Don't Be Duped By The Blah, Blah, Blah

Every now and then, I come across a little gem of new information though it can take tremendous time digging through redundancy to find it. All the clever titles designed to pique reader interest accompanied by the ensuing time lost clicking link after link only to find the same old information has been regurgitated. I have tons of first-hand experience with this as my daily routine starts with combing the internet for fitness-related pearls of wisdom. I'm often disappointed.

The latest dupe that got me was 'Six Mini Weight-Loss Moves That Lead to Major Results' and here they are (my thoughts in parenthesis):

1. Use the buddy system (Must be a strong, reliable person!)

2. Remodel your food environment (Clean out your pantry/cupboards/refrigerator. Does not mean: Invitation to do a final food fest before embarking on another painful diet!)

3. Stand tall (Standing up straight burns more calories than slouching. Like maybe 3 per hour!)

4. Recover quickly (You ate one cookie, don't eat the entire bag. You can do this, right?)

5. No means No (Not shoulda, coulda, woulda. If I say I don't want the cookie, don't ask me again-no matter how much drool appears on my chin at the very mention of the word!)

6. Pamper your pearly whites (When craving ANYTHING not on the training table, this has always worked for me. When thinking "Pizza, pizza, pizza," my next thought is "I just need to brush my teeth" and then I'm right back on track. NOT!)

This is from an article published by Prevention Magazine on 10/12/2016 and the excerpts are from the book 'The Body Fat Breakthrough' written by Ellington Darden, Ph.D - in 2012! These are 2 of the biggest regurgitation sources of all time. I know El Darden and while I am in one of his books, 'A Flat Stomach, A.S.A.P.', and have followed his writing on fitness for years, I'm now yawning through the so-called 'breakthroughs' and 'miracles' that keep resurfacing. I've wasted 30 minutes searching this avenue for something truly unique and suddenly I'm reminded of fishing. The bait was set (catchy titles) and the lure was cast. Along came the fish (me, in this case) and I swam around in a cesspool of information, looking for something I could sink my teeth into. Not finding it, I swam on looking for something more appealing and it came in the form of 'Ten Foods You Won't Believe Are Actually Vegan.' I know this is a title that won't catch many fish but I was hoping to find information on a new meatless-meat product. At the very least, I expected to find a list of 'healthy' foods but this is what I got:

1. Keebler Vienna Fingers

2. Smucker's Marshmallow Topping

3. Sara Lee Frozen Pies

4. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

5. Brach's Mandarin Orange Slices

6. Cracker Jacks

7. Keebler Original Club Crackers

8. Ritz Crackers

9. Kettle Brand Maple Bacon Potato Chips

10. Oreos

Now I'm just frustrated because this is a list of nasty food, foods that I consider to be 'health-robbers' and worthy of the following statement (where you substitute the word 'people' for 'food', then the words 'an asshole' for 'junk food' and finally, 'a vase' for 'healthy'):

I liken this 'same-old, same-old' fitness reporting to the concept of dementia of the fitness brain, meaning that as this topic ages, it loses its short-term memory: why else would it repeat itself? Again, and again, and yet again? Some credit the early 1980's to the inception of the fitness craze, and most notably, to Jane Fonda's Workout videos, and this seems to be just the right time frame for fitness dementia to set in. While there are new advances and continuing research studies in the field of exercise and diet, it would be wonderful to have a way to personally track what is factual as well as new, so that it would be unnecessary to waste time reading excessive dribble.

I started thinking of the fitness technology people use: apps, mobile devices, wearable gadgets, etc., as the latest creations in the fitness craze environment. Some companies even provide discounts to employees on the purchase of these items though getting them to follow through on the use remains a challenge, in which case, they may have to pay back the difference on the savings of the tools. And how helpful are these tools after all? And how is it that there is even fitness craze terminology when only about 23% of the population participates? As we are obviously a culture addicted to computers and every apparatus associated with them, and with the wave of the future residing in voice-activation, I propose the development of fitness devices that work with our voice and more specifically, with the tone of our vocalization.

How would this work exactly? Similar to Siri and new up-comer Listnr, the technology currently in development that will react to music, claps, knocks and even your voice (as well as distinguish between 4 types of expression), this would be called SuperFitMe and would have a complete FACTUAL fitness database covering all things health, diet and fitness related, with real-time updates delivered automatically. Factual is the key concept here so that when you ask something, you get the correct answer immediately without having to do a search and then dig through the findings. It would do what all the other apps currently do (record steps, monitor heart rate, provide calorie requirements/expenditure information, etc.) but would have the added bonus of being able to act as your full-time diet and personal trainer though that would be an upgrade feature and one that you would have to decide you were 100% ready to commit to. The reason would be that if this is to be a full-time relationship, it is going to be a device that you wear, similar to an ankle monitor when under house arrest though much more fashionable, of course! This monitor would have the ability to sense your moods and motivate you intuitively, saying just the right things at the right times to keep you on track. It would also be able to respond to you based on your tone of voice, sensing when you are legitimately tired, for instance, or just trying to wuss out of a work out session because you'd rather veg out on the sofa and watch the telly. If SFM isn't able to help you muster the energy needed to get you moving, it will then go through an arsenal of motivational and inspirational quips to at least keep your mind in a positive place and hopefully, away from a binge to accompany a lazy episode. If not, it would immediately start to administer a series of small shocks, intensifying as you get closer to veering off track, as in closer to the cookie jar. It would also record your activity (think virtual diary!) and could only be removed by a licensed health care professional. Seem extreme and invasive? Perhaps, though I think the average person needs this much intrusion to be successful in their fitness/weight loss programs. I mean, look around: thousands of books written on how to lose weight and countless more will be written though there really isn't anything novel in most; diet/treatment centers abound; gyms galore with memberships that if all were active would require even more gyms to be built; weight-loss drugs and supplements; coaches, fitness gimmicks (think Thigh Master and vibrator belts) and so on. It's a huge industry that survives on the basic human tendency towards sloth. SFM would be your 24/7 tough love partner (meaning the initials for SFM could also be interpreted as Sado-Fitness-Masochist, LOL)!

The reality is that even with all the information available on how to do something and all the tools available to help us accomplish whatever that something is, we still need to do the action ourselves. Easy to say we want to lose the weight, get fit, and make changes in our lives to become better and live richly though this is the actuality when generally viewed:

That little magic pill just doesn't exist and instead of wasting time searching books, magazine articles and online sources that promise to have 'The Answer', just start moving! And for the most trusted and well-respected source for accurate information on how to move properly, visit: bodybuilding.com