January’s Great Fitness Experiment: The Lose 10 Pounds Diet


Reader Maggie made an astute observation in her comment on my post “Can You Be Too Old To Exercise?” Smart girl, she writes:

[…] it really bothers me when a fitness magazine has an article about loving yourself and your body the way you are… and on the next page there’s an article telling you how to lose 10 pounds fast (!).

Shape Magazine heard Maggie and decided to give her a late holiday gift (just like when your aunt “forgets” you are allergic to peanuts and gives you a gigantic tin of her famous peanut brittle): On page 150 they have a delightful little article called “Banish Those Body Issues” illustrated with a photo of 6 naked women. (Why is it that for a woman to show she is body confident, she must be naked? Is confident and clothed some kind of oxymoron?) On the very next page is the article with largest font from the cover: “Drop 10 lbs This Month.” Not only that but it was subtitled: “Our best plan ever!”

To paraphrase my favorite karaoke song ever “Why do you build me up (build me up!), buttercup baby, just to let me down (let me down!)?” (If you are currently singing “And worst of all (worst of all!), you never call darlin’ when you say you will (say you will!)” then you will love this.) Shape gave me a challenge I could not refuse. I am going to do their “Drop 10 lbs this month” plan and see what happens. Will I learn to “banish those body issues?” or will I banish that pesky poundage?

I’ve always wanted to take a magazine at their word and then write about the results. It’s like those commercials that say you can burn (tiny type) up to (huge type) 1,000 calories an hour doing Zumba! Now I love Zumba but I’ve done that class with a heart-rate monitor on and I’ll be darned if I ever broke 400. This workout not only says it will “burn more than 400 calories in just 30 minutes!” they also promise “you’ll have firmer muscles, your clothes will be noticeably looser, and the number on the scale will plummet. Plus you’ll feel like you can take on antyhing the world throws at you.” I don’t know about you but interplanetary objects chuck stuff at me like all the time. Who can resist that?

It’s the smart aleck in me. I can’t help it.

All snarking aside, a lot of people look to magazine workouts for ideas and while occasionally they come up with some flat-out craziness, often they have some good plans for spicing things up. In addition to novelty, you can’t beat them for cost effectiveness. In this time of financial hardship, shelling out a few bucks for a magazine certainly beats an hour with a pricey trainer. Also, they are widely available, come with pictures and are a good place to start. And what is January if not a good place to start?

My sister, who knows me better than I know me, pointed out that a lot of people find my Experiments intimidating because I’m such a die-hard exerciser (post about compulsive exercise coming at you soon!) “Why don’t you do something that everyone can try?” she asked me the other day. “Oh but everyone can try the stuff I do,” I began to enthuse. She cut me off, “What I should have said was, ‘Why don’t you do something that everyone will want to try?'” Ah. And while I do realize that some of you read this just for the freak-show appeal of watching me do hilarious and sometimes idiotic things – and that’s not going away, don’t worry – I do worry about alienating people who are just getting into fitness. Exercise is for everyone! No matter how young or old, how weak or strong, how thin or thick, how introverted or extroverted; there is something for everyone. So this month there are no excuses. This is a real workout – your quads will burn – but it is customizable to every level, requires little to no equipment and has a good healthy balance of strength training and cardio.

The Workout
You’ve got two days of the strength circuit in the magazine, two days of high intensity interval work and one day of something low-n-slow like yoga or walking. Every 4th day is a rest day.

The workout the Gym Buddies and I will be following is:
Monday – Shape Magazine strength circuit (see pictures below)
Tuesday – Boot Camp interval workout (you can sub biking, running, swimming or any other activity that gets heart rate upupup and then takes it down for a rest and then back up again. The key is the intensity – you want something short and hard. Don’t go over 45 minutes. You want a suggestion? Do the 8/12 bicycle sprints!)
Wednesday – Shape Magazine strength circuit
Thursday – Yoga/walking
Friday – Turbokick interval workout (again, sub in what you like)

We will also be doing a Hip-Hop cardio class Monday nights that falls into the steady state cardio category and a TurboKick class on Saturday but that’s just because we love those classes so much and can’t bear to give them up. You don’t have to add anything else in.

