Motivate Your Mate
By Julia Fairclough
eDiets Contributor
Updated: March 9, 2007
It’s Saturday night and you’re watching Zoolander (again) with your boyfriend. Zoolander is the flick of choice because you two have run out of new movies to rent.
There are only so many DVDs at Blockbuster Video to rent every time you are together—when you’re not watching ESPN -- that is. You find that you and he just hang out so often, the shapes of your bodies are imprinted on his couch.
You find that you reluctantly can cite NFL football stats, although you don’t shout “Yeaaah!” when Tom Brady throws a touchdown pass.
Going out to dinner involves running around the corner to pick up a pizza. A walk around the park means a shortcut to the liquor store to buy beer. A gathering with his friends includes passing the bong around and watching anything that happens to be on Cartoon Network.
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Newsflash: You are dating the couch potato. He is taking on the appearance of Mr. Potato Head. He now sports a black fuzzy moustache and when he looks over at you his eyes seem round and topped with equally fuzzy eyebrows.
You choke back a giggle and realize that it’s time to kick the passive-aggressive act of bitching to your girlfriends that your boyfriend just sits around and never takes you out. At first you were reluctant to say anything as he is very sexy and great in bed. You think, one of these nights he’ll change. He’ll peel himself off the couch to say tonight he’s taking you out to see the local band. But, that hope fades once you hit the one-month milestone.
If you like him too much to dump him at this point, consider the following strategies to avoid the relationship from turning into mashed potatoes.
1. Recommend that he quit smoking pot. As we all know, marijuana is one of the greatest sources of un-motivating the unmotivated. It will turn your couch potato’s brain into home fries.
2. Play up his vanity. Point out that he can’t maintain a nice ass by parking it on the couch all the time.
3. Suggest alternatives to staying in. Sound enthusiastic when you say, “Hey, let’s try the movies tonight!” to incite contagious buy-in.
4. Take matters into your own hands. Double date with a couple you know to watch a game at the local pub, under the guise you are getting out of the house to do something together.
5. Say how you feel. If he balks at your suggestions; tell him that he’ll never keep a girlfriend if he can’t clear away the cans of Budweiser to get off the couch. Add that you want to make this work.
6. Consider moving on. It’s not as if the couch potato will turn into a highly motivated individual. No couch has ever inspired a novel or Internet start up.
It can be tempting to keep a guy in the picture because he’s good in bed or you’re afraid to be alone. But you know that doing so eventually is a real hit to your self esteem—you are worth better! And, we singletons all know that deep in our heart of hearts, that we’ll find that guy who is not the couch potato, but the apple of your eye.
Julia Fairclough is a freelance writer residing in Somerville, MA.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Lose The Love Handles
By Joyce Vedral
eDiets Guest Columnist
Updated: February 7, 2007
Those dreaded love handles! If only they brought us more love instead of so much grief. But there's good news. You can lose your love handles-or at least most of them in 3 weeks by doing the right routine.
But what are love handles? They are the grab-able bands of fat on the sides of your body. Love handles are also found, depending upon your particular tendency to store fat, in a band all around your back, just above your waistline. Nice information! But how do you get rid of them?
You have to use light weights, and you have to work a certain way -- consistently, with a variety of exercises, until you zap away the fat and replace it with tight, toned, sleek mini-muscles.
The beauty of this workout is, those mini-muscles, once developed, will help you burn overall body fat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because putting muscle on your body kicks up your metabolism.
Here are two exercises that will help to zap those love handles in record time.
Love Handle Side Oblique Squeeze
Sit in a chair with a light dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent and arms extended outward. Your palms are facing away from your body.
Movement: Flexing your entire side waist area as you go, move your right arm down and forward towards the center of your body. Give that "love handle" area an extra flex and return to start position. Repeat for the other side. Repeat the movement until you have done 12 repetitions for each side of your body.
Love Handle Crush
Bend at the waist until your upper body is almost parallel to the floor, a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Movement: Flexing your entire back and side "love handle" area, extend your arms outward until they are parallel to the floor. Without resting, return to start position. Repeat 12 times.
