The B$ Factor

The B$ factor explodes this time of year; wicked fulminations of unadulterated bovine excrement are disgorged, exciting the masses. Myths are created, lies are spewed and the marketing that festered all year in the advertising cesspool, may now be leeching into your television set, internet, radio, billboards, magazines, competitive events, newspapers, buses, windows of mini-vans (as tax write-offs) and anywhere, where messaging may be promulgated.

I am fully in support of creative advertising methods and stimulating marketing concepts, it's become a bit of an art, Andy Warhol notwithstanding.

For all of you who made a New Years resolution a couple months ago, centered on weight loss, exercise increase or breaking a vice, here are just a few prevaricators to avoid:

Jenny Craig. Jenny Craig is one of the good players in the mastodonic weight reduction racket. However; the nicest of the scammers, is still a scammer. Their whole pitch is based on the benefits of no work somehow nets results. They hook victims up as members, for a fee, plus the cost of food. Recently while browsing their website, I discovered that for as low as $6 per month, plus the cost of food, you too may be accepted in the fold of the gullible and wretched. There is mention of not changing your lifestyle, by doing it the Jenny way. There is a quote promising, "with Jenny Craig you don't have to be a celebrity to look like one, this, below a picture of a newly emaciated and blonde Kirstie Alley, a celeb, no less.

She is not necessarily healthy, because she is thinner. I bet good food after bad, she cannot run to the limo much faster than when she was obese. That was her problem, lifestyle that's how she got obese to begin with. So it is safe to assume that if her lifestyle did not change, it must be liposuction and a round of 'how do ya do' with the bronzed pool boy, which resulted in her weight reduction. The pool boy action does count as exercise!

Jenny Craig does provide an aggressive caloric reduction regime, which is possibly a good idea; balancing the percentages of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. In principle it has potential. I noticed no mention of whole foods and the circumstance that they provide a supply of necessary vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants that the prepackaged foods JC require you to purchase (some in advance) cannot possibly provide. There is not a mere utterance about good and bad cholesterol at least not that I could identify.

The visually challenged sheep continue to be sightless, yet somehow aren't wary of the shepherd perched upon the grassy knoll.

Lastly the Jenny Craig automaton assigned to counsel you through your weight reduction program is not necessarily a registered dietitian, she is trained by Jenny Craig, the company. Tip:

Put down the doughnuts and ding dongs and take a walk.

Atkins Diet: Atkins Diet is another of the gregarious bovine leavings to avoid. To me it is as medically fraudulent as popping pseudoephedrine for weight loss purposes. If you are that lazy, seducing the canine may become just slightly more agitating. Picture a fat guy, jittery on the couch, missing the enter button on the remote...click...click...click...channel 999.

The Atkins Diet requires you to restrict all carbohydrates. What if THAT isn't your problem? What if you eat whale carcasses in front of the television; how is that going to help you? What if you pop a protein and fat rich (good fat) peanut every time you blink? 12 blinks per minute x 60 minutes per hour x 24 hours a day = 17,280 blinks per day. Give or take a blink. THIS IS A PRODIGOUS QUANTITY OF PEANUTS!

Where is the education?

When restricting ALL carbohydrates, you are restricting many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants sources of fiber and micro-nutrients necessary for good health, which are bountifully supplied in fresh fruit and vegetables.

Atkins sells their own line of food, lovingly prepared and packaged as 'Advantage', as if their food is better than the way nature made it. Atkins died an obese man.

Curves for Women Okay this at least is a decent program, but again requires membership and ongoing payments in addition to the original start up fee. Curves require you to exercise for 30 minutes per workout, using various machines quickly, with the objective of keeping the heart rate up. I like this however, there is a shortcoming: 30 minutes of steady exercise requires the energy output to maybe burn through a small handful of trail mix. This is not enough; especially as one becomes fitter! There are phases to the diet, which are explained shortly after parolee is informed that this is a program where you don't have to experience a lifestyle change. Well, which way is it going to be then? Lifestyle change is precisely what most people need; to not sit on the couch from 7 to 10 pm, eating chips and whale carcasses.

I would suggest Curves for a person who has never exercised and never watched their diet, for one year then move on...graduate to something real, like Bootcamp!

