Following are comments on three ab exercisers in the Feb 09 issue of Consumer Reports: 1. Ab Rocket ($100): Most Ab Rocket exercises were slightly less effective than traditional abdominal exercises in our tests, and the head position bothered some. Diet plan was sound but lacked specifics abut food amounts and diet duration. Good for most beginners, but we found sit-ups slightly more effective. 2. Rock-N-Go Exerciser ($230): Panelists agree that the machine was easy to use, but they didn't feel it provided a workout. Some felt ridiculous or creepy on this machine. Our tests showed it was less effective at engaging abdominal muscles than conventional exercises performed with no equipment on an exercise mat. 3. Red Exerciser DX ($175): As we reported in February 2008, the "core twist strides" in the infomercial and some advanced exercises in the video engaged obliques at least as much as comparable floor moves but might not work abs as well. Good for obliques, but those 4 inches aren't going anywhere without serious dieting. Diet plan provides sound advice, but no maintenance plan. I don't own any of them, but thought this info might be of some help. Good luck!

Check with your Dr first, or if you have had therpy, check with them. you could damage something worst.

I dont know. I can't completely agree with everyone here. Zoe, I do think that you are exercising a little excessively. 3 hours or more a day is a little much, however, I think that 2 hours is okay, so I am not sure how much leeway there is with that. You should take days off at least twice a week, and when you feel that you are comfortable with your weight, or you have gone a few weeks with your weight/appearance unchanged, then you should consider weaning yourself down. An eating disorder? Well, based on a couple things you said these people can't be diagnosing you with an eating disorder. People realize that things are not always what they may seem to be and you are not as wise as you hope. Zoe, you should begin to think about your personal habits and not listen to every person that talks to you or posts a comment. Really, who ISNT motivated by their appearance to try and look better? At least you are trying to do something about it instead of jumping over to the nearest nip-tuck shop to get chopped and sewed back up. But realize that there needs to be limits and you need to figure out what those are based on YOUR lifestyle and not anyone else's. If your family is concerned about your health, then you really should talk to your doctor. He/she might be able to give you tips on how to exercise just as well in less time. Also, think about your life. None of us on this thing really know what your lifestyle is, if you work 12 hour shifts on top of this or if you are a housewife and spend a lot of time at home. No one can dictate whether this is interfering with your life but you and your family. You should consider their feelings in this as well as your own and perhaps set some boundaries for yourself (and work your way down to them, especially if you aren't ready to work out less yet) Give your body a break. Do take a couple of days off per week because the constant muscle strain can actually physically harm your muscles instead of what it was intended to do. (that might sound crazy but it is true, they need time to heal) Lastly, if you are suspecting an eating disorder, you need to think about this: Is this truly affecting your every day life? Is this something that interferes with other activities that you would normally be doing? What are your eating habits when you are not exercising? Are you taking at least 2000 to 2500 calories per day? You need that AT LEAST for the amount of exercise you do to sustain normal body functioning. If you are eating less than that amount of calories, your body works to break down the muscle you are trying to build to nourish itself. That's true! Also, do you do things like purging or binging on food at least 2-4 times per month? You don't need to answer these questions to the rest of the world on here, you need to ask them to yourself. And it never hurts to get that check up. Always try to keep yourself healthy. I know that you know that exercise is making your more healthy, even if the underlying reason is appearance. That's my motivator too, and I understand where you are coming from. Take care, I hope that I could help.

I use an exercise ball but just started to do it. My exercise ball came with instructions and examples. There are some exercises that I do on the ball that aren't with the instructions. I can photocopy the instructions for you if you would like or scan them and send them to you in an email. One of the things I do is sit on the ball and walk myself out so that my knees are at right angles on the floor and my back is on the ball. Then I put my hands behind my head and do mini sit ups. This helps the abdominals. One other is to sit on the ball and then balance and raise a leg one at a time and hold the leg up for a count of 10. These two exercises I didn't see on the instructions. Trying to raise my two legs at the same time is almost impossible for me at least. I'm still a klutz with the ball but each day gets a bit better.