The Biggest Fitness and Health Questions
It never seems to fail that when I’m in a social situation I get bombarded with questions on fitness and health products which isn’t bad, I love talking about it most of the time but sometimes I just want to relax so I thought I would share with you the answers I would give to those who are asking the questions so the next time I’m enjoying a social gathering I can just direct them to my blog. I also want you to know that so many times the questions get asked by the same people over and over again; at the end of this article I will have some sound advice for you guys too. Oh and just a word of warning I’m kind of annoyed today because I spent two hours shoveling snow just so I could back my car out of the drive way so I might not be so nice. Here we go!
Q: Hey Rob what do you think about (insert brand name) Body Cleanse. We’re trying to lose weight and our friend has lost a lot of weight on it right away and it was developed by a doctor.
A: My first reaction is to say “Really your friend lost weight right away, it must work!” If you’re so convinced it works why the hell are you asking me in the first place? Now no matter what I say you’re just going to counter with some lame ass canned explanation you read from the infomercial! Luckily I think twice before I speak so after a pause (It really is a pause and my family has termed it “The Mungall Pause” and it seems to be hereditary in the men – Sorry for putting up with it Kim, Mom, Sister Michelle, Friends.) I take a deep breath and let out the truth. Of course your friend lost weight right away and so will you; this is nothing more than a gimmicky calorie reduction product and it’s a drastic way to slash your calories by a dangerous amount. You will lose a lot of weight right away, especially if you went from a McDonald’s eating 3000 calorie a day machine to an 1100 calorie 2 shakes and one small meal a day zombie. But that’s the truth you want to know about, here’s what you don’t want to hear: 1. this is a cookie cutter program so a 230lbs male and 130lbs female do the same program? HELLO! Does that not raise a GIANT RED FLAG? You may have days where you actually fast, um can you say forced eating disorder? You will lose weight – you will lose fat – you will lose muscle – you will lose lean body tissue – you will lose nutrients – YOU WILL LOSE YOUR METABOLISM! Yes that’s the truth the WHOLE truth. I won’t get all science nerd on you but when you do this you can expect a short term result for long term damage. I often get clients who finally come to me as a last resort bouncing from these things for years losing weight gaining it back and so on until I have to give it to them straight and say – “Before you can lose a lot of weight I first have to help you repair your broken metabolism, thus your fat loss will take at least 25% longer compared to if you came to me in the first place.
Body Cleanses –tisk tisk tisk people – a good body cleanse is supposed to compliment a healthy metabolism not destroy it.
Q: Hey Rob what do you think about the (insert newest one) diet?
A: This is tricky to answer, some diets out there aren’t too bad, and some are actually completely terrible. The more customized to your body the better. Here are my minimum requirements for a good diet program.
1. Must be sustainable for life
2. Must be mostly whole natural foods (even carbs) and minimal on supplements
3. Must educate on food macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates)
4. Must educate on the Glycemic Load or Index
5. Must promote high fiber
6. Must educate on individual caloric requirements and or teach the law of Thermodynamics
7. Must educate on healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats.
Q: Hey Rob I just bought this (Insert Name) Exercise Program it uses (insert gimmicky pseudo-Science term) what do you think of it?
A: Ha, SUCKER! Then I walk away. Ok I’m not that mean and ok not all exercise programs are bad, but sometimes I really do want to laugh, or call the cops on the company that’s stealing peoples hard earned bucks. First of all once again these programs are cookie cutter programs, at least most of them. Also they generally come with ultra constrictive diets for them to work which almost no one follows. In the end these products are usually just low calorie and crappy but “sexy” looking exercises that will work short term for those who are couch potatoes’s and have poor eating habits. But then again any extra movement and cleaner eating will do the trick for these people. The other thing about programs is you get what you put into it like anything else if you work hard at it you’ll get some results but if you kind of sort of do it, you’ll get nothing. The other thing about cookie cutter programs is they rarely address proper warm up procedures and they are not equipped to design a custom program based on your body and all of it’s postural flaws, muscle imbalances, personality, eating habits, stress levels, and current physical fitness level. I may be biased when I say hire a quality trainer or fitness coach, but hey, when your car needs fixing you can buy a book and take months to fix it or you can go to a mechanic and watch and learn while getting it fixed in a day which would you prefer?
