Six Pack

[omniscient]

Did you know only 2% of Americans have a six pack. I'm not talking about some peope that have them sticking out a little, I'm talking about a nice full six pack that you can clearly see. So do we have anyone in the 2% category?

127,000,000 adults in America are overweight, 60,000,000 adults in America are obese, and 9,000,000 are severely obese? Those numbers mean approximately 65% of our nation’s population is classified as being overweight or obese, and that number has progressively increased since the 1960’s – an increase that shows no signs of slowing down. Why is everyone getting so fat? I have my own conclusions, but what are yours.

[ckBejug]

Fast food and lots of it. Not enough parents at home cooking. Kids not learning to eat healthy, especially in schools where potato chips and ketchup are considered vegetables. Well at some point in their lives they were potatos and tomatos, so of course they are healthy!

[sad_eyes]

Agreed with the above. Fast food, not enough parents willing to cook. These days to afford a decent living both parents have to work minimum one job each. I see so many parents handing out money to their kids and suggesting them to go buy dinner at McDonalds or such. Then there is the problem where most people tend to eat until they are full, and that is at least 2 to 3 times a day, and since most teenagers, for example are often supplied with video games, vieachles, tvs, and whatnot, they tend to sit on their asses all day and choose not to get enough excercise.

[Crimson Glow]

So do we have anyone in the 2% category?

I used to be. Then there was the ephedrine episode that kicked me in the ass, and screwed up my life the last 3 years. Aaaaaanyway....

It would be the combination of what Sad Eyes said. Kids "going outside to play" is a thing of the past. We went from actually physically playing sports, to watching them enthusiastically, to sitting in front of a TV like a zombie, playing simulated versions. Not to mention, as technological advancement increases, the need for for physical exertion decreases. It just blows my mind how lazy people are, today. Lifting your arm from its comfortable resting position to flick the freaking turn signal lever is too much work for many, these days.

Case in point: I manage a nutritional supplement store, and you wouldn't believe how many stupid, fat lazy f*cks will illegally park their car right up by the store, and walk in asking "where's the Atkins diet products", or "what's the best, fastest working fat burners you got"? I even flat out TELL them none of the fat burners work, and they just keep asking me about the various products on the shelf in that section.

"But...what about THIS one?"
"None of them work."
"Oh, what about this, I see this one on TV."
"Ma'am...NONE OF THEM WORK!!"

Truly sickening. I'm over here being pissed that my health hasn't allowed me to work out the last few years, and these stupid lazy jerk-offs are busy thinking I'm lying to them about products that can get them out of exercising and eating right. Brilliant! A problem that 65% of the American public is afflicted with, and you think you can just waltz into a store, buy some pills, and have it all go away. No wonder you look like that: Your BRIAN is a weak, mushy, shapeless blop that has lacked exercise, too!

On another note, there is some research that suggests certain ingredients approved by the FDA to add to our foods can cause weight gain and cravings. That's right, another conspiracy theory (of course...if you know about the FDAs track record, you'd find it believable) suggesting that your own government is purposely making you fat. Why? Today, obessity is the #1 cause of diabetes, and the second leading cause of death in the US. So then, it gets classified as a disease. Then the pharmacuetical companies come up with an antidote to combat this "health problem". This combat drug = BIG time profits/money (as any prescription drug is). And so the vicious circle goes.

But yeah, even if that were 100% proven true, I think the bigger issue is how lazy people have gotten, and their ignorance/total lack of concern about their health.

[spiral]

I even flat out TELL them none of the fat burners work, and they just keep asking me about the various products on the shelf in that section.

"But...what about THIS one?"
"None of them work."
"Oh, what about this, I see this one on TV."
"Ma'am...NONE OF THEM WORK!!"
.

You're not a very good sales-person are you?...

[Crimson Glow]

You're not a very good sales-person are you?...

I wouldn't have been on the job for 9 years if I wasn't. We don't lie about our products, end of story. It's a reputation we've established, and are well known for. That's half the reason people shop with us (privately owned, single location company) instead of the big franchises. The other half is that we're half the price of those other stores. =| We also don't encourage people like this, because they're more trouble then they're worth. They won't be repeat customers (since the product won't work, and even if it did, it wouldn't be "fast enough" for them, not to mention they don't really buy any other supplements since they're not health conscious), and many times, they'll come back complaining that it didn't do anything for them (even though the bottle says it is to be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise). When we tell them we don't make the guarantees on the bottles, they throw a fit and say we should "stand behind the products we sell". Never mind the fact that their sorry asses don't follow directions, or the suggestions of diet and exercise. So in essence, what they're REALLY asking is that we take the hit for their incompetence. And so, as a rare exception, this is one type of customer we're not afraid of loosing (not that we're really loosing them, for the reasons I stated above). They usually hurt business more then they help.

[Anonymouse]

Yea I have a six pack too, and it's in my fridge.

[thedebutante]

so how did they come up with this 2% figure anyway

[spiral]

So Crimson, what would be a good brand for supplements?

How are Nature Made and Trader Darwins?

[Crimson Glow]

How are Nature Made and Trader Darwins?

Uuummmm......no. Trader Darwin's isn't that bad, but.....Nature Made? A few rules of thumb when looking at supplements.

-If it's available in mass market stores/pharmacies, it's crap (there are a handfull of exceptions to this).
-If it's ONLY sold in mass market stores/pharmacies, it's even crappier.
-If it's a house brand, cut off your left hand before you reach for it.

These are the Yugos of the supplement industry. There may be certain products where you can get away with house brands and such, but supplements.....no. They use synthetic vitamins, non-standardized herbal extracts, inferior quality tablets.....just....no. Take Centrum, for example. Ahhhh yes....everyone's precious Centrum. "From A to Zinc". They should change the slogan to "from your mouth, to your colon", because that's exactly where those tablets wined up. They made this big fiasco of it on the news and in the papers around here a while back. They showed x-rays that revealed entire, whole tablets still sitting in the digestive tract. Now anyone in the industry already knew this, because they use synthetic vitamins to begin with (which your body already has a piss poor time breaking down), and then they compress the ever loving Bejesus out of the tablets to condense the size (because the mass public isn't going to want a huge, honking tablet), so that, but the time they're done with it, your body can't absorb it worth jack. But it's funny how no one that comes into our store saw all the coverage/publicity this received. They catch all the bad things about supplements in stores like ours, but not good ole' Centrum. They just look at our -way cheaper then our competitors- prices (near wholesale), and go "oh my, this is discounted? I can get vitamins MUCH cheaper at Walgreen's"! That's great, lady. Would you like me to piss in a bottle, slap a label on it, seal it and call it apple cider vinegar for you?? Anyways...

As far as what are good brands, it depends what you're looking for. There are some extremely good, over-all companies, but I wouldn't say any one particular brand has the best supplement in every category. Again, as a rule of thumb, some good ones are Solgar, Country Life/Biochem, Source Naturals, Twinlab, Enzymatic Therapy, Barleans (for flax oils, and such), Nature's Plus, etc. Remember, you won't typically find these lines in your grocery store's pharmacy section. They're higher end brands, and are going to cost you a bit more, but are MUCH better in quality from every stand point. If you need more specific help picking something out, just let me know.