It’s Food Friday, but no food today. I wanted to share an interesting conversation I had with the hubs last night about supplements.
So, we’re sitting there watching “Hannibal”-great series if you’re into gory deaths, hallucinations, and dark imagery, and the ubiquitous Dr. Hannibal Lecter-and the hubs says, “Hey Pause it for a minute, I want to show you this stuff I think I should get.” After expelling a long suffering sigh (I hate for my shows to be interrupted by chatter), he shows me his iPad, which is open to this page touting some “miracle” muscle building pills. I give the article a readthrough, then open a browser window so I can see if I can find more information about this stuff. I’m not surprised that most of the links that I find are more “testimonials aimed at selling more of this product.
But the hubs was all excited about it and keeps asking if I think he should get it, and wouldn’t it be awesome if he got all ripped like that, etc, etc. Finally I look at him and ask if he wants my honest opinion. He hesitates (because he knows my answer is not just no, but hells no-LOL), but then says yes, he wants to know what I think about it. I tell him that he doesn’t need any pills or muscle-building supplements to get ripped. If he would lay off his 3 scoops of ice cream nearly every night (!), the copious amounts of beer he’s been drinking lately, not sit around eating out of the bag of trail mix, crackers, chips, etc, and stuck to a exercise program, he would build muscle and burn the fat.
I showed him pictures of Tom Venuto, who wrote the ebook “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”-excellent read, great information, BTW. He is a natural body builder, meaning he doesn’t take any enhancement drugs to be totally ripped. He trains hard, and he gets results. I told the hubs if Tom could do it, so could he. I also pointed out that he would look like a total freak if he had too much muscle because he’s short, and that he should focus on building a lean and flexible physique, not a bulky one at any rate because I didn’t think I could love a man whose boobs were bigger than mine. I think it was the last comment that swayed him.
There is NO substitute for exercise and eating right. I don’t have a problem with using protein powders or drinking Shakeology, because while technically they ‘are’ supplements, they don’t do anything but add calories, protein, and minerals and vitamins to your daily diet. You don’t know the long term effects of using metabolic “enhancing” supplements, especially ones that label themselves as an “steroid alternative”. As part of the microwave generation, we all want quick results and yeah, I would love to be able to lose 30 lbs in 30 days. But the reality is that shit is just going to come back. I feel any advertisement you see that claims you can lose a ton of weight without exercising is a crock. Sure, I guess it’s possible, but what exactly are you losing? And once you stop taking those precious little pills, how long before you put that weight back on?
The hubs looks at me, and says, “So, I shouldn’t get this?” I just look at him until he huffs out a breath and says, “Fine. I guess you’re right.”
I pushed Play.
What do you think about all these ads for “steroid alternatives” and “lose weight without exercise”?
Quit bitching! Get fit! 