Q: Hey Rob I just bought (Insert Fitness Gadget/Workout Machine) It comes with a workout plan too what do you think of it?
A: Hey Money bags, you should of invested in my product the Robin Mungall Fitness Super Sock, wear these socks while you workout and you’ll lose fat at twice the rate as you were before this special material on your feet follows the low of Thermodynamix and is proven to lose weight. (Results not typical) For those of use who can’t read the letters beside this sentence it says RESULTS NOT TYPICAL.
It’s funny how much money is tossed at gimmicks that are cheap and give no results like my favorite false products the “Ab-Tronic” or the “Sauna Belt”. Oh how I wish I had the lack of ethics so I could develop a product like this and then laugh (while on the beach with two or three hot gold digging blondes) at all the poor suckers who bought it expecting ripped abs. Unfortunately I have something called a conscience and it stops me from selling out and developing products like this.
Remember if it sounds too good to be true it pretty much is.
On the other hand there are other fitness machines out there like Bowflex, or Weider Door Gym etc. That can give you results, but let me give you a little tip of advice: Exercise equipment are just tools and nothing more, some tools are limited like most machines (sorry Bowflex you’re limited) and some tools are often used improperly simply because a celebrity uses it or it has an amazing marketing campaign attached to it. If it motivated you to get moving and working out and that’s your goal then by all means purchase the tool. But if you want a great workout and pay only a few hundred bucks for a tool that can give you thousands of exercises in all ranges of motion, you could buy a set of Dumbbell’s or Powerblock dumbbells and a Bench or Stability Ball. Or you can spend thousands of dollars on equipment that will work for a while but in the end will likely give you what’s called neural pattern overload and eventually your results will stop and your enjoyment of fitness will fizzle. Personally I would buy and did buy the dumbbells at least if you even wanted to stop working out, you only wasted a few hundred bucks and 10square feet instead of thousands of dollars, a few dents in your wall, and 100square feet.
Q: Hey Rob what do you think of fat burners or (insert pill or supplement name)?
A: If I don’t like you I will say “Yes take them, spend lots of money on them so you’re too poor to pay for the gas to drive over here so I don’t have to talk to you again.” But if I like you I will tell you flat out, 99% of supplements are total BUNK! There is too much of what I know to elaborate totally on why these things are bunk, but to sum up everything I know about supplements in general let’s just say your psychology plays the biggest role, some supplements are harmful, most supplements really do jack squat other than lighten your wallet. There are some (I can count them on one hand) supplements out there that are useful, but they are only useful for certain people and not always all the time. A good supplement should be used to SUPPLEMENT an already healthy diet. So my question to those of you who ask this one is: Are you eating a clean and healthy diet day in and day out for at least 3months? How do you know? No? Don’t know? Then don’t take supplements, if you are, then there may be some need to supplement with a few helpful things. Here is a list of some supplements I do think are good for everyone. 1. Fish Oils – Essential Fatty Acids and Omega 3’s from fish oils are lacking in a typical North American Diet. You can get them in pill form or actually eat more fish in a week. 2. Multivitamin – Face it, the commercial food supply sucks, taking extra vitamins is needed even when you’re eating clean and healthy. Or you can make your own “grow op” in your basement, just make sure your planting legal stuff ok? 3. Vegetables – Yes I know it’s not a supplement but I thought I would throw it in here to remind you that Mother Nature makes the best stuff for your body.
Q: Hey Rob it’s me again with yet another question about (insert a fitness question here)
A: Dude how much money have you wasted on a bunch of absolute crap only for me to tell you what to look for and yet again you go out and buy something else. The Answer to your fat loss doesn’t lie out there in infomercial land it lies with in YOU!!!