Repeat this sequence two more times.
In three weeks you'll see a major meltdown of your love handles, especially if you add more variety to your love handle workout. I want you to e mail me at jvbody@aol.com with your exciting results, or with questions.
For more exercises for getting rid of love handles, and for toning your whole body, go to www.joycevedral.com.
Blogger's Note:
Thank you Joyce, as a man, this is one of those areas that I have never been able to completely get rid of.
This article was taken from:
http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_2425202/code_30171
eDiets Guest Columnist
Updated: February 7, 2007
Those dreaded love handles! If only they brought us more love instead of so much grief. But there's good news. You can lose your love handles-or at least most of them in 3 weeks by doing the right routine.
But what are love handles? They are the grab-able bands of fat on the sides of your body. Love handles are also found, depending upon your particular tendency to store fat, in a band all around your back, just above your waistline. Nice information! But how do you get rid of them?
You have to use light weights, and you have to work a certain way -- consistently, with a variety of exercises, until you zap away the fat and replace it with tight, toned, sleek mini-muscles.
The beauty of this workout is, those mini-muscles, once developed, will help you burn overall body fat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because putting muscle on your body kicks up your metabolism.
Here are two exercises that will help to zap those love handles in record time.
Love Handle Side Oblique Squeeze
Sit in a chair with a light dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent and arms extended outward. Your palms are facing away from your body.
Movement: Flexing your entire side waist area as you go, move your right arm down and forward towards the center of your body. Give that "love handle" area an extra flex and return to start position. Repeat for the other side. Repeat the movement until you have done 12 repetitions for each side of your body.
Love Handle Crush
Bend at the waist until your upper body is almost parallel to the floor, a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Movement: Flexing your entire back and side "love handle" area, extend your arms outward until they are parallel to the floor. Without resting, return to start position. Repeat 12 times.
Repeat this sequence two more times.
In three weeks you'll see a major meltdown of your love handles, especially if you add more variety to your love handle workout. I want you to e mail me at jvbody@aol.com with your exciting results, or with questions.
For more exercises for getting rid of love handles, and for toning your whole body, go to www.joycevedral.com.
Blogger's Note:
Thank you Joyce, as a man, this is one of those areas that I have never been able to completely get rid of.
This article was taken from:
http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_2425202/code_30171
Food Addicts Anonymous
I was reading an article on EDiets.com that talks about food addictions. I have to admit, I probably fit that bill. When I get hungry, I get angry, impatient, and just an all around pain in the ass. It takes every ounce of effort on my part to calm down until I get something in my stomach. Granted, I do work out 5 days a week and have gotten used to eating 6 times a day but I'm still amazedat how crazy I get when I'm hungry.
My wife has been good about it, basically we have to stop whatever we are doing to feed me or she knows I will be a pain.
I never really thought of food as an addiction for me, after all we think of food addicts as obese people that can't control themselves right?
Ironically, there are many of us that are fit and trim and still can't control ourselves around food. There is a Chinese buffet place that we go to often. When we are there, all bets are off. The fact that I can go in and eat 4 or 5 plates of food and then dessert is sickening.
Maybe one day age will set in and portion control will be introduced into my vocabulary. Until then, watch out all you can eat's and buffets...
The article I referenced in EDiets.com is:
http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_2425286/code_30171
My wife has been good about it, basically we have to stop whatever we are doing to feed me or she knows I will be a pain.
I never really thought of food as an addiction for me, after all we think of food addicts as obese people that can't control themselves right?
Ironically, there are many of us that are fit and trim and still can't control ourselves around food. There is a Chinese buffet place that we go to often. When we are there, all bets are off. The fact that I can go in and eat 4 or 5 plates of food and then dessert is sickening.
Maybe one day age will set in and portion control will be introduced into my vocabulary. Until then, watch out all you can eat's and buffets...
The article I referenced in EDiets.com is:
http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_2425286/code_30171
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Welcome to FitnessGab - Fitness Blog
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