As a society, I’ve noticed that we love finding, and then taking, Easy Street. If there is an easy way out of a potentially difficult or time-consuming task, sign us up–hence the existence of “get rich fast” schemes, mail-order brides and, yes, diet pills. While the first two subjects would be fun to write about, I feel, for relevance sake, I should just stick with the third.Here’s the skinny–no pun intended. Diet pills are BAD news. There are no two ways about it. The elements which restrict your appetite and increase your metabolism do nothing but wear and tear on you body–especially essential organs like the heart, liver and so on. The appetite decrease is so extreme, in the case of some pills, that it is not possible to sustain that diet for any period of time without experiencing severe side-effects–dehydration, vomiting, extreme fatigue, etc. Not to mention, once your body cracks and you’re forced to stop taking them, you’ll notice that your natural metabolism is altered–for the worse. These pills contain components that horribly and permanently mess with your normal body functions and cause irreparable damage. While they may seem like an easy route to your skinny jeans, I assure you that it is not worth it, and the weight loss you experience is ephemeral–the minute you begin to eat normally, you can expect each and every one of those lost pounds to return. Fortunately,diet pills are not nearly as potent and harmful as they used to be, but that also means they’re that much more less effective. All you need to do is increase your water intake, move around and pump up your heart rate a few times a week and lay off those blatantly pound-producing foods. I guarantee, after a very short time, you will see results–and they will not be accompanied by increased heart rate, shakiness and organ damage.    

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It’s simple; fad diets crack me up.  I love to turn on the television and find out what the hottest celebrity is doing to shed the pounds.  Fasting, wrapping and suctioning seem to be the favorites in Tinsel Town, but in the real world, there’s an easier, cheaper and much less painful ways to go about this; stop eating so much.

It’s no secret that Americans are notorious for enormous portions of terrifyingly fattening and high-calorie food, so when you’re wanting to slim down, the logical choice seems to be right under our noses.  To be exact, it’s on the over-sized, “filled to the brim” plate right under your nose!  I know depriving an American seems to be as simple and likely as solving all the troubles ailing the Middle East, but it’s really not that hard.

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Americans are obsessed with weight and weight loss. Much of this is due to our idea of the ideal body type. Hollywood has skewed our thinking and brainwashed many of us into believing rail-thin, bony frames are the epitome of beauty. Females compare themselves to the starlets they see in movies, TV and magazines. Men are also held to high standards while trying to balance a lean and muscular combination. Guys like Brad and Leo make this seem extremely appealing, as well as simple.

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When we were little, our parents filled our heads with fabulous tales of fancy and fear. Between the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, children learn the delight of giving, or rather, receiving, money and gifts merely because a tooth falls out or the calendar displays a particular date. Stranger danger was created to scare children away from approaching, or being approached by, an unfamiliar person. The Boogy Man was…actually, that one is an enigma. I have no idea what purpose he served, other than a sadistic need to see kids squirm every time they are left in the dark. For me, the freshman 15 always seemed like a made-up tale, passed along to ensure young co-eds stay on their toes and maintain their svelt, girlish figures. Unfortunately for me, I did not heed the warning, and early into my first semester of college, found myself blaming the dryer for shrinking my jeans.

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Spinning classes are notorious for several reasons. First, they provide a high-energy and efficient cardio work-out which is kind to the joints. Secondly, they are not for the faint of heart. The classes are extremely tough and require an enormous amount of endurance. Thirdly, they are always accompanied by flashing lights, blaring techno music and instructors that expend more energy yelling at their clients than they do on the bikes.

Three New York City women, however, are changing the face of spinning. While they love the work-out itself, they were sick and tired of the rave-type atmosphere and abrasive spinstructors. Ruth Zukerman, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice decided to combine the basics of yoga with the calorie-burning power of spinning.

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