Imagine coming in to work one day to be told you must report to the conference room down the hall for an important, mandatory procedure. Or imagine being summoned to your town hall for a government mandated exam. Imagine that both of these summonings required that you submit to having your waistline measured.
According to the New York Times, Japan has deemed that there are mandatory limits to the size of citizens waistlines and they are determined to ensure the population complies. A male is allowed a waistline of no greater than 33.5 inches; a female is required to have a waistline of 35.4 inches of less. Two months ago it became law in Japan that companies and local governments must measure the waistlines of citizens between the ages of 40 and 74. The government will impose penalties on those companies and local governments who do not fall in the accepted range in order to reach the goal of reducing the overweight population by 10% in four years and 25% in seven years.
The idea behind this legislation is to reduce health care costs related to metabolic syndrome. The Japanese Ministry of Health believes that this campaign will keep diseases like diabetes and stroke from spreading among the aging population.
Should a citizen be found with a waistline that is too expansive for the government's tastes, they will be told to lose weight. If within three months they have been unsuccessful, they will be given dietary guidance. If necessary, more weight loss/nutrition education will be provided after six months.
In case you're wondering - the International Diabetes Foundation sets 40 inch waist threshold for men and a 34.6 inch threshold for women. I wonder why the Japanese allow for women to have bigger waists than their male counterparts? Mmmmmm.
Their campaign is not call it a fight against obesity, which they feel has negative connotations. Instead they're calling it "Metabo." There is even an anti-metabo song:
“Goodbye, metabolic. Let’s get our checkups together. Go! Go! Go!
Goodbye, metabolic. Don’t wait till you get sick. No! No! No!”
I can't imagine Americans letting the government get involved that heavily with their waistlines and eating habits. I can't imagine the big candy and cookie companies letting it happen! I think the almighty dollar of capitalistic enterprise speaks louder than the dollar to be saved in the health care arena.
~o~
A while back one of those cheesy women's magazines that sit by the cash register proclaimed an amazing diet plan: Kimkins. It was billed as "Better than Gastric Bypass." The founder, known as Kimmer, supposedly lost 198 lbs in 11 months on her "tweaked" version of the Atkins plan. A flashy webpage soon followed. One could have access to perhaps achieve the same "remarkable" results as Kimmer by paying $59 for a a lifetime membership.
Too bad Kimmer wasn't at all who she appeared to be...a weightloss success story, a caring foster mother, a beacon of hope. Instead, it turns out that Kimmer has a lot of explaining to do.
Here is just ONE of many articles that exposes Kimmer, Fake pictures, fake success stories, at least a million dollars raked in. Here is a video expose by KTLA TV.
The diet was low fat, low carb, low calories... it was basically a plan for anorexia. Advice given on the site was to take laxatives and to lower calories down to even no more than 500 calories a day. Dieters were even encouraged to get into a state of what they called SNAT - semi-naseaus all the time. Some reported getting into a state where they didn't even feel hungry, but felt powerfully in control. Welcome to eating disorder land!
The best way to lose weight is to eat a healthy diet - making sure not to eat too little - and to exercise regularly, remembering to change up your plan every 4 - 6 weeks.
It just disgusts me to see yet another con committed against people, who in their desperation to lose weight, are willing to try anything. Sure, starving yourself might work for a while - but there will be physical ramifications...and when you're body finally gets food, you can bet it'll pack it back on. (And this woman was even running a scam regarding collecting money for her "foster kids"). Sad indeed.
There is a class action lawsuit. Hopefully, that will become well known and more people will be come aware of this scary diet plan and not be suckered in. Eating disorders are dangerous! Paying to develop one is horrid. My Aunt Stephanie was just four months older than me. When we were 28 years old, she died from the effects of anorexia and bulema. While she had "reformed" her ways after having children, the damage that had been done to her body was extensive. At age 28, she had a stressful morning at work, sat down to drink a diet Coke...and had a heart attack, leaving behind her husband and two young girls.
~o~
Today's workout: 7 min brisk walk. 55 minute circuit. 7 min. brisk walk, 30 min. elliptical.
the circuit - decline dumbbell press 20/50, 20/55, 20/55 squats 30/24 step plyos 40, 10" butt kicks to body bag Repeat for 3 sets --1 min sprint on elliptical plyo pushups 10 dumbbell fly stability ball crunch 15/30 leg extension 20/60, 12/70 band side lunge 20 Repeat for 2 sets --1 min sprint on treadmill scorpion pushups 10 alternation dumbbell press on stability ball 12 ea/15ea Bulgarian split squat 20 1-pt dumbbell row 12/30 Repeat for 2 sets --1 min sprint on elliptical Dips 20 lunge w/shoulder press 10/24 side step plyos 1 minute Repeat for 2 sets medicine ball transfer 10/10 crunch 1 knee in 20 each side Repeat for 2 sets
What happens if your main exercise is swimming? How do you change that every four to six weeks? I swim almost every day, and have worked up from a struggling one length when I started to twenty lengths plus most days (with obvious attendant health benefits) - but what should I do differently to maintain improvement?
What happens if your main exercise is swimming? How do you change that every four to six weeks? I swim almost every day, and have worked up from a struggling one length when I started to twenty lengths plus most days (with obvious attendant health benefits) - but what should I do differently to maintain improvement?
You can change the strokes you are using... perhaps freestyle, followed by one arm side stroke,backstroke, then switch. Every few weeks change the order of the strokes, change the number of laps of each.
You can also do interval training with your speed. Swim slowly for two laps, then swim like you're being chased by hungry sharks for a third, then repeat.
You can also add fins for resistance. There are these disc type things that you hold on to which provide pretty effective resistance for your arms, too.
You can do some pool running. Add in some kicking workouts from the wall.
OK - I already vary the strokes, and sometimes use floats so that I will do laps of legs only, so will persist with this. Am trying to build up my freestyle, but slow progress!
The NHS has set limits for BMIs for certain operations, and people have to lose weight before they can have them.
Are the BMIs very generous? BMI is such a lousy method for gauging obesity. A person with a heavier weight due to a high degree of lean muscle mass can wind up with a high BMI.
Ah..but I do see this coming here...they will use the same tactics they used on smokers, and will figure out a way to make fat illegal or at least tax the hell out of it.' At this point in my life, I will remain fat, have a smoke, and tell them to kiss my....
I don't know about being as harsh as Japan, but workplaces should have some sort of physical fitness available for the employees and encourage participation. My background coming from the military, we had to some sort form of exercise daily, and it was good because I likely wouldn't have done it on my own lol.
I can't believe that woman. Hopefully she pays ...
That's sad about your aunt. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm no genious but I do believe I'd question a diet that suggests I take laxatives. I would intensly resent the goverment getting involved in my wieght. :-) They're involved enough in my personal business I think. I like your blogs.
I have had to weigh in at work each week. We did that years ago when i was in the army, but I was surprised when we started doing that last fall. It is to help us be healthy and save the company health care dollars I guess.
What happens if your main exercise is swimming? How do you change that every four to six weeks? I swim almost every day, and have worked up from a struggling one length when I started to twenty lengths plus most days (with obvious attendant health benefits) - but what should I do differently to maintain improvement? 
