A work out I like and things I don't like about January

Let's just talk about the month of January for a moment shall we?  I know it is the month of the "new you" and new years resolutions and all that jazz but something just erks me about the plastering and advertising of nothing but weight loss, workout, get slim fast products that we are bombarded with during this month.  Is that all anyone has to make a resolution about?  I mean you walk into these big box stores and the front isles are filled with workout videos, yoga mats, vitamins, slim fast products and workout equipment.  I looked at the Walmart add on line a few weeks ago and all it was all 4 pages was weight loss/healthy lifestyle products.  I don't have a problem with new goals for a healthier you but all the focus on "looks" and being "buff" and "skinny" make me sick.  You don't see the front shelves stocked with childrens books on sale to encourage parents to read more to their kids in the new year, or board games to encourage families to spend more time together.  You don't see a major sale on fruits and vegetables to encourage families to set a goal to eat more produce and feed more to their children.  You don't see advertisements about discovering new talents, or getting out of debt or getting your house in order.  Just weight loss, weight loss, weight loss.  I think it is a bit much world.  Healthy living is important, but so are a lot of other things. 

With that being said, having absolutely nothing to do with the fad of getting slim in the month of January I was looking for a new exercise video.  I new it would be a good time to find one because there would be lots on sale with the big focus on "getting slim" in the new year so I decided to browse the selection for something new to use at my house.  I had been doing a Jillian Michaels 30 day shred video.  I don't know if I shredded anything during the time I did the video.  I am pretty sure she assumes you will follow her diet plan as you are working out and that probably really helps with the shredding part.  I was pretty sure cookies were not on her plan so I didn't bother to check it out.  Here is what I liked about the video: it was 20 minutes and there were 3 levels.  I knew it would all be over in 20 minutes and if I was feeling ambitious I did the more advanced option and if I was feeling not so ambitious I did the "less advanced" option.  So I had been working out with Jillian for a while but felt like it was not pushing me at all (there wasn't enough sweating happening and I think the basis of working out is that there should be some sweat involved).  So during the month of January sales on work out videos I picked up this:

And I LOVE IT!!!!!  My body and bed still have a daily battle as to who will win in the morning but when I do get up and do this video I feel so great.  Here is what I love about it:
#1. You can make it as long or as short as you want because you choose what you want to do. You can choose between a warm up, level 1 (which is 20 mins), level 2 (10 mins), level 3 (10 mins) and a cool down.  You can select any combination of those levels.
#2. The people in the video are real contestants from the Biggest Loser and are therefore not a skinny stick in a sports bra telling you that if you want to have a flat butt like the girl on the video you need to do the exercise a certain way.
#3. The people in the video are at different levels of "fit" and therefore it is not like watching a little army of stick people are marching at exactly the same pace.  If I can't get up from the burpees that fast I know I can look up and find one of my workout partners on the video lagging behind as well.
#4.  The instructors are encouraging without being annoying.
#5. It makes you sweat-a lot.
#6.  And this kind of goes along with #2 but the people are all wearing a full set of clothing.   When I used to do the shred my girls would come in and take off all their cloths besides panties because that is what the workout ladies looked like to them. 
I am not recommending this video to the skinny minnies out there that are already in good shape.  You go ladies and more power to you.  I am recommending this video to the women (and men) like me that are not fans of a workout but know we need to do it, who have a slight addiction to cookies and don't have all the time in the world to devote to fitness. 
I am super happy with this purchase.  It was a great way to spend my $10.00 on fitness for the year.