Flavio,
Sorry I haven't written back for a while.
I picked the late-night rowing (9-10 p.m.) mainly because that's when I needed a distraction from pigging out on the couch. Sometimes if I wake up early, I will do a morning session instead, but then guess where I am that night? (one hand on the remote, the other in the Doritos).
I find that rowing then also helps because it limits the size of my dinner (around 6:30-7 p.m.) I won't gorge then, because I know I'm going to row in a bit and don't want to be so full I puke, etc.
After rowing, I'll spend a few minutes downloading data to my PC, updating my log, cooling off, showering, and then hitting the bed. Usually I'm in bed with the lights off about 45 minutes after the row ended, and I fall asleep pretty quickly. I suspect that this is quick enough that any post-exercise hunger occurs during sleep! When I row in the afternoon sometimes, I notice I'm ravenous about 1-2 hours later.
Someone else also mentioned the lasting effect on metabolism. I suspect that my body is still burning quite a few calories during those first hours of sleep, when it otherwise would be going into shutdown mode.
My wife HATES rowing at my hour, because she can't fall asleep for hours. Good for us (she uses the erg in the morning, me at night). So, my schedule may not work for everyone.
Tom
newbie who wants to get lean
re: Flavio's comment about late evening rowing
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1225814673.png[/img]
Keep Us Updated
It would be interesting if you kept a log of your exercise along with some general comments about eating, etc. along with weight loss.
I have a problem rowing at 8-9 p.m. because I get ravenous shortly after that and going to sleep doesn't help. I find that I need another 500-600 calories to stave off the hunger pangs.
An interesting web site is the National Weight Control Registry, www.nwcr.ws. It is composed of about 5,000 volunteers who have lost at least 30 lbs. and kept it off for a year or more. They do frequent surveys and have come up with a profile, some of the trends followed by these people are:
- Making sure to eat breakfast
- Exercising every day for almost an hour
- Eating healthier food, less snacking
- Weighing every day*
* This was important as self monitoring on a timely basis provided excellent corrective feedback, if a large weight gain was apparent in 1-2 days behavior was modified to correct it.
Keep us updated! I'm at 183 now and behind schedule, hoping to catch up by the end of June.
I have a problem rowing at 8-9 p.m. because I get ravenous shortly after that and going to sleep doesn't help. I find that I need another 500-600 calories to stave off the hunger pangs.
An interesting web site is the National Weight Control Registry, www.nwcr.ws. It is composed of about 5,000 volunteers who have lost at least 30 lbs. and kept it off for a year or more. They do frequent surveys and have come up with a profile, some of the trends followed by these people are:
- Making sure to eat breakfast
- Exercising every day for almost an hour
- Eating healthier food, less snacking
- Weighing every day*
* This was important as self monitoring on a timely basis provided excellent corrective feedback, if a large weight gain was apparent in 1-2 days behavior was modified to correct it.
Keep us updated! I'm at 183 now and behind schedule, hoping to catch up by the end of June.
-
Storm Petrel
- 1k Poster
- Posts: 112
- Joined: April 19th, 2007, 8:38 pm
- Location: USA
Re: Keep Us Updated
Not Flavio, but, although I sometimes do row at that hour, I much prefer in the mornings. My energy level is so much higher.tbartman wrote:Someone else also mentioned the lasting effect on metabolism. I suspect that my body is still burning quite a few calories during those first hours of sleep, when it otherwise would be going into shutdown mode.
My wife HATES rowing at my hour, because she can't fall asleep for hours. Good for us (she uses the erg in the morning, me at night). So, my schedule may not work for everyone.
Tom
Interesting. I'd always read/heard the 'not more than once per week' for weight checks.Liquid wrote: An interesting web site is the National Weight Control Registry, www.nwcr.ws. It is composed of about 5,000 volunteers who have lost at least 30 lbs. and kept it off for a year or more. They do frequent surveys and have come up with a profile, some of the trends followed by these people are:
- Making sure to eat breakfast
- Exercising every day for almost an hour
- Eating healthier food, less snacking
- Weighing every day*
* This was important as self monitoring on a timely basis provided excellent corrective feedback, if a large weight gain was apparent in 1-2 days behavior was modified to correct it.
