stumptuous.com: You're lying to yourself

[Kupek]

http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayar ... hp?aid=170

[SineSwiper]

Tell me. How often do you go to the gym?

[Kupek]

Right now? Three days a week. But I also eat well. If I ate like crap, I'd be a strong fat guy - like many of the other guys I see in the gym.

But I'm not sure why you ask. Regular exercise is needed, too! Not just for weight loss, but in general.

[SineSwiper]

I find that there are three types of people:

1. Those that go to the gym several times a week and brag about how fit they are, as if they have some sort of arrogant complex issue and simply MUST shout out "I DO FIFTY PUSHUPS A DAY!" every five minutes in case nobody heard it before. Then they talk about how it's easy it is to "just do it", and how in as little as ten minutes a day, they can have the awesome abs they always dreamed of.

2. The rest of us who have jobs and kids and other things to do (whether it's a real reason or lazy excuse) who don't go to the gym, because their body fat percentage isn't the #1 priority on their list. Some people are born with a genetic disposition to be overweight; others are lazy and/or like food too much. Sure, they may try to change their diet or even take up running, but the instinct to skip those things is always there, and often relapsed like a bad cancer that won't seem to go away.

3. The third is the lucky bastards who can eat as much as they want without really putting on any weight. However, these people typically have metabolism/thyroid problems on the other end of the scale, which can lead to ADHD or similar mental issues. At the very least, they have to put up with spending a lot of money on food just to fill themselves up.

Just an observation.

[Zeus]

I'm a fat bastard and after a few times of losing weight then putting it back on, I discovered one thing: I enjoy eating. I don't want to diet. I like to have a burger now and then or eat some chips. That's why I keep gaining it back.

I'm not one of those lucky pricks that can eat a ton and not have it show. So yes, I do need to control a bit and I do....a bit. I don't skip meals, I do relatively well for breakfast (need to eat that everyday) and lunch, I have fruits for snacks at work. I go for my physicals every year and I'm fine with all the testing I do. But I can't be 330lbs much longer (I'm 6'2", my minimum realistic weight with my body structure is about 220lbs, anything less and I lose muscle).

Weight loss really boils down to one simple rule: calories in vs calories out. Sure you wanna watch your intake of complex carbs, unsaturated fats, salts, etc., but to lose weight, you need that balance.

That's the really hard part, getting my ass out there. I don't like walking or really biking on my own or working out on a machine. And for 5 years I had the excuse that I worked, at minimum, 12 hours a day (including commuting), sometimes more, so I was always "too tired". But I love to play sports, so now that I'm back home I'm gonna try and join some city leagues all year round. I don't have the excuse that I'm too busy with work anymore, so I just gotta do it.

It's tough when it's not a habit and when your life is busy, though. I got twins on the way and have spent the last month fixing up a rental property I bought.

What I'm trying to say is it's not always a lie to yourself. It's often a priority of a lifestyle that you just don't want to or can't change

[Kupek]

Sine, I've never said it's easy. It's, in fact, hard. It's simple, but it's hard. But a base level of physical fitness does significantly improve quality of life. I posted this column because what she said about her attitude reminds of things I've read here.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

The improvement of quality of life would have to be astonishingly significant to give up carbs. I might consider giving up bread, potatoes, and pasta if it meant that I could fly, but anything less than that and I would feel ripped off.

[Zeus]

The improvement of quality of life would have to be astonishingly significant to give up carbs. I might consider giving up bread, potatoes, and pasta if it meant that I could fly, but anything less than that and I would feel ripped off.

You don't have to give them up. In fact, they're quite an important part of a healthy diet.....if eaten in the correct portions (and not fried). That's the tough part, realizing that one slice of bread or a half-cup of potatoes or pasta is a single serving and that you really should only have 4 of those in a day (assuming you're not training or working out enough to require more). Half cup of potatoes or pasta (125ml worth; not half of the largest cup you can find :-) is far smaller than you think it is.

