Fun tips from the blogosphere

My fellow body image/fitness/weight loss bloggers have been writing up a storm on some fun, funky and sad topics so I've rounded a handful up for you to munch on:

1) Workout Mommy offers this awesome tip for a portable, fun workout which I am TOTALLY going to try in NYC this week. Here's what you do:

Get a deck of cards and decide how many you want to use. Here are the guidelines:

Beginner exercisers, start with 5 cards
Moderate exercisers, start with 10 cards
Advanced exercisers, start with 20 cards
The truly hardcore, go for 30 or more cards

Now, shuffle those babies and get ready. Red cards are jumping jacks; Black cards are push-ups; Face cards equals 10; Aces are high (equals 11!) So, Workout Mommy explains, for every card that you pull, do the specific exercise and number that corresponds with the card. For example:

Red 9 = 9 jumping jacks
Black 4= 4 push ups
Red 2 = 2 jumping jacks

Love it! Now you can play solitaire and tone your glutes, all in the comfort of your hotel room! Throw in an exercise band and jumprope and you're good to go.

2) Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness fame posted about these insane survey results, from 1,000 women you opened up to Fitness Magazine :

85% of women said they'd be willing to have an extra toe to keep pounds off
23% would shave their heads
Almost 50% would rather lose 20 pounds than live to be a hundred
Nearly 25% would go to jail for a week to reach their ideal weight.

What? Risking incarceration, longevity and polydactyly (look it up) to shed a few pounds? This says a lot.

3) Comrade GoGo reminisced about the many gyms she's belonged to over the years and indecision which faces her everytime renewal rolls around. I've been going through the same angel/devil discussion myself, though for different reasons: My gym is falling apart at the beams, with water leaks, broken ice machines and (today at least) a locker room so hot it bordered on sauna temperature (true, it's unseasonably warm in Chicago and it might be hard to quickly flip the switch on the AC in a huge three-story gym) but come on - I'm paying you a crapload of dough. The least you can do is have a towel boy fan me as I ellipticize. Still, I feel a strange dedication to My Gym (maybe it's because they let the Today Show crew take over the locker room for an afternoon in June of 2006 when my book was being featured. That was nice. But Natalie Morales gave them a shout-out - ie free national advertising - so technically they owe me.

4) FitSugar has a fun survey on eats and treats at the movies. It turns out pickles (?!?!) are a common theater treat in some parts of the country. Huh? Personally, I could go swimming in a pool full of hot, overly salted movie popcorn, it's so delicious, but I don't order it because It can clearly envision each kernel clogging up my arteries just after slciking some buttery oil on my thighs. So my husband gets it and I mooch off him.

5) Over the past week, Back in Skinny Jeans has been blogging in a very raw and honest way about her recent bulimia relapse following two breakups (one with her longterm boyfriend, another with a business partner). I applaud her ability to speak her mind and air her aching heart - she is proof that we can't be perfect all the time, or even half the time - and that what kills us makes us stronger. I'm so glad her readers are supporting her so wholeheartedly. I know I do.

Comments

Yep pickles are common all over the Deep South. You can find them in movie theaters, gas stations and especially at veggie and fruit stands in the summer. Strange but nice when you want something light but salty :)

I just finished reading Back in Skinny Jeans post(s) and was really amazed at her raw honesty not just with her readers but with herself. SOmething to aspire to for sure.

Thanks for mentioning my blog! Let me know how the workout goes! (and you are going for 30 cards, right? :)

I am so baffled by the Fitness Magazine poll. How does "willing to have an extra toe to keep pounds off" even come up as an option??!!

Thank you for the mention! You know, even after writing that entry, I'm *still* on the fence about canceling my gym membership. It's the Plan B part of me that insists upon having multiple fall-back options, I guess. Hope things cool down at your gym soon!

We have pickles in our theaters in Cleveland.

As far as the gym membership, I HAVE to keep mine. Just yesterday, it was 60 degrees here. I thought to myself "I should go for my run outside tonight, enjoy the weather." Buy the time I changed my clothes, it was dark. I had forgotten that besides the typically freezing temperatures, there is another reason you can't exercise outside in January in Ohio. It's dark at 5pm!

Thanks so much for the kindness and support. The more I blog from the heart I find that people are always generous, compassionate, and supportive. Changing and growing as a person is a process that includes successes and setbacks. We forget that setbacks are okay. We're human and this is how we learn. I am so grateful to have learned that lesson in the last few years.