May, 2008

We, at DietsInReview.com, were one of the first in line at our local Best Buy to pick up the new Wii Fit this morning. After a few hours with the new exercise game we have put together a short video overview of the product.

But before I show you the video I want to point out a few things.

1. The line was at least 30 people long at 9:30 am, each person buying multiple Wii Fit accessories along with the game. It appears that Nintendo has spawned a new fitness game industry on day one.
2. The balance board appears to well made – very solid.
3. In line we heard chatter about more games and exercise tools coming out that will also make use the Wii’s balance board.
4. We have 4 friends over right now all playing (exercising?) with the Wii Fit. When is the last time you had your friends over to exercise

I was very impressed with the packaging and the quality of the materials. The balance board also comes with a set of replacement feet, I guess they wear out easily? Below is our video overview showcasing a few of the games as well as documenting some of the setup procedures.

Can’t find a Wii Fit at your local store? Try buying online.

leg extension on stability ball with ankle weight
(Click on image to view this exercise…)

1.) Leg Extensions for Quadraceps (thigh muscle). Keep abs flexed (squeezed) and slowly kick feet towards ceiling flexing (squeezing) the quadraceps. Repeat several times.

2.) Lateral Raises for Shoulders. Let arms hang down to the side and slowly raise until parallel to floor. Hold and then repeat several times.

3.) Torso Twists for Obliques. Squeeze abs and gently turn side to side in chair with upper torso. Repeat several times.

4.) Seated Rows for Mid Back. Hold arms straight out in front of body and slowly row arms back to body. Keep elbows to the side and squeeze the shoulder blades. Repeat several times

5.) Shrugs for shoulder. Let arms hang down to side of body and slowly raise shoulders to ears. Try not to bend arms and repeat several times.

If you have any questions: please feel free to ask.

Today is the release of the much anticipated Wii Fit, the game that could quite possibly revolutionize the way we not only game, but workout. By bringing much of what you would do in the gym to a wireless balance board, the convenience you crave for exercise could finally be here.

Learn more about the Wii Fit at Diets In Review with the following:
Wii Fit Blog Post
Wii Fit Review

Yesterday was the kick-off to World Vegetarian Week, an effort sponsored by PETA to encourage more people to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. Bruce Friedrich, a VP at PETA, has given a top-ten list for reasons you should consider going veggy, and we’re sharing that summary here.

1.  Helping animals helps the global poor
It requires 7x as much grain to feed animals so that we can eat meat, than it does to produce biofuels.

2. Eating meat supports cruelty to animals
Due to factory farms, it is rare that farm animals get to experience the idyllic barnyard lifestyle due to the inhumane environment they are raised in.

3. Eating meat is bad for the environment
A UN report claims eating meat is “one of the … most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems.” The report goes on to say that eating meat creates 40% more greenhouse gas than the combined emissions worldwide of cars, trucks and planes.

4. Avoid Bird Flu
W.H.O. warns that if this virus were to mutate, eating undercooked eggs or even touching a contaminated egg shell could pass the virus to humans.

5. If you wouldn’t eat a dog, you shouldn’t eat a chicken
Some research has shown that chickens’ intelligence outranks that of cats and dogs, and is relative to primates.

6. Heart Disease: Our number one killer
A vegetarian lifestyle can reduce your risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease.

7. Cancer: Our number two killer
The author of the China Study says, “No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein.”

8. Fitting into that itty-bitty bikini
Vegetarians are 1/3 as likely to be obese while vegans are 1/10 as likely. These diet lifestyles are proven to help you lose weight and keep it off.

9. Global Peace
If you want to live in a peaceful world, it has to start by not killing and eating animals.

10. The joy of veggies
Vegetarians say the broad range of food they discover after giving up meat “explodes”.

If you’re interested in adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet, check out these reviews:
Skinny Bitch, the New York Times Bestseller

Body by God 

The Maker’s Diet 

I’m by no means an expert on the modeling world, but I would like to venture a guess and say that the gaunt walking dead look that began with Twiggy in the ’60s was not about being beautiful, per se. Rather, it was the use of the human body as an artistic expression.

Hey, I’m not saying it makes sense.

How else can you explain “super models” who look like they are heroin addicts on their last leg? This brings us to the latest drama on the cat walk. There have been some ruffled feathers in recent years when organizers in Spain placed a ban on models who they deemed were to skinny (as are the French).

While there may have been some upset models then, when they were told they couldn’t participate, this time around in the U.S., a model is fighting back against the unhealthy promotion of anorexic figures.

Alexandra Michael started her career as a 5′9″ 130-pound 15-year-old. But it was when she reached 102 by starving herself that she said enough was enough. Especially when she was told that her legs were too fat!

“My kind of wake-up call was I was on a plane from Paris to Texas, which is where I’m from,” says Michael. “I ran my fingers through my hair and when I took my hand away, there was a dry, brittle clump of hair in my hand.”