Body shaping undergarments make me look like what?

On my normal morning cruise around the web, I found something that stopped me in my tracks. I came a across body shaping undergarments site, (a la Spanx) Yummy Tummie. Who wouldn't want everything quickly tightened, tucked and smoothed into place, right?

While I've never personally tried out either product, I have doubts over the pictures that accompany the products on both websites. I just can't grasp the idea that a body slimming product could make the average American woman (size 14) look like this:

left: Spanx site picture

right: size 14 woman









I'd love to think that if I purchased these products, I too could be long lean and appear a size 2; but I'm not. Seeing a thin woman modeling tummy sucking garments doesn't sell me. I've heard great stories from products like these; so why can't we see them in action on a curvy, average sized woman? I'm a little discouraged to see products that aim for a nonsurgical, healthy approach to enhance what you already have, use such unrealistic displays.

What do you think? When you're shopping for clothes, would you rather see a thin model or a figure closer to your size? What do you think about advertising body concious shaping undergarments with thin women?

More business on the pink ribbon

I've seen more pink ribbons in the last month than a nurse would in a newborn ward. Every stop to think about the whole trend?

Might not be as good as it seems, says one of my fellow MLive bloggers.

Need a little more info? Check this MSNBC health article- the politics behind the pink ribbon. I wrote about this a little bit about a year ago, but I think cancer and your money are both big enough topics to give another go around.

Does the pink campaign sway your purchases at all? What's your favorite way to support breast cancer? Here's mine!

Energy drink mayhem

Oh it's about time!

I see kids carrying these around campus all the time (especially those with unfortunate 8 a.m. classes). The NBC video talks to a John Hopkins professor who says some energy drinks can have up to 500 milligrams (Mountain Dew has about 50) of caffeine with little to no warning labels.

What ever happened to a good old breakfast to get you going in the morning? Given sometimes my breakfast is a pop-tart (which is about as good as having a bowl of ice cream) but it's something!

What are your thoughts? What do you rely on to get you up in the morning?

Cigarette ad transformation

Quick post today, but food for thought-

Smoking ads have undergone a massive transformation in the past 50 years. Some current ads are speaking out against cigs and saving tons of money. Far cry from these vintage things, hm?

Going pale?

You can catch America's favorite bootylicious babe celebrated in glamourous magazines. Beyonce Knowles has got a voice to die for, a rockin' body and a studly hubby to boot; so what's there to alter?

According to some, nothing a little brightening on a computer can't fix. A L'Oréal hair highlighting advertisement in Elle Magazine is being scrutinized for its less than accurate portrayal of the diva B.

The photos, which I've yet to see in the magazine, but only on online coverage of the story, speak for themselves. The change in lighting is obvious from the ad on the left to a regular photo of Miss B on the right.

Beyonce is a celebrated figure and embraced for her stunning looks. What L'Oréal felt they had to gain by brightening your skin color is beyond me.

Our views of beauty continue to be distorted as the media resorts to fake computer alterations. The hair highlighting product Beyonce signed the L'Oréal ad deal with is obviously being pushed and then some. The hair highlighting product is obvious in Beyonce's straight, long, unnatural looking hair.

My guess is that to push the change in hair color among consumers while keeping Beyonce's sex appeal, her skin was altered. Beauty products are pushed to the public as ways to physically transform yourself and mask flaws.

Beauty ads continue to push the envelope by altering past the product and selling consumers sometimes not so blatant portrayals of "new beauty".

What do you think? Why did L'Oréal deem altering Beyonce's skin a necessary step for their advertisement? What should be the result of this measure?

Fashion/Sports?

Professional athletes have it tough. A former athlete myself, I understand the further level of commitment it takes to be successful at a sport and on-going challenge to keep up performance to stay at the top of the pack. Determination, discipline and a competitive spirit are all necessary traits to make it at a professional level; but is fashionista one as well?

It seems athletes from Dennis Rodman to Maria Sharapova are among the many that gain as much press for their performances as they do their clothes. Golf followers know what it means when Tiger Woods wears red on the green, and I’ll admit, I don’t watch Hockey Night in Canada for the game.

