try. It is possible to transform cyber-envy into cyber-inspiration.

Categories
Nosh

Reacquainting Children With the Origins Of Their Food

More and more often when you ask an urban child where that crunchy carrot came from, they’ll respond that it came from the grocery store. And that egg, well, it came from an egg carton. Many kids have no connection to where their food comes from before it hits the retail shelf. That’s why it’s our responsibility to show the younger generation that many of their favorite foods in fact came from the garden, the farm, the sea, or from animal production. Here are some tips for reintroducing kids to their food’s origin:

Visit local family farms.

If you look in the right places, you’ll find ample opportunity to visit small, local farms (Google your city name and “local farms”). In season, many farms allow you to come pick your own produce like strawberries, blueberries and tomatoes. In October, you can head to the pumpkin patch to show your little ones how pumpkins grow and discover unique heirloom varieties that you may not see at your local store. Or visit an apple orchard for fresh pressed cider and caramel apples in the fall.

Hit the farmer’s market.

The farmer’s market is the perfect activity for the kids. It’s entertaining and educational. Introduce your kids to the farmers and ask them a few questions. Ask the farmers how their vegetables are grown, do they use synthetic pesticides, or how do they control common pests? Or what’s currently in season? And if you are buying meat, ask them how the animals were raised. What did they eat, did they eat their natural diet? Did the animal live a happy, normal life outdoors? Many farmers will even show you pictures of their farm! You might also want to point out to your child what these farmers don’t use in their food production like synthetic pesticides on fruits and vegetable or hormones and antibiotics to raise the animals for meat. And share the dangers that these food additives pose to human and planet health.

Just by introducing your kids to the local farmers, they’ll get a first person lesson in food production. It will also underscore the importance of knowing where your food comes from and how it is grown, rather than just blindly shopping at a grocery store.

Make your own pantry staples.

Teaching kids about how foods are made is as easy as making them yourself. Making your own bread with the kids is a fun hands-on activity and an easy way to get them involved. Homemade cheese and butter are other great options. And after you put in the work, you’ll get to enjoy the food, which shows your kids early on that these foods take effort and shouldn’t be eaten mindlessly. Instead, that slice of just baked bread with homemade butter should be a cherished experience rather than just a meal.

Join a community garden.

More and more community gardens are popping up in neighborhoods and they’re a great way to teach your kids about gardening. This is especially helpful if you don’t have a green thumb and you need a little help from your community. Community gardens also bring the neighborhood together. When it’s time to harvest that batch of summer squash or that bumper crop of green beans, you can come up with fun recipes that involve the kids.

Keep a chicken coop.

I can’t think of anything better than cracking a fresh, local egg and seeing that bright orange yoke within. Local eggs aren’t just pretty, they’re much tastier and healthier for you and for many urban dwellers, they’re the only farm animal that’s a real option. While a chicken coop is a lot of work, it’s doable even for those that never thought themselves a farmer. Your kids can help feed the chickens and even clean the coop!

Grow a kitchen herb garden.

Fresh herbs don’t come from wasteful plastic containers at the grocery store. In fact, fresh herbs are an easy addition to your lifestyle, even if you’re the furthest thing from a gardener. Growing a kitchen garden is a fun project for your little ones. Clean out a discarded egg carton and then rip off the top. Add a few spoonfuls of top soil with a number of herb seeds. As your child’s kitchen garden grows, you can transplant them into larger containers. And every time you need fresh herbs for a recipe, your little one gets to tear off the requested amount. This simple act will also save you money at the grocery store check out.

Can with the kids.

Even canned foods don’t have to come from the grocery store. In fact, your family can learn to can. Whether those heirloom tomatoes come from the backyard, your local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture farm), or a neighborhood garden, canning is a great way to show the kids how to use and preserve an over abundance of food throughout the year. Pickling cucumbers is another easy way to show your kids that pickles are actually made from cucumbers. You can also pickle okra, carrots, beets, onions (my favorite) and any number of tasty vegetables that come from the garden.

Choosing a few of the ideas above can help you introduce your little ones to the source of their food that’s beyond the grocery store.

Categories
Lifestyle

Wellness: Is There An App For That?

