As I mentioned yesterday, if anyone told me last year I would be addicted to spinning and strength classes I would have laughed in their face. Well, there is something else to add on to the list of new things I am doing — tennis!

On Sunday at 12:00, I will be taking a tennis lesson (and going straight to Physique 57 after)! The reason is that every summer the boy goes to tennis camp with his friend for a few days. It is an intensive program that literally has you playing tennis ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

I’d like to do it.

Well, I don’t know if I would like to do it. I mean, I know I would want to, but would I HATE tennis as I used to think I did?

At camp when I was 8, 9, 10, etc we would have tennis once a week. It was on hot concrete and consisted mostly of standing on line. It was the hell of my week and I dreaded it, hated it, would rather do anything else OTHER than it. Since that, I developed a strong dislike of the sport.

In Florida when we visited my grandparents, my mom and brother would always play tennis together. My brother even went to a tennis day camp. My mom and brother would also go play at the park or the local college. I would never join, insisting I hated it, based on my camp memories.

But when the boy told me he goes to tennis camp, I wanted to go, too! And maybe I don’t hate tennis — after all, look what I am basing my opinion on. Granted, I am not at all athletic. Never have been. Although I like to think I play a good game of running bases. I’m good at faking out 7 year olds.

I don’t want to sign up for tennis camp and find out while I am stuck there for days playing tennis that I actually do in fact HATE tennis. So that is why I am taking a lesson on Sunday. This way, I can see how it goes and make an informed decision on tennis camp.

Some of you are very curious as to what the boy looks like. Since he is secretive and also a yellow blob, I decided to design a Muppet version of him.

This is the boy!  He wears a lab coat because he is a doctor. He wears glasses and has a Jewfro. And the thing is — this really looks like him! I am considering ordering one…

Starbucks VIA Review
I received two free samples of Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee. I read Tina’s review and couldn’t wait to try mine!

 I have had instant coffee before from brands such as Folgers and Chock Full O’Nuts. I always found them to be watered down and weak tasting. I like my coffee strong. I also didn’t like the requirement of dunking the instant coffee bag in the water for a given number of minutes. That is just annoying.

I usually make my coffee in a french press. And while I like how easy it is to use, it takes about 10 minutes to prepare which is a lot in the morning, and it is annoying to clean.

The Starbucks VIA coffee was sent to me in two types: Italian Roast and Colombian Roast. I tried the Italian one day and the Colombian the next. All you had to do was pour the coffee grinds in a mug and add hot water. Very easy and not at all time consuming. Already a plus.

Then I tasted the coffee. I have one word: wow. I would never have guessed it was instant. It was STRONG, just as strong as the coffee I make myself in the french press. And it was delicious. I enjoyed both flavors and want to use the free shipping offer they sent me with my samples to buy some more!

I went to the site and saw they make a VIA Ready Brew TUMBLER!

Very cool, but for now I will be ordering the packets. It is $10 for 12 packets. That is expensive for coffee you make at home, but I think these would be good to have for days I am in a  time crunch. I just tried to use my free shipping offer on one box — and there is a minimum order of two items. That just decreased my opinion of them. I will hold off on ordering; I don’t need to spend $20 on coffee today.

Exhale Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD
The Body Sculpt DVD, and the Pilates Plus version as well, are divided into five 10 minute workouts, each targeting one area. This morning, I decided to do just the arms and abs sections of Body Sculpt since I didn’t have much time but was curious about the workout.

It was definitely similar to Transfigure, but not exactly the same. It incorporated the same ideas — lots of repetitions of small, targeted movements. I used 2 lb weights for the arms which is a LOT when you do these types of eksusizes. The abs section BURNED. I couldn’t hold the positions as long as I would have liked to, and had to follow the modified version at times. It was still an amazing ab workout and the time really goes FAST. I probably would have pushed myself harder if I realized how quickly it would end. Now I know for next time!  

I quickly looked at the butt moves as I was getting ready and they also seemed to be just like what we do at Transfigure. I’m not going to give a full review now since I didn’t do the entire DVD, but I do want to say that that is the best part — you can choose which workouts you want to do from the main menu. That means, if I have an extra 10 minutes here and there, I can quickly get a focused workout in! In the mornings I can do maybe two areas a day and mix it up. It is HARD — but it is also the type of workout I am currently obsessed with, and I do believe there will be results. I love it! So far, based on what I know, I recommend Core Fusion Body Sculpt.

The Pilates Plus DVD is divided into five sections as well, as I mentioned. That means I really have TEN 10 minute workouts to choose from every day! I plan to do this as much as I can until I get sick of it (as happened with the Shred). I am really excited for my upcoming visit to Exhale for a Core Fusion class!

