"Obesity is a disease not a decision"

[lewdog]

This is a new campaign that the American Medical Association actually declared obesity a disease! Billboards with this phrase are popping up around the country.

I've worked out for 10 years straight and I definitely sacrifice eating shit food even though I enjoy it just as much as the next guy. THIS IS A DECISION I HAVE CONSCIOUSLY MADE.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/da...n-disease.html

Discuss....

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I'm a big believer in not going cold turkey. Just start with small steps and in all honestly, you don't have to just quit the booze right away.

Start replacing the high from alcohol with exercise (endorphin high) and positive reinforcement from your physical changes. Reward yourself with alcohol/food from time to time. Shit, even I do that every weekend!

Any questions, please ask.

Thanks brother. I promise I will. I remember the high I got from exercising. I'm going to try and chase that one in the morning before work. I may be sore, but I know mentally I'll feel great! I appreciate you, man. I may lean on you as you'll allow me too as I move forward. Talk to Silock, I was all over him the last time I did this and I probably wore him out. I don't want to put him through it again.

[Silock]

It's all good, bro. You can if you want. Didn't put me out at all.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Silock

It's all good, bro. You can if you want. Didn't put me out at all.

Well, I appreciate it. You were a huge help to me back then, and I hate that it all went to shit after all the information you gave me, and advice, and whatnot. Thank you though. I'll be in touch I'm sure.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This thread, of course, devolves into Gym Rats versus Regular Guys.

I can't wait to see the current Gym Rats in 20 years when they've spent the overwhelming majority of that time behind a desk 40 hours a week, dealt with infants, their wives and hormones, more work, four birthday parties every weekend, etc.

Let's see how you feel about hitting the gym when you've worked eight hours a day, then wake up six times a night to take care of your baby, then deal with weekends filled with more kids.

I work on office job, have a one year old and a six year old, a wife, and all that shit. You can always find an excuse to not work out, eat right, etc. You can also always find time to work out. Sprint 8 takes twenty minutes three times a week. Putting down the fork takes no time at all.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

I work on office job, have a one year old and a six year old, a wife, and all that shit. You can always find an excuse to not work out, eat right, etc. You can also always find time to work out. Sprint 8 takes twenty minutes three times a week. Putting down the fork takes no time at all.

You are bliss.

[Pepe Silvia]

How about those 800 pound bastards that they used to have on talk shows and shit? I remember this guy never left his bed, thats a ****ing disgrace. They needed a fork lift to get him out.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

You are bliss.

Nay...I am but a man.

Seriously, though, I said the same shit for years and watched my weight creep up on me. I was never "fat"...but I was fat. I stepped on a scale one day and went "holy shit...I'm 25 pounds heavier than I was when I graduated college a decade ago." A little over a year later, I'm almost 25 pounds lighter and have good muscle tone.

I was out boating and drinking with friends this weekend. The guys were all in our trunks, and it was weird. I was surrounded by fat guys who didn't realize how fat they were. I know this because I was one of them just a year ago. When you look in the mirror the right way, you can convince yourself that you still look okay...but you don't. When all of your friends have beer guts, you can convince yourself that it's just an inevitable part of life...but it's not.

Ten years from now, there's a strong possibility that I will be 25 pounds heavier again. At the very least, hopefully I've set the clock back a decade. I'd like to think that I won't gain it all back. If I do, though, I'm not going to blame genetics or metabolism or the fact that I'm a busy man with a family and a job and no time to stay fit. If I gain it all back, it's because I chose to eat too much and work out too little.

I could sit on my ass watching sports, drinking beer, and eating deep-fried gravy all day every day and love every minute of it. Because I don't want to be fat and unattractive, I stop eating when I'm full instead of when my plate is empty. I run when I'd rather be watching television. I do pushups even though I ****ing HATE doing pushups.

Vanity is what keeps me from letting myself go. It's really no more complicated than that. When my laziness exceeds my vanity, I'll find excuses to eat when I should be working out...and when I weigh 200 pounds instead of 161 pounds, I'll either be disgusted enough to swing the balance back in favor of vanity, or I won't.

It's all a lot more simple than we make it out to be. (Actually, those who are in shape make it simple...those who aren't try to pretend its complicated). Calories in have to be less than calories out. Work out...or don't. Four beers and a skinless chicken breast while watching the game at the bar or ten beers and a mountain of wings. I still choose the latter over the former way too often, but just being disciplined six times out of ten instead of one time or even zero times out of ten makes a tremendous difference.

[keg in kc]

When you're out of shape, it actually can be complicated, and the older you get, the more complicated it becomes. Because, let's face it, change ain't easy, and it doesn't get any easier as time passes. You can throw out all the platitudes you want about calories in versus calories out and exercising versus being sedentary, but if it was easy, man, everybody would be thin. What's easy is getting fat, staying fat, and getting fatter.