Most of us are looking for a way to stay motivated and consistent with healthy habits. Whether it is eating better or exercising, many of us need daily reminders, support, and something to keep the process interesting. There are thousands of smart phone apps promising weight loss or ripped abs, but do they really work? Is there an app for that?
A recent study conducted at the University of Florida is critical of most free apps. The apps were compared to the American College of Sports Medicine’s Guidelines for Physical Activity including:
– 150 minutes of cardiorespiratory exercise per week
– Resistance exercise two or three days per week
– Flexibility exercise two or three days per week
– Neuromotor exercise (balance, agility, and coordination) two or three days per week
Yes, measured against these criteria, most fitness apps fall short. But is that really the point?
Most Americans get just eight minutes of physical activity per day, or 56 minutes per week. ANY increase in activity is beneficial. If a free app reminds you to get up and move around more, that is excellent. If an app allows you to log what you eat and be more intentional, fantastic.
The secret to successful weight loss or fitness plans is to combine motivation and support for behavior change. A fitness or weight loss app isn’t going to be a magic cure, but they can support behavior change by:
– Providing positive messages, support, and motivation: The FitBit app does this very well. The app is simple, tracking steps and allowing users to log other data such as ounces of water or calories consumed. The real beauty comes through badges earned through steps, encouraging messages (you are almost to your goal), and the ability to connect with friends in good natured competition.
– Making users set specific goals: “I will take 10,000 steps today” is a more specific goal and will be more successful than a goals such as, “I will be more active.” Successful apps ask users to make measurable daily goals
– Reminding users to be intentional about goals: If you are intentional about something on a daily basis, change will happen. Most apps have the option to set reminders or have prompts built into the design.
– Individualizing activities: Cookie cutter activity or eating plans are less likely to be effective than plans that can be modified to fit individual needs. Apps that allow users to set beginning fitness levels, age, injury issues, dietary preferences, etc., will be more successful. The University of Florida Study recommended Sworkit as a comprehensive and flexible app.
– Being easy and pleasant to use: If an app is too complicated or is discouraging to use, you won’t be likely to go back to it day after day. I’m a fan of Johnson & Johnson’s 7 Minute Workout App. It is simple to use, mixes up activities, and is quick.
So, is there an app for that? There certainly could be. With so many to choose from for any smart phone, finding one to suit your specific needs using the criteria above is very possible. Try some out, most have a free version. Whether you are just getting started toward your goal or just need some new ideas to keep you motivated, a smart phone app may just be trick

Categories
Sweat

Destination Racing: 5 Tips for Vacation Racing Success

There is no denying that I have a severe case of wanderlust.

I love to travel and explore, as frequently as family, scheduling, and finances allow. (If it were up to me, I’d never stay in one place for more than week). The world is such a huge, amazing place that it almost seems crazy that one wouldn’t want to see and explore all that our planet has to offer.

There is also no denying that I love running. I am a runner after all, it’s what we tend to do.

Needless to say, destination racing is high on my frequent to-do list, as it combines two of my absolute favorite things: traveling and running. What better way to see the sights of a new city than by foot? Race courses will typically take you not only through the most popular touristy areas of town, but through some of the more hidden, less traveled paths. This of course presents a unique opportunity to see things that aren’t listed on the chamber of commerce’s neatly put together city brochure. Usually this is a good thing, but occasionally will give you more than you bargained for.

Like that one time I ran a marathon down streets covered in garbage, a few dead rats, and past boarded up, abandoned apartment buildings. We’ll leave that city anonymous, but needless to say it was an adventure, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

So while destination racing may seem like a great way to kill two birds with one stone, the added plot twist of vulnerability to a new location and new schedule can certainly put a camper on race day if you aren’t careful.

1) Keep your running gear close. We’ve all heard the cardinal rule of “not trying anything new on race day.” So imagine the predicament you might be in if your suitcase carrying your running shoes, socks, sports bra, etc. ends up on the wrong plane, delayed, or worse…lost. If you are flying, keep your precious racing gear in your carry on luggage.

2) Give yourself time. Traveling can be a hectic adventure in and of itself. If you are traveling solely for the purpose of running a race, make sure you give yourself enough time to accommodate possible delays, traffic jams, and any other unforeseen time consuming events. 

Further, if you are traveling to a race that is in a different climate or altitude, give yourself plenty of time to acclimate. Otherwise your race may end up slightly (or a lot) more miserable than you bargained for. 

3) Watch what you eat..at least until after the race. As we mentioned above, no new things on race day. This goes for food as well. Sure it may be tempting to try that rich, decadent meal at a restaurant while on vacation. But just think of how that may affect…or ruin…your race. Stick with your regular meals prior to the race, then indulge on the local specialties AFTER the race as you celebrate your finish. 