Herbal Magic: What a name! 'Herbal Magic'. Okay pull a rabbit out of a hat and make Oprah Winfrey stay thin or stay plump, but stay. Good luck with that hat-trick, you'll need it. Here is a quote from the herbal magician's website, where they utilize healthy manifestations of pseudo, post-modern pagans... 'The natural herbal supplements, vitamins, and minerals used throughout your weight management program help you maintain lean body mass, resulting in a healthy appearance and more efficient metabolism. When combined with sensible eating habits and proper lifestyle changes, our specially designed formulations will help.

Let's dissect this paragraph for a moment, shall we?:

'the natural herbal supplements, vitamins and minerals....' Natural is precisely what they are not! Vitamins and minerals morph from their state of natural to unnatural, during the phase of manufacturing to becoming a supplement for packaging, never mind the grotesque concept of popping pills to solve a lifestyle issue.

'resulting in a healthy appearance...' Elite athletes drop dead on occasion, they too appear(ed) healthy (RIP), but inside they may be a single LDL deposit away from cardiac arrest or some disgusting, inveterate addiction.

'when designed with proper lifestyle changes...' Okay, finally one of these charlatans admits that the wretched and forsaken need a lifestyle change. Is it now time to put down the whale carcass and take a walk, yet? Have we advanced beyond the snake oil salesman grandstanding on the back of a flatbed?

Of course these illusionists pedal their own wares. Check out some solid opinion here on their scam-not-scam-magic-not-magic-scam.

Shannon W has this to say and asks for comments:

http://www.dietfraud.com/Dietcraze/scams_herbalmagic.html "Crazy isn't it? The initial start up with their starter kit was $1200, they are very pushy and I thought I had to buy the starter kit, for an extra 350, which is a total rip off, for a canvas bag some bars and a few other things, total rip off, the 800 start up fee is for their support you have to go in 3x a week. Anyways, it costs 57 a week for the pills and an additional 30 a month for the rest of the pills,"

A little uncommon sense can go a long way to better health. There are no secret formulas, shortcuts or magic pills to forgive your vices of couch surfing and irresponsible eating. The medical industry may not thank you, but your friendly neighborhood taxpayer will. The diet fraud-not-fraud racket is estimated to be a growing $40 billion dollar industry in the US.

