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The Failure of the Health/Fitness/Obesity Industry

October 20th, 2009

Aaaaarrrgggghhhhh……I am so frustrated.

Yesterday, I met with new client for the first time.

Over the past 30+ years, this woman has tried and failed to lose 20 pounds and get into “shape”

  • She has consulted with doctors and trainers and nutritionists and naturopaths.
  • She has bought books and magazines and dvds and subliminal audio programs.
  • She has starved herself of calories and fat and carbs.
  • She has run and jumped and stretched and lifted and sweated…a lot.
  • She has taken thousands of pills and potions.
  • She has rubbed on various creams and lotions.

In short, she has done just about everything that every popular health/fitness/weight-loss expert has told her to do.

And yet, she has never really come close to achieving her health & fitness goals.

And she blames herself.

And so do the experts.

They told her that their program was guaranteed to work…but only if she followed their instructions with perfect compliance.

So, when the program failed, it was because she broke the rules. It was her fault.

What a load of B.S.

  • They are supposed to be the experts.
  • They promise a solution.
  • She pays them large amounts of money for that solution.
  • And yet they take no responsibility for their part in the process

The nutritionist/dietitian gave her a meal plan, but never told her how to cope with the cravings and hunger pangs that came along with it.

The trainer billed her $120 per session but never taught her the hows and whys of an effective training program.

The weight loss doctor gave her a diet and some B12 injections and then yelled at her when she broke her 1000 calorie / no-carb diet.

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So, why is it that after 30+ years of listening to the experts and spending thousands and thousands of dollars, this woman is still fatter and weaker and less healthy than she wants to be?

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Is it all her fault?

Is it the fault of the experts?

A bit of both?

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And, is there a better way?

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Posted in Attractiveness / Sexuality, Diet/Nutrition, Exercise, Mental/Emotional, fat, fat loss, fitness, fitness - general, flexibility - exercise, health, healthcare, nutrition, obesity, personal trainer, strength, weight loss, working out

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Drink more soda…it's good for you

October 8th, 2009

Not everyone is happy with the anti-obesity/anti-soda ad produced by the NYC Dept of Health.

soda obesity nyc

And it isn’t just the people who lost their lunches after seeing that globby/fatty/veiny cup of goo.

It’s groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom.

In fact, the CCF was so upset, that they produced their own rebuttal ad and had it printed in the New York Times

you are too stupid consumer freedom

BTW, a full page ad in the Times costs upwards of $158,004.

$158,004

And we’re not even including the costs associated with creating the ad.

We’re talking big money.

BIG MONEY

And thinking about that big money awakened the skeptic in me. And that inner skeptic started thinking…who is the Center for Consumer Freedom and why are they spending a ton of money defending our freedoms against anti-cola advertisements?

So, I did a little research into the CCF.

My findings?

Apparently, there are a lot of people who don’t like the CCF.

To them, the CCF is nothing but a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries.

It runs media campaigns which oppose the efforts of scientists, doctors, health advocates, environmentalists and groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, calling them “the Nanny Culture — the growing fraternity of food cops, health care enforcers, anti-meat activists, and meddling bureaucrats who ‘know what’s best for you.’ ”

Over 40 percent of the group’s 2005 expenditure was paid to Rick Berman’s PR company, Berman & Co. for “management services. As part of its operations CCF runs a series of attack websites.

Sourcewatch

But, don’t take their word for it….Check out the “attack” websites

And, if that ain’t enough, watch this video…

Or listen to the man himself as Rick Berman is interviewed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow…

So, what do you think?

Is Rick Berman…

  • standing up for your freedom against the American nanny state?
  • or is he spinning lies in order to promote the interests of his anonymous donors?

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, diabetes, fat, fat acceptance, fat loss, fitness, health, healthcare, nutrition, obesity, politics, weight loss

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Omega 3s protect men from heart failure

April 22nd, 2009

i-love-fish

Attention MEN!!!

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Eat one serving of fatty fish per week and reduce your risk of heart failure

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The Science

According to this new study:

  • Men who eat one serving of fatty fish a week reduced their odds of heart failure by 12%.
  • Men who consume 330 mg of omega 3 fish oils per day reduced their odds of heart failure by 33%

What this means to YOU

If you eat:

You will get your 330 mg of Omega 3s and lower your odds of dying from heart failure by 33%

omega3_fish

Pretty cheap insurance policy if you ask me.

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Research, fat, health, nutrition, obesity, other health issues, weight loss

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Canada: A Nation of Short, Fat Liars

May 15th, 2008

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians are not as tall or thin as they think say they are.