4) Hydrate. Travel can easily dehydrate you. Whether it’s because you didn’t want to have to use the airplane bathroom multiple times during your flight, or because you were too busy exploring a new city to remember to drink up…you could find yourself in a less than hydrated position when you line up for your race. Speaking of flying, here’s a random fun fact: the humidity level in airplanes is typically kept at 10 to 20 percent — much lower than a typical indoor humidity of 30 to 65 percent, which can lead to dehydration. 

And let’s not forget all of those on-flight Bloody Mary’s! 

Point being, carry a water bottle and sip from it often. 

5) Rest. This is so much easier said than done while traveling. Sure, the point of a vacation is to relax, but more often than not we end up on the go. Remember that you need to be well rested for your race, so save the busy days on your feet for after the race. Besides, all of that exploring will counts active recovery!

Destination racing is a fantastic way to not only visit new places, but to check races off of your bucket list. Just be sure to keep your normal pre race routine mind, and adhere to it as best as possible to ensure you have an enjoyable race.

Categories
Nosh

Caffeine and Its Role as an Ergogenic Aid

Many American’s drink a cup or two of coffee every morning just to get them awake and to function properly. On some days, you can definitely find me in this crowd, especially if I was up all night tossing and turning. Now I want to tell you about another use of caffeine and that is its role as an ergogenic aid.

Now you might be thinking, what in the world is an ergogenic aid? Many people that are not into sports and many that are into sports may never even of heard the term ergogenic aid before. An ergogenic aid is a substance that has been clinically proven to provide statically significant benefit to athletic performance. These benefits may come from enhanced speed, strength, power, reaction time, focus, etc.

To find out if something is an ergogenic aid, you preform a test with a control group (placebo group) and then you preform the same test with they same type of individuals (controlling for age, sex, weight, etc basically as many factor as you can to make sure the groups are as close as possible to limit anything that may skew the results) but the only thing that is different is that you give them the substance that which you are testing to see if it is an ergogenic aid.

Then the researchers will compare the two groups and see if there is any statically significance to taking the tested substance. So do you want to know how caffeine did as an ergogenic aid, now that you know what an ergogenic aid is?

Before we get to the result, we have to look at the types of caffeine. The two most common types of caffeine that are tested are coffee and anhydrous caffeine (the type of caffeine mostly common added to pre-workout formulas).

Results from the articleCaffeine and Sports Performance from the Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism Journal found that performance benefits can be seen with moderate amounts (~3 mg x kg body mass) of caffeine and that these benefits can be found in a wide variety of sports, including endurance events, stop-and-go events and sports involving sustained high-intensity activity lasting from 1-60 min (e.g., swimming, rowing, and middle and distance running races).

Results from the article Ergogenic Effects of Caffeine and Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation on Intermittent Exercise Performance Preceded by Intense Arm Cranking Exercise by the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that caffeine improved intermittent exercise performance and lowered perceived exertion after intense arm cranking exercise.

Results from the article Effects of Coffee and Caffeine Anhydrous on Strength and Sprint Performance from the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that neither coffee nor caffeine anhydrous improved strength outcomes to a greater extent than the placebo group.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition stand on caffeine and performance are the following:

1. Caffeine is effective for enhancing sport performance in trained athletes when consumed in low-to-moderate dosages (~3-6 mg/kg) and overall does not result in further enhancement in performance when consumed in higher dosages (≥ 9 mg/kg).

2. Caffeine exerts a greater ergogenic effect when consumed in an anhydrous state as compared to coffee.

3. It has been shown that caffeine can enhance vigilance during bouts of extended exhaustive exercise, as well as periods of sustained sleep deprivation.

4. Caffeine is ergogenic for sustained maximal endurance exercise, and has been shown to be highly effective for time-trial performance.

5. Caffeine supplementation is beneficial for high-intensity exercise, including team sports such as soccer and rugby, both of which are categorized by intermittent activity within a period of prolonged duration.

6. The literature is equivocal when considering the effects of caffeine supplementation on strength-power performance, and additional research in this area is warranted.

7. The scientific literature does not support caffeine-induced diuresis during exercise, or any harmful change in fluid balance that would negatively affect performance.

If you’re looking for an easy and inexpensive way to increase your athletic performance, you might consider looking into coffee or caffeine anhydrous as a pre-workout. Most pre-packaged pre-workout do not tell you the amount of each ingredient that is in it, instead they use a proprietary blend so you are unsure of what you are really getting.