.
There was a thread over on the UK forum:
http://tinyurl.com/283dk4
Someone should make a sticky thread covering weight loss. Most of the advice you will receive is very conventional:
Eat less.
Exercise more.
Eat less fat.
Eat more whole carbs.
Sounds great, but doesn't work for most people. We have been hitting everyone over the head with this plan for decades and we have gotten fatter. Does this system work? Yes, but requires a lot of time and decrease in pleasure for most people. When people fail with the conventional advice, we just say they are not properly motivated.
Really though? People advocating >1 hour a day of tedious exercise? Most folks do not have the time or energy to dedicate to this kinda workout. They have families, work, friends, and tons of other concerns. If you enjoy sliding up and down an erg 1-2 hours a day, great--most people don't. They will quit. Thankfully, weight training and interval training is much more enjoyable for most people and more effective at building lean muscle mass, while shedding fat.
Cutting out animal products sounds great, but is of dubious benefit. Most people enjoy meat, butter, and dairy. It is not killing us. Google around. We do not know much about diet. People flourish eating all kinds of things. If you have been on this planet for a few decades and do not know what you require to flourish, spend the next five years finding out what food is for you. Perhaps you will go vegan. Perhaps you will eat only butter and steak. Perhaps you will live off of McDonald's. A lot of people just change their diet every few months, constantly worrying if what they are eating is killing them.
Move intensely, enjoy whatever you eat, sleep a ton, drink more water than you can imagine, and rid yourself of as much stress as possible.
Good luck!
Jason
http://tinyurl.com/283dk4
Someone should make a sticky thread covering weight loss. Most of the advice you will receive is very conventional:
Eat less.
Exercise more.
Eat less fat.
Eat more whole carbs.
Sounds great, but doesn't work for most people. We have been hitting everyone over the head with this plan for decades and we have gotten fatter. Does this system work? Yes, but requires a lot of time and decrease in pleasure for most people. When people fail with the conventional advice, we just say they are not properly motivated.
Really though? People advocating >1 hour a day of tedious exercise? Most folks do not have the time or energy to dedicate to this kinda workout. They have families, work, friends, and tons of other concerns. If you enjoy sliding up and down an erg 1-2 hours a day, great--most people don't. They will quit. Thankfully, weight training and interval training is much more enjoyable for most people and more effective at building lean muscle mass, while shedding fat.
Cutting out animal products sounds great, but is of dubious benefit. Most people enjoy meat, butter, and dairy. It is not killing us. Google around. We do not know much about diet. People flourish eating all kinds of things. If you have been on this planet for a few decades and do not know what you require to flourish, spend the next five years finding out what food is for you. Perhaps you will go vegan. Perhaps you will eat only butter and steak. Perhaps you will live off of McDonald's. A lot of people just change their diet every few months, constantly worrying if what they are eating is killing them.
Move intensely, enjoy whatever you eat, sleep a ton, drink more water than you can imagine, and rid yourself of as much stress as possible.
Good luck!
Jason
Re: Keep Us Updated
Studies on weight loss or any other human behavior should be help with skepticism. People who weigh themselves often do tend to lose more weight and keep off than those who do not, but the question becomes:Storm Petrel wrote:Interesting. I'd always read/heard the 'not more than once per week' for weight checks.
If I would typically not be compelled to weigh myself often, then change my behavior in this regard to model those who are more successful at losing weight than I am, will I see an increase in my weight loss?
I dunno. Personally, when I am helping someone lose weight or gain it (both are difficult to do in a healthful manner), I try to get the person I am helping to look at their body as a laboratory. It is all just an experiment. It is fun to come up with a hypothesis (diet / training plan), then test it out (execute plan and track result in a lab book).
If results (expected), do not come, then go back and look at the hypothesis and lab book and start again. It helps take the ego and self-esteem crap out of the equation. Measurements are taken frequently and contextualized within the framework of the experiment, not within parameters such as:
Am I still fat?
Am I lean?
Am I weak and skinny?
Measurements however are definitely not for some people. They can never remove their self-esteem from the process.
Good luck!
Jason
Someone should make a sticky thread covering weight loss. Most of the advice you will receive is very conventional:
Eat less.
Exercise more.
Eat less fat.