When did advertising take on such a crazy toll that pro athletes are dressed by their endorsers? And more so, why is the hoopla surrounding fabric and not athletics itself?

Tell me- do you tune in to see what they’ve got on, or could you care less? Do the clothes bring more attention to the player than the game?

Reaction: ‘Obesity is suicide’ campaign

I ran across the debate on Leslie’s blog, The Weighing Game at ivillage.com. These images, part of an advertising campaign by what I believe is a student, has sparked up controversy.

Can you really compare obesity to such a serious topic as suicide?

Personally, while I understand the underlying message, I don’t think of suicide and obesity in the same boat. Obesity is a slow killer, more comparable to smoking in my mind.

Suicide is a serious issue, and while obesity is too, I don’t agree with the comparison being made in the ads. The ads are shocking, creative, edgy, but in my opinion, slightly distasteful.

The mental illness associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors is too distantly disconnected from the mental and emotional connections to overeating.

More so, I disagree with the cause behind the campaign promoting this message. Tiny print at the bottom of the ads reviles that this is for the Northern Bariatric Surgery Institute. Bariatric surgery is an option for obese individuals, but it’s not the only way to ‘save’ oneself from ‘suicide’.

What do you think about the ads? Is a message this sensitive necessary?

Helping fight high cholesterol

I got a great message from someone at the Cheerios PR firm alerting me to a great new program.

Entering box top codes at cheerioscircleofhelpinghearts.com can help women get their cholesterol levels checked. For every code from specially marked boxes of Cheerios entered, $1 will be donated to WomenHeart to support women’s health education and provide cholesterol screenings for women in need.

“While heart disease ranked highest (38%) in terms of chief health concerns among women; only 50 percent of women have had their cholesterol level checked in the past year.”

- Cheerios campaign

Cheerios will donate up to $300,000 to WomenHeart, the nation’s only patient advocacy organization serving women with heart disease.

Even if high cholesterol isn't an issue for you, the Cheerios campaign gives you good reason to start protecting yourself early. If nothing else, the campaign puts you in power to helping change the lives of thousands of women. Entering the box top code online will take about a minute out of your day. Showing you promote good health in others will change your overall attention to health.

Sports Drinks: Propel

I was recently contacted by the advertising folks at Propel to bring my readers on board their new campaign ‘How fit is your water?’ I’d seen their new commercials but not really paid them much mind, since I had always been a water girl in the gym anyway.

Did you know if you drank one of these other vitamin enhanced waters instead of Propel you would have to do 492 more sit ups, take 2,640 more steps or do 995 more jumps just to burn off the calories in that beverage?

- Propel Advertising

I decided to test it out anyway, and see how it held up to a good workout. I took a lemon flavored Propel with me on a good hour long bike ride last weekend. My first complaint was the bottle design. While working out, especially on the bike, unscrewing the lid and juggling both the bottle, top and bike all at the same time was challenging. I’d like to see a company promoting their product to a fitness geared group to throw me a little functionality in there as well.

Now, I tried the lemon flavor before boarding it on the bike to make sure I was actually gonna drink it. Sitting around with my roommates, I was pretty pleased with the taste. I imagined it was going to be a little more watered down tasting, especially since the clear liquid mimics water so well. My roommates all spouted out their favorite flavors (berry won). I asked the girls (all three are college athletes, mind you) where they typically drink Propel. They replied mostly in the summer to cool off, although none of them said they drink Propel while working out.

I could see why when I was on my bike ride. When I stopped for a drink (I figured out pretty quickly with traffic passing me, my Propel bottle was not going to be a solid drink on the go) I was pretty displeased with the taste. The lemon flavor was so sweet and sugary tasting, I contemplated ditching it completely and finding a drinking fountain to refill. I was concerned about my hands being sticky from the sugary drink (they wern't), and also turned off that I couldn't finish my ride by pouring a little stream down over my face like I would with a water bottle.

