In a recent issue of People magazine, I came across an article titled "Britney Spears: Body Makeover." The write-up details Britney's weight-loss methods: returning to her gym-rat ways, giving up fast food, and healthy meals delivered to her door. For the past three months, she has been working with a trainer, doing a lot of cardio as well as lots of dancing. People declares that Brit is "back in the zone."
While I think it is great to see press about Britney mending her ways and going healthy, but then there's the caption on the "before" photo? "An Unfit Brit." I wouldn't say she was unfit, just not as fit as before having two kids and a nervous breakdown; to me she this singer looks normal, healthy, and not underweight. Don't get me started about "Britney's New Body Checklist." It's like a grocery list, where they dissect her body into parts. Flat Tummy? Check. Toned Arms? Check. No Double Chin? Check. With articles like this, no wonder so many women have issues with their weight.
What do you think? Is it cool to comment on how Britney's looking more fit and toned now? Or is it uncool to comment on how bad she looked before, when she looked normal?
French women have long been admired for their ability to eat the rich, high-calorie foods of their cuisine without becoming overweight. They have inspired diet tips and books. This moderate food culture might have more to do with the government than we thought because the French Parliament seems to be legislating the two extremes of current weight issues. Recently, they outlawed images of extreme thinness and they are considering taxing fattening foods like french fries pommes frites and hamburgers. A friend of mine recently visited France and saw health warnings scrolling on the bottom of television ads for junk food, and took a photo of her hotel TV, knowing I'd want to see. The text translates roughly to: "For your health, eat at least five fruits and veggies a day." These warnings are not just limited to TV ads; they can be heard on the radio and seen in print ads as well. The warning reminds me a bit of the warning labels on cigarettes. While I appreciate those labels, I am not quite sure they keep people from lighting up, but hopefully they get smokers thinking.
So what do you think about these warning messages. Do you think they could help solve the obesity problem? Should we imitate our Gallic friends? Are these warnings . . .
As the name suggests, Fatguy Shirts are mostly aimed at men, but some of these designs (and there are many) clearly have women in mind. On the one hand, I'm all for embracing a healthy body image, but most of these tees just seem mean. What do you think? Would you be proud to wear any of these? Do you find them refreshing or irresponsible?
This hilarious Shape Up! Alarm Clock (price unavailable) has you hit the weights instead of hitting snooze. The dumbbell-shaped alarm buzzes until you've done 30 reps of bicep curls. I'm all for sneaking in strength training and morning workouts, but I don't think I'd enjoying exercising amid the incessant buzzing. What do you think?
The flip-flopping of whether NY eateries have to post calorie counts on their menu boards has got a lot of people thinking about where and when we want to see how many calories we're taking in. A new concept has taken this idea literally by actually printing the calorie count right onto the chocolate bar, which means you'll see how many calories you're eating with each piece you break off. The idea is just that, an idea, and not yet available for purchase but it's still fascinating to think about. Me, I am not sure I'd want to know exactly how much each bite was costing me — seems to take the fun out of splurging on chocolate. Nonetheless, it's a cool idea. What do you guys think?
Source
