Adult footie pajamas are one trend I have never been able to understand. You have to practically strip naked to pee! Just…why??
2011 is almost over and you know what that means! No, not New Year’s parties with all their “auld lang syne” nonsense or fireworks or even resolutions: It’s time for the Top Ten Whatever Lists of 2011! And of course I got in on the action with my piece this week for Shape on the Top 10 Exercise and Weight-Loss Trends of 2011. This assignment gave me a weird mental hiccup because a) I am not an expert in anything much less weight loss so how am I qualified to say what “top ten” means? and b) I have a weird brain so what sticks in my brain may not be what stood out to you. I was having a mental block writing it until I realized that basically I have blanket permission to be an unqualified nutjob. I tried not to abuse that privilege. I ended up with a tour through the warren of What Charlotte Thinks About A Lot and now I’m really curious as to what would make your top trends in health and fitness this year. Check out my Top 10 list and then tell me: What were the big stories that stuck out to you this year? Any of you own adult footie pajamas? Why??
Other stuff I wrote this week:
Top 10 Best Workout Videos on YouTube. Stuck at home? Only have a few minutes? Just really like YouTube? It turns out you can get a really fantastic workout on YouTube – for free! Everything from Pilates to full-length step classes to kettlebells is right there at your finger tips!
Tony Horton’s New P90X Phone App. I always wanted to bring Tony to the gym with me and now I can! Sorta!
Evil or Evil Genius: McDonald’s fights Happy Meal toy ban – by charging 10 cents
10 Hilarious Childhood Stages I Really Will Miss. Nothing irritates me more than when my kid is in the middle of doing something really awful – say, drawing on the grocery store floor with lipstick he stole from the cosmetics aisle – and someone says, “You’ll miss this stage when they’re grown!” No, I can promise you I won’t. But there are some sweet stages that I will and sometimes it is good to think about those too.
How to Deal With Tantrums: New research has answers. Me vs. Dr. Phil – I WIN! Booyah!
There’s a girl I work with that LOVES footie pajamas (she’s a teacher and got really excited in anticipation of pajama day at her school) – apparently she normally only wears them on Christmas at her parents’…. but I definitely agree with you about using the facilities… it’s one of MANY reasons I prefer skirts and dresses during the day, so obviously at night when my brain is a little cloudy I’m going to want it to be even easier to make going to the restroom (you know, when I was in basic training we weren’t allowed to say restroom as it implied REST) easier
oh and clicking through you top ten I was like, “where are the kettle bells and boot camp?” and then I got to #9.
oh and the HCG thing still makes me ponder how they came up with that and how people don’t realize that a lot of it goes down to the dietary recommendations whilst doing that…
I’m always SOOO cold at night and I joked with my husband that I wanted a pair of footie pajamas. So, our first Christmas, we spent at his parents and that morning I received a pair from my mother-in-law. My bro-in-law promptly pointed out that she ‘must not want grandchildren!’ But I LOVED those pjs!!
Merry Christmas!!
Have you ever seen the “Forever Lazy?” If not, definitely look it up on youtube. It’s adult footy pajamas, but with a flap (in front and back) for when you need to use the bathroom. They advertise it as ideal for tailgating and just laying around the house, because blankets are too much work (and they show someone on a couch with a blanket the size of a hand towel).
I kept thinking for the longest time that it had to be a joke (Forever Lazy? Really?) But apparently it’s real…
I heard a woman on NPR going OFF aabout the McDonald’s Happy Meal. She said her kids won’t eat the apple slices and asked them to just not include them and I guess they have to. Even though she was just going to throw out the unopened package. Weird. McDonald’s ….
Don’t get me going. Its too early.
I love that you have intermittent fasting, Paleo and Crossfit on there!
Booyah on the tantrums! I think most “experts” give crappy advice on tantrums, such as “explain to your kids why they can’t have the toy”. Because I am sure a child can calmly reason when they are screaming, crying, and kicking on the floor. HA.
Maybe it’s just my own kids, but I found that if I caught the tantrum in its early stages I could generally stop it. Often this meant quickly sprinting to another area or isle of the store, as soon as I saw that little glimmer of want in their eyes. The longer I stayed in the proximity of the desired toy or candy the worse it got.
However some parents are just not smart about tantrums. The other day I was leaving the grocery store and a little girl about 4 was having a tantrum because she had to go to the bathroom. Her mother was yelling at her they were late getting to the bank and she could go to the bathroom there. Poor kid.
I’m a “mean mommy”. My kids got to learn at home how to control themselves. Bad behavior resulted in justice that was swift and sure. Then, all I had to do was give them the look and use the code phrase “Excuse Me?” and presto – they re-evaluated their choice. LOL Starting at 2. (Justice was based on their age and the situation – but usually meant removing them from the rest of us having FUN! And I made sure the rest of us were having rollicking fun while the miscreant had to sit with his nose on the wall, listening to all he was missing…) In a grocery store, since I couldn’t remove them from the fun, I removed the fun from them. Poor behavior (usually whining) results in one fun thing (Capt Crunch, Mac & Cheese, Strawberry Yogurt, etc) being VERY OBVIOUSLY (make one of them find it and give it to you…) removed from the cart and taken back to it’s designated spot in the grocery store and left there. You only had to return a couple of items before the kid(s) caught on. Amazing, too, how they begin to police themselves. One starts to whine and the others remind him they really WANT the yogurt this week. LOL
Having the kids hand you the item accomplishes two things. First they KNOW it was returned. But more importantly it immediately redirected their behavior. You are whining about having the cookies. Instead of arguing, I just calmly ask if anybody can find the strawberry yogurt. Everybody starts looking and somebody hands it to me. You do the Vanna White thing so everybody sees the yogurt. Then politely excuse yourself and your cart from the checkout line (isn’t that where most melt-downs occur?) and take the item back and put it away. Then, without preaching or anything just walk back to the checkout. Rinse and repeat as necessary. It’s calm, it’s quick, and it’s EFFECTIVE!
CLEVER!!!
Great round-up of trends, some of which are awesome and some ridiculous. Sadly, popularity and awesomeness don’t always correlate well.
I’m thinking of starting my own fitness trend, Nap-Aerobics, which involves strenuous mental gymnastics in order to rationalize sleeping mid-day while others are being productive. Hey, maybe I can package it with a cd of lullabies, a sleep eye mask, and market it to the footie pajama crowd!
My sister asked for footie pjs for Christmas one year (as an adult) and when she got them, she was mad and took them back. Just goes to show, be careful what you wish for!
Although, I have to admit, they’re a little bit tempting for snuggling up in front of the fire watching a movie.
True footie pjs come with a flap in the back to make potty trips easier. I kind of want a pair for lazing around on the weekends. Is that wrong?
I’ve dismissed a number of the top trends as merely trends -not things with real staying power. Though I’m happy to see the strong lifts being emphasized by CF, and bodyweight exercises over long slow cardio, many of these trends will disappear before the clock strikes many more New Years.
My hubby wanted to do the cleansing diet. Too bad we don’t have a juicer. I’m more a a change your lifestyle then a follow a trend person.
The shake weight…need I say more?
I think Zumba needs to be added to this list. As much as I want it to fall of the face of the fitness world it just does not seem to be budging. Cardio dance has definitely made a comeback and is a major weight loss trend of 2011.
Hey I can’t beleive i’m just discovering this blog, guess im a bit slow! Loved your article in Shape, i’m a big fan of Martin and his Intermittant fasting blog and it brought me here!
@Michelle, i def agree with you! Zumba is very popular with a lot of my clients as a form of cardio, it sure beats running on a treadmill!
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