However, Propel is the grandchild of the Gatorade company, which boasts its ability to hydrate you better than water. Propel promises to ‘help hydrate and nourish the active body throughout the day’. I guess if I were to be hanging out all day throwing a Frisbee or going for a walk, I wouldn’t mind a Propel in hand.

If you’re typically a sports drink fan during heavy activity, Propel would be a good choice. It would also work wonders with keeping kids hydrated (or anyone who isn’t an avid water drinker). Their new campaign promotes low calories among other sports drinks. With 10 calories & 2 grams of sugar per 8 oz. bottle, they beat competition (vitamin water is about 40 & 13 for the same size). If you’re looking to cut calories in the gym, I’d suggest going the old fashion water route, since a regular sized 20 oz bottle of Propel will run you about 25 calories.

Check out their commercial here.

What do you normally drink during your workouts? What’s your favorite sports drink and when do you regularly drink it?

Reality TV- I can make you thin

While doing homework and thinking up new blog posts, I mindlessly had the tv on in the background. I couldn’t help but be interested in TLC’s new show- “I can make you thin”.

The premise is that if you tune in weekly and listen to a slim man with an English accent help talk your weight down. Paul McKenna promises his 4 rules will help you loose all the weight you want.

He says by eating when you’re hungry, eating what you want, eating consciously and knowing when you’re full, you can reach success.

McKenna has a point- eating has become something we unconsciously do, like breathing and blinking. Paying more attention to how you’re cooking, and how you’re eating can definitely yield results.

While I applaud him for an approach unlike restrictive diets that often fail, I see some major flaws in his system. For one, in his first show, he mentions nothing about exercise. Eating well is one thing, but even those with the best nutritional habits, are unhealthy without making fitness a habit.

As I mentioned here, lack of physical activity proves to be more life threatening than obesity.

The idea behind McKenna’s show is equally as disappointing. As proven in the title, the program continues to put the emphasis on size, and getting thin, than it does being healthy. With so many media outlets circulating around slender women, McKenna’s approach seems to start off on the wrong foot by promoting an unhealthy outlook from the beginning.

Weight loss methods that focus their results around size and focus ideals around the body shapes of others are poor methods to make changes upon. I think it’s great McKenna can engage viewers and get them excited about weight loss with his charismatic approach, however I’m not sold.

What do you think? If you’ve seen the show, comment and share your thoughts. It’ll be interesting to see what else he preaches in the weeks ahead.

What your workout apparel says about you

I forgot how interesting going on vacation with your family could be. We got together this Easter in Chicago to visit my sister. Between my parents, siblings and I, there were a handful of necessary stops that were an absolute necessity for one of us, and a semi-bore for the rest. After seeing all Crate and Barrel had to offer per my sister’s request, we had to make a stop in Nike Town for my dad.

Personally, I never knew there was enough workout apparel to fill a three floor building. Seeing everything at Nike Town really got me thinking about the new obsession with workout clothes.

Admit it- when you’re at the gym, the woman with the full Adidas jumpsuit looks like she means business, while the man wearing tiny 70’s style gym shorts, a large sweatshirt and tube socks looks out of place. This isn’t just a difference in style, but the way sporting good companies are changing the way we view fitness.

What should it matter how we look while we’re working out? Workout gear has even extended past the gym as I’ve seen many fancy workout jackets and track pants around town on errands.

Stores like Nike and Adidas have taken full advantage of the national obesity awakening. Besides finding all the workout gear you could ever imagine, you can also find Nike brand polo shirts and Bermuda shorts.

Taking after my dad, I could 'oh' and 'ah' in Nike Town for awhile. I walked through the store looking at things that I would need to come back with a bigger wallet for, just to leave and realize none of that mattered. I’ve always been a classic t-shirt kind of girl, and no $80 zip-up will motivate me anymore to get out on the treadmill.

What is your normal workout wardrobe like?

Weight weighing on your mind

Be it New Years, an upcoming reunion, a wake up call or a change in outlook, health alerts come at different times and different times for everyone. No matter when your alarm goes off, don’t break off more than you can chew. A recent article in the New York Times showed that as the percentage of desired weight loss increases, men and women alike showed an increase in days feeling physically or mentally unhealthy. The article concludes that the boost in unhappiness may be a result of the constant stress of worrying. Especially for those who attempt to slim down with an event in mind, self pressure may foil weight loss plans.