Richard Simmons as strange as he is has said it best LOVE YOURSELF – MOVE THOSE BUNS – PORTION CONTROL
Conclusion
With all of these gimmicks and you the consumer falling at the whims of professional marketers and con artists you may have lost track of what works and in the process have spent thousands of dollars (years worth of personal training by the way) on absolute crap. It’s time to take control of your health and get back to the basics before you venture off. Learn to love yourself, De-Stress about the way you look right now, Get your bum moving more everyday, and if it wasn’t around 1,000 years ago (Ok clients all together now) DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH!
Q: Hey Rob what do you think about (insert brand name) Body Cleanse. We’re trying to lose weight and our friend has lost a lot of weight on it right away and it was developed by a doctor.
A: My first reaction is to say “Really your friend lost weight right away, it must work!” If you’re so convinced it works why the hell are you asking me in the first place? Now no matter what I say you’re just going to counter with some lame ass canned explanation you read from the infomercial! Luckily I think twice before I speak so after a pause (It really is a pause and my family has termed it “The Mungall Pause” and it seems to be hereditary in the men – Sorry for putting up with it Kim, Mom, Sister Michelle, Friends.) I take a deep breath and let out the truth. Of course your friend lost weight right away and so will you; this is nothing more than a gimmicky calorie reduction product and it’s a drastic way to slash your calories by a dangerous amount. You will lose a lot of weight right away, especially if you went from a McDonald’s eating 3000 calorie a day machine to an 1100 calorie 2 shakes and one small meal a day zombie. But that’s the truth you want to know about, here’s what you don’t want to hear: 1. this is a cookie cutter program so a 230lbs male and 130lbs female do the same program? HELLO! Does that not raise a GIANT RED FLAG? You may have days where you actually fast, um can you say forced eating disorder? You will lose weight – you will lose fat – you will lose muscle – you will lose lean body tissue – you will lose nutrients – YOU WILL LOSE YOUR METABOLISM! Yes that’s the truth the WHOLE truth. I won’t get all science nerd on you but when you do this you can expect a short term result for long term damage. I often get clients who finally come to me as a last resort bouncing from these things for years losing weight gaining it back and so on until I have to give it to them straight and say – “Before you can lose a lot of weight I first have to help you repair your broken metabolism, thus your fat loss will take at least 25% longer compared to if you came to me in the first place.
Body Cleanses –tisk tisk tisk people – a good body cleanse is supposed to compliment a healthy metabolism not destroy it.
Q: Hey Rob what do you think about the (insert newest one) diet?
A: This is tricky to answer, some diets out there aren’t too bad, and some are actually completely terrible. The more customized to your body the better. Here are my minimum requirements for a good diet program.
1. Must be sustainable for life
2. Must be mostly whole natural foods (even carbs) and minimal on supplements
3. Must educate on food macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates)
4. Must educate on the Glycemic Load or Index
5. Must promote high fiber
6. Must educate on individual caloric requirements and or teach the law of Thermodynamics
7. Must educate on healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats.
Q: Hey Rob I just bought this (Insert Name) Exercise Program it uses (insert gimmicky pseudo-Science term) what do you think of it?
A: Ha, SUCKER! Then I walk away. Ok I’m not that mean and ok not all exercise programs are bad, but sometimes I really do want to laugh, or call the cops on the company that’s stealing peoples hard earned bucks. First of all once again these programs are cookie cutter programs, at least most of them. Also they generally come with ultra constrictive diets for them to work which almost no one follows. In the end these products are usually just low calorie and crappy but “sexy” looking exercises that will work short term for those who are couch potatoes’s and have poor eating habits. But then again any extra movement and cleaner eating will do the trick for these people. The other thing about programs is you get what you put into it like anything else if you work hard at it you’ll get some results but if you kind of sort of do it, you’ll get nothing. The other thing about cookie cutter programs is they rarely address proper warm up procedures and they are not equipped to design a custom program based on your body and all of it’s postural flaws, muscle imbalances, personality, eating habits, stress levels, and current physical fitness level. I may be biased when I say hire a quality trainer or fitness coach, but hey, when your car needs fixing you can buy a book and take months to fix it or you can go to a mechanic and watch and learn while getting it fixed in a day which would you prefer?
Q: Hey Rob I just bought (Insert Fitness Gadget/Workout Machine) It comes with a workout plan too what do you think of it?