Eat more whole carbs.
Sounds great, but doesn't work for most people. We have been hitting everyone over the head with this plan for decades and we have gotten fatter. Does this system work? Yes, but requires a lot of time and decrease in pleasure for most people. When people fail with the conventional advice, we just say they are not properly motivated.
Really though? People advocating >1 hour a day of tedious exercise? Most folks do not have the time or energy to dedicate to this kinda workout. They have families, work, friends, and tons of other concerns. If you enjoy sliding up and down an erg 1-2 hours a day, great--most people don't. They will quit. Thankfully, weight training and interval training is much more enjoyable for most people and more effective at building lean muscle mass, while shedding fat.
[/quote]
Exercise need not be tedious though motivation is certainly a factor, there are no free rides. Many people try to lose weight with the least effort possible, small wonder they fail. The issue of time is about arranging priorities, for example how many people who watch tv don't have "time" to exercise? As far as the amount of time required you can reduce that by increasing the intensity, once I hit the maintenance stage I only need 20 minutes per day.
I'm almost 50 and after 40 minutes per day of intense erging (at 95% or higher of PB test, 2 5K's) for two months it is now almost effortless. That is a great feeling and I certainly don't want that to go away. I erg using virtual racing software on a large screen and enjoy it very much. At work I go on a walk for 30 minutes every day with co-workers during lunch. Not tedious at all and my energy levels are way way up.
I'm not sure how weight training is more effective at losing weight, never worked for me and I injured myself several times doing it. It also requires a lot of equipment and I found the daily trek to the gym very tedious (driving, parking, etc.). I prefer a balance of lean muscle, strength and endurance and for that I believe only rowing, cross country skiing and swimming fit the bill.
We are on a threshold of a revolution in exercise which has been long overdue, the technology is there but isn't being adequately exploited. Once you combine exercise with gaming and/or online team/individual competitions it will explode.
Eat less.
Exercise more.
Eat less fat.
Eat more whole carbs.
Sounds great, but doesn't work for most people. We have been hitting everyone over the head with this plan for decades and we have gotten fatter. Does this system work? Yes, but requires a lot of time and decrease in pleasure for most people. When people fail with the conventional advice, we just say they are not properly motivated.
Really though? People advocating >1 hour a day of tedious exercise? Most folks do not have the time or energy to dedicate to this kinda workout. They have families, work, friends, and tons of other concerns. If you enjoy sliding up and down an erg 1-2 hours a day, great--most people don't. They will quit. Thankfully, weight training and interval training is much more enjoyable for most people and more effective at building lean muscle mass, while shedding fat.
[/quote]
Exercise need not be tedious though motivation is certainly a factor, there are no free rides. Many people try to lose weight with the least effort possible, small wonder they fail. The issue of time is about arranging priorities, for example how many people who watch tv don't have "time" to exercise? As far as the amount of time required you can reduce that by increasing the intensity, once I hit the maintenance stage I only need 20 minutes per day.
I'm almost 50 and after 40 minutes per day of intense erging (at 95% or higher of PB test, 2 5K's) for two months it is now almost effortless. That is a great feeling and I certainly don't want that to go away. I erg using virtual racing software on a large screen and enjoy it very much. At work I go on a walk for 30 minutes every day with co-workers during lunch. Not tedious at all and my energy levels are way way up.
I'm not sure how weight training is more effective at losing weight, never worked for me and I injured myself several times doing it. It also requires a lot of equipment and I found the daily trek to the gym very tedious (driving, parking, etc.). I prefer a balance of lean muscle, strength and endurance and for that I believe only rowing, cross country skiing and swimming fit the bill.
We are on a threshold of a revolution in exercise which has been long overdue, the technology is there but isn't being adequately exploited. Once you combine exercise with gaming and/or online team/individual competitions it will explode.
Someone should make a sticky thread covering weight loss. Most of the advice you will receive is very conventional:
Eat less.
Exercise more.
Eat less fat.
Eat more whole carbs.
Sounds great, but doesn't work for most people. We have been hitting everyone over the head with this plan for decades and we have gotten fatter. Does this system work? Yes, but requires a lot of time and decrease in pleasure for most people. When people fail with the conventional advice, we just say they are not properly motivated.
