October 24, 2008

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 And my brain had been replaced by a giant marshmallow.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!

79 comments:

  1. The Pink Patch is appalling.
    I wasn't familiar with the marshmallow experiments. How long I'd last depends entirely on my mood.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Of my 4 kids, one could wait for the "booty" of a marshmallow easily. She's the one who does best in school. She also has the biggest savings account and eats right and exercises.

    The kids who can't wait are probably the ones who will buy the patches -- always hoping there is a magic pill out there, so they don't have to use any impulse control. Sad.

    messymimi

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, I have a serious girlcrush on Hemalaaya. I want to be her when i grow up. I have this DVD and it ROCKS. very fun.

    As for the pink patch, that is horrific. I don't know how I missed Kelly's original post on it but seriously, isn't being a teenager hard enough as it is?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I actually remember hearing about "Bollywood". However, I do think that using a routine like that on a regular basis is completely unlikely. But to throw it in every now and then and spice up a routine would be great.

    I remember reading the Marshmallow technique in one of my education classes. I can say, with complete certainty, that none of my current students could resist a free anything food sitting in front of them, they have no impulse control.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Bag Lady could resist the marshmallows forever and ever (well, unless they were roasted over an open fire first...) - not a marshmallow fan.
    The Pink Patch is just another example of the torment teenage girls have to put up with. ~~sigh~~

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay, Ellen calling out the elk made my morning. Thanks Crabby.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Be careful about doing things for money - it turns out that people like things less if they get money for it. So, you take away all of your intrinsic motivation and basically chalk it up to "I'm just doing it for the money." (I'm a psych major in doc school...but there's so many conflicting messages out there it's hard to know who to trust!). As an aside, kids who liked to play the piano and stuff liked that stopped liking it after getting money rewards. It's fascinating research.

    I want to shake my "booty" to "Ballywood" dancing really, really bad now....does that count? :)

    I probably would have waited it out...just because it's what someone suggested I should do. Now? Who knows...I'm not a big marshmallow fan. If it was potato chips though that makes it hard...more later or just eat it. Yay for those with superior pre-frontal cortex functioning!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I teach my students about the marshmallow study to demonstrate the importance of self-control.

    Did you know that the marshmallow study was a better indicator of good grades in college then an IQ test.

    Tim Rosanelli
    View my blog at
    Sensei Talks
    Join our sit-up challenge at
    60 Situps in a Minute Challenge

    ReplyDelete
  9. Booty, booty, booty!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with Bag Lady, marshmallows are only edible when they're burnt and caramelized.

    I'm trying to decide whether "booty" or "bollywood" would make a better post. So I'll just use both.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Paint yourself with love! LOL. That was awesome. Can we steal for FitWit Fridays? Please, please! :)

    (And Erin has that DVD, so it wouldn't be far for me to enter, although her DVDs are really fun!)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aw Man. I saw "marshmallow" and "giveaway" in the same sentence and got excited.

    But I'll take the Bollywood Booty DVD too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Did they do the marshmallow experiment with other foods? Such as chocolate? Or even frozen lima beans? I know I wouldn't have waited long for two pieces of chocolate in the bush, but I don't like marshmallows, and I wouldn't have cared whether there were one or two, I wouldn't have eaten them. (I'd surely have entertained myself with the marshmallow, bouncing it, stretching it, throwing and catching it, who knows what, but eat it? Ick.)

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

    ReplyDelete
  14. The marshmellow experiment is great and a great predictor of life. Our entire society is based on delayed gratification. Go to college 10 years and be poor for those years and then be a doctor.
    Get money right out of high school then be poor forever.
    The pink patch thing is hideous and considering there is no scientific proof for it, they are just stealing from kids.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm with Mary Anne, marshmallows are gross and I probably would have played with it, too. Now, if it had been a piece of pumpkin pie...

    Mmm, pie: That which makes Anya's booty to grow so I would love to dance it off.

    ReplyDelete
  16. My booty is kind of marshmallow-ish, so pick me, random.org!

    ReplyDelete
  17. OMG I laughed out loud at the One Marshmallow Loser line...I commented yesterday about the pink patch but feel the need to share my mind blowing insight over and over...is anyone else reminded of THE patch? As in the birth control one? And feeling like there is some disgusting correlation that I can't quite figure out? Like the pink patch will also make boys want you, so then you need the OTHER patch too? Or have I lost all rational perspective because I have a baby daughter?

    ReplyDelete
  18. OH my gosh, I must have this video!! I want to paint my walls with love and drown in a love waterfall!! How fun!!

    Oh I almost forgot - BOOTY!!!

    BOOTYBOOTYBOOTY!!!

    (does that get me entered 4 times??)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Cannot believe the pink patch. Come on.

    The marshmallow experiment! I had forgotten about that. I remember watching the video. The kids faces were SO funny.

    I would have been the kid who waited. Fear of authority, not necessarily the promise of the marshmallow.

    Interesting to watch how they go through life. Reminds me a bit of that Seven Up movie/experiment.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have no idea whether I would've eaten the marshmallow or waiting to have another. Really I don't. Now I'm really curious what I would've done. Sometimes I have good self-control, sometimes I don't!