A: Hey Money bags, you should of invested in my product the Robin Mungall Fitness Super Sock, wear these socks while you workout and you’ll lose fat at twice the rate as you were before this special material on your feet follows the low of Thermodynamix and is proven to lose weight. (Results not typical) For those of use who can’t read the letters beside this sentence it says RESULTS NOT TYPICAL.
It’s funny how much money is tossed at gimmicks that are cheap and give no results like my favorite false products the “Ab-Tronic” or the “Sauna Belt”. Oh how I wish I had the lack of ethics so I could develop a product like this and then laugh (while on the beach with two or three hot gold digging blondes) at all the poor suckers who bought it expecting ripped abs. Unfortunately I have something called a conscience and it stops me from selling out and developing products like this.
Remember if it sounds too good to be true it pretty much is.
On the other hand there are other fitness machines out there like Bowflex, or Weider Door Gym etc. That can give you results, but let me give you a little tip of advice: Exercise equipment are just tools and nothing more, some tools are limited like most machines (sorry Bowflex you’re limited) and some tools are often used improperly simply because a celebrity uses it or it has an amazing marketing campaign attached to it. If it motivated you to get moving and working out and that’s your goal then by all means purchase the tool. But if you want a great workout and pay only a few hundred bucks for a tool that can give you thousands of exercises in all ranges of motion, you could buy a set of Dumbbell’s or Powerblock dumbbells and a Bench or Stability Ball. Or you can spend thousands of dollars on equipment that will work for a while but in the end will likely give you what’s called neural pattern overload and eventually your results will stop and your enjoyment of fitness will fizzle. Personally I would buy and did buy the dumbbells at least if you even wanted to stop working out, you only wasted a few hundred bucks and 10square feet instead of thousands of dollars, a few dents in your wall, and 100square feet.
Q: Hey Rob what do you think of fat burners or (insert pill or supplement name)?
A: If I don’t like you I will say “Yes take them, spend lots of money on them so you’re too poor to pay for the gas to drive over here so I don’t have to talk to you again.” But if I like you I will tell you flat out, 99% of supplements are total BUNK! There is too much of what I know to elaborate totally on why these things are bunk, but to sum up everything I know about supplements in general let’s just say your psychology plays the biggest role, some supplements are harmful, most supplements really do jack squat other than lighten your wallet. There are some (I can count them on one hand) supplements out there that are useful, but they are only useful for certain people and not always all the time. A good supplement should be used to SUPPLEMENT an already healthy diet. So my question to those of you who ask this one is: Are you eating a clean and healthy diet day in and day out for at least 3months? How do you know? No? Don’t know? Then don’t take supplements, if you are, then there may be some need to supplement with a few helpful things. Here is a list of some supplements I do think are good for everyone. 1. Fish Oils – Essential Fatty Acids and Omega 3’s from fish oils are lacking in a typical North American Diet. You can get them in pill form or actually eat more fish in a week. 2. Multivitamin – Face it, the commercial food supply sucks, taking extra vitamins is needed even when you’re eating clean and healthy. Or you can make your own “grow op” in your basement, just make sure your planting legal stuff ok? 3. Vegetables – Yes I know it’s not a supplement but I thought I would throw it in here to remind you that Mother Nature makes the best stuff for your body.
Q: Hey Rob it’s me again with yet another question about (insert a fitness question here)
A: Dude how much money have you wasted on a bunch of absolute crap only for me to tell you what to look for and yet again you go out and buy something else. The Answer to your fat loss doesn’t lie out there in infomercial land it lies with in YOU!!!
Richard Simmons as strange as he is has said it best LOVE YOURSELF – MOVE THOSE BUNS – PORTION CONTROL
Conclusion
With all of these gimmicks and you the consumer falling at the whims of professional marketers and con artists you may have lost track of what works and in the process have spent thousands of dollars (years worth of personal training by the way) on absolute crap. It’s time to take control of your health and get back to the basics before you venture off. Learn to love yourself, De-Stress about the way you look right now, Get your bum moving more everyday, and if it wasn’t around 1,000 years ago (Ok clients all together now) DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH!
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