With additional social and media pressures, too many weight loss goals are created around unhealthy or unrealistic goals. Attempting to mimic celebrity bodies or focusing on dress sizes may cause more harm than good. Understanding your body type and exercising and eating accordingly will produce the best results for you over time. More so, media perceptions of beautiful women as stick thin can produce stressful frustrating thoughts for dieters. Additional stressers and illness make sticking to healthy habits more difficult, which can hinder your overall goals.

Altering aspects of your lifestyle to become healthier takes time and patients. Taking your mind off a desired end result and focusing on small daily steps are good ways to relieve the worry.

Gaming to replace exercise?

Trying to fight against claims that they might be to fault for child obesity, video game systems are wasting no time trying to alter games to encourage kids to get moving.

Systems like Nintendo’s Wii and the game Dance Dance Revolution have transformed the old way of gaming into virtual activity. Cranky Fitness posted a great article with a link to a Science Daily article on the replacement of activity based gaming as exercise for children.

The recent change in gaming to an interactive, athletically inspired gaming have temporarily given gaming companies like Playstation and Nintendo a break from the dog house. Their response to child obesity and new habits of idle behavior is nice to see. However, as the Science Daily article concludes, these games should not be thought of as a replacement for exercise.

In a time where obesity trends are threatening the health and well being our society, modifications for healthy living should not substitute traditional habits of healthy eating and physical exercise. Games including activity do not practice full ranges of motion. Also, most games do not meet cardio fitness characteristics. More so, these games continue to hinder social interaction with others, and promote a lifestyle of staying indoors.

The idea that gaming may replace activity is ultimately another sign of the changes in our society. One aspect of society that stays uniform however, is a child’s admiration of older children, adults and role models. Encourage your children, siblings or younger friends to engage in an active lifestyle by demonstration. Video games should remain seen as toys, not alternatives for social skills or healthy behavior.

Media Portrayal of Women- Body Shape vs. Personality

Millions of Americans spend their weeknights around the television catching their favorite programs. Since the 1950’s when the TV craze began, we’ve grown connected to our watching our favorite actors and keeping up with the storylines of sitcoms. The widespread love of television and mass media created a struggle to appreciate personal identity outside of produced public figures.

Jennifer Aniston’s do-no-wrong character on the mid-90’s explosion, “Friends” is a vital example. The 1990’s Aniston hair craze proves the strength of public emulation of stars. Television became a place to subconsciously trend shop, picking and choosing favorite aspects from clothing, to personality traits.

The portrayal of women on screen has been a long time issue argued in many forms from feminism to media and psychology classes. Our favorite on screen personalities usually fit the 36-24-36 “perfect woman” mold. Female roles, villains or heroines alike, are rarely cast to over weight actresses in attempts for drama as viewers consider which beautiful woman to side with.

Even in television shows like “Scrubs”, the only large woman character is Nurse Laverne Roberts (played by Aloma Wright). Wright’s character is loved for her harsh attitude and despite finding pictures of Wright smiling; you would never catch her character with a grin.

Continuing the trend, in the sitcom “The King of Queens”, and even in the cartoon “Family Guy” and “The Simpson’s”, it’s made to believe that all three wives, slender in body type and kind, loving and always understanding in nature, would stand by their large husbands despite a show that thrives on their mistakes and antics.

Leah Remini’s character, Carrie Heffernan, although shown in a more powerful business position than her overweight husband Kevin James’ character Doug Heffernan, relies often on her looks as the punch line of jokes and despite arguments, accepts all of Doug’s mistakes and accidental destruction.

James’ character, alike the husband figures in “Family Guy” and “The Simpson’s” relies on his weight for humor, and no matter his faults or incompetence, always returns to the loveable teddy bear figure at the end of each show. This misconception shows the public acceptance of larger men.

