Hi Everyone!
As you’d probably expect, every week I get a number of reactionary emails from someone we’ve somehow offended. Given that our newsletter goes out to around 2 million people this isn’t surprising. What does surprise me, however, is how many questions I get on subjects where the answer is stated in the article. Makes me wonder if, along with nutrition and physical education, reading comprehension is being eliminated from our kid’s curriculums or if the Internet is merely providing us with a forum where we each get to play the role of a network political pundit; you know, the type who interject and interrupt so often that you never actually get to hear a full question. This week, we’ll look at a few of those questions and then look at the opposite; those who read our articles so thoroughly that they point out our errors and provide us with further information.
And remember, I’m still training for my birthday challenge and trying to get as many people to WOWY as possible. Last week a guy won a thousand bucks, just for logging on and charting his workout. Here’s my blog:
http://steveedwardschallenge2007.blogspot.com/A link to WOWY:
http://www.milliondollarbody.com/wowyAnd the first article in question:
http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/280.do================================
Where are the REPUBLICANS! I am sure they have something to say. This is one-sided by only offering the demos. I will now spam future e-mails from you and not order anything!!!!!
Tory Crockett
WHERE IN THE HELL IS THE REPUBLICAN RESPONSES???????? WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???????????
LORI GORDON
PAYNE, OHIO
I see you have the 8 democratic presidential hopefuls opinion on
obesity, it would be nice to see how the republican presidential hopefuls
feel about it also.
Sue==============================================
I’m leading with this one because I got SO MANY of them and I wanted to show the breadth of the responses, from Sue’s Canadian-esque politeness to Tory’s overt threat. To answer all of your questions, one needn’t look too deeply. This line appears, in bold, after the last candidate and prior to the hyperlink you need to click in order to send you mail.
Next week, the Republican candidates—so tune in!
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Can tea strengthen bones? Is sugar addictive?
So what's the answer? This is not the first time I've
read your newsletter because I was interested in the
'subject' but I couldn't find a single word in the
newsletter that related to the subject. Are you just
trying to tease us or are your writers asleep at the
wheel?
Looking forward to being enlightened about this so I
can avoid future frustration.
Mahalo,
Kaila Nelson-Floto============================================
I found this one more puzzling because it seems like a rational and thoughtful response. It even got me to wonder if we’d somehow deleted part of the article by accident. When we do interpretations of studies the answers can be tricky and a bit hard to decipher. This is why we do them. Most people can’t be bothered to sift through a scientific abstract in search of a bottom line that, as scientific method necessitates, is often not a black and white conclusion.
However, the two studies in question were pretty simple to understand. Without going into much detail, here is the LAST line from the tea segment:
Tip of the week: drink tea.
And here is the FIRST line in the sugar segment:
James Cook University and other research found that sugar was far more addictive than cocaine.
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Concerning your slanted comments on President George W.Bush -- he is a fine example of someone who stands for something, unlike some of the presidential candidates who fall for anything.
President Bush may not be popular with the media, but since his term we have not had another attack on AMERICAN SOIL like Sept.11th. History will prove that IN SPITE OF THE MEDIA, George W. Bush is a PATRIOT. He is the Commander in Chief of our military -- he deserves our RESPECT.
G. Mercer
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Here’s where I’m missing the point, since the quote used was pretty darn patriotic indeed. Mr. Mercer must be referring to the “not very popular at the moment” qualifier but it’s hard to call that one slanted. Even the most gracious estimates from the FOX network places our current President’s approval rating among the lowest in history. I do get the feeling, however, that this guy might have accidentally sent me his auto response.
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“If you treat all of us the same and act as if all of our react the same, then you are part of the problem.”
“Are you trying to say that only the LIBs care about
obesity? Hold on, maybe if one of them (God forbidi)
is elected they add another tax for anyone who's fat.”========================================
I left the names off of these last two as I’m sure no one would want to lay claim to something that was pretty much undecipherable. Still, what would make someone decide that this type of sentiment was something that needed to be shared is hard for me to fathom. Anyone feel like enlightening me?
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What does your company say about super foods? Are there any advantages?
Thanks,
Earl
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This one is somewhat fascinating as I submitted this story to our editorial department last week and it’s being published this week. Maybe Earl is monitoring my email, or maybe he’s just psychic.
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I think that there's something more to it than the food we consume. I am neither obese nor overweight. Although a few years ago I weighed 15 pounds over what I consider to be my natural weight. (I will never again believe those weight charts! There is no way I can weigh 15 pounds more and not look and feel absolutely like a cow.) I never knew I looked the way I did until I saw my body in a photograph. I wonder, is it psychological blindness that we cannot see that we're fat?
I love exercising with the hip hop abs tapes. Thanks!
Kelly Nelson (aka Mukhtiar Kaur Khalsa)==============================================
This was a bit of a non-sequitor but we did run an article on a similar subject that spurred a lot of reactionary email a few months back. Here it is:
http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/268.do===========================================
What an interesting article. And you're right, obesity is almost an epidemic and it needs to be addressed. I am a physical education teacher at a middle school and have been doing so for almost 2o years, what I found interesting was that the first few people in the article all mentioned how obesity was a problem with our youth, but none of them said anything about improving or making sure students have physical education classes. They were focusing on dealing with the symptoms rather than the problem that leads to the symptoms. Thanks for addressing this issue. Hopefully more agencies will bring forth this issue because it is more of a problem than people think.
Nancy Wagner===================================
It’s not almost an epidemic, it is one. You are absolutely correct. While kids are only eating slightly more calories (3-5%) more than they did 20 years ago, they are getting between 20 and 25% less exercise. Our kids are the first generation in history to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. We’ve got to do something about it.
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Appreciate that you put online the plans of the demo. candidates. I
would like to read the republican candidates' positions as
well...will you be posting that soon?
I think that more beachbody parents would benefit by knowing that
they actually do not have to wait until Federal Law mandates healthy
foods in their schools. The local school boards are starting to
remove sugar drinks and implement whole wheat bread along with more
options of fruit and vegetables at the lunch counters in several
district in the state of Oregon, where I am from. All across the
country, changes can be made, though small, to make the nutritional
environment in schools a healthy place for our kids.
If we start by getting involved, we can still have the outcome we
know is healthy, but at the same time not have to feel the bummer of
higher taxes through programs implemented that should already be in
place.
Thank you again for your article.
Debbie Meador=====================================
Correct, Debbie. Small changes lead to big changes. If we all do our part we can make a difference. Here are a couple of articles that you’ll find interesting:
http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/044.dohttp://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/219.do#article2================================
Dear MDB,
I really enjoy your newsletters and learn a lot from them. Thanks!
That said, in the most recent newsletter, there's an error. Question 1 in the Test Your Presidents IQ quiz lists incorrect information. George Washington was not the first president of the United States--he was the first president under the constitution currently in place. The first actual President was John Hanson, and there were another six presidents after him before Washington came to power.
Keep the newsletters coming,
Peta Andersen
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Thanks, Peta. We love to be corrected, especially when it comes to interesting tidbits like this. I had to search for John Hanson and found reading about him quite fascinating. Next thing you know, someone will tell me that Columbus didn’t discover America
Until next time, don’t just train hard, train smart,
Steve
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Mailbag Archives:
http://forums.milliondollarbody.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/8082987037 
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