Yeah, but people are too wrapped up in weight and not in physical shape. Getting in shape will have significant quality of life increases completely unrelated to weighing slightly less, most notably a tremendous increase in energy level.
Which is exactly what I said.
Slyfrog says it better.
Dieting sucks, but excercise at least looks cool and can be pretty enjoyable to some people, so people thing they can keep stuffing crap down their throats if they only excercise.
Of course excercise is good for you. And of course excercising has other benefits, but the OP talked about weightloss. Long walks and whatever else people are suggesting, isn’t going to help much if Dirt eats too much and washes it down with a few pints every night.
Me three! Though I don’t have the requisite short torso to be a true ectomorph. My wrists are practically the same exact size as my significant other’s, I can use my watch to get the correct fit on one for her. (I just need it one link tighter for her.) I’m 5’11". In high school I topped out at 135. Yes, I was beefy. When I hit about 20, I was able to bulk up to a massive 155 by eating four big meals a day on top of taking 2000 calorie weight gainer, and working out six days a week. I was still under 10% bodyfat. In the Army my weight stayed at about 150-155, but I found I could easily do the same physical work of someone 25% bigger than me.
It’s been seven years since I left the Army, and I’ve started pudging up. I call myself skinnylimb-fatbody, because I only seem to put on fat around my belly. I’m now a massive 165 pounds. Heh.
A few weeks ago the belly got to be too much to handle. I’ve been skinny all my life, and it absolutely freaks me out to feel my fat bunch up when I sit in a chair and lean over the keyboard. I’ve started working out again.
Ideally I’d like to hit 175 and be maybe 12% bodyfat, and as I’ve just turned 33, I’m making it my goal for 35. We’ll see how long my motivation lasts. I’ve been doing pretty well with the exercising, but I’m going to have to eat like a horse to hit 175. My metabolism has always just been crazy.
The other thing about getting in shape is that all that muscle mass will burn calories, so you don’t have to worry much about your food.
I don’t mean Muscle Man style in-shape, rather that doing any physical activity that really works out your whole body is a good thing. There are lots and lots of little muscles, everywhere, that most of us don’t use most of the time due to modern lifestyle. When you get those muscles active and engaged, instead of atrophied, it just makes a huge difference in a lot of things – how easily you move around, whether you have little back or neck problems, etc.
And the calorie expenditure due to having all those muscles active will help tremendously with the Not Being Fat thing.
Also, move to North Korea.
Just looking at weight alone isn’t that helpful, it’s better to look at muscle mass (or lack thereof) and body fat ratio. Once you start working out to put on some muscle, your body won’t look so out of proportion with the gut and your man-tits will go away. Or so they say… still working on it myself. I hit 175 lbs and I’m trying to make time for myself to work out, as I like to spend time with my wife watching TV and movies and get in gaming and other computer time. I have motivation issues though…
“Dirt” is my least favorite beer flavor - I prefer lagers.
But I digress, anyone know if going to the hard stuff is any better for you?
(let not pretend I’m going to stop all alcoholic intake…cause I’m not).
I am, so the advice is still useful :)
Blue: enh the hard stuff isn’t that great for you either. Liquor in general has lots of empty calories.
But probably if you have to choose between bottle of beer vs. glass of scotch, the glass of scotch is going to put less fat on you.
but… it’s God’s tears!
Since this conversation got me whipped up and thinking about this stuff, I am going to continue my rant.
Back in 2003-2004 I was around 32 and my metabolism had slowed enough that the results were really showing (I used to be a very skinny guy). At the same time I had significant back issues (couldn’t stand up for more than 15 minutes without my back feeling very strained, needing to sit down, etc – I took a vacation to Paris in which all the walking around was pretty terrible), my neck was always very “crunchy” and I could crack it just by tilting my head, etc.
So I decided to be all proactive and take care of these things. I started going to a gym and got an expensive personal trainer (at Equinox in Manhattan), and started seeing a chiropractor.