Really though? People advocating >1 hour a day of tedious exercise? Most folks do not have the time or energy to dedicate to this kinda workout. They have families, work, friends, and tons of other concerns. If you enjoy sliding up and down an erg 1-2 hours a day, great--most people don't. They will quit. Thankfully, weight training and interval training is much more enjoyable for most people and more effective at building lean muscle mass, while shedding fat.
[/quote]
Exercise need not be tedious though motivation is certainly a factor, there are no free rides. Many people try to lose weight with the least effort possible, small wonder they fail. The issue of time is about arranging priorities, for example how many people who watch tv don't have "time" to exercise? As far as the amount of time required you can reduce that by increasing the intensity, once I hit the maintenance stage I only need 20 minutes per day.
I'm almost 50 and after 40 minutes per day of intense erging (at 95% or higher of PB test, 2 5K's) for two months it is now almost effortless. That is a great feeling and I certainly don't want that to go away. I erg using virtual racing software on a large screen and enjoy it very much. At work I go on a walk for 30 minutes every day with co-workers during lunch. Not tedious at all and my energy levels are way way up.
I'm not sure how weight training is more effective at losing weight, never worked for me and I injured myself several times doing it. It also requires a lot of equipment and I found the daily trek to the gym very tedious (driving, parking, etc.). I prefer a balance of lean muscle, strength and endurance and for that I believe only rowing, cross country skiing and swimming fit the bill.
We are on a threshold of a revolution in exercise which has been long overdue, the technology is there but isn't being adequately exploited. Once you combine exercise with gaming and/or online team/individual competitions it will explode.
Eat less.
Exercise more.
Eat less fat.
Eat more whole carbs.
Sounds great, but doesn't work for most people. We have been hitting everyone over the head with this plan for decades and we have gotten fatter. Does this system work? Yes, but requires a lot of time and decrease in pleasure for most people. When people fail with the conventional advice, we just say they are not properly motivated.
Really though? People advocating >1 hour a day of tedious exercise? Most folks do not have the time or energy to dedicate to this kinda workout. They have families, work, friends, and tons of other concerns. If you enjoy sliding up and down an erg 1-2 hours a day, great--most people don't. They will quit. Thankfully, weight training and interval training is much more enjoyable for most people and more effective at building lean muscle mass, while shedding fat.
[/quote]
Exercise need not be tedious though motivation is certainly a factor, there are no free rides. Many people try to lose weight with the least effort possible, small wonder they fail. The issue of time is about arranging priorities, for example how many people who watch tv don't have "time" to exercise? As far as the amount of time required you can reduce that by increasing the intensity, once I hit the maintenance stage I only need 20 minutes per day.
I'm almost 50 and after 40 minutes per day of intense erging (at 95% or higher of PB test, 2 5K's) for two months it is now almost effortless. That is a great feeling and I certainly don't want that to go away. I erg using virtual racing software on a large screen and enjoy it very much. At work I go on a walk for 30 minutes every day with co-workers during lunch. Not tedious at all and my energy levels are way way up.
I'm not sure how weight training is more effective at losing weight, never worked for me and I injured myself several times doing it. It also requires a lot of equipment and I found the daily trek to the gym very tedious (driving, parking, etc.). I prefer a balance of lean muscle, strength and endurance and for that I believe only rowing, cross country skiing and swimming fit the bill.
We are on a threshold of a revolution in exercise which has been long overdue, the technology is there but isn't being adequately exploited. Once you combine exercise with gaming and/or online team/individual competitions it will explode.
Sliding up and down an erg for longer than 15' is probably tedious for most people. As far as least effort possible? Have you ever seen people struggle to lose weight? They expend a considerable amount of effort. It is often effort placed in the wrong places: monotonous routines, worrying about losing weight and dieting, poor understanding of human motivation, etc.Liquid wrote:Exercise need not be tedious though motivation is certainly a factor, there are no free rides. Many people try to lose weight with the least effort possible, small wonder they fail.
Liquid wrote:The issue of time is about arranging priorities, for example how many people who watch TV don't have "time" to exercise?