While I would be highly surprised if I lost 10 lbs this month, this workout has some new moves and takes anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes depending on how much time you have to give to it. If you can get past the editorial hyperbole, I think you might like it. We did it at the gym today and it kicked our butts! So throw those resolutions in high gear and join the Gym Buddies and I this month. This is your month, people and I want to hear all about it! Who’s in with me?

Shape Magazine Workout Scans
*note: This workout uses a weighted ball but there is nothing special about the ball. If you don’t have a ball, use a dumbbell or a milk jug or two soup cans. You can even do the moves without any weights at all! (Click the images to enlarge)

39 Comments

  1. yay, first comment! *does a little dance*

    this is a GENIUS experiment and brandon and i would so be in if we weren’t both fitness ADD. seriously, we have to vary stuff up by the day sometimes because we get that bored. so, for us to do it for a month? wouldn’t happen. plus, his flying schedule makes it kind of hard anyway.

    however, that shape workout sounds like a killer (i tried some of those in the study while reading the post) and i may have to pick up a copy now so i can keep it for my files.

  2. Heather McD (Heather Eats Almond Butter)

    I am so excited to hear the results of this experiment Charlotte. Is the challenge in this month’s Shape? I might try this one along with you. I’m needing a new workout plan. Best of luck!

  3. Sometimes I really love your blog and days like today I just get tired of it. You are a fit girl not FAT. My wife if very fit like you and no matter what she does she could not lose 10 pounds if she wanted to but why would you think you could lose 10 pounds since you are not even close to being overweight? I like many of the points that you point out but get over it and get fat before you are critical of diets, etc. Ranting gets old after awhile

  4. Well, since you called me out I guess I’ll have to try it! Thanks for including something for those of us who aren’t as cool as you 😉 Oh, and, um, unless I do the diet–which I won’t–I’m pretty sure I won’t be losing ten pounds. LOL!

  5. Anonymous, I really don’t think the “rant” is about whether the diet can result in a 10 pound loss, but the contradiction that comes from articles about loving your body sandwiched between ads on how to lose large amounts of weight in minimal time. I believe, (I can’t speak for Charlotte) but this post is making 2 points. First, the point I made earlier, and second, is it as good as it claims. Perhaps it will make you feel better that I am doing the experiment with her and I am a good 30 pounds overweight. We’ll see if their claims hold true.

  6. Regular Cinderella

    Too funny, I’ve always wanted to try a magazine program, too. I’m interested to see how it goes. Good luck!

  7. The Wettstein Family

    All that jumping and squatting makes my knees hurt! I’ll probably face plant on that second one. Wouldn’t be the first time, though. I think I’ll try this with you as long as my knees hold out!

  8. Now when I see these magazines claiming that following their plans will result in miraculous weight loss, I just grumble. You actually put it to the test!

  9. FUN! and why did I wish you had superimposed supercharlottes face on the oddly happy magazine model’s countenance.

    Id say Id join you—but that would be a lie.
    I am focusing on getting everyone here healthy so *I* can get to the gym.

    baby steps 🙂

    cheering from sidelines,

    Miz.

  10. Yeah, those “Drop 10 lbs this month” articles make me roll my eyes…But I will be interested to see how this one goes! May have to try this out along with you, I hadn’t settled on a plan for January yet and here it is the 6th already…

  11. I think that the caloric burn that ads tell you assume that you do said activity with a masively heavy weight vest on.

    I may incorporate some magazine workouts into my schedule, but doubt I’ll be doing the full challenge (sorry).

  12. This workout is probably not aimed at the morbidly obese, since I just physically can’t do most of those things. I think you probably need to be moderately fit already… But I will certainly follow this with interest!

  13. Charlotte,

    I adore you and your blog. Does this mean you won’t be working out 14hrs a week? Is that going to create challenges based on your coping methods?

    I’ll give it a try, but looking at the schedule you created I may have to add in some extra runs for my 1/2 marathon training plan.

  14. Funny… I was thinking along the same lines as Hanlie. Just once, I’d like the person demonstrating the exercises to be noticeably overweight.
    I know, they want you to visualize what you’ll look like after doing the workout steadily for awhile. But it would make a nice change.

