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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Would you visit a dentist who has rotten teeth?

Would you?

If you laid back in the chair and saw that the guy approaching you with the plaque scraper had a grill full of rotting, brown, smelly teeth, would you question his ability and knowledge in the field of dentistry?

I hesitated to write this post because I don't like controversy and I don't want to offend anyone. (Insert the "but" that negates the statement just made right....here.)

But I get so annoyed sometimes.

Before I get into this, let me state that being "healthy" doesn't necessarily mean "skinny." I know plenty of people who eat healthy and exercise daily who might not be considered skinny. And I know plenty of "skinny" people who are far from healthy. You can't judge a book by its cover, but we also can't sit here and deny that probably 90% of the time you can tell by looking at someone whether they are taking care of business when it comes to eating and exercise.

So.

A couple of months ago a few of my fellow boot camp trainers and I set up a booth at a local health and fitness expo. We had the (mis)fortune of being placed next to a booth of ladies who sell a certain "wrap" product. This wrap product raises my ire like few other products on this planet. From what I can tell, you use this product by slathering a concoction all over yourself and then wrapping yourself up like a mummy with some cellophane.

And then you get "smaller."



I must confess I have not wasted spent a lot of time researching said wrap product, and I don't know if it is supposed to just squeeze some water out of you or if it claims to squeeze out some fat...I truly don't know.

I do know that even if it does somehow make you smaller, the solution is temporary at best.

The boot camp instructors at our booth were trim, healthy, energetic, and ate various items from home that they had packed for lunch...you know, obnoxious healthy stuff like raw veggies, shakes, and protein bars. The wrap girls were significantly overweight, sat around at their table all day, and, not to be judgmental (I'm TOTALLY being judgmental): ate Whataburger for lunch.

That weekend I saw woman after woman rush right by our table hardly giving it a glance, only to stop for long, in-depth chats with the wrap girls.

Yesterday at the grocery store I overheard a customer chatting up a worker about how wrapping works. Same deal...a pretty overweight person chatting with another pretty overweight person about how to be "smaller" for a few days.

Oh, my.

Why, why, WHY? So many quick fixes. So many tricks, pills, potions. Sold by people who are clearly not making progress themselves in getting "smaller."

I guess one of the main issues is that the only thing people seem to want to do is get "smaller" one day. There isn't a lot of consideration for what is happening on the inside of your body as far as clogged arteries, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. and the shortened lifespan that often accompanies these things.

Now I realize that I'm selling something, too. I'm a peddler of exercise and nutrition products. I want people to visit www.SmellsLikeFitness.com and buy Focus T25 and Shakeology. I want girls to join my boot camp and work out with me three times a week. But I feel like the things I'm selling have merit in that the products I sell only work if YOU work. No quick fixes here: you have to commit to doing the work. And it is work. Even if it's only for 25 minutes, Shaun T works you in Focus T25.

I'm first to admit even Shakeology is not a wonder-shake. If you drink Shakeology for breakfast and chase it with a Whopper for lunch and a T-bone for dinner, it's not going to do squat for you. It's PART of a healthy meal plan. You've still got to watch your portions and eat your veggies if you want to see results.

I guess all I'm saying is that if you see someone who hops from quick fix pill, to cellophane mummification, to crash diet, to crazy cleanse, all the while never able to maintain a healthy weight for more than six months at a time, it's just as bad as a dentist with bad teeth. And probably not someone you want to take advice from.

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Workout of the Day
Focus T25 GAMMA (Phase 3) Speed 3.0, AKA death by burpees.