This argument does not hold a lot of water. I love the "you do not need to watch TV" argument. People watch a ton of TV for myriads of reasons which simply cannot be fulfilled by exercising. Contemporary, western life is often a litany of moderate stressors. TV is viewed (rightly or wrongly) as a break from the tedium of everyday living. So exercise which seems like work is going to help? I don't think so.
Most people try successfully for a while to exercise, then quit. Why? If exercise is so great and more fulfilling than watching TV, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. For most people (not we obsessives), exercise will have to be contextualized better into daily life (work) or made more enjoyable (play).
You might be correct here. For some reason, people are attracted to the allure of online interaction. Online physical competition definitely would increase the enjoyment and purpose for training for many people. But would we be any healthier? Or just more fit? I am sure sport physicians are eagerly anticipating this utopia.Liquid wrote:We are on a threshold of a revolution in exercise which has been long overdue, the technology is there but isn't being adequately exploited. Once you combine exercise with gaming and/or online team/individual competitions it will explode.
Congratulations on finding a formula that works for you. It is great to find people who enjoy and benefit from physical exercise.
Jason
Jason,
I think a lot of the struggle to lose weight comes from avoidance of the real effort required to do so. These take the form of liposuction, stapling, fad diets and/or exercise plans that are unrealistic.
Exercise is a great anti-stressor and call also involve social aspects, you don't have to do it alone. Encouraging people to avoid stress by watching TV is a slippery slope, at that point you are not far from justifying overeating, consumption of alcohol and all sorts of other coping strategies which are unhealthy. A lot of kids would pick up on this and say watching TV is more fulfilling than studying for school. Besides with erging you can watch TV at the same time. The real point is that you should eliminate the stressors instead of treating the symptoms.
I'll cite some stories, two bad, one good from my personal experience:
I have a relative and his wife, both have been struggling to lose weight for 25 years. So far they haven't made any progress. Both of them enjoy spending 1-3 hours per day on average watching TV, only one exercises and infrequently. One tried liposuction, got a serious infection and the weight came back. They have been on many fad diets and are on one now which promises that you can eat as much as you want (lol). The first two weeks they were ebuillient after losing 11/13 lbs., a month later I checked in and the response was "I don't check my weight on the scale too much, you shouldn't be obsessed". Sure enough the weight had come back on.
My neighbor was told by her doctor that she had to lose weight or there would be medical consequences. She doesn't exercise and cites no time available although each day she is on the phone for 1-2 hours. Now her health is seriously at risk.
Back in the early 90's I knew this guy named Michael. He was tall and weighed about 320 lbs., ate a good deal and watched a lot of TV, didn't socialize much. I offered to drive him every day out to the track and walk (eventually run) with me. To my surprise he took me up on it and soon looked forward to our daily outings, we had interesting conversations and it was a lot of fun. He lost 50 lbs. and then I moved. I got in touch with him about a year later and was astonished. He had dropped down another 90 lbs. and was happier than he had been in a long time. Previously unemployed he found a job and ran 3 miles a day (20 minutes) which he easily fit into his schedule. He told me that he used to be depressed and at the time never believed that he had it in him to make that effort but once started it became easy.
Where I work now I have 2 people walking with me every day and they got addicted to it, both report losing weight within weeks, look foward to coming to work and even rush appointments to make sure they have time.
Maybe I'm just a optimist but I sincerely believe everyone has the potential to turn around, sometimes it just takes a little push and encouragement. As far as being obsessed I wouldn't characterize 20-25 mintues of exercise (to maintain weight) as anything like that, there is too much molly coddling going on nowadays.
I think a lot of the struggle to lose weight comes from avoidance of the real effort required to do so. These take the form of liposuction, stapling, fad diets and/or exercise plans that are unrealistic.
Exercise is a great anti-stressor and call also involve social aspects, you don't have to do it alone. Encouraging people to avoid stress by watching TV is a slippery slope, at that point you are not far from justifying overeating, consumption of alcohol and all sorts of other coping strategies which are unhealthy. A lot of kids would pick up on this and say watching TV is more fulfilling than studying for school. Besides with erging you can watch TV at the same time. The real point is that you should eliminate the stressors instead of treating the symptoms.