Please seek the medical advice from your doctor or physician before starting any workout, diet or nutritional supplement.

Other References:

http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/5

Categories
Sweat

Soybean Oil: A Dangerous Food for Weight Loss?

Soybeans are used in numerous products including petroleum products, lubricants, paint varnish, caulk, and of course, as a food. It seems as though almost every food label I read has some version of soybeans.

Navigating what is good and bad for weight loss in the world of food is never easy, and soybeans are no different. If you are trying to lose weight, let me try and shed some light on whether you should be including soybean oil in your diet.

First of all, what is soybean oil and why is it even in your food? Soybeans are a relatively inexpensive crop to grow and flourish in a large part of the country from Arkansas to North Dakota. Because of this and its inherent versatility, soybeans and soybean oil are popular with food manufacturers who put it in many foods.

Soybean oil is a byproduct of soybeans. When soybeans are processed, they release oils, which are then used in food. You can find soybean oil in many processed foods including crackers, cake mixes, and bakery products. Soy lecithin is a byproduct of soybean oil.

The question becomes whether you should avoid soybean oil or whether it is good for your weight loss?

Before I tackle that question, I want to be sure you know there are some natural health practitioners such as Dr. Andrew Weil, who caution that people with thyroid problems limit soy intake.

In contrast, several studies such as one published in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” indicate soybean oil causes no problems for people with thyroid disorders. The best advice is to consult your doctor and ask him what he recommends.

What About Weight Loss?

The jury is still out on whether soybean oil is definitively good or bad for weight loss. At the end of the day, you will have to decide for yourself.

A study that seems to indicate that soybean oil may cause weight gain was recently performed on mice. The researchers, who are part of the University of California at Riverside, compared mice whose diet was high in fructose or coconut oil to a diet rich in soybean oil.

The end result was the mice that ate a diet high in soybean oil weighed 25 percent more than either of the control groups by the end of the study. The researchers concluded, “in mice, a diet high in soybean oil is more detrimental to metabolic health than a diet high in fructose or coconut oil. If you are interested, you can read the study in the July 2015 issue of the journal “PLOS ONE.”

Deciding to avoid soybean oil is easy but making sure you do not inadvertently eat foods with soybean oil in it can be more difficult.

I recommend you do what I do and always read the label of boxed and processed foods. One thing I’ve noticed is that food manufacturers frequently change their formulations and a food that is free of a certain food one month may include it later.

Soybean oil is easy to identify on food labels because soy is one of the eight allergens the federal government requires to be listed on food labels. Look for soy concentrate, soy nut, soybean paste, or okara, which is soy pulp. Be aware that the abbreviations TSF, TSP, and TVP all designate a soy product.

Categories
Nosh

Are There Really Masculine And Feminine Foods?

When it comes to food, men and women have very similar nutritional needs. Sure, the average man needs to consume more calories than the average woman, and the two sexes need slightly different quantities of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. But the general rule that you are what you eat applies to everyone: eat healthy foods and you’ll be healthy, eat unhealthy foods and you’ll be unhealthy.
Interestingly, when it comes to our perceptions of food, specifically what’s healthy and what isn’t, sex differences play a big role. And there’s another expression (one you probably haven’t heard until now) that might be even more accurate: “You eat what you are.”
Luke Zhu and his colleagues at the University of Manitoba ran a series of experiments designed to measure how sex stereotypes affect our perceptions of the healthiness and attractiveness of food. (Their article, which was published in 2015 in the journal Social Psychology, was cleverly titled “Macho Nachos: The Implicit Effects of Gendered Food Packaging on Preferences for Healthy and Unhealthy Foods.”)
In their first experiment, they asked subjects to rate the “masculinity” or “femininity” of a variety of foods prepared in two different ways: baked chicken versus fried chicken, baked fish vs. fried fish, regular potato chips versus light potato chips, baked potato versus French fries. As I’m sure you can guess, people rated the unhealthy options (fried or full fat) as masculine and the healthy (baked or light) as feminine.
In the second experiment, the researchers took identical blueberry muffins and packaged them in four different ways: feminine (with an image of a ballerina and the word “healthy” on the wrapper), masculine (an image of men playing football and the word “mega” on the wrapper), gender-neutral (nothing stereotypically manly or girly on the package), and gender-bending (the word “healthy” with the football players, or “mega” with the ballerina).
Chalk up another victory for stereotypes. When the written message and the image were in sync, “both male and female participants rated the product as more attractive,” wrote the researchers, “and said that they would be more likely to purchase it.” Nobody was interested in the gender-bending option at all. In fact, people said that the sex-stereotyped product tasted better than the one with mixed messages (even though all the muffins were identical).
Advertisers understand the “you-eat-what-you-are” idea quite well and they tailor their messaging accordingly. When was the last time you saw a muscular man in a commercial eating yogurt? And most of the people eating big, thick burgers dripping with bacon and cheese are men. There are a few exceptions, but when a woman eats a burger like that, she’s usually wearing a bikini and eating in a very sexy way in slow motion—an approach that tends to appeal to male viewers.
Some brands are trying to buck the trends but it’s not easy. Women are far more likely than men to buy zero calorie soda. But Dr. Pepper has been trying to change that with their Dr. Pepper Ten drink that’s aimed squarely at men only. As you can guess from the name, the drink has 10 calories rather than zero, which makes it significantly more masculine. And the TV ad campaigns feature a muscular, Arnold Schwarzenegger-type action figure dashing through the jungle, dodging bullets, shooting back, and taking time to punch a giant snake in the mouth. “Sorry, ladies,” they say, “Dr. Pepper Ten isn’t for women.”