It's also realizing that things like 3 oz of beef (uncooked) is a full serving. Have you ever tried eating 3 oz of beef? It's like a fucking tease, something to whet your appetite until the real steak comes.

If you try to have "proper" proportions of protien, fat, and carbs (carbs pretty much covers fruits, veges, and starches) you start to find that veges and fruits make up, volume-wise, a very large proportion of your meals. Most don't ever want to do that though. You want to have that extra scoop of mashed potatoes instead of those 8 brussel sprouts, it tastes so much fucking better.

But it can't hurt to have some level of control/sacrifice. That's kinda where I am. I know what's "proper" and what's not, so I try to at least come close if I can. I'll have the extra broccoli or cauliflower, I'll insist that my meals always have a decent proportion of veges with them, I'll try to cut out that 3rd slice of bread or extra scoop of mashed.

But I sure as fuck ain't gonna give it all up. If that means I'm gonna be a fat bastard unless I engage in A LOT of physical activity, so be it. I'll try and be more active and try to keep that under control a bit. But I am gonna enjoy my life along the way, not always sacrificing my meals every fucking day just so i can live longer. I've been there, done that, it ain't worth it. Now that don't mean I'm gonna go out and gorge myself constantly, there will be some control.

There's something to be said about living a great 60 years as opposed to a mediocre 80.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

You don't have to give them up. In fact, they're quite an important part of a healthy diet...

I realise; I was just responding (facetiously, I will admit) to the article Kupek linked. One of the things she would like to tell her past self is:

You CAN give up bread and pasta.

That's a sacrifice I wouldn't ever want to make.

[bovine]

I eat everything and am a skinny man. I don't think I'll ever stop being a skinny man regardless of how much I eat. I live a fairly sedentary lifestyle (although I do not drive, I walk and bus), but this does not seem to cause me to get fatter. I think I'm cursed with skinniness forever.

[kali o.]

I weigh too much. I do Atkins whenever I get around 220ish or so (my healthy weight is around 185). It's actually the Dairy that really kills me, when factored in against everything else. I'd average 2 litres of 2% milk every day - it is my water.

Back and forth I go, every 6 months. You gotta drop all carbs for Atkins - and when you do that, you realize that every SINGLE food item that is good is loaded with carbs.

It's tough to lose carbs from your diet.

[Kupek]

I eat everything and am a skinny man. I don't think I'll ever stop being a skinny man regardless of how much I eat. I live a fairly sedentary lifestyle (although I do not drive, I walk and bus), but this does not seem to cause me to get fatter. I think I'm cursed with skinniness forever.

No, this means that you eat the amount your body tells you. I thought I was the same way in high school and early college, until I started working out regularly. When I have to take breaks from exercising (for, say, a deadline or a move), I can feel my appetite change. When I start up again, I can feel that I need to eat more.

If you don't already have this ability, it takes time to build it. You have to pay close attention to what you eat and how hungry you actually are - as opposed to how much you want to eat because it tastes good.

[Flip]

Man, i weigted myself the other day at a friends (i dont own a scale, for no reason) and i was up to 165. I used to be 160 the last time i stepped on a scale so i guess im fat now, lol. I'm 6 feet, but what i consider a skinny fat... meaning not all that toned, skinny, but maybe a little spare tire nonetheless. I like to play softball, racquetball, and volleyball, but cant convince myself to lift weights or run. Two of the most boring activities on the planet.

[Lox]

Lifting weights, for me, is fun when done in a social way where you work out with a buddy or something. Nothing makes a workout session go buy faster than joking around and having a good time. That's part of the reason I have a hard time feeling motivated to lift weights as much nowadays cuz I don't have someone to lift with.

[Julius Seeker]

I love working out =)

It's not all about the gym though.

As far as eating goes, I think it should be alright so long as you don't pig out; that just craps all over your digestive processes anyway.

[SineSwiper]

No, this means that you eat the amount your body tells you. I thought I was the same way in high school and early college, until I started working out regularly. When I have to take breaks from exercising (for, say, a deadline or a move), I can feel my appetite change. When I start up again, I can feel that I need to eat more.

