Happy Thursday! Since it’s Thursday, regular readers know that I met my gym buddy, Sara, for an awesome spin class this morning.
Shaina’s spin class is an hour long on Thursdays which means it pushes us extra hard and allows us to enjoy a few extra minutes of Shaina’s music. Meghann joined us for the class two weeks ago and loved it too! Do you prefer hour or 45 minute classes? I like hour classes as I feel like I get a more complete workout.
My favorite song’s this morning was Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. I know everyone has different feelings about this song and how much it echo’s old Madonna but I love it and it has quickly earned a spot on my running playlist.
Leaving the gym this morning, I noticed that the new Spring fashions have taken over the windows in SoHo! Hopefully they are right and we’ll be able to wear these light, frilly fashions sooner versus later. For now, I’m still rotating my winter wardrobe which is far darker than my bright Spring clothes.
On the way to work, I had the luck of snagging an empty 6 train. Many days the 6 train is so packed you can barely move but today I was able to sit down and read during my 12 minute subway ride! In fact, the extra room allowed me to notice the new ad campaign, Are you Pouring on the Pounds? 
While the images of fat pouring out of the fruit punch and energy drink are a bit disgusting, I think this is an effective and strong campaign! Unfortunately, there are still a number of people who don’t realize how unhealthy soda, punch, and energy drinks are if consumed on a regular basis. One of my friends from home recently decided that he wanted to lose a few pounds and the first suggestion I made was that he give up sweet tea. Many restaurants put an unbelievable amount of sugar in their tea! for example, McDonald’s now famous sweet tea has more than 28 grams of sugar in the 32oz size!!
I’ll step off my soap box now to share this mornings breakfast with you. :) Due to this morning’s intense workout, I brought some fruit to work for a morning snack as I don’t know if my oats and banana will hold me over as well as normal.
Question: How do you feel about ad campaigns like the one featured above? love hem or hate them? Are they too graphic?
I definitely prefer hour long spin classes, I love Equinox. But I have yet to find a really good one, except at NYSC which I’m not longer a member of.
On the bright side, I try to use the extra 15 minutes to do some strength training instead which I probably need since my hips are a little tender this a.m.
Ugh those ads make me nauseous. I hate looking at them every day! I get so grossed out. Luckily my drinks of choice are milk and water. But still, icky visuals.
Glad you guys had another awesome morning spin session!
Those ads are definitely eye-catching and make a good point, but I feel like it’s not the whole picture.
I recently participated in a survey by the Department of Health about the ads (blogged about here) which seemed to suggest that they want people to look at soda as a MAJOR cause of obesity. I don’t think that’s generally true. I think knowing the calorie and nutritional content of anything you consume, drinks included, is a more likely culprit. But I’m biased because I would probably look at this ad and say “Well, I don’t drink that much soda so I must be fine.”
I wonder, though, if maybe they think of soda as an indicator. Like, if you drink soda, you probably have other unhealthy habits, but maybe this is one that you can change more easily than cutting fried food out of your diet.
I’m completely jealous of your spinning studio! I take classes at the YMCA and while my instructor is fabulous, the atmosphere (and creaky bikes) is somewhat depressing. I’d love to find a great spin studio down here!
I think ads like that are amazing – too many people don’t even think about what is IN the foods/drinks we put in our bodies. So I think having someone point out that that sweet tea, although delicious, is extremely unhealthy. I’m sure a lot of people just think “what, it’s tea, I don’t see a problem with it”. I think more campaigns like that need to go up!
I love these advertisements too! As part of a healthy living blogging community, it is easy to forget that many Americans don’t have a basic knowledge of nutritional information. These advertisements bring a lot of awareness to the unhealthy amounts of sugar that exists in drinks that many people consume on a daily basis. More importantly, they allude to the idea that what you eat or drink can have significant impacts on your personal health. Although the ads are quite graphic, I think it is a good measure of forcing to society to confront some overarching issues that contribute to an epidemic of problems. I think this is a great topic for discussion!
I like the ads and here’s why: Most people do not realize just how bad or sugar-filled drinks are. Some people even see drinks as “free” because it’s not food. But drinks still have sugar, calories, fat, and lots of processed and artificial ingredients. For some people just the information alone is enough to make a change or at least be more conscious, but for many they need the shock to realize just what they are putting in their body.
I see that ad on the subway all the time! I actually think they are great. They tell you about the problem in such a simple way that everyone should be able to understand it.