*grinning ear to ear*
It's amazing that you already knew what I thought about those electric ab inducers. God, I hate yuppies who take a 9-volt battery and a 30 minute sitcom and think they're getting the workout of their life. It drives me bonkers. "I just got the abtronic, and I'm gonna get a six-pack without doing a single pushup." GRRRR....
Definately, though - I think that the key to weight loss is will power. If someone can't diet and exercise, he doesn't have self-control, and can't accomplish either. Infomercials play off of this, KNOWING that the average Joe Schmoe suffers from hundreds of addictions (caffeine, cigarettes, routines, tv, overeating) and instead of telling them to overcome their addictions, feeds off of it saying, "You too can eat this TUB OF LARD and 35 lbs of butter, but as long as you don't eat this WHEAT BREAD you'll lose all the weight you want!" It makes me friggen' sick. If she can't do a lap, she officially doesn't have the will power to change, and so she will have the same body she's always had, because she's too addicted to her routines to change.
Literally think about every infomercial, and you'll see they play off of our laziness and resistance to change:
1) Chitin (Fat Assassin) - Shove all the crap you want in your face, but if you take this pill, all of the fat won't be digested. Sacrifice nothing, lose weight fast and easy!
2) AbTronic - Watch TV, go to work, go shopping, do what you've always done, and the AbTronic will burn the weight for you.
3) 8 minute abs - Don't sacrifice hours upon hours of your time! In only 8 minutes a day, you can get washboard abs!
4) Atkins diet - Eat fat, lose weight.
We're always looking for the product that does it for us. "The Patch" is such a symbol of our mentality, we'll just cover this up the easy way, and it'll be just as good. Get your nicotine without the tar, get the body without the exercise, earn thousands of dollars just sitting at home: this is how scams victimize people - by playing off their insecurity to change (ironically, what they're promised is a change, only it's the benefits with none of the side effects.)
This is why I have respect for infomercials that at least sell exercise equipment - because at least they give you the intention that you have to actually use the darn thing to get healthy. That's why I also support photoreading, because it takes effort; it's not a gimmick, it's not a pill to make you smarter, it's a technique a mental exercise that takes willpower and the effort to change.
Thanks for visiting the website =) I'm glad you liked it, and yes, I hope someday I'll have the body of Anthony Hall (RaZoR RaMoN).
-Ramon http://razor.ramon.com ("That's right folks, my pig doesn't eat much, cleans itself, and flies upon command! It's not $200, but 5 easy payments of 49.99! Order NOW!")
