What's the silliest thing you've ever done?

[lindrusso]

Okay, as people from the Great Food bulletin board probably know, I like to ask embarassing questions (like, what was the biggest blunder you ever made in the kitchen - if you need a good laugh, check out that thread on the GF board!). So time to lighten things up....

This question is not intended to make fun of anyone's methods, but I'll bet that a lot of us have done things to lose weight that we KNEW full well would not work.

I tried Dexatrim once out of desperation. It goes against all my beliefs about fitness and weight loss/managment, but I tried it anyway. And wouldn't you know it, I actually ate MORE! It didn't supress my appetite at all.

The silliest thing I've SEEN people do was at a gym I belonged to in Texas. They actually had those machines with belts that you place around your derriere or waist and they vibrate and jiggle. They were quite popular but you wouldn't catch me on one!!

[Laura]

jeez.. I think I have tried them all (including the roller machine that "breaks up your fat" - yeah right) There was the famous "green beans and Tab diet" I did in my senior year of high school (all we ate was green beans and tab for a week!), I have tried dexatrim, herbal weight losses (even considered fen-phen) The scary thing is that I have such a warped view of my body image (although it is getting better) I have dieted much of my life even though I can honestly say I have never been overweight. Yet in a desparate attempt to look like anyone in the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated, I have done some really stupid things. Hopefully, age is bringing on some wisdom.

[This message has been edited by Laura (edited 10-03-2000).]

[CATHIEA]

I CONFESS, despite having received an A in my college class called the Biology of Women and despite my Weight Watcher's Leader Training and despite my continued reading of health and nutrition issues, I actually PAID for not one, not two, but THREE cellulite wrap treatments (there was a discount when you bought 3)!!! YIKES. Of course they don't work. Well, I'm used to being 50 now, so THAT won't happen again.
CathieA - Haven't had time to post lately, busy, busy.

[valeriek]

I went on a carrot eating binge. All I would eat for lunch were carrots. Unfortunately, that was the time I was also on my rice binge, where all I would eat for dinner was plain rice. After about two weeks I was sick as a dog. My body really taught me a lesson that time about the value of getting all your nutrients (and what too many carrots can do to your intestines!).

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by valeriek:
I went on a carrot eating binge. All I would eat for lunch were carrots.

I've heard that your skin can actually turn orange when you consume a lot of carrots! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[Kelly]

Originally posted by lindrusso:
I've heard that your skin can actually turn orange when you consume a lot of carrots! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif



I am living proof of that! The palms of my hands were actually orange! I also had a slew of weird medical issues that my doctor couldn't diagnose so I asked her about vitamin A overdoses. She said that I would have to eat a "large amount of carrots" for that to happen. Well..... I cut back on carrots and my symptoms disappeared. My family still laughs about this almost 9 yrs later.

The worse thing is that I eat carrots because I like them - not as a diet thing. Every once in a while I still have to cut back.

[Pat58]

I think the silliest thing I ever did was wake up one morning and decide to start jogging. I was 20 years old and didn't have a clue what I was doing. For running shoes I wore old high-top Converse (this was in 1978 - athletic shoes weren't invented yet) and for an outfit I wore a tee shirt and borrowed what I thought were gym shorts from my husband's dresser. The shorts were red. I figured the little hole in the front was for ventilation or something. No warm-up, no stretch, I hit the sidewalks running on an empty stomach and made it to the first stop sign in what I found out were my husband's boxers. I had leg cramps and sore feet for a week! And blushed as red as the boxer shorts for at least a month longer.

As far as silly diets - I think The Cambridge Diet was the stupidest. I paid some woman an unbelievable amount of money for a liquid diet that left me sick, dizzy and passing out. The absolute last time I gave in to gimmicks was when I spent $120 on "Blue Green Algea" which was supposed to cure every ailment in my body AND make me lose weight. Ha! After the first week of "cleansing," in which I almost caused the paint to peel off the bathroom ceiling, I demanded a full refund. I spend my money at a good health club now!

[Sandy1]

My first foray into a gym (many moons ago) I decided to forego the beginners session with the trainer and just devise a training program of my own. I proceeded to work every muscle group to exhaustion (using weights that were, in hindsite, way too heavy). I spent the next week in absolute agony; going down stairs backwards, unable to even lift my arms high enough to brush my hair, and using the toilet became a whole new challenge:-) Somehow I thought that a hundred or so lunges would be good for me!!
Needless to say, I learned my lesson and approach anything over 10 pounds with caution.....

[lindrusso]

Pat and Sandy - all I can say is OUCH!!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[Natasha]

Well, this doesn t have to do with weight loss, nor does it really have to do with fitness, but it is a Stupid Active Living Moment, so here goes:

I once tried to go downhill skiing with my friends without having had a formal lesson or any lesson - all I had was their helpful guidance and tender care. OUCH PLUS!! I must have resembled a human pretzel twist, and the next day I could hardly move. I was fortunate to survive, I guess! Of course, I was just a kid then!! Excuses, excuses... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 10-12-2000).]

[Pat58]

Natasha, that reminded me of my sports faux paux (SP?) - water skiing. It looks so glamorous and easy, the boat takes off and SWOOSH! Off you go, waiving to people on the shore. Well, I got the skis on in the water (ha - ha), grabbed the handle thingy - the boat takes off - while I remain submerged, my legs just about wrapped around behind me. In my panic, I kept holding onto the rope as the boat dragged me and my backward legs through the lake. I can't believe the strains weren't permanent injuries or a broken pelvis. Moral of the story: learn from a pro.

[MrsReber]

Sandy, I laughed when I read your post! You poor girl! It totally sounds like something I would do!

I never got into any diets. I cannot diet. It is impossible for me since I love to eat whatever I feel like eating. The only time I ever lost weight was when I cut back calories and exercised- it's worked great for 10 years.

[Gwenniver]

Originally posted by Pat58:
Natasha, that reminded me of my sports faux paux (SP?) - water skiing. It looks so glamorous and easy, the boat takes off and SWOOSH! Off you go, waiving to people on the shore. Well, I got the skis on in the water (ha - ha), grabbed the handle thingy - the boat takes off - while I remain submerged, my legs just about wrapped around behind me. In my panic, I kept holding onto the rope as the boat dragged me and my backward legs through the lake. I can't believe the strains weren't permanent injuries or a broken pelvis. Moral of the story: learn from a pro.

(laughing ruefully) Yep, that's about what happened when I tried it. It was in Rehoboth Beach, DE (I think) when I was a kid. I never did get up on those skis no matter how hard I tried--but I did make a bang-up job of sinking calf-deep into the sucking mud at the bottom!

I don't think I'm ever going to try real skiing (in snow, I mean). Heck, if I broke both my wrists playing crack the whip with my little brother in the 8th grade, I can't *imagine* what I'd do to myself falling down a ski slope. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/redface.gif