    Always looking for new ways to shake my booty and exercise! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. frick.

    now I am so totally craving those bigassfluffywhite 'mallows.

    the ones we used for s'mores...and, since its never cold enough here for s'mores, Im totally indulging this weekend.

    and would love a dvd to use to danceshimmyexercise them off.

    M.

    ReplyDelete
  22. actually, Marshmallows, Pink Weight Loss Patches, and "Bollywood Booty" DO have something in common - they would all make excellent names for an all-girl rock band.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks so much Cranky - I needed that video this morning! I've never heard of Hemalaaya, but now I think I definitely must have a DVD. So give me the booty! : )

    ReplyDelete
  24. Marshmallow Mastery, hm? This could be a fun experiment!

    Pink Patch makes me feel sick.

    I wish I had a booty.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I took a couple classes that were called Hip Hop Bellydance a couple years ago and even bought a waist scarve that i haven't used since. Getting this Bollywood Booty DVD would be a great reason to break out the scarf.

    ReplyDelete
  26. As usual, you guys are totally cracking me up.

    Plus I love hearing the word booty over and over and over!

    Leslie, you are SO RIGHT about the girl groups! Or perhaps combine them all into Pink Marshmallow Booty? Er... maybe not.

    And I love those Seven Up movies, I think I've seen all of them since 21 and it's fascinating to watch the changes.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love "Bollywood" films! I love the dancing and singing.

    As for the pink patch, that is disturbing. I spend a lot of time at the forums on Yahoo Answers and it seems the majority of the diet ones are from teenage girls. Yes, this is like stealing from kids.

    ReplyDelete
  28. bollywood is totally booty! (in a good way)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love watching Ellen dance! It does inspire me to shake my booty!

    Pink Patch - how sad. How can we change things so the emphasis is on the inside of a person and not on the outside????

    ReplyDelete
  30. I would have eaten the marshmallow the second the researcher turned her back. Can I blame everything that doesn't work out in my life on that damn marshmallow? I feel so much better know that I've figured it all out.

    My booty needs a little shakin'.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I would've held out for 2 marshmallows - no question about it. Hopefully wild success will hit any day now. :)

    perhaps the bollywood video will get me off my booty & help with that wild temptation-resisting success!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Another 'booty and the beat' DVD? Terrific!

    Another study, showing that delayed gratification and better memory are linked to intelligence:
    http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20080910/delayed-gratification-intelligence-linked?src=RSS_PUBLIC

    ReplyDelete
  33. But wait a minute... if this DVD is such fun, and delayed gratification is a good thing, then wouldn't it be logical to delay exercising with this DVD?

    Crap! I think I just found a logically sound reason to let my inner slug take over :(

    ReplyDelete
  34. Must.shake.booty! Ellen was so much fun to watch. I'm afraid if I get the Booty DVD I'll always have this picture in my head of Ellen DeGeneres painting herself with love.

    Please throw my name into the virtual hat for the DVD. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Booty shaking is a small price to pay for a DVD

    ReplyDelete
  36. My life is already a Bollywood movie.
    I have starring roles with Amitabh Bachan.

    Paint the world with love.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I want a Bollywood booty!!! And a dozen marshmellows, please!

    The pink patch is disgraceful.

    Terrie

    ReplyDelete
  38. Count me in to enter the giveaway! I could learn to shake a Bollywood Booty with this DVD!

    ReplyDelete
  39. i'm not entirely clear on the marshmallow experiment... if the kids were TOLD they should wait till an adult returned, i would have diligently held out as instructed. if nothing was mentioned and i was just left alone with the marshmallow, i'm not sure how i'd have responded... there's a good chance i'd have resisted just out of fear of getting scolded later. hmm.

    for the record, i would love to try shaking it Bollywood style. =)

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wow! Great name and great blog...I'm bookmarking this sucker...Aloha from Waikiki

    ReplyDelete
  41. hemalayaa also has other great clips on you tube - always like to look here before I buy!

    http://www.youtube.com/user/AcaciaFitness

    ReplyDelete
  42. I can't imagine I would have eaten the marshmallow if I had been told to wait. Of course I really don't like them unless toasted over a fire.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I was just listening to a discussion about the marshmallow experiment on the radio this afternoon. I'd have been nibbling before too long. I'm also disgusted with, but not surprised by that pink patch. Pretty pathetic.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Booty and B sentance? what a fun thing to blog...lol!

    ReplyDelete
  45. God bless our troops....
    Love that booty

    ReplyDelete
  46. I would love to win the Hemalayaa: Bollywood Booty dance workout DVD.

    Bollywood Booty Fun!

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  47. That video cracked me up, thank you for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I want to shake my booty to that DVD! :)

    Regarding the Pink Patch..OMG...I feel wrong even capitalizing the P's in the name.

    And we wonder why there are so many people with eating disorders....sheesh.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Well that marshmallow crap just explained my whole life.
    Sort of.

    To me "booty" is what I dragged home a bag of on Halloween as a kid!

    Ellen is just adorable isn't she? I am sure she reads this blog!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Hmmm. I suppose that some days as a child I would've mastered the marshmallow and some days I'd have failed utterly.

