paleo plaeo wrote:
Changing energy expenditure (exercising more, or exercising less) does virtually nothing to body composition when people eat "as much as they want." This has been known for a very long time--people simply eat more, in response to exercising more, or eat less, in response to exercising less.
So your telling me the 300 lb. blobs I see in McDonalds are actually marathoners who eat more because they're running so much?
Blowing.Rock Master wrote:
paleo plaeo wrote:Changing energy expenditure (exercising more, or exercising less) does virtually nothing to body composition when people eat "as much as they want." This has been known for a very long time--people simply eat more, in response to exercising more, or eat less, in response to exercising less.
So your telling me the 300 lb. blobs I see in McDonalds are actually marathoners who eat more because they're running so much?
To be good at running, and avoid injuries, it is advantageous to be lean and light. Hence the people who excel at, and stick with running, generally are.
People are fat because they eat a full Sunday dinner couple of times a day every day.
Welcome, my friend, to America ...
I've decided if you could fit naked into a Renaissance painting, you are fine. Look around, this standard is pretty rare ... And when I was 12 i thought they were fat.
changing priorities.
In your 20's (and single) you can go to the gym and workout everyday for 2 hours. I was 'competing' with other 20 somethings for chicks. I was "entry" level in my career or still a student so my physical fitness was the basis for my self-esteem.
In my 30's, paying the bills (mortgage, school loans, etc) is my priority. I still get in half to 1 hour of running, but no more going to the gym. At one point working out stopped altogether to give the career a boost. There is no way the wife would let me workout the 2 to 3 hours a day I used to when I was 25. Nor would it be healthy for our relationship given that we're away from each other already 10 to 12 hours (commuting and work). I don't have kids yet but I can imagine that would probably take out the half to 1 hour I got for serious running.
Then there's indirect peer pressure, in the sense that all my friends got fat, so it made it ok to let myself go if I wanted to.
Finally, it's harder to recover from the same workouts that I did when I was younger, so they're scaled back to prevent injury. I still run repeat 200's but they're at 35 seconds instead of the sub 30's I used to crank out.
weighed 150 in my 20's, got up to 175 at age 35, now 157 at age 38.
Possibly the wealthier you are makes a difference.
Notice that the rich are generally slim, whereas it’s amongst the poor that obesity runs riot.
interested-observer wrote:
desk jobs. Loss of freedom. Frequent uses of cars. Lack of walking... and so on.,. all work related
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Yes. And, as you get older your metabolism slows. So, when you are in your 20's and running often, you have a combination of a high metabolism and a high volume of exercise. This will keep a person thin.
Now, take most of that away. College is over. Job requires some extra hours. Maybe even children and family duties. And, while in their 30's many people eat like they were still 20 and training alot. This makes people gain weight.
Lots of reply's, but little accurate info.
Here is a very quick explaination.
The main reason is a change in homrone prodcution. Your body produses less hgh and testosterone as you age. This leads to less lean muscle mass. Less lean muscle mass means less calories burned per day. You eat like you always did but you don't burn the calories.
The hormone production also explains why the body ages and athletic performances decline/recovery gets worse.
Are you in your mid 30s and as fit as you were in your early 20s?
If so, do you have a job, kids, and a spouse?
If so, are you good at your job, a good parent and a good spouse?
If yes to all of the above, kudos, you are rare.
If no to any of the above, then come back and ask us the same question when you are. I suspect the answer will be self evident.
I know. But some are still looking for a cheap way out.
has no one mentioned the fact that your metabolism goes down as you age?
someonestolemyname wrote:
has no one mentioned the fact that your metabolism goes down as you age?
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Read my post about 3 or 4 before yours. It talks directly about slowing metabolism as you age.
Also, we should consider that we come from an age where our parents told us to go outside. Today, parents usually do not do that.
I remember riding my bike everywhere. I'll bet I rode 15-20 miles a day after it was addedup. Now, that would be over 10 hours, but it was usually 2 miles here, 3 miles there, etc.