Among a sea of actresses in the ‘perfect’ body type, a few have broken through. Roseanne Barr had great success with her show “Roseanne”, although she might not have had such luck if she tried portraying her character as high class.

Even America Ferrara’s character in “Ugly Betty” has been noticeably compromised on the cover of Glamour Magazine. Her slimmer arms, face and less curvaceous body have raised concern over the photo alterations of stars that have made their way to fame in larger figures.

While the average American woman wears a size 14, the average actress is a size 8 and shrinking. Television continues to portray the average woman far from what she actually is, while real women feel the wrath of these fake standards.

Instant Gratification- our addiction to the promise for fast results

In our fast pace world, the wait for weight loss is a hard concept to grasp. Despite what late night infomercials may want you to believe, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and healthy figure is not something that can be bought, or accomplished within a week.

The truth is that our bodies don’t respond to the impatient lifestyles. Jumping on to quick body altering methods can be more harmful to the balance of our systems than good.

Despite understanding that natural weight loss is hard work, I’m constantly surprised by the reoccurring advertisements for weight loss supplements. Even magazines with the best fitness and exercise reputation still print bold promises of ‘easy ways to fab abs’ and ‘200 tips to looking great instantly’.

I find it disheartening that of all places to advertise these false promises, exercise magazines are jumping on the bandwagon as well. Where do health publications stand with loyalty to readers, verses sales? Instead of trying to lure in subscriptions with flashy instant gratification promises, maybe these publications can show more dedication to readers.

Athletics- All natural or technologically enhanced?

Which do you prefer? Getting your exercise in the great outdoors, or treading on the treadmill, popping in DVDs or plugging into your headphones?

A decade ago, technology was found red handed as the reasoning behind the child obesity epidemic. Television, video games and iPods kept kids indoors and plugged in, stationary on the couch.

Now, a slew of electronics have come forward to shatter that idea. Nike’s recent partnership with Apple can do everything from keep record of your running distance, to change tracks on your iPod to fit the rhythm of your run.

A new Nike ad in the March 2008 edition of Women’s Health Magazine boasts how the Apple partnership can sense your speed and distance, showing them instantly on your iPod. After knowing your stats, the ad states “Boom. Now you’re being coached, pushed and encouraged”.

Technology’s transformation to the health field, which had previously been an anti-technology, personal driven field, has changed things. Nike claims their product can be your new drive, keep you encouraged, and produce the feedback of a coach.

Where do you stand with technology aiding in your workout routine? Do you rely on the stats from electronics to keep you going, or do you thrive on breathing in fresh air when you’re able to run outside?

Strenghthening Self Image

At the core of everyone's self apple, is the value of self worth and self appreciation. Maintaining a solid healthy core is important to your happiness, and overall fitness and nutrition goals.

In the midst of busy lifestyles and constant advertisements plastering pictures of the not so normal woman, keeping up with a healthy self image is a challenge. Women's Fitness.net had a great feature on the top 10 tips to enjoying a healthy self image.

Some of my favorite of their tips are great pieces of advice that can be instilled at any age. Recognizing your uniqueness, from experiences, hobbies to your individual physical and emotional attributes, your individuality makes you beyond valuable and unduplicatable.

Another favorite from the WF.net site is to be accepting with change. Understand that qualities you deem negatives are not concrete, and be patient with yourself as you work towards personal changes. More so, reward yourself for your accomplishments and find a sense of pride in meeting your goals.

Strengthening self image is a possible task for women of all ages. Be it in the moments before bed, or while traveling to and from work, set aside a particular time of day to work on your self image.

Sometimes some positive talk, spending time with loved ones, or being constant with rewarding positive behavior, keeping up with your core will benefit you in all life aspects.

Think Before You Pink

Although National Breast Cancer Awareness Month was in October, the pink ribbon, breast cancer support campaign is still in swing. From buying a pink blender to your normal cup of coffee, hundreds of companies are donating proceeds towards breast cancer research. However, as the pink craze continues, more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

As more and more companies try to string onto the trend, its important to analyze that companies roll in the grand scheme of things. Thinkbeforeyoupink.org focuses on the "pinkwashing", where companies whose products actually add to the danger of breast cancer are turning "pink" in support of the cancer. And while the image of the pink ribbon is clear, exactly where your money is going to when you buy into a pink product is often hush-hush.