This has caused Stats Can much consternation.

The data that Stats Can collects through it’s Canadian Community Health Survey and the National Population Health Survey rely on Canadians to provide their height and weight.

In 2005, 16% of Canadians were classified as obese; according to their self reported info.

But according to actual measurements, 8% of Canadians are not only fat, but big fat liars to boot.

Oh My God!

What could happen next?

Do you think Canadians lie about their age?

Their income?

Their penis size?

The Horror…..

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Wellness and Workouts in the Canadian Workplace

May 15th, 2008

According to this article in the National Post, Canadian employees desire workplace wellness and disease prevention education to be included in their health care plans.

In the Sanofi-Aventis Healthcare Survey, 83% of the 1500 respondents would be more likely to stay at their jobs if they believed their employer was interested in maintaining their health through education and prevention.

75% thought more highly of employers that offered it in the workplace.

According to Chris Bonnett, a member of the surveyem advisory board and president of H3 Consulting, “[employees] are looking to their employers for support and access to health education and programming.”

PRO

It’s great that Canadians are more interested in their health and that their employers may see a beneficial link between the employees’ health and their value to the company.

Not like the good old days.

Highballs in the corner office…cool baby

CON #1

The survey was conducted by Sanofi-Aventis Canada – the Canadian affiliate of the Sanofi-Aventis Group, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. No conflict of interest there.

What are the odds that Sanofi-Aventis might have some suggestions as to the type of health education and programming (their word) that the employees should have access to?

CON #2

Who is going to say no to free stuff?

Sure, pay for my gym membership. I’m down with that.

It would be much more honest to ask employees if they would be interested in having their employer pick up half the tab for fitness memberships, etc.

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day, any health promotion / disease prevention plan is a good thing. And what a surprise that in Canada, the home of socialized medicine, that business, not government is leading the way.

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Canada's War on Drugs…and Vitamins

May 14th, 2008

On April 8, 2008, Canada’s federal government tabled bill Bill C-51.

Health Minister, Tony Clement says that Bill C-51 is designed to “modernize the Food and Drugs Act”.

Furthermore, the Bill “proposes to maintain a rigorous assessment of health products prior to making them available. In addition, we’re proposing to gain the ability to continuously monitor the safety of products even after they are approved”.

Sounds good.

Don’t want any tainted vitamins, herbs, etc, getting into the marketplace. And if they do, the government has taken the power and responsibility of recall from the manufacturers and given it to themselves.

So, essentially what the government is doing is asking the natural health product industry to prove that their products will do no harm. Once proven, manufacturers will be able to make claims of efficacy like the pharmaceutical industry.

This may even improve the business model for nutritional supplements in Canada. Vetted health claims might increase the legitimacy of the industry in the public’s eye. And yet, something doesn’t seem right with this piece of legislation.

Here is my problem with Bill C-51.

  • What are they protecting us from?
  • In 2006, the U.S. reported one death associated with the ingestion of vitamins. An unknown vitamin & it was reported that while the vitamin played a part, it was unlikely that it was the cause of death. How they would know that if the vitamin was unknown, I will never know.
  • Compare that to the 2006 data for Pharmaceutical deaths. The full report is here.
  • Pharmaceutical Categories associated with largest number of fatalities (Top 25)
  • Deaths – Substance
    382- Sedative/hypnotics/antipsychotics
    307 – Opioids
    252 – Cardiovascular drugs
    214 – Acetaminophen in combination
    210 – Antidepressants
    203 – Stimulants and street drugs
    139 – Alcohols
    138 – Acetaminophen only
    98 – Muscle relaxants
    93 – Anticonvulsants
    75 – Cyclic antidepressants
    69 – Fumes/gases/vapors
    66 – Antihistamines
    61 – Aspirin alone
    55 – Other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
    49 – Unknown drug
    38 – Chemicals
    35 – Oral hypoglycemics
    27 – Miscellaneous drugs
    25 – Diuretics
    25 – Automotive/aircraft/boat products
    22 – Antihistamine/decongestant, without phenylpropanolamine
    20 – Hormones and hormone antagonists
    18- Anticoagulants

Vitamins – 1 death

Aspirin & Acetaminophen – 199 deaths

As far as I am concerned, that should be the end of the story. The government has no business creating a problem where none exists.

Fin

For those of you who want more, here are some interesting links.

video of an anti Bill C-51 rally

Health Minister, Tony Clement’s press conference to discuss Bill C-51

article in the Globe and Mail

article in the Vancouver Sun

The (CHFA) Canadian Health Food Association’s submission to the House of Commons.

article by Andre Picard, Globe and Mail

CHFA response to Picard article

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How to beat Emotional Eating

May 13th, 2008

Are you an Emotional Eater?