I remember eating dinner, and then eating a pbj about 1 hour later. I was always skinny.
manxman wrote:
Possibly the wealthier you are makes a difference.
Notice that the rich are generally slim, whereas it’s amongst the poor that obesity runs riot.
I think you are right to an extent, but fwiw, I am very wealthy at age 32 and most of my friends are overweight (most of them are wealthy too). I have a few lean friends but they tend to be the type that will always be lean. They are not necessarily fit, just thin.
I still run every single day, but it gets harder and harder as I get older. With kids, wife and demanding job, it is just more difficult to find the time. I think Kilgore has it right. Sure, metabolisms slow down, that is obvious, but that doesn't mean we all have to get fat.
Work is what is causing all of this obesity in our nation. Too many people sitting behind desks all day long.
Luckily, I work for a man who keeps an elliptical in the office and he uses it twice a day for an hour each time. This guy is 60 and a maniac. He understands if i leave to go run, although without a shower, it is sometimes hard to schedule. If I have a client meeting in the afternoon, I really cannot run.
Typically, I get up and run in the morning, but that limits my sleep and morning time with the family. I usually get home from work around 6 or 6:30, and since my kids go to bed around 8 or 8:30, i cannot run or I wouldn't see them at all, not to mention i would be absent from dinner every night.
Honestly, work really f***s up Americans health. i wish we had a siesta, i would run the whole time if we instituted that.
38 year old dude wrote:
changing priorities.
In your 20's (and single) you can go to the gym and workout everyday for 2 hours. I was 'competing' with other 20 somethings for chicks. I was "entry" level in my career or still a student so my physical fitness was the basis for my self-esteem.
In my 30's, paying the bills (mortgage, school loans, etc) is my priority. I still get in half to 1 hour of running, but no more going to the gym. At one point working out stopped altogether to give the career a boost. There is no way the wife would let me workout the 2 to 3 hours a day I used to when I was 25. Nor would it be healthy for our relationship given that we're away from each other already 10 to 12 hours (commuting and work). I don't have kids yet but I can imagine that would probably take out the half to 1 hour I got for serious running.
Then there's indirect peer pressure, in the sense that all my friends got fat, so it made it ok to let myself go if I wanted to.
Finally, it's harder to recover from the same workouts that I did when I was younger, so they're scaled back to prevent injury. I still run repeat 200's but they're at 35 seconds instead of the sub 30's I used to crank out.
weighed 150 in my 20's, got up to 175 at age 35, now 157 at age 38.
38 year old dude....your life mirrors mine in every respect...just out of curiosity...what have your times looked like over the past 10 years....interested in the decline (hope not much)
eventually modern American diet gets you
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes/dp/1400040787
Same reason so many teens and even pre-teens today are fat. They eat too much crap and don't get enough exercise.
He may make a few good points, but taubes is also full of a lot of crap. Just because someone writes a book doesn't make them a reliable source of information.
(for example, he has said EXACTLY the following: dieting and exercise won't make you thinner. Yes, cutting calories and working out more won't make you lose weight. Only following his silly anti-carb crusade will. But....he's wrong. )
Young and Wealthy wrote:
Work is what is causing all of this obesity in our nation. Too many people sitting behind desks all day long.
well said...if we even cut the workday by 2 hrs a day i think people would be healthier.
postcard wrote:
well said...if we even cut the workday by 2 hrs a day i think people would be healthier.
No kidding, and make it mid-to-late afternoon.
I would gladly work until 7 every night if I had 3-5 off. I'd run home, grab my kids in their stroller, run with them for an hour and run back to work. I'd still run in the AM a few days a week.
Here is the thing, consider that most people are not runners. Even if you get off right at 5pm, half the year it is dark and cold. Like any of these people are going to actually go outside and work out.
Sometimes you just sit and wonder how our culture got to a point where we shut ourselves inside, in one chair all day long, every single day. How did that happen? Do we really need all of these knowledge workers?
I read Crawford's Shop Class as Soul Craft, as many of you did, I am sure, but it doesn't really answer those questions.
All you guys are just discriminating weightists who think everyone should look like them.