I wish I'd never gotten out of shape in my 20s. I wish I'd never gotten even worse in my 30s. Life would be so much easier for me now. But I did. And now I get to pay the price for it. It's slow, it's hard, and I **** up all the time. Hell, it's like an annual thing where I get just in spitting distance of 200 and then blow back up to 220. Eventually I'll figure it out. I hope.

Although knowing me, I'll just find something else to bitch about if I'm ever in the 190s. It just ain't in me to be happy with myself.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

When you're out of shape, it actually can be complicated, and the older you get, the more complicated it becomes. Because, let's face it, change ain't easy, and it doesn't get any easier as time passes. You can throw out all the platitudes you want about calories in versus calories out and exercising versus being sedentary, but if it was easy, man, everybody would be thin. What's easy is getting fat, staying fat, and getting fatter.

I wish I'd never gotten out of shape in my 20s. I wish I'd never gotten even worse in my 30s. Life would be so much easier for me now. But I did. And now I get to pay the price for it. It's slow, it's hard, and I **** up all the time. Hell, it's like an annual thing where I get just in spitting distance of 200 and then blow back up to 220. Eventually I'll figure it out. I hope.

Although knowing me, I'll just find something else to bitch about if I'm ever in the 190s. It just ain't in me to be happy with myself.

No one said it was easy.

That doesn't make it a disease, though (not that you're saying it is).

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Silock

No one said it was easy.

That doesn't make it a disease, though (not that you're saying it is).

My comment was more in reference to "(Actually, those who are in shape make it simple...those who aren't try to pretend its complicated)."

Perhaps I should have said it isn't simple.

I think it's fair to say that it's less of a struggle for people who are in shape and have never been out of shape. That's not to say it's easy for them, either, but I do think it's a bit easier to maintain a lifestyle that you're already accustomed to than it is to completely change what you're used to (note that this comment cuts both ways...). And it's doubly hard to change an old lifestyle and then maintain the new one. People seem to have a tendency to slip up.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

My comment was more in reference to "(Actually, those who are in shape make it simple...those who aren't try to pretend its complicated)."

Perhaps I should have said it isn't simple.

Well, the actual process may not be easy, but the concept of "eat less than you burn" is quite simple.

It's just hard to do, even for those of us that are in shape.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

If you guys would just eat an all protein diet and work out two hours every day, obesity would be eradicated.

I work out six hours a week, tops, and half that is biking.

My personal philosophy has always been you probably waste several hours a week doing something stupid/destructive, like watching TV...so why not work out?

[Lurk]

Eat less, move more.

It is difficult to break old habits, but that is just an excuse. So is justifying the cost of real food vs processed food.

I am 36, a father, work more than 40 a week mostly behind a computer. I realized how heavy I had gotten. Did research and then did something about it. Did I do it right? No, I am sure that I could have done it more efficiently. But I did it. It all starts with committing to it, then eating less and moving more.

Family commitments is an issue. I have to get up at 4 am to get my workout in so that I have time for the family. I eat less cals on the days that I have birthday parties/family functions. It is all about taking personal responsibility for yourself and your choices.

Obesity is not a disease. A disease is a simple way of labeling it to take personal responsibility out of the equation and justify poor choices.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

It may not be the best way to lose weight, but it's certainly better than sitting on your ass watching TV.

My generation didn't spend all day playing video games. We were outside doing something active, sunrise to sunset. Stickball, street hockey, touch football, tennis - hell, we made up games to play.

Sadly, it's my generation that is allowing obesity to become an epidemic among children. Buying the PS3 because everyone else has one, then allowing thier kid to sit on it for hours on end.

Going through the drive thru and feeding your kids garbage because you're in a hurry or because you can't say boo to your kid.

Instead of blaming "big food", people can take personal responsibility for their predicament and do something to change their habits. It's not going to happen overnight. Small steps can lead to big change.

There's also the fact that fewer and fewer jobs every year require any physical labor. A days work use to mean a days work for most people. Now we have tons of desk jobs and computers and machines do do the actual work for us...

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This thread, of course, devolves into Gym Rats versus Regular Guys.

I can't wait to see the current Gym Rats in 20 years when they've spent the overwhelming majority of that time behind a desk 40 hours a week, dealt with infants, their wives and hormones, more work, four birthday parties every weekend, etc.

Let's see how you feel about hitting the gym when you've worked eight hours a day, then wake up six times a night to take care of your baby, then deal with weekends filled with more kids.

It's all just a matter of priorities. Some people actually have MORE motivation to stay in shape after having kids. It makes it easier to keep up with them as they get older.