Do your feelings drive your appetite and your eating behavior?

Do you eat when you are not hungry?

Do you continue to eat when you are full?…stuffed?…about to explode?

Do you ever find yourself on the couch with your hand at the bottom of a LARGE bag of chips?

Do you eat like this while you are alone?

When you are bored?

When you are stressed?

To take your mind off of your problems?

Do you feel guilty about this behavior?

YES

Then you are an Emotional Eater.

You’re not alone.

Janet Jackson and Britney Spears are celebrity examples of Emotional Eaters

So What Do I Do?

If you think that your manner of eating may constitute a threat to your health, please contact your doctor.

And here is some solid reference info:

What Do I Do Right Now?!

One tool you should look into right away is Mindful Eating.

Here are some links to mindful eating sites. TCME CAMP System Dr.Susan Albers Amazon book list

In the past few years, the practice of mindful eating has grown out of the more generalized psychiatric practice of Mindfulness Meditation, made popular by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

It finds it’s origin in Buddhist teachings. The Buddhist practice of Mindfulness can be defined as “awareness of one’s thoughts, actions or motivations”.

A similar practice is currently being espoused by Oprah’s protege, Mr. Eckhart Tolle.

TLC’s – I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna employed mindful eating in it’s weight loss plan.

In the 1920’s, Horace Fletcher was the diet guru of the day with his theory of Fletcherizing.

Mindful Eating – The Basics

Eat consciously. By this I mean:

  • Take a bite of food
  • Put down your implements/sandwich/glass/etc…
  • Chew your food
  • Taste your food
  • Enjoy your food
  • Repeat until you ‘think’ you are starting to feel full
  • Stop Eating
  • Eat again when you are hungry – not bored or nervous – listen for a ‘grumbly tummy’

That’s It.

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The Fox News B.S. Health Blog

May 13th, 2008

Warning: Prepare to be Manipulated

Just to show how much they care about you and your health, the Fox News Health Blog is headlining these stories:

Girl Is One of 500 Suffering From Rare Genetic Disorder

This poor little girl, Emily Joost suffers from Aicardi syndrome. “Aicardi syndrome is an uncommon malformation syndrome characterized by absence of a key structure in the brain called the corpus callosum, the presence of retinal abnormalities, and seizures in the form of infantile spasms. It is inherited as an X-linked dominant trait and is lethal in males”.

Only 500 people in the entire world has this condition.

Fox News, in their inimitable style, have latched onto this highly emotional story in their quest for eyeballs.

If you, like me, were touched by this story, donations to the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation are being accepted here. I am sure that Fox News made a big donation.

10 Mistakes Women Make in Bed

Now we move from sorrow to sex.

Written by Fox Sex-pert, Dr. Yvonne Fulbright, Fox News as always, tackles the most serious subjects.

And Here’s the Top 10 Mistakes Women make in the Sack

1. Trading in Marilyn for Mommy.

2. Being unresponsive in the sack.

3. Forgetting to stay feminine.

4. Judging his porn pleasuring.

5. Being afraid to talk dirty.

6. Being unable to own your body.

7. Trash-talking other women.

8. Assuming you’ll be monogamous.

9. Ignoring his nipples.

10. Using too much teeth.

Miley Cyrus’ Offer From Playboy: Is the Age of Sexual Consent Being Challenged?

Staying with the SEX stories…

Fox reports that, “Hugh Hefner has said that he would like to see Miley Cyrus pose naked for Playboy—when she turns 18″.

Is this surprising?

Hugh Hefner, at 82 years old, can still freak people out.

One of those freakees was Fox columnist, Dr. Keith Ablow. Dr. Ablow had this to say:

“I believe Hefner’s offer, albeit cloaked in the disclaimer that Miley has to be legal to strip for him, may herald a challenge to the current age of sexual consent—which is between 16 and 18 in almost all states, lower only in South Carolina (and only when the sexual partners are both young)”.

“What Hefner chose to do was to express being sexually attracted to an underage girl. He knows that he is perceived as freeing American men to express their sexuality. In this case, he is presumably leading the way in suggesting that men ought to feel free to direct their sexual fantasies toward 15-year-olds—bemoaning, perhaps, the fact that they will have to impatiently wait to get them out of their clothes”.

It seems that along with medicine, Dr. Ablow has also been trained in the doctoring of SPIN.