I'll cite some stories, two bad, one good from my personal experience:
I have a relative and his wife, both have been struggling to lose weight for 25 years. So far they haven't made any progress. Both of them enjoy spending 1-3 hours per day on average watching TV, only one exercises and infrequently. One tried liposuction, got a serious infection and the weight came back. They have been on many fad diets and are on one now which promises that you can eat as much as you want (lol). The first two weeks they were ebuillient after losing 11/13 lbs., a month later I checked in and the response was "I don't check my weight on the scale too much, you shouldn't be obsessed". Sure enough the weight had come back on.
My neighbor was told by her doctor that she had to lose weight or there would be medical consequences. She doesn't exercise and cites no time available although each day she is on the phone for 1-2 hours. Now her health is seriously at risk.
Back in the early 90's I knew this guy named Michael. He was tall and weighed about 320 lbs., ate a good deal and watched a lot of TV, didn't socialize much. I offered to drive him every day out to the track and walk (eventually run) with me. To my surprise he took me up on it and soon looked forward to our daily outings, we had interesting conversations and it was a lot of fun. He lost 50 lbs. and then I moved. I got in touch with him about a year later and was astonished. He had dropped down another 90 lbs. and was happier than he had been in a long time. Previously unemployed he found a job and ran 3 miles a day (20 minutes) which he easily fit into his schedule. He told me that he used to be depressed and at the time never believed that he had it in him to make that effort but once started it became easy.
Where I work now I have 2 people walking with me every day and they got addicted to it, both report losing weight within weeks, look foward to coming to work and even rush appointments to make sure they have time.
Maybe I'm just a optimist but I sincerely believe everyone has the potential to turn around, sometimes it just takes a little push and encouragement. As far as being obsessed I wouldn't characterize 20-25 mintues of exercise (to maintain weight) as anything like that, there is too much molly coddling going on nowadays.
Jason,
I think a lot of the struggle to lose weight comes from avoidance of the real effort required to do so. These take the form of liposuction, stapling, fad diets and/or exercise plans that are unrealistic.
Exercise is a great anti-stressor and call also involve social aspects, you don't have to do it alone. Encouraging people to avoid stress by watching TV is a slippery slope, at that point you are not far from justifying overeating, consumption of alcohol and all sorts of other coping strategies which are unhealthy. A lot of kids would pick up on this and say watching TV is more fulfilling than studying for school. Besides with erging you can watch TV at the same time. The real point is that you should eliminate the stressors instead of treating the symptoms.
I'll cite some stories, two bad, one good from my personal experience:
I have a relative and his wife, both have been struggling to lose weight for 25 years. So far they haven't made any progress. Both of them enjoy spending 1-3 hours per day on average watching TV, only one exercises and infrequently. One tried liposuction, got a serious infection and the weight came back. They have been on many fad diets and are on one now which promises that you can eat as much as you want (lol). The first two weeks they were ebuillient after losing 11/13 lbs., a month later I checked in and the response was "I don't check my weight on the scale too much, you shouldn't be obsessed". Sure enough the weight had come back on.
My neighbor was told by her doctor that she had to lose weight or there would be medical consequences. She doesn't exercise and cites no time available although each day she is on the phone for 1-2 hours. Now her health is seriously at risk.
Back in the early 90's I knew this guy named Michael. He was tall and weighed about 320 lbs., ate a good deal and watched a lot of TV, didn't socialize much. I offered to drive him every day out to the track and walk (eventually run) with me. To my surprise he took me up on it and soon looked forward to our daily outings, we had interesting conversations and it was a lot of fun. He lost 50 lbs. and then I moved. I got in touch with him about a year later and was astonished. He had dropped down another 90 lbs. and was happier than he had been in a long time. Previously unemployed he found a job and ran 3 miles a day (20 minutes) which he easily fit into his schedule. He told me that he used to be depressed and at the time never believed that he had it in him to make that effort but once started it became easy.
Where I work now I have 2 people walking with me every day and they got addicted to it, both report losing weight within weeks, look foward to coming to work and even rush appointments to make sure they have time.
Maybe I'm just a optimist but I sincerely believe everyone has the potential to turn around, sometimes it just takes a little push and encouragement. As far as being obsessed I wouldn't characterize 20-25 mintues of exercise (to maintain weight) as anything like that, there is too much molly coddling going on nowadays.