Chris is a member of the Lydiard Foundation

Contact: chriskelsall@flocasts.org 

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#13	CK_x   March 10, 2008 at 5:19pm Your last comment summarizes who I was speaking to with this editorial. Which explains the narrow attitude :o) If you want to find out why not Jenny Craig, there are so many resources to share with you, I don't know where to begin...Google Jenny Craig and see the second link (or was second link) as to why not. Also, try http://www.drmirkin.com about why you cannot stay on the Atkins Diet. Additionally, I did not say that carbes carry vitamins, minerals etc....carbs are not necessarily what I am referring to when I say they do or do not carry vitamins, minerals etc, BUT the fresh fruit and vegetables that provide complex carbs, also carry the vitamins, minerals, fiber and other, which make up a healthful diet...these DO disappear with packaging and refining processes. This is why fortification has gone on. You cannot say that a refined diet or a packaged diet is more healthful that nature's diet, off the branch diet and fresh out of the garden. reply
#12	Too_many_years   March 10, 2008 at 4:17pm hmmm, still disagreeing a lot. ie, my point was that carbs aren't naturally "loaded" with vitamins like you mentioned. also, not sure why you are adamant that one cannot stay on his diet... is it a matter of discipline and will? because i can bet almost every flotrack reader (being disciplined runners) can muster up enough will to stick to an eating-plan just like they can for a training plan. fyi, i'm just playing devils advocate and do not prescribe to atkins or any other diet/lifestyle for that matter. although, I still think all of these "fitness diets" you have reviewed (with the exception of that magic herbal one) are viable means to a healthy lifestyle. what is wrong with using curves? this is geared to appeal to women who are intimidated by the traditional set up of gyms/health clubs and don't have the motivation/experience to stick to an activity for 30 minutes straight or are uncomfortable with the body-oggling type of person who is usually at golds gym or 24-hr fitness. also, there is nothing wrong with jenny craig. it is simply a way to achieve portion-size accountability--which is something easy and simple to change in order to lose weight healthily. (ditto for weight watchers.) just keep in mind that the vast majority of the population is not a competitive/avid runner and do not have the same lifestyle/fitness goals as you and most flotrack readers do and therefore may not have as easy of a time finding motivation/accountability to stick to their weight-loss goals. reply
#11	CK_x   March 8, 2008 at 12:27am http://www.quackwatch.com/search/webglimpse.cgi?ID=1&query=Atkins Here is a link which has 149 papers on suits and claims about the Atkins diet. Although yeah he does mention added sugars as a culprit, which is a good thing, he has a listing of the carb content of various fruits. Banana 105 calories, apple 85 calories...two of the healthiest food items one can eat that is also readily available. Atkins people couldn't explain his cardio thingy about his apparent heart attack-non-heart attack...it's secret.... There are test result papers at that link I provided, proving that the Atkins diet is unhealthy. Also, you cannot stay on his diet either...what do you do then? Switch fads? Or just eat a very well balanced variety of whole foods, like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, berries and lean meat if you choose meat. reply
#10	Too_many_years_of_school   March 7, 2008 at 7:55pm The carbs the Atkins diet restricts are the processed FORTIFIED ones--i.e., you are not "missing out" on vitamins/minerals/antioxidants. Generally speaking, vitamins are either water-soluble or fat-soluble, and last time I checked, the carb-heavy foods restricted by Atkins don't really contain either of these two things. Actually, Atkins allows and promotes that you eat carbs/fiber, but from natural, unprocessed sources like fruits and vegetables. (FYI, the fructose contained in fruit is one of the simplest carbs.) reply
#9	CK_x   March 7, 2008 at 11:49am Here are some good links to read on the diet scams. http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2005/03/07/la_weight_loss_exposed.php http://www.dietfraud.com/Dietcraze/scams_algoxyll.html http://www.diet-411.com/Jenny_Craig_1.html?gclid=COWbg6LH-5ECFQKRgwodrgUbyw http://www.dietfraud.com/main.html http://www.quackwatch.com reply
#8	Walter_x   March 6, 2008 at 8:08pm Jackal, your 10hr comment about losing weight is nuts:) I ran for ~4hrs a week for 16 weeks and lost nearly 20lbs!!! reply
#7	Wetcoast_x   March 6, 2008 at 1:17pm WTF? Well sorta. Short anaerobic = use immediate energy sources = Glucose and glycogen. When you use these sugars anaerobic-like, you are not getting the most use of the ATP production. you know when you go hard for short distances you tire soon and your muscles get weak - IN THAT WORKOUT. When you go aerobic, the body use the stored energy source as fuel. It takes the body along time to learn how to use fat for nrg. When the body learns that it does not need to burn the glycogen stores, it will start to burn the stored fat and become a more efficient. Long distance runners count on this energy to carry them through long runs. They cannot count on the 2000 calories of immediate use nrg to carry them through, they train their bodies to burn the fat. Long, steady, aerobic runs will reduce the fat. Not overnight and not in a few weeks. Over a long time. Of course this is moot if you eat poorly. Now you need to run varying paces, not just slow. Slow running makes a person a slow runner. LSD is BS! One needs to run Long Steady Distance - top of your aerobic capacity. Otherwise you might as well climb abaord your humpy camel and just injest less foodstuffs. reply
#6	Jackal   March 6, 2008 at 12:43pm The guys who think they can loose weight by running three times a week for one hour are nuts. the only way to loose weight through running is to run at least 10 hours a week.It does not matter how slow you run, in fact for weight loss, the slower you run the better! reply
#5	E   March 6, 2008 at 7:56am Right. Fitness all about wise choices and self-discipline. And business is all about sustaining income. Great comments on the chip laden "trap" from 7-10 pm. reply
#4	K   March 6, 2008 at 1:07am Holy cow is right - nice. reply
#3	Christopher Kelsall   March 5, 2008 at 4:14pm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7432448/ Here's one...getting fatter by the burger...it's not the editorial I am talking about though. - Google it! :o) reply
#2	Christopher Kelsall   March 5, 2008 at 4:13pm 46 billion according to one 'Rush'CNN Transcript that I am trying to source, as we speak... reply
#1	Curved Woman   March 5, 2008 at 4:03pm 40 billion, holy cow! reply