    Mind you, I am the child who got caught stealing mini marshmallows in the middle of the night by my shotgun toting granddad. True story!

    Anyway, can't resist trying to steal the BOOTY in the night this time either! Love giveaways!

    ReplyDelete
  51. On the off-chance I win, my friend Ana would love this video. Booty!!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Funny, I was just talking about impulse control.

    In my life, I noticed in college when I could study in the Springtime, I did better than most other students, cause they couldn't.

    I wonder if dealing with discomfort and impulse control are the same. I often see people who do not deal with discomfort well and they are often very unfit.

    ReplyDelete
  53. We had a class like this at the office one day (I love where I work!)

    Booty!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Yeah my booty definitely needs to be Bollyized. Hope I can win.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Booty! Booty! Booty!

    ReplyDelete
  56. I'd love to shake my booty Bollywood-style! Those films are so much fun. The colors, costumes and music are over the top. Remind me of old Rodgers & Hammerstein or Lerner & Loewe Broadway musicals.

    ReplyDelete
  57. I think no one must have as much fun as the people in Bollywood movies. There are dances that look beautiful, dances that look ridiculous, dances that look like fits of epilepsy, and dances that are just plain awesome, but only Bollywood has produced dances that are a sublime fusion of all of the above.

    And as much as it pains me to admit it, there will always be Pink Patches out there. The fact that they are marketing this particular miracpe drug to young girls only goes to reinforce how important it is to educate children early and extensively on the merits of regimen and self-control.

    Oh, and, uh... Booty.

    boldnessbe(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  58. I hope people are reporting that Pink Patch ad to Facebook as "misleading."

    And, while I wish the actual Bollywood Booty DVD included Ellen's interpretations of the moves, it would still be a great addition to my "flailing around my living room, appreciating the decision to live alone" collection. If I'm unlucky with the drawing here, I might just have to buy it.

    ReplyDelete
  59. ready to shake my booty!!!! Marshmallows make me think hot cocoa......and I blogged about it Friday ;)

    ReplyDelete
  60. I have a friend who swears by the pink patch on her 'booty'.

    I try to tell her its just a placebo, but she just won't listen. Of course, she is far from needing to do anything with her weight. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  61. BOOTY! BOLLYWOOD!

    That counts, right?

    Kelly Turner
    www.groundedfitness.com

    ReplyDelete
  62. I'd like to try the Bollywood Booty workout dvd because my butt looks like it fell off of a cliff since I had my 3 kids. The kids are in their teens now - I finally have time to do something about it.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Boot booty booty booty booty booty BOUNCE!

    Just_Kelly
    choosinglosing.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  64. My booty needs to be bollyood-isized. Pick me!

    ReplyDelete
  65. We're there any kids who refused both marshmellows because they figured that if they waited a little longer they would get 4 marshmellows? That would have been me.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I could use a bollywood booty :D

    anastasia[at]mediamafia.org

    ReplyDelete
  67. The impulse control had me laughing because we were just at a Parent/Teacher conference and the choir teacher was telling how kids will take whatever food is on her desk and eat it. She doesn't dare leave anything around. One boy, will even take things right out of her hand and drink or eat them.

    Free "booty" for all, apparently.

    ReplyDelete
  68. I was once in a graduate school class, when a professor referred to "you know, the thing that's on the bottom of the ocean that's full of priceless stuff." My response of "Sunken pirate ships?" was not the correct answer; apparently, it's full of minerals and stuff. I guess we just have different kinds of booty...

    Ashley in SC

    ReplyDelete
  69. Wow. what interesting information. i read the thing on the pink patch. sounds crazy. neawys i would love to get my hands on a fun excersize video. my booty definitely needs some shaping up. thanks for the giveaway!
    specialk.roxygirl@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  70. The pink patch is so very very wrong...girls have enough crap tp put up with.
    Why not offer a free boob job with every patch?

    *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
  71. ooh i love bollywood, and if it'll make my booty get in shape that's even better!!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Booty Booty Booty Booty rockin' everyhwere!

    ReplyDelete
  73. WOW! Booty Booty Booty!!!!

    I'd've eaten the marshmallow and blamed it on my little brother, but I had better SAT scores than he did, so there.

    Tch! Pink patch ads and chiding about "muffin top" are plenty good reasons to keep my teenager off Facebook, yikes.

    ReplyDelete
  74. I think this is fascinating- the study of short term thinking versus longer term rewards that you talked about. The other day, I actually resisted a huge craving by focusing on the long term, and not the "now." It was probably one of the first times I was successful at resisting a craving. It makes sense that more self control would equal better grades and other things. So interesting, thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  75. Let's hear it for a good ol' Catholic upbringing... I'd definitely have held out on the marshmallow. Not so my sister who also "cut" catechism every week!
    Booty, booty, booty! I'd love to win!!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Booty.

    Ok, that's over with.

    The marshmallow test is interesting. I wonder if it is changeable at an early age or pretty much fixed.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting, Cranky Fitness readers are the BEST!

Subscribe to comments via RSS

(Note: Older Comment Threads Are Moderated)