Cancer, as a health concern, effects many. Giving back to cancer support in memory of a loved one lost is a common method of healing. It's important as a consumer, especially when donating that you're confident in where you put your money. If you plan on buying into the pink campaign, make sure you check out the think pink site, in particular, this link to the critical questions to ask when purchasing a pink product.

The Cost of Losing Weight

I came across an interesting article that took a look at the actual average cost of each pound lost. I had a feeling with the constant media pressure to be thin, combined with the "easy fix all" approaches of plastic surgery, promising diet pills and expensive workout programs, the result would be high. However, I was shocked to see the results of the study and realize just how much money we're willing to spend to look good.

The survey, used 2000 women (average age 23), found every pound shed will cost about $1660. The study took gym memberships, exercise tapes, supplements and food into account as well. In addition the research concluded over a lifetime, women average over $300,000 in weight loss products. The study continues to spit out disturbing facts about diet habits among the women studied.

I find the amount of money women spend on weight loss disturbing and selfish. Our society is incredibly fast paced and impatient, and now so are our health plans. Fast methods of weight loss are more publicized than the traditional exercise and balanced nutrition. With all the healthy means we've learned in health class growing up, it's disturbing that women are still turning to potentially dangerous pills, harmful habits and expensive promises.

The quote from More Magazine's editor on the study hits the nail on the head-

The reason young women can’t lose weight is because they equate dieting with not eating. They look at celebrities like Victoria Beckham and think the only way she could possibly achieve such a tiny frame is by not eating. As a result, whole generations of women have a dysfunctional eating pattern of endless mini starvation diets.

While there are means of healthy dieting, the term has now become synonymous with skipping meals, stocking up on diet pills and signing on to expensive weight loss programs. And while being health conscious and striving for a healthy lifestyle is admirable, its important to be mindful of the amount of money you're putting to this "good cause".

What do you think? How much money is too much, and where do you draw the line between going too far and accepting yourself for who you are?

National Body Challenge 2008

Every year we look for new ways to help us with our resolutions. One of the most popular resolutions is to lose weight. In November, I updated about Women's Health Magazine's 2007 Ultimate Fitness Plan they devised to help participants keep on a healthy track for the year. Although I found the plan towards the tail end, I promised to look for another program I thought would be equally as helpful for those looking to start out the New Year right.

I came across a Discovery Health program for 2008 called the National Body Challenge. According to the plan, they take your current statistics and offer you a personalized program with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack options as well as an alternating fitness plan. They work with your preferred diet and current level of fitness to create your specific plan.

Another interesting feature of the program, is their Free Bally Fitness Center Pass. Although I have yet to truly look into this aspect of the program, the information I've read states each person who signs up for this program will receive an 8 week free pass at Bally's. While this won't nearly last you the entire year, it would be a good start to getting on track for the year and potentially lead to a full year membership.

In addition to their nutrition, fitness and progress checking options, the program has tons more to choose from. There are videos, new weekly features, support stories and connections, mind, body and spirit articles and features, as well as updates from a doctor, games, recipes and reminders. Because the program is run through Discovery Health, they have a guide of Discovery Health programs on television that match up with more healthy education.

There's also access to the Discovery Health store where you can take a look at different products, for additional help on your quest. For those already stuck on their current fitness programs, or not quite interested in all that the Discovery Health Program has to offer, I'd still highly recommend signing up for the program. If nothing else, you will have access to a fully planned menu at all times that you can tweak to your liking.

You can also continue checking back with your measurements to determine if you're in a healthy zone or not. And if the Bally's free pass idea doesn't excite you, you may be able to pass it off to a friend. The program is great for those on a budget, because you could ultimately use your Bally's pass during the colder months and continue your workout routine outdoors when the weather turns nicer. All in all, the program looks very promising. Discovery Health offers so many opportunities to get on track, take advantage and poke around on the site!