Tummy Tuck Jeans - Do they Work?

I find my jeans don't look so hot on me as they did just a few years ago. No doubt this would change if I would only get out there and exercise more. But based on my track-record the last couple of years, life might pass me by before that happens.

I recently heard about Tummy Tuck Jeans for the first time. A woman who is fortunate to have a father who owns a clothing business got the idea to make jeans especially for women who have some tummy bulge. She launched Tummy Tuck Jeans just two years ago. It's been phenomenally successful. Their sales were $7 million last year and are expected to be $40 million this year.

The jeans are designed with a special criss-cross front panel in the front and extra stretch in the back. The objective is to slim the lower stomach, contour the hips and lift the butt.

While many women sometimes wear girdles or other 'body shapers' under their clothes, it's difficult to do this with low-rising jeans. So this is in effect an invisible girdle built right into the jeans.

You would think someone would have thought of something like this a long time ago. It's not the minority of women who want to slim the lower stomach and lift the butt. At first I read that their jean invention is patented, but then I came across another article in the New York Times which made it clear that you cannot patent a clothing design. So competitors are rushing in to compete with Tummy Tuck Jeans under different name labels.

You can buy them at several major retailers including Nordstrom's, Macy's, Bloomingdales and Dillards.

The idea is much more appealing to me than an actual tummy tuck but despite reading that these jeans have incredible customer loyalty and word-of-mouth popularity, I haven't found any discussions online by real people raving about them. If any of you happen to have bought some recently, please let us know what you think.

Treadmill Dance Motivation - OK GO

Have you been working out on a treadmill as a New Year's resolution for the last few days? Here's some very fun motivation to get you going faster and longer.

It's a video of the OK GO band singing Here It Goes Again while dancing on six treadmills.

This has been a huge surprise hit on You Tube. It's been viewed over ten million times! Their sudden popularity has completely stunned the band members.



They wanted to do something wacky that would get attention on YouTube but they didn't think it would become this successful in their wildest rock band ego dreams.

The treadmill dance was choreographed by one of the band member's sisters. They had come to her saying they wanted to do something really different. She replied, "Well of course. Treadmills!" They say she is a complete maniac and obviously also a very talented choreographer.

My husband, who turns 50 this year, really likes the music. He was saying the sound reminded him of another band from way back. Then it came to him; this is The Clash remixed. Anyone else feel this way?

This is a super energized and fun video. Even if treadmills are not your chosen route to fitness, you will likely feel inspired to jump around after watching this.

Getting Rid of Baby Flab After Age 40

Mariska Hargitay was overjoyed to be pregnant with her first child at the age of 42. She went on to gain 54 pounds during her pregnancy and developed gestational diabetes. Her baby was born weighing almost 11 pounds via c-section six months ago. But now, half a year later, Mariska has already lost all her excess post baby weight. She did this by working out three times a week with a personal trainer, by breastfeeding and by focusing her diet on lots of vegetables, fruits and lean meats.

Here she is on the January issue of Self Magazine.

For women over 40 trying to get pregnant for the first time, see this personal success story.

Weight Loss Pills Get Spanked

The FTC has just issued fines to four marketers of weight loss pills. The fines total $25 million and are for making false claims about how effective these pills are for weight loss.

The four pills include Xenadrine EFX, One A Day Weight Smart, CortiSlim and Trim Spa. The pills will continue to be sold but the companies have been fined for making false claims about them and they have to stop that.

People who bought some of these pills in the past may be able to get their money back.

Some of the weight loss pill marketers contract with celebrities to help sell the pills. For example, TrimSpa hired Anna Nicole Smith. The FTC says; "Testimonials from individuals are not a substitute for science. And that's what Americans need to understand."

Here's an excerpt from an earlier speech by an FTC spokesperson;

With an estimated 70 million Americans trying to lose weight, it is not surprising that weight loss is big business. Unfortunately, too many of the weight loss products advertised to consumers are more likely to reduce the bulk in consumers’ wallets than on their waistlines. Products like “Fat Trapper” and “Exercise in a Bottle” promise fast and easy weight loss with claims that you can “eat what you want and never – ever – ever have to diet again.”