I am very curious to do the Pilates DVD. Just like the tushie on the Body Sculpt DVD, who wouldn’t want these abs:

Rethinking Thin Review
As I mentioned, I recently read Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss — and the Myths and Realities of Dieting by Gina Kolata.

The book follows a group of obese dieters in a University of Pennsylvania study in 2004. One group was assigned to a low fat, low calorie diet and the other was assigned to Atkins, during its peak popularity. Every person was hoping to be in the Atkins group, because it meant they could eat as much as they wanted — and it was the fad of the time.

The fad of the time is a key element in this book. Kolata recounts major diet fads that began as early as the 1890s. Even then, there were low carb diets and those who swore by then in addition to a bunch of other diets that have re-emerged many times throughout the years, under new names and with a new twist. But the general ideas are the same.

Kolata also describes the changing image of beauty through the years, and you’d be intrigued to know that it was actually drawings of thin girls on the cover of a magazine (before photographs existed) that started the trend to be thinner and thinner.

Kolata wants to know, if these diets have been around for so long and people swear by them, why is America getting fatter and fatter? Why aren’t people losing weight?

Kolata delves deep into history, into the dieters in the Penn study, and the academic studies and scientific breakthroughs about obesity throughout the years. She talked to obese people who have tried to lose weight. Oftentimes, they were able to lose a bit but the weight always came back. Always. She wanted to know why.

What she discovered, based on the dieters she spoke to, the studies she researched, the doctors and counselors she spoke to was this: Everyone has a weight range of about 20 pounds or so. You can restrict yourself and get to the bottom of your range, or you can eat all you want but not break the top of your range. However, it is extremely difficult to deviate from your range. So people who are obese have trouble keeping off the pounds they lost because their bodies gravitate towards their range. Now, why their range lies at such a high number is another issue — likely related to brain pathways and the hormones that control appetite. Therefore, it is not the fault of these overweight people that they are overweight. And perhaps, according to Kolata’s work, society should stop placing blame on them, thinking they are gluttonous and can lose the weight if they truly wanted to. Because they can’t. Or, they can but it is virtually impossible to keep it off. It is out of their range.

During a study where they wanted a group of thin prisoners to gain weight, they found that to be almost impossible as well. It was out of their range.

There are many studies referenced and described throughout the book that prove this idea — one being a major one done throughout elementary schools. They tested whether a comprehensive program teaching students to be healthy, requiring them to be active, serving healthy food at school, etc would cause these students to be less overweight than those who don’t get the instruction and counseling.  This was a long and thorough study, and in the end, those at the schools who did not get the program were the same weight as those who did. The students from the schools with the program had a much better understanding of being healthy and took these lessons with them; they made healthier choices on their own because of it. But, they weren’t any thinner than students at the schools without the programs.

Which goes to show that something else is causing obesity in children. And that is where studies of the brain functions, of leptin, of hormone and enzyme pathways came in — to prove that these factors play a huge role in our weight.

There were quite a few studies what happened when obese mice were connected to non-obese mice and what happened when they played with the leptin in their brains — after she detailed the study of the scientist who DISCOVERED leptin. That was a major discovery in obesity research. I won’t get into that here because I don’t want to summarize the entire book — but, this book makes you realize that there is more to being thin than simply diet and exercise.

Maggie reviewed this book and touched upon another interesting study — what would happen if a group of non-overweight people were forced to eat a very restrictive diet and lose weight? As Maggie describes, “After and during the weight loss the men became obsessed with food. And not just food – anything to do with it. They would salivate while dreaming up recipes, some began collecting hot-pots, and they lost sexual drive. The obsession was so bad they they would binge and quickly return to their normal weights.”

This will resonate with those who have obsessive food issues of any kind. Food consumes the thoughts and people with eating disorders — and these me, who never thought twice about eating, adopted obsessive food personalities as a result of starving themselves.

I found Naturally Thin and all the studies mentioned fascinating. I learned a great deal about why we are the way we are — and reflected on how my own body has changed from high school to college to after graduation and why.

Click here for the New York Times review.

Mallory
A big congratulations to Mallories of A Bacon-Wrapped Life! Her Nut Butter Cups sold for $45 at Meghann’s Blogger Bake Sale, with all proceeds going to Leukemia and Lymphoma. I am so proud of Mallories and jealous of the lucky winner who gets to eat the yummies. Be on the lookout for a guest post from her soon!

 

 

 

 

 

I had read that one of the major characters would be committing suicide on House this season, but the only character I didn’t suspect it would be is the one who did it – Kutner!

And today, we learned why he left the show — to work at the White House! How exciting! I like that he has some depth to him. Read interviews with Kal Penn and the show’s producers about his departure here.

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