  15. Catering to both edges of the double edged blade they are. I one side, they are promoting healthy self image because it is the “socially responsible” thing for them to do. On the other side they are selling to everyones real desire to be a skinny minny celebrity.

    So basically, they keep the machine going while appearing to fight the machine.

    Result: they sell another issue of a magazine that contains almost the exact content the issue from the month before had.

    The SoG

  16. This is an amazing idea! I agree that the claims made by these articles are RIDICULOUS.I’ve just read a piece in my own fitness magazine endorsing a detox diet which apparantly has very little actual food in it – healthy how??? And yet on the next page they’re encouraging balance and eating for fullness and vitality. I don’t see how I’d get any of those things with 2 TBSPs of oatmeal and 1 TBSP of natural yoghurt for breakfast. I could sniff that amount up my nose. Happily. It wouldn’t touch the sides.

    Anyway, GOOD LUCK! I won’t be joining in because I have such shame at doing these workout moves in a public gym, and would probably trip over the other zillion people in there at the moment doing exactly the same thing.

    Very excited to read about the over-exercising stuff you’ve been promising (you tease!)

    TA x

  17. Fun! I’ve already started doing the workout from the Jan issue of Oxygen mag (weird coincidence because I’ve never decided to do any magazine workout for the whole month), so I’m not sure if I’ll do yours as well. Might pick myself up a copy of the magazine though and check it out.

  18. Emma Giles Powell

    The Lose 10 Pounds DIET? Um, I agree that losing weight is mostly about diet, but I see a bunch of exercise in there. Maybe I’m an idiot: maybe they finally found a way you really can out-exercise a bad diet. But then it would have to read “Shape Magazine Workout SCAMS” rather than “Scans”.

    The best thing you do here is proving month after month that keeping things varied is what really keeps us fit! Oh, that and not eating too much 🙂

  19. Might have tried this one with you if I hadn’t just fallen in love with my December workouts! Maybe another month…

    As for the “lose 10 lbs”, I think that they’re assuming the subject in question is just starting up again (I know losing 10 lbs was MUCH easier the first month I started doing this than now). Though the exercises they suggest are pretty tough. Interesting and perplexing.

    My prediction is that I doubt you’ll lose 10 lbs unless you also follow one of those crazy crash diets with it too, which you totally shouldn’t. It will be an interesting test, and sounds like a pretty sane one too! 🙂

    And now you’ve got that song in my head, darn you!

  20. Oo thanks for the shoutout! I think Shape is the exact magazine that prompted me to make that comment. I was reading it at Borders and put it down as soon as I saw what they had done. Can’t wait to see how your experiment comes out 🙂

  21. Lethological Gourmet

    I’m not so sure it’s the moves as much as the regular workout schedule that loses the 10 lbs. I think you could be doing anything for those exercises, as long as you’re hitting all the muscle groups, and get fitter.

    My problem is that what with teaching on particular days of the week, this schedule isn’t very practical for me. If they said “monday do cardio, tuesday do weights, wednesday do yoga, thursday do weights” I could do that. But a four day schedule just isn’t very tenable. I do need to get back into yoga, however, and just bought a yoga mat to make sure I do.

    Do they not focus at all on diet in the article?

  22. “Why do you build me up (build me up), buttercup baby just to let . . . me . . .”

    Oh. Hi. Um. I was just . . . yeah. (Darn you, Charlotte! I’ll be singing that all day now! LOL)

    I really, really like my current workout, so I’ll probably stick with that, but I’ll be interested to see what happens! And I might join in late if I need a change-up. 🙂

  23. Oh, I’m tempted. I could do this experiment mostly at home….

    Can I hula hoop on the wii for my intervals? 🙂

  24. Here is another way to drop the pounds. Thought I would share.

    http://emergevictoriousoverfat.com/2009/01/quick-and-simple-weight-loss/

  25. Here is another way to drop the pounds. Thought I would share.

    http://emergevictoriousoverfat.com/2009/01/quick-and-simple-weight-loss/

  26. Can’t wait to see how this experiment plays out, Charlotte!

  27. I did the Self Challenge 3-Month plan back in . . . ohhhh . . . 2001? I remember doing squats in my tiny teeny weeny little NYC bedroom. Good thing I’m short or it would have been impossible to do a few of the exercises in that place ;). I recall losing a few pounds and then randomly deciding to train for a marathon, at which point I stopped watching my weight and just ran my butt off all the time. Halcyon days, indeed.