Fox doesn’t mind cashing in on the celebrity of Miley Cyrus. They also don’t mind taking a story that MOST people found disturbing and a little bit creepy, and then spoon feeding us back our own opinions.

How do these Stories Impact your Health?

The answer is: They Don’t

Unbelievably, the Fox News Health Blog is the sixth fastest growing blog on Wordpress.

Fastest Growing WordPress.com blogs

  1. Tennis Planet
  2. CNN Political Ticker
  3. FOX Embeds
  4. Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures – I Can Has Cheezburger?
  5. The Page
  6. FOX News Health Blog
  7. Ask the Expert – Money Magazine

Seriously…people…Fox..News..Health..Blog

One story to make you cry and then two stories designed to get you in the mood for McLovin.

Next time, just pick up the Enquirer.

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Canada has a Fitness Czar

May 12th, 2008

According to the Globe and Mail, Canada now has a fitness czar.

Merriam-Webster, defines a czar as follows:

czar

Main Entry:
czar
Variant(s):
also tsar or tzar \ˈzär, ˈ(t)sär\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
New Latin czar, from Russian tsar’, from Old Russian tsĭsarĭ, from Gothic kaisar, from Greek or Latin; Greek, from Latin Caesar — more at caesar
Date:
1555
1: emperor; specifically : the ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution
2: one having great power or authority <a banking czar>

Now, I am making the assumption that we, as a nation haven’t exhumed the ashes of Russia’s last czar, Nicholas 2 and put him on the government payroll.
Oh wait, my mistake.
Canada’s new fitness czar is Kelly Murumets, President and CEO of ParticipAction. That’s her, banging out push-ups under the watchful eye of her trainer, Nicholas.

Formerly the President of Acceris Communications, Ms. Murumets has taken over the reins of a newly revived ParticipAction. On February 19, 2007, the federal government pledged $5 million to renew the fitness-awareness campaign.

So what is the mandate of ParticipAction.

ABOUT PARTICIPACTION

Our Mission
ParticipACTION’s mission is to provide leadership in collaboration and communications to foster the “movement” that inspires and supports Canadians to move more.

Our Vision

ParticipACTION’s vision is to work with its partners to ensure a Canadian society where people are the most physically active on Earth.

Strategic Goals

  • To animate the movement that inspires and supports Canadians to become more active.
  • To have “physically active” be a part of who we are as Canadians and how we want to be seen by the world.
  • To develop a legacy of collaboration and partnerships to realize the movement.
  • To set the stage for long-term sustainability of the movement.

ParticipACTION’s Role

participactionParticipACTION will not be involved in direct programming or program delivery. Rather, we will act as a catalyst for communications and action in this sector.

ParticipACTION will take leadership and become the national voice of physical activity and sport participation in/for Canada. We will collaborate with our partners/stakeholders and marshal resources to support the cause and make a difference in the lives of Canadians. Through a national communications program, ParticipACTION will create the dynamic that inspires Canadians to increase their physical activity and inspires society to make it easier to become more physically active. We will work with our partners in advocacy and bring about action through government policies that lead to long-term sustainable change. And, we will gather data, inform the issue and transfer knowledge across the sector and to all Canadians.

So, from what I can see; ParticipAction’s mandate is to crank out some new tv commercials; telling me to stop watching tv.

For my Canadian readers, I bet you remember the old commercials. Here’s a trip down memory lane:

Notice: I will not be held liable if these jingles proceed to ‘ear worm‘ their way into your head and stay there for the foreseeable future.

Here’s one ,and another, and another, and check out this spoof. Classic fromage.

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Fat-o-Phobia

May 11th, 2008

We have officially gone crazy.

In Japan, employers are forcing their employees to eat fish sausages, participate in a “lifestyle reform programs,” and attend boot camps designed to reduce the incidence of metabolic disease or metabo.

Not to be upstaged, the Japanese government has introduced compulsory ‘fat checks‘ for people over 40 years of age.

It’s not just the Japanese that are panicky about obesity.

This article in The Independent brought my attention to all of the medical classifications we now have for obesity and supposedly aberrant eating behaviors.

We all know about bulimia and anorexia.

But did you know about:

and my personal favorite

  • Rumination – Like a cow, ‘bringing up’ partially digested food and then spitting it out or digesting it.

How about:

Maybe, for simplicity’s sake, we could lump all of these conditions together under one banner:

  • Obesophobia – a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of gaining weight

I am not for one second suggesting that people have legitimate mental & physical issues concerning food and their bodies.

But, why oh why, does every human peculiarity have to become a syndrome or a condition?

Why do we have to be afraid of everything?

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