But wait, there’s more! One marketer even promised that its product would work faster than a hunger strike! “Even if you eat nothing you won’t slim down as fast,” the ad promised, claiming the product would burn off “more fat than running 98 miles per week.”

Over the past decade, the FTC has brought over 100 cases targeting deceptive weight loss claims like these, for a variety of pills, potions, patches, and lotions.

200 Calories in Pictures

There's a fun page that lists about eighty different foods and shows pictures of what they look like on a plate. The only thing these foods have in common is they have all been limited to 200 calorie portions.

See What does 200 Calories Look Like?

Weight Loss Surgery is Scary

There's a young woman who went ahead with a gastric bypass operation seven weeks ago. She is also one of the best writers I've encountered anywhere online.

She has been blogging about her weight loss struggles for over two years.

She made the decision to go ahead with weight loss surgery after much thought. And before she went through with it she had horrible second thoughts. But she went ahead with the operation on November 7th. A few days later she told us how painful it was. However, since November 20th she has not posted at all. Her blog seems to be abandoned and a lot of her readers (including myself) are very worried about her.

Her site is at Hello, I am Fat.

Update January 19th: Relief and good news. She's back and just posted on her blog again. She's lost a lot of weight already, still having a very hard time post-surgery but appears to be recovering and feeling better each day.

Losing Weight by Looking Outward

I made a strange New Year's resolution this year. Of course I want to lose weight, but that is a daily mind struggle; I know what I need to do. So I didn't make any specific New Year's resolutions around that this year.

Lately I've been having apocalyptic thoughts about the future of the earth. I really think that due to global warming we may be in danger of living in an almost unbearable environment very soon.

So I need to start making a conscientious effort to reduce my personal impact on the overall deterioration of the Earth's environment.

I want to use our car as little as possible. I want to try walking instead for many of the trips I would normally consider jumping into the car. For longer trips and some family outings, I am going to suggest to my husband that we take the bus for some of these. Although we do very few of them as it is, I'm also going to be less keen to do these longer car outings this year.

I will try to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits. I'll focus more on buying local and organic produce that doesn't require long-distance freight, freezer facilities and lots of processing, chemicals and packaging.

I want to consume as little plastic as possible this year. I don't usually give much thought to the plastic bags I collect in my regular shopping rounds. I use the grocery plastic bags for my garbage bags, and with a toddler in diapers, I find I'm filling up about two plastic bags of garbage per day but it would be a small but significant step if I declined bags for all my small purchases. For example, I went to buy some makeup the other day and the cashier went to put it in a small plastic bag and I just said I didn't need it and put it in my pocket instead. It's such a small step but over the course of the year it must make a bit of an impact.

I want to cut down on plastic in other ways. I want to forego more of the take-out variety of foods that are served in plastic or plasticky containers. I eat very little take-out food as is, but I want to cut this down to almost zero. I do tend to buy take-out coffee in paper cups with plastic lids quite often. I want to cut that down significantly.

I will also try to use up less of the clear plastic bags that I buy my fruits and vegetables in. They should be reused and I will try doing that.

I'm feeling in the mood to reduce my consumption in general.

I've been buying most of my clothes in second hand shops for many years now. In the city where I live we are lucky to have an incredible selection with designer labels galore. There's no need to buy the clothes new, especially as I am forever hopeful I'll be reducing my size a couple of times this year.

As far as my child is concerned, I want to focus on buying only used toys for this year. He's too young to know the difference anyway and by the time he's older maybe he will agree with my sentiment. His third birthday will be in a couple of weeks. We want to get him a nice tricycle. Our city has some great used sporting goods places. There is no need to get him a brand-new one. Am I weird or what? I actually feel almost repulsed when I walk into a place such as Toys 'R Us and see all the plastic and all the chemical goop that is being sold by the ton every day.

I think that if I follow through on most of these ideas (especially the walking bit!) I will lose weight as a side bonus to helping keep the earth's environment habitable for a few more years.

I'd love to hear other ideas people have in this regard.

Happy New Year everyone!