  28. I'm in…but on a counter-experiment. I would look terrible if I lost 10 more lbs, but if I can GAIN maybe 5 lbs. in muscle weight, that would be an improvement.

    My plan: continue eating healthy (same amounts), follow you and Gym buddies in the exercise, and report back. I hope that's okay, the reporting back to you. :>)

  29. I TOTALLY agree with that quote!

    And where do they find these skinny b*tches to model these fitness moves. So wrong. Gimme a women with strong legs and muscles on her arms.

    Sheesh.

  30. A few years back, I hit a plateau and decided to do the same thing. I thought, “OK SHAPE MAGAZINE! You say this works?! FINE. I’ll DO IT.” I followed it to the letter and dropped 5 lbs in two weeks. I became a subscriber.

    I needed something to kick my ass again and teach me how to really feel the burn. I was pretty damn impressed. Who knows if you’ll lose 10 lbs but I am excited to see how this works out for you!!

  31. I have a question- how in the world do you keep track of intervals? Doing 12 seconds high intensity and then 8 seconds rest…I exercise at 5 in the morning and I would fall asleep trying to count! Is it easier than I think it is or do you have some specialty watch? I have a heart rate monitor that I used once- too much to have to remember that early in the morning- would that have some tool that could help keep track? Till then, my cardio will be exerting yet steady! Thanks!

  32. I love the idea of this experiment if you had 10 lbs to lose. Those ads are not marketed to people like you. Please just read the pages prior to these ads, love the skin your in!

  33. Seeing as how I *do* have ten pounds to lose (and another fifty or so more on top of that), I’ll try this with you. And thanks so much for providing the scans; after dropping several years’ (and hundreds of dollars) worth of various fitness mags off at the recycling center, I vowed to stop throwing money away on them. They all said the same thing, anyway.

  34. Oh, I forgot:

    In response to the person wondering how to track intervals, I use a freeware mp3-editing program called audacity (you can google it). I just create a track as long as my workout, copy and paste my favorite songs into it, and then add a little beep sound at each interval mark on the time code. It’s a little time-consuming (like making a mix tape, but then doing math to figure out where all your interval noises go), but it’s so much easier for someone like me who can’t keep count to save their life.

  35. Faye – I found that concentrating on the time (12+8 = 20 seconds and there are 3 blocks of 20 in every minute, each ending on a predictable even number, so counting isn’t as hard as you would think) helped take my mind off the pain! Although Selah has an excellent suggestion about adding the audio blips to your music track (never even heard of that before! Awesome!!). You can also buy or download what they call a “tabata timer” which is programmed to bleep at whatever intervals you set it too. Good luck and enjoy!

  36. Portland crossfit posted a four-minute track with gaps that I use for tabata intervals. The cool thing? The track has the exact intervals/length called for by the Shape tabata squats!

    http://www.crossfitportland.com/archives/146

  37. I am surprised that just exercise is supposed to help you drop 10 pounds. I don't get Shape (get M&F Hers) so was wondering if they suggest an eating plan along with the workout plan. To lose 10 lbs in a month, you would need to have a calorie deficit of 1,000+ cals a day and that sounds pretty tough to do with just exercise.

  38. I have that love/hate thing with fitness magazines. I picked up Oxygen for the first time, and the general nutrition and fitness tips are great, but then I looked at their specific daily diet plans and realized they were only about 1400 calories. There is no way the models in that magazine only consume 1400 calories a day. Sure, it will help you lose weight, but it’s not going to last long, because you’ll get hungry!

    I thought about trying this one with you, but things are too chaotic for anything that formal yet. I did try the workout from Shape (or Self maybe, I can’t remember) a few months ago, and it was really working for me. And it is a cheap way for people to learn some basic weight training moves.

  39. I forgot to ask – are you and Allison giving up Crossfit for the month of January then?