The thing is, it was all crap. The kinds of isolated-muscle exercises that you do in a gym do not really help with full-body fitness. They are these weird things developed by western society that are about building up particular muscles, as opposed to addressing the more general concern of being healthy. In retrospect, my trainer did have me do some stuff that was good (like planks and assisted stretches), but it was such a low percentage of the workout time that it was mostly a waste. I felt really good every time I worked my way up 5 more pounds on the bench press, though!!
Similarly with the chiropractor… it was crap. Sure, I would go there, and felt better after a session, but it was addressing the symptom and not the problem. The problem persisted, because my core was just out of shape, but the chiropractor wasn’t about to help me with that.
So I was paying … something like $400 or $500 a month for things that, ultimately, were not helpful. They were about treading water in terms of fitness, rather than fundamentally improving. And this is really frustrating, because now I know about stuff that is way better, but there just isn’t a cultural awareness about the differences between these forms of exercise, and what one’s objectives really should be.
Now, several years later, I am in the best shape of my life. I never set foot in a gym any more. I have no back or neck problems now. Miscellaneous other kinds of movement that I do are vastly improved (e.g. I am a way better dancer now than I was in 2003, and can do much crazier stuff… and I thought I was a really good dancer in 2003).
In conclusion, gyms are ass, and chiropractors are not useful unless you have a severe condition that needs temporary symptom-relief. Training in a health-oriented martial art, or doing pilates, or yoga, or some other manner of full-body exercise in a serious fashion (not the hey-I-show-up-and-do-30-minutes-a-week fashion) is way, way better and will improve your whole life.
Chiropractor ‘treated’ my boss for a sore shoulder for 6 months. No result. Then we found out it was cancer and he was dead 18 months later. Hmm, Chiropractor could have suggested he see a specialist since it was going nowhere with him… but the lure of regular dollars and a lack of proper medical training swayed his mind I’m sure.
Ouch. Dude, that sucks.
I do a combination core-body workout that we used in the Marines, and run, run, run. If you don’t prefer running, I also really like elipticals (easier on the knees).
The core workout itself burns massive amounts of calories though and isn’t for the weak of heart. It is tons of fun though.
If you want more info let me know.
Jesus. That is horrible.
I want more info.
It’s the reach around! run!
I quite like running. Which is stupid, because I hate running. If that makes sense?
The trick, I found, is to NOT PUSH IT TOO HARD! Even if you think you’re hard and you can do another half mile or mile, even if your ankle is a bit sore, CUT IT OUT! Go do that extra half mile 2 days later (rest days are good) and then you’ll be able to KEEP doing it and won’t get injured to buggery.
I am hardly a super sports stud, but running is something I try to do regularly, either 20 or 30 minutes sprinting and slow jogging (interval stuff) or a good 4 miles or so at a reasonable clip. I need to get a bit faster for the army reserves, but I’m getting there.
Also, GET SHOES FITTED! I went to a sports shoe store where I ran up and down infront of a video camera in bare feet. They watched what my feet did and then chose the shoe to make my fleet run as normal as possible, this made a MASSIVE difference. I was able to go from running for about 6 weeks before shin splint type pain overtook me, to running as I want without shin pain. So damn important.
I was thinking of buying an elliptical machine when I get my house next year, since I think they’re pretty keen. Sure beats the hell out of a sore ass from riding a bike (stationary or real). The only thing with stationary equipment for cardio is it’s boring as hell, so you gotta have either something to listen to or watch. Reading something close up is impossible with the elliptical since your eye level is moving all over the place.
Sometimes that isn’t enough, so you can also get insoles for your shoes. Podiatrists can refer you to any local stores that sell them; last time I was in the market for such a thing, the Spenco (sp?) ones that are green were what I was recommended for my high arches. Running shoes typically let you take the insole out completely, but other types of shoes you will have less luck.