Diet and Fitness Lifestyle – Missing The Point
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine who has recently lost about 20 pounds and looks really good (almost a perfect venus index)
She goes to the gym 4-5 times per week, mostly running and a bit of weights. Her diet is nothing special, she is a great cook and eats whatever foods she likes, no rules about carbs, fats, protein, wheat dairy yadda yadda. She just eats whatever she feels like for the day…BUT she just doesn’t overdo it with the total amount of food.
She often gets invited out for dinner with friends and on such occasions she will throw in a low calorie day or a fast just before the night out so she can afford to ‘eat big’ on the night out without it affecting her weight loss/maintenance goals.
Now here is where it gets messed up and where most people miss the point about the lifestyle of living lean and exercising.
Her friends actually criticize her for eating pizza or burgers or whatever happens to be the food of indulgence on said night out. In their minds she is the ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’ one and therefore they think and actually accuse her of being a hypocrite for eating pizza and burgers! (they can’t comprehend someone who is in good shape that can actually eat a burger and remain in good shape)
To them being fit and healthy means having a restrictive diet and never enjoying food and not partaking in social eating events that involve things like pizza burgers, chicken wings, etc, and being obsessive about exercise.
This of course is completely backwards and missing the entire point of being in shape in the first place.
The goal isn’t to be in shape in spite of your lifestyle, the point is to find a way to be in shape and enjoy the processes as it fits into your lifestyle.
It’s also about enjoying food and social gatherings without worrying about gaining weight or negatively affecting your health. (I think her system does this perfectly)
In total she probably only spends 7-8 hours per week working out (this isn’t much, I’ll bet most people spend more than this watching tv)…she spends zero time obsessing about food and eats freely (just not too much).
If you’re revamping your entire life in order to lose weight and ‘get healthy’ and in the process you end up losing out on social events, or eating foods you enjoy, or spend more time preparing and worrying about food and good foods vs bad foods, and going to the gym than socializing with friends and family…then you’re missing the whole point of being fit and in shape in the first place.
Unfortunately as this example demonstrates many people think that you can’t have both and might just forgo even trying because of what they erroneously think must be a difficult life.
But it’s actually really simple, and they’d find that out if only they would try.
I guess it’ll be our little secret for now.
John
14 Responses to “Diet and Fitness Lifestyle – Missing The Point”
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March 27th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Food is too good to not eat it. This is especially true when you get a craving for something, but a traditional diet tells you that you can’t eat it.
March 27th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
John: My friends believe that I must be working out like crazy to be now fitting into small jeans; they can’t comprehend that I literally go to the gym once per week and do no cardio right now whatsover, they can’t comprehend that I’m just eating low cal (2 small meals per day).
I try to tell them just to cut the calories, and they flip out and say, “that’s not healthy, your metabolism will go down!” or “your body will eat your muscle!” But this clearly isn’t true, as I’m gaining muscle circumference in the areas I’m working on (V taper)!
But here you must consider the source: these are 5’10 guys with size 36 jeans trying to tell me how my fitness regimen is wrong. Talk about the height of irony!
March 27th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
It’s a funny world we live in.
March 28th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
“she probably only spends 7-8 hours per week working out” lol… that’s more than what you recommend, that’s solid 1+hr in the gym, sorry but that’s not convincing. that’s more than what i-or most-are willing to do.
March 28th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
John, I have to agree with Manny at this point: 7-8 hrs per week is a lot for most people, especially considering commutes (unless you own your own weights) and showering / changing. It’s a lot to work into an evening if you work long hours most days.
That being said, you can still lose weight working out very little or not at all just by cutting calories (tho you should work out I think).
March 28th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Manny,
I don’t know what to say to you, an average of 1 hour per day just isn’t that much. She enjoys running and it’s her way of unwinding as well as staying in shape.
What is realistic to you?
JB
March 28th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
John: I know you didn’t ask, but realistic to me (meaning fitting into the majority of people’s schedules / willpower) is 4-5 hrs per week of some type of workout. There are studies that show that the longer a person can work out consistently, the more they enjoy it, so conceivably if you can start person on a program this length, the more “realistic” a 7-8 program a week becomes.
the other question is: how many hours to you”need?” I’m spending 3 hrs in the gym per week max and have lost 10 lbs since Jan 1 by adding caloric restriction, and it hasn’t been from my muscle circumference (except for the water weight loss the first day of restriction, after my circumference has been static or gone up).
March 29th, 2010 at 2:08 am
Anthony,
There is some data to suggest we need at least an hour per day of vigorous movement for improving overall ‘health’ parameters (typical measurements)
Most north american people simply don’t move enough. Levine suggests that we should be moving (walking counts) around 2.5 hrs per day…and I know for sure most people don’t do this unless their job requires it.
In general we’re just really sedentary and could stand to move much more than we do. From my perspective even 7-8 hours per week is very low. They don’t all have to be high intensity exercise sessions, but we definitely need to move more.
JB
March 29th, 2010 at 9:30 am
John:
I actually almost went and asked you how much is appropriate for “health” but I was worried about getting into the “what is health” debate again. Heh.
I coimpletely agree ppl