Body By CRAP!!!!!

Okay, anyone who is facebook friends with me know that I HATE those annoying fools who post incessantly their weight loss schemes.  The one that annoys me the most?  Body By Vi.

"Lose Inches in 90 days!"

"Look at this photo of me slouching with my gut out and compare it to this photo of me standing up straight with my arms over my head and sucking in my gut.....don't I look soooo much skinnier?"

"It's cheaper than eating real food.....really!  Well, before you add in the fruits, flavorings and extra stuff to make the bland shake remotely tasty."

Now, before anyone starts ranting about how it's helped them lose all sorts of weight, let me ask you something.......what would have happened if you had simply tried to change your eating habits and started to workout more?

My next question.....what happens when you stop drinking one or two shakes a day?  You haven't been teaching yourself any healthy eating habits, so you are going to gain that weight right back!

And finally, have you considered the ramifications of drinking these shakes for long periods of time?  Protein shakes, while an excellent option for some people, especially some women who don't get enough protein daily.....are not really meant to be an everyday, several times a day, forever and ever type deal.  And, I'm not a doctor, or nurse, or chiropractor, or personal trainer, nor have I played one on television......but I can use the internets pretty dang easily!  And, I love me some Google!

A simple Google search of "too many protein shakes" or "are protein shakes bad" brings up a wide variety of statements from smarty-pants people with a bunch of letters after their names that mean they actually know their ass from a hole in the ground.

I'll leave you to do your own Google search, but here is a sampling of what I found:

"“The fact of the matter is the body can only break down about five to nine grams of protein per hour. So any excess protein you are not using for athletic endeavours or energy can either be turned into fat of excreted. So if you are consuming more protein than you need and you are not athletic, you are either going to get diarrhea or you will probably store that protein as fuel, which is fat,” says Shannon Jones, a trainer at Crossfit Zone in Victoria."

Yup.  Giving yourself the shits is an awesome way to lose weight!  I love using an entire roll of toilet paper each day!  Figure that into your cost savings....not so cost effective now, huh?

"Registered dietitian Katherine Zeratsky notes that following a high-protein diet for longer than several months

raises your risk of liver and kidney problems, cancer, heart disease and diverticulitis. American Council on

 Exercise scientist Cedric X. Bryant adds that consuming too much protein can eventually result in bone loss,

 which can raise your risk of the disease osteoporosis."

YES!  I totally want to ruin my liver and kidneys and heart and bones while suffering with kidney stones!  Oh wait....I want to do that using booze, pain killers/NSAIDS, cocaine, cigarettes, and pop.  Nevermind!

And possibly most interesting, CBS did a report on a report done by Consumer Reports, reporting that many shakes contain heavy metals.  Oh, not the fun, use a bottle of hairspray, heavy eyeliner for guys and gals, bust out the lycra pants, heavy metal.  Oh, no.  We're talking LEAD, CADMIUM, and ARSENIC!  Why would you want to put that into your system?  Although, maybe that's why your spouse is so supportive of you doing this diet.......they want you to shove off early.  Hmmmmmmm.......

And honestly, my biggest beef is that people who I know have NO medical background at all, are trying to tell people that it's totally safe.  Really?  Can you even read all of the ingredients listed on the back of what you are shoveling into your body, let alone tell me what they actually are?  Really?  

How about this....you start eating healthy, fresh foods and get off of your rear and exercise.