Thursday, January 27, 2011

Product Review: The Richard Simmons Food Mover

The Richard Simmons Food Mover & kit

I know what people think about Richard Simmons: he isn't in the spotlight like he was in the 80s, but he's still wearing those metallic shorts & bouncing around!  True.  However, what people don't think about is how he is able to bounce around at almost 63 years old!

When I began this program years ago (the first time), I found it to be simple and fun and requiring little math to calculate calories, fat grams, etc.  I had chosen it over others because I figured that he would be out of business by now if what he said wasn't successful.  I spoke with my physician about it & he just looked at me and said, "This is how people are SUPPOSED to eat, so go for  it."  That was a great endorsement and one that I followed through with for longer than any other diet.

The idea is simple with the actual Food Mover: in order to maintain a specific number of calories daily (as explained in the instructional booklet that is included with the kit), one needs to have so many servings of fruit, grains, proteins, veggies, fats (YES...one NEEDS fats), dairy, and water.  With each serving that counts (I'll explain in a bit), a window gets closed.  Close the windows all day long and the calories are tracked.  As a bonus, there are motivational windows with positive mantras to help one keep on track.

For someone like me, the BONUS foods are a complete and utter blessing!  Bonus foods are foods for which NO windows close.  For examples, if you want to have a salad comprised of lettuce, cucumbers, celery, & mushrooms, HAVE ALL THAT YOU WANT!  I eat dry salads, so this fills me up.  The dressing must be measured, but for me, that didn't matter one bit!  These are bonuses!  HOORAY!

The first week is the only one in which someone needs to eat specific foods. It jump-starts the metabolism for what is to come.  It is the "Blast-Off" week (better known at our home as the "Blast-OUT" week) & it is high in fiber and gets its name from that.  After week one, it's all up to the user.  There are meal plans given online through the Richard Simmons webpage (membership has a monthly fee and the support, I believe, is well worth it) or one can look at the dietetic exchanges to find out which windows the must close.  Since Mom is a type 2 diabetic, I was familiar with the exchanges and found cookbooks that offered that information on each recipe.  That was all I had to do.

It seems very similar to the points systems taught through Weight Watchers as well.  I haven't tried that program, so I can neither judge it negatively or positively, but this I have tried and I loved it!  "Why did you get off track?", you may ask.  I made excuses for letting my stress get to me and the easiest one to make was monetary.  I believed it to be more expensive...WHICH IT IS NOT.  As with any change in lifestyle, one has to be ready, and I wasn't at the time.

So, I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone starting out!  My rating is (out of 5):

Ease of Use:  ❤❤❤❤❤  Recipes are as simple or difficult as you want them (with the exception of the 1st week, which are SO simple, too!)

Cost:  ❤❤❤❤ It may cost a bit more if one chooses to join the online support of the Clubhouse on his site (I recommend this if you have the ability, but do not feel it's absolutely needed to start up.).  The kit is $20 and the foods are what you can manage in your budget.

Enjoyment:  ❤❤❤❤ Yes, I'd enjoy being able to eat anything I want without thinking of it, but that isn't how the body is going to work with me.  I'm going to have this the rest of my days, so I'd rather enjoy my body than enjoy stuffing my face & feeling sluggish & guilty later on.

Results:  ❤❤❤❤❤  Both Hubby & I lost weight on this & kept it off for a good period of time.  That's why we are taking it on again!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review. I am diabetic and was looking for some sort of system to click of the different food groups/exchanges. I think I'll try it.

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  2. I would love to have read your review of Richard Simmons food mover program, but due to the fact that you used a black background on your site with a very dark font I cannot read anything except the white title at the top of the page. Perhaps it is the device I'm trying to read it on, but nevertheless I was disappointed I could not even see it or anything at all on the site -even the comment.

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