I think a lot of the struggle to lose weight comes from avoidance of the real effort required to do so. These take the form of liposuction, stapling, fad diets and/or exercise plans that are unrealistic.
Exercise is a great anti-stressor and call also involve social aspects, you don't have to do it alone. Encouraging people to avoid stress by watching TV is a slippery slope, at that point you are not far from justifying overeating, consumption of alcohol and all sorts of other coping strategies which are unhealthy. A lot of kids would pick up on this and say watching TV is more fulfilling than studying for school. Besides with erging you can watch TV at the same time. The real point is that you should eliminate the stressors instead of treating the symptoms.
I'll cite some stories, two bad, one good from my personal experience:
I have a relative and his wife, both have been struggling to lose weight for 25 years. So far they haven't made any progress. Both of them enjoy spending 1-3 hours per day on average watching TV, only one exercises and infrequently. One tried liposuction, got a serious infection and the weight came back. They have been on many fad diets and are on one now which promises that you can eat as much as you want (lol). The first two weeks they were ebuillient after losing 11/13 lbs., a month later I checked in and the response was "I don't check my weight on the scale too much, you shouldn't be obsessed". Sure enough the weight had come back on.
My neighbor was told by her doctor that she had to lose weight or there would be medical consequences. She doesn't exercise and cites no time available although each day she is on the phone for 1-2 hours. Now her health is seriously at risk.
Back in the early 90's I knew this guy named Michael. He was tall and weighed about 320 lbs., ate a good deal and watched a lot of TV, didn't socialize much. I offered to drive him every day out to the track and walk (eventually run) with me. To my surprise he took me up on it and soon looked forward to our daily outings, we had interesting conversations and it was a lot of fun. He lost 50 lbs. and then I moved. I got in touch with him about a year later and was astonished. He had dropped down another 90 lbs. and was happier than he had been in a long time. Previously unemployed he found a job and ran 3 miles a day (20 minutes) which he easily fit into his schedule. He told me that he used to be depressed and at the time never believed that he had it in him to make that effort but once started it became easy.
Where I work now I have 2 people walking with me every day and they got addicted to it, both report losing weight within weeks, look foward to coming to work and even rush appointments to make sure they have time.
Maybe I'm just a optimist but I sincerely believe everyone has the potential to turn around, sometimes it just takes a little push and encouragement. As far as being obsessed I wouldn't characterize 20-25 mintues of exercise (to maintain weight) as anything like that, there is too much molly coddling going on nowadays.
Jason,
I think a lot of the struggle to lose weight comes from avoidance of the real effort required to do so. These take the form of liposuction, stapling, fad diets and/or exercise plans that are unrealistic.
Exercise is a great anti-stressor and call also involve social aspects, you don't have to do it alone. Encouraging people to avoid stress by watching TV is a slippery slope, at that point you are not far from justifying overeating, consumption of alcohol and all sorts of other coping strategies which are unhealthy. A lot of kids would pick up on this and say watching TV is more fulfilling than studying for school. Besides with erging you can watch TV at the same time. The real point is that you should eliminate the stressors instead of treating the symptoms.
I'll cite some stories, two bad, one good from my personal experience:
I have a relative and his wife, both have been struggling to lose weight for 25 years. So far they haven't made any progress. Both of them enjoy spending 1-3 hours per day on average watching TV, only one exercises and infrequently. One tried liposuction, got a serious infection and the weight came back. They have been on many fad diets and are on one now which promises that you can eat as much as you want (lol). The first two weeks they were ebuillient after losing 11/13 lbs., a month later I checked in and the response was "I don't check my weight on the scale too much, you shouldn't be obsessed". Sure enough the weight had come back on.
My neighbor was told by her doctor that she had to lose weight or there would be medical consequences. She doesn't exercise and cites no time available although each day she is on the phone for 1-2 hours. Now despite her health being seriously at risk she still makes no effort. This affects her life in other ways as well as she frequently breaks promises made to her daughter because it involves her getting out of the house. She is only 30-40 lbs. overweight so it isn't due to a serious obesity. Call it what you want but I have one word for it, laziness. I've been there but the difference is that I admitted it and didn't pony up excuses. That isn't to say that there aren't people who are genuinely too busy though this represents a very tiny fraction of the population.