Categories
Sweat

Is The Shake Weight Really No Joke?

We’ve all seen it. Nearly everyone who has access to television or the web has been a victim of the phallic ads of a guy or girl holding the ridiculous shaking dumbbell. Because of the seemingly sexual suggestive nature of the product, the Shake Weight has been the brunt of many jokes and has even made its way in popular late night variety show skits. It seems like a very bizarre way to sculpt muscle, but could the crazy thing actually work?

I’ll be honest. I thought the Shake Weight would be bankrupt by now. Seriously. How in the world could anyone take this piece of equipment seriously? Yet, to my surprise, I still see the silly thing on store shelves and their outlandish advertisement, which means people are still buying it despite all the jokes. I don’t know about you, but I’d be too embarrassed to even put the thing in my cart, much less check out.

Since the commercial went viral, for obvious reasons, it is nearly impossible to take the Shake Weight seriously. Maybe that is why I never really looked in to it. Even if it had merit, could I really bring myself to use it? Millions of other people aren’t afraid to shake up their workout, so why should I?

How It Works

The Shake Weight is a dumbbell with two weights at either end, which are connected by a spring at the handle. The idea behind the Shake Weight is that it works by the method called “dynamic inertia”. The user is supposed to manually shake the weight while basically holding an isometric (static) contraction.

I looked up “dynamic inertia” to learn more but all I could find were a bunch of hilarious posts about the Shake Weight which I cannot even repeat because of sexual undertones. It seems this terminology is only used in Shake Weight commercials – and in the bedroom.

The Shake Weight comes with a 6-minute DVD on how to use it. The original shake weight is offered in two different weights, a 2.5lb weight for women and a 5lb weight for men. But as they say in infomercial land, “But wait, there’s more”.

Not only is the Shake Weight not out of business, they are coming out with a new Shake Weight called the Shake Weight Roll. The weighted circular ends now spin so you can use it as an ab roller, among other things evidently. In addition to changing up their design, they’ve also doubled the workout. For $29.95 (plus shipping and handling of course), you will get the Shake Weight Roll and a 12-minute DVD workout featuring 12 exercises for the full body instead of just the arms.

Pros and Cons

I have to tell you, I really hoped the Shake Weight would surprise me and prove to be more than just a joke, but the one real pro I could come up with is also a con. It is lightweight so it’s pretty portable but it’s so lightweight it is also limiting. While it might be a good weight for a beginner, there is no way to increase resistance – and the Shake Weight’s suggested exercises are limited.

The list of cons, on the other hand, is quite long so I’ll narrow it down to just a couple of important points. One, while the company says their product is backed by scientific studies, they do not have that research available on their website and I have not been able to find any university studies or scientific journals that support the product. However, I did find a reliable study by the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, which compared the shake weight to a regular dumbbell and the dumbbell won on every level.

The other issue is the Shake Weight’s action is unnatural and some experts say it could even cause muscle spasms that could lead to injury. This is where I draw the line on questionable methods. If there is a safer way to get better results, it’s not worth the money or the risk.

Fit or Flop:

While I really did dive into this project with an open mind, my initial instincts were correct. The Shake Weight is a Flop and not worth the money – unless you plan on giving it to a friend as a gag gift. Then, all the laughter, endless jokes and priceless photographs are definitely worth every penny.