Monday, January 3, 2011

OWN-The Oprah Winfrey Network Review



Well I managed to catch the first show on OWN and after 15 minutes of watching I am not impressed. Here is a quick review if you missed it. There is a super star panel: Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Suze Orman. The first ten minutes was spent talking about “poop.” How often you should go, how it should look, how it travels through the intestines, how you should potty train yourself, all explained by Dr. Oz, with an accompanying realistic animation. Great, that’s just what I wanted to see!

Then there was a woman who wanted to know from Dr Phil if she should take her cheating husband back. Apparently, he cheated for six months and when she asked him to stop, he said no. But then his mistress dumped him and now he is desperate to come back to her. The husband has also seen the enormous amount he would have to pay her if there is a divorce. A skeptical Dr. Phil can’t really advise her except to say “the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” Duh! It’s was clear to me she hasn’t been watching his show if she needs to ask what she should do.

A poll about virginity? How old were you when you lost your virginity? The results showed 56.7% of the audience (200 people) was 16 to 20 years old. Enter stage left, a 52 year old virgin who hasn’t dated in over 30 years because she has been overweight. The last time she kissed a guy, she was 16 years old. Now she has lost 100 pounds. She just went a her first date and the guy hasn’t called again because she turned her head when he went to kiss her good night. Dr. Phil has his work cut out for him here. Meanwhile she has terrible teeth, but a pretty nice personality. Dr. Phil’s advice, get out and meet as many men as possible. To help her get jump started, he arranges some speed dating for her right there on the show! She goes backstage to try his experiment and meets three men. At the end of the show she has to pick one guy and she does. Dr. Phil arranges a date for the lovely couple.

Two hundred people in the audience have a combined 1.6 million in credit card debt, about $8,000 a person. Suze Orman says do NOT accept store credit cards when you are shopping and they offer you 20% off that day. That happens pretty often to me and I never do it. If I did I would destroy mine after, but she says most people will actually buy more that day and run up a bigger bill and then keep the card and pay the 23% interest. So do not sign up.

Vanessa Williams asks Dr. Phil how to get her ten year old daughter to stop sleeping in her bed. Can’t wait to see what he says. A poll of the audience shows 93% say it’s not normal. Dr. Phil says Vanessa should tell the child it’s time to be a big girl and you need to be in your own bed, so let’s ease into that. I think that was a common sense answer, a no brainer, and not too impressive. However he did give parents of younger children some good suggestions for establishing a good bedtime ritual, which you can find online in a minute.

A fat family of four (each 50 to 100 pounds overweight) wants to lose weight and asks Dr. Oz what they can do. Dr. Oz always feels the need to bring in body parts (bellies) to make his point. He gives one of his famous lectures on fat in the body. Then he starts to explain how the test results of their different organs are being affected by this fat, but still reversible. Three of them are diabetic or pre diabetic. Eighty million people in this country are pre-diabetic or diabetic. Dr. Oz gives them a real quick fix: eat breakfast and move around. Then Dr. Phil gets involved. Apparently he discovers are too busy to eat healthy. He tells them to change their lifestyle and change the environment, make themselves accountable, set realistic goals and make a set time in their routine. Suze says if you are overweight chances are you also have credit card debt and not enough savings. Obese people make $3.41 less an hour than average people or $7,000 a year less. The fast food they buy costs 4 times as much as a healthy meal. Then these people get stressed about finances and eat even more.

Regis Philbin chimes in and asks Dr. Oz to solve his heartburn with a homemade remedy. We see another animation of the esophagus, which is damaged by antacids, before he gives his answer. He suggests Aloe Vera syrup and in addition, avoid alcohol, loosen pants, elevate the head of the bed.

A huge discussion about passing gas ensues because a woman in the audience has a stomach that rumbles and she wants it to stop! It happens after she eats and during business meetings. They play a tape of her noisy stomach. Dr. Oz tells her to just pass the gas already. It didn’t look like she was happy with that answer.

Dr. Phil offers three sure fire ways to keep your New Year’s resolutions. I am all ears for this piece of advice and sitting on the edge of my seat. Here goes: Make sure it’s a measurable goal, set a time table with small steps, find somebody to be accountable to! We learn that Dr. Phil’s resolution is to “slow down and enjoy the ride.” Suze doesn’t believe is resolutions, but does believe in doing what she wants to do at the time she gets the impulse to do it. Dr. Oz wants to give his kids more memories, which no one can take from them.
Oprah comes out and drinks some champagne with her favorite experts to toast the New Year and the new show.

So far there is absolutely nothing new about this show. It’s just a conglomeration of the shows the super star panel members already have. It was two hours long and do we really need to hear all these things again? I know have heard all this before. I don’t know if the panel members will change from week to week and the subjects as well. I just expected a lot more and something very different to kick off the new network. I wonder what other shows there will be? I know she is giving away a new show to one lucky winner. I didn’t even know there was a contest!

P.S.

Day 1 of the 17 Day Diet for me! For breakfast I had one cup of warm water with lemon, one hard boiled egg, one orange and one cup of coffee. I'll get back to you about lunch. Starting weight 134, trying to lose 20 pounds, will report back every Monday on weight loss. Anyone else who is on this or any other diet, jump in and post! If you have other resolutions you want support and encouragement for, WE are here!


Update:
8:30 - 9:00 Treadmill for 17+ minutes @ 3mph burned 80 calories walked .85 miles. Drank 2 cups of water.

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