Back in the early 90's I knew this guy named Michael. He was tall and weighed about 320 lbs., ate a good deal and watched a lot of TV, didn't socialize much. I offered to drive him every day out to the track and walk (eventually run) with me. To my surprise he took me up on it and soon looked forward to our daily outings, we had interesting conversations and it was a lot of fun. He lost 50 lbs. and then I moved. I got in touch with him about a year later and was astonished. He had dropped down another 90 lbs. and was happier than he had been in a long time. Previously unemployed he found a job and ran 3 miles a day (20 minutes) which he easily fit into his schedule. He told me that he used to be depressed and at the time never believed that he had it in him to make that effort but once started it became easy.
Where I work now I have 2 people walking with me every day and they got addicted to it, both report losing weight within weeks, look foward to coming to work and even rush appointments to make sure they have time.
Maybe I'm just a optimist but I sincerely believe everyone has the potential to turn around, sometimes it just takes a little push and encouragement. I dislike defeatism and its corollary effects. As far as being obsessed I wouldn't characterize 20-25 mintues of exercise (to maintain weight) as anything like that, there is too much molly coddling going on nowadays. If you heart is in what you are doing then real change is not far behind.
I think a lot of the struggle to lose weight comes from avoidance of the real effort required to do so. These take the form of liposuction, stapling, fad diets and/or exercise plans that are unrealistic.
Exercise is a great anti-stressor and call also involve social aspects, you don't have to do it alone. Encouraging people to avoid stress by watching TV is a slippery slope, at that point you are not far from justifying overeating, consumption of alcohol and all sorts of other coping strategies which are unhealthy. A lot of kids would pick up on this and say watching TV is more fulfilling than studying for school. Besides with erging you can watch TV at the same time. The real point is that you should eliminate the stressors instead of treating the symptoms.
I'll cite some stories, two bad, one good from my personal experience:
I have a relative and his wife, both have been struggling to lose weight for 25 years. So far they haven't made any progress. Both of them enjoy spending 1-3 hours per day on average watching TV, only one exercises and infrequently. One tried liposuction, got a serious infection and the weight came back. They have been on many fad diets and are on one now which promises that you can eat as much as you want (lol). The first two weeks they were ebuillient after losing 11/13 lbs., a month later I checked in and the response was "I don't check my weight on the scale too much, you shouldn't be obsessed". Sure enough the weight had come back on.
My neighbor was told by her doctor that she had to lose weight or there would be medical consequences. She doesn't exercise and cites no time available although each day she is on the phone for 1-2 hours. Now despite her health being seriously at risk she still makes no effort. This affects her life in other ways as well as she frequently breaks promises made to her daughter because it involves her getting out of the house. She is only 30-40 lbs. overweight so it isn't due to a serious obesity. Call it what you want but I have one word for it, laziness. I've been there but the difference is that I admitted it and didn't pony up excuses. That isn't to say that there aren't people who are genuinely too busy though this represents a very tiny fraction of the population.
Back in the early 90's I knew this guy named Michael. He was tall and weighed about 320 lbs., ate a good deal and watched a lot of TV, didn't socialize much. I offered to drive him every day out to the track and walk (eventually run) with me. To my surprise he took me up on it and soon looked forward to our daily outings, we had interesting conversations and it was a lot of fun. He lost 50 lbs. and then I moved. I got in touch with him about a year later and was astonished. He had dropped down another 90 lbs. and was happier than he had been in a long time. Previously unemployed he found a job and ran 3 miles a day (20 minutes) which he easily fit into his schedule. He told me that he used to be depressed and at the time never believed that he had it in him to make that effort but once started it became easy.
Where I work now I have 2 people walking with me every day and they got addicted to it, both report losing weight within weeks, look foward to coming to work and even rush appointments to make sure they have time.
Maybe I'm just a optimist but I sincerely believe everyone has the potential to turn around, sometimes it just takes a little push and encouragement. I dislike defeatism and its corollary effects. As far as being obsessed I wouldn't characterize 20-25 mintues of exercise (to maintain weight) as anything like that, there is too much molly coddling going on nowadays. If you heart is in what you are doing then real change is not far behind.