You act like this is some magic amount that every person has. Some people have different sized stomachs, and don't use up all of the energy that the stomach can hold, so it becomes fat. Also, you could eat a stomach full of lard, and it would be much more fat content than an actual meal. Once somebody becomes full to their stomach, it's usually too late, so people generally just gauge the amount of food to eat.

Now, if you're talking about how the body reacts to taste buds and hunger, this isn't really that sensitive, except in extreme circumstances. If you haven't eaten in 12-24 hours, your taste buds ramp up, as a survival response to eat. If you've eaten too much (and I mean "All You Can Eat buffet overstuffing" too much), the taste buds drops.

However, you can't just gauge whether your full by this. Thirst is more pronounced, since you need it more, so you can gauge how thirsty you are, but for hunger, it's just a reliance on timed schedules. There is no "magic ability" to train on how your appetite changes that minutely.

[Kupek]

Your body tells you how much food it needs, and it's not magic. Your caloric needs change depending on your activity level, frequency and body composition. Your body lets you know this through your appetite. If you perpetually overeat at meals, then it takes time to learn how to listen.

A good strategy for learning to listen is to eat smaller meals, but more of them. The frequency at which you want the meals should be your guide. Also, eat slowly. This gives your body a chance to actually make you feel full.

[SineSwiper]

If we could eat more-frequent, smaller meals or promote better activity levels, we wouldn't be overweight. I think you're trying to promote an answer that is superseded by more obvious solutions.

Also, I don't believe you because you're not giving up very many details on how you "listen". Am I supposed to cock my head to one side and listen to the food speaking to me?

[Zeus]

If we could eat more-frequent, smaller meals or promote better activity levels, we wouldn't be overweight. I think you're trying to promote an answer that is superseded by more obvious solutions.

Also, I don't believe you because you're not giving up very many details on how you "listen". Am I supposed to cock my head to one side and listen to the food speaking to me?

Kup's basically saying that a lot of us eat to eat not eat for energy. It's a habitual societal thing. We place lots of importance on eating, we make it a big part of our lives. We have dinner parties, we have cooking shows, we use it as a break from our busy day. We eat for leisure instead of survival. If you eat just what you need rather than what you want and change your habits to give your body a chance to react (ie. eat more slowly so you know you're full), you'd be shocked at how much less you'd eat

[Tessian]

Leave it to Sine to be the dick in a peaceful thread about weight loss...

We're all old enough by now that you should know your body well enough to know when you get hungry and how much you should be eating, assuming you haven't been overweight all your life in which case that'll be harder. I've been skinny all my life; I'm about 150 these days at 5'9" and I still live a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I can't skip meals and I know damn well when my body tells me it's hungry. I actually have myself on a pretty specific schedule of meals that has done me well and I rarely eat just to eat. It's also proven that smaller, frequent meals is better for you than a large meal or two a day. You ever hear the phrase "eat like a bird"? Ever hear an overweight person called that?

[Kupek]

Sine, I'm explaining how our bodies work. You can't get a doctor's note to get out of it because it's inconvenient, nor can you bargain with it. You can eat smaller meals more frequently and be more active. It might require a significant lifestyle change, but yes, you can do it.

I think Zeus and Tessian covered "listening to your body" well. It just means paying attention to your appetite - the frequency and amount of hunger that you feel. People who eat for reasons other than hunger, or people who continually overeat at meals, aren't in the habit of paying attention to hunger. Unfortunately, for these people, they have to make a concerted effort to learn.

[Julius Seeker]

Just my theory, but I think people who don't care as much about their bodies are not nearly as in tuned to the needs of their body; which includes food intake. Those who utilize their body more on a physical level tend not to abuse food intake in the same way that inactive people do.

[bovine]

Those who utilize their body more on a physical level tend not to abuse food intake in the same way that inactive people do.

what do you mean? doesn't everyone like.... walk and pick stuff up and do things that require more than sitting? We're not baron harkonnens here.

[Julius Seeker]

I mean people whose bodies have physically suffered from high amounts of physical inactivity.