Tunes to Trim Down By

Anybody heard about the new rockin' CD called Skinny Songs compiled by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Heidi Roizen?  Apparently Oprah, Martha Stewart and even Julie Chen of CBS News are all fans. 

I got my "review copy" in the mail last week and listened on my way to the gym.  What fun!  Everything from the title track "Skinny Jeans" (lyrics by entreprenuer Heidi herself) to the country twang of "Objects in the Mirror (Will Get Thinner Than They Now Appear)" to the rappin' tones of "You Da Boss" had me tapping my toes and ready to aerobicise.

Have I mentioned, btw, that my gym is located just 3 doors down from a See's Candy factory?  Sometimes the air is so thick with the aroma of toasting sugar that I'm afraid I'll go into DKA just walking across the parking lot.  Oh, cruel fate of locations!

Anyhoo, the Skinny CD is surprisingly well done.  As in, you might like this music even if you didn't care about dieting and getting in shape.  A few fave stanzas of mine:

This is your willpow’r talking
      This is your willpow’r talking
      I know that it’s tasty
      But hey now don’t be hasty

‘cause you don’t need that cupcake
    No, that’d be a mistake
    And I know that it’s callin’
    But hey now don’t be fallin’

No no, no no no, don’t be fallin…
      Cause You Da Boss
      No no, no no no, don’t be fallin…
      Cause you dat, You Da Boss              

        *    *    *

Got  myself a private chef
      Who  serves me what I should be eatin’
      But  that didn’t solve my problem yet
      Because  I’m always cheatin’

(I  jus’ wanna be)

      Thin!  -- I don’t deny it.  Thin! -- I wanna  try it
      Thin!  -- but I can’t buy it.  Guess I’ll have  to di- di- diet

Thin!  -- not telling you lies.  Thin! -- I  want smaller thighs

Thin!  -- but I realize, I guess I’ll have to exercise

Thin!  – If all it took was money, I’d look like a Playboy Bunny!

        *    *    *

You get the idea.  Order CDs and get info on the artists and lyrics at www.skinnysongs.com. Or download the music off iTunes.  Enjoy!

Comments

[George Simmons]

I am gonna check this out on iTunes tonight! Thanks for the tip.

[Big_Dave_T]

Ditto. Great idea. We need all the motivation we can get, but is there a problem with your link here?

[AmyT]

Oops, the link should be fixed now, Dave. Thanks!

[Lauren]

I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have a disease that not only allows me to remain active and follow a healthy lifestyle, but makes exercise and eating healthy imperative. Lately, as I've watched a friend struggle with a different, devastating disease, I have been feeling fortunate that diabetes is more about HEALTH than it is about sickness.

[Maniacally Monday]

Okay, I waited awhile before saying something, but I still can't get this out of my head. I know in my heart of hearts that you reviewed in this good faith and enjoyed it, but I cannot even begin to tell you how those lyrics make my skin crawl, seriously.

Yes, I've been acknowledging my need to be healthier since diagnosis 14 months ago. And yes, i lost some weight, but to be skinny is different than being healthy.

My a1c last time was a 5.2. i'm 5' and weigh just under 200lbs, actually, just over right now. I'm working out regularly, eating well, and I haven't lost a freaking ounce in 8 months. My cholesterol and everything come back normal. My blood pressure is great. The doctors consider me healthy.

There's something in those lyrics that you posted that made me feel so patronized and so disappointed. Skinny and Healthy are not the same thing. Healthy is just that - about your health. Skinny is about looking a certain way, it's about an aesthetic forced upon us by outside non-medical practices.

I love this site. I read it all the time, even though I rarely comment. I'll continue to read it. I just needed to explain how many buttons you pushed with this review.

[AmyT]

Interesting, MM. It never occurred to me that the concept of "thin" could be so upsetting to some.

Of course Healthy and Skinny are not synonymous, but the idea behind these songs, I believe, is for people who are ready and willing to become Thinner to get positive reinforcement, i.e. to envision themselves reaching their weight-loss goals. If you're not in this category, then this CD is definitely not for you.

[E]

I have to agree with MM about this one. I usually love this blog, but I had to speak up about this one, most especially because of last line of this song. While I realize its intention is to be funny and light hearted, it is really just another example of 1) our society's obsession with being thin, and 2) the degradation of women. Amy, you once discussed eating disorders on this site, so it surprises me that you would promote something that even playfully espouses the "playboy bunny" as the feminine body ideal. I think the amount of women and girls struggling with body image issues and eating disorders is evidence that "the concept of thin" is, in fact, "so upsetting to some", as these women struggle and struggle to meet an unattainable, unrealistic, and unnatural goal.

Many diabetics struggle with losing weight. I'm not saying that's not an issue, and I'm not saying many people wouldn't benefit in so many ways from losing weight. But why don't we as a society, and especially as diabetics, support weight loss as a means to gain better blood sugar control and overall health, rather than just a need to be "thinner".

[AmyT]

Hmm again. I actually thought the line about "playboy bunny" was some badass sarcasm. At least that's how I took it. Maybe I was wrong about that.