Marshmallows, Pink Patches, and DVD Giveaway

You may be curious: how are Marshmallows, Pink Weight Loss Patches, and "Bollywood Booty" Dance Workout DVD's related?

Answer: they're not!

Blame Blogger for breaking down in the middle of what was going to be a scholarly post about impulse control and neuroscience. (It was going to be incisive and informative and amusing, you betcha!)

Alas, I got distracted when our Blog Host went down for no reason, and then an email about a DVD giveaway came in distracting me further, and one thing led to another... By the time the blogger post editor was working again, whatever profound thoughts I'd had about the role of the anterior prefrontal cortext in impulse control went "poof!" And my brain had been replaced by a giant marshmallow.

So stay tuned for 3 unrelated items, one of which is a giveaway of a cool Bollywood Dance Workout DVD, as demonstrated by the always adorable Ellen Degeneres. Ellen's a huge fan of Cranky Fitness, did you know that? Well, actually, that's a big fat lie. But we're fans of hers, which is almost the same thing, especially if you don't read things very carefully and are easily confused.

1. The Marshmallow Experiments Go High Tech

So, do any of you remember the famous Mischel experiments from the 60's about pre-schoolers and impulse control?

This was the one where a 4 year old was put alone in a room with a marshmallow. The kid could either choose to eat the marshmallow, or could resist temptation and wait until an adult returned, in which case the reward was two marshmallows.

Some kids were able to wait up to 20 minutes for their reward; others caved and ate the marshmallow in front of them in less than a minute.

(You probably know which kid you would have been).

The fascinating thing was: they followed these kids, and the ones who could Master the Marshmallow? They were way more successful in other areas of life as they grew older. The longer a kid could hold out, the better his or her grades, SAT scores, social skills, etc. were.

Marshmallow Mastery skills are very important in life, apparently, and science is hard at work figuring out how to improve them.

Because now, according to a fascinating article in the Boston Globe, they're getting neuroscientists involved and using brain imaging techniques to examine these "kids"--now in their 40's. They can actually see particular areas of the brain light up when people hold out or give in to temptation, and they want to figure out how to train people to be disciplined, successful Two-Marshmallow Achievers instead of lame, impulsive, One-Marshmallow Losers.

Lots of interesting stuff in the article, including "cool brain, hot brain" theory, and a link to an intriguing website, stickk. It helps you work on your long term goals by giving you short-term incentives. How does it work? You put up your own money to achieve your goals. You only get the money back if you do what you're supposed to. If you slack off? You may lose some or all of it! You do, however, get to designate Cranky Fitness a beneficiary of your choice to receive any money you lose.

2. Appalling Pink Patches for Teen Girls

I'll send you directly to the awesome Kelly at Fitness Fixation for this one. She has a disturbing post on the marketing of pink "weight loss patches" directly to teen girls on sites like Facebook.

A sample testimonial:

“I spent most of high school being teased for my weight. The popular girls seemed to have everything: the gorgeous bodies, the cutest boys. I was not going to feel that way in college too! The summer before I left, I tried the Pink Patch. I lost 15 lbs! It changed my life completely. Now I’m in my sophomore year and I’M the popular girl. Thank you Pink Patch!”

Healthy eating? Exercise? Not nearly as cute as a little pink patch. And it's never too early to cultivate a cute little f*cked-up attitude about body image!

3. And now the DVD Giveaway!

So our fine friends at Acacia have another dance workout video up for grabs that they've kindly donated for a giveaway. It's the Hemalayaa: Bollywood Booty dance workout DVD!


Unfortunately, this can only be shipped to a winner with a U.S. mailing address; sorry. (But if you have a U.S. friend whose booty needs a shakin', Bollywood-style, you can always enter on their behalf).

I have not personally Bollywoodized my own Booty, but here's what the website says about it:

"Join fitness star and yogini Hemalayaa for vibrant, liberating Indian dance moves set to infectious Bollywood beats. These four quick dance workouts will help you get fit, firm, and flirty in no time. But more than that, they’re the perfect way to release inhibitions, embrace your body, and fall in love with your booty!"

And our frequent booty-shaking friend Ellen, whom we are sure visits Cranky Fitness all the time but is just to shy to comment, is a big fan of Hemalayaa too!





To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment with the word "booty" or "Bollywood" in it by Tuesday night Oct 28th, and a Random Number Generator will choose a winner. Check back Wednesday the 29th, and claim your prize by Friday the 31st (if you're the winner) by emailing us at Crabby McSlacker at gmail dot com. (No spaces).

Have a great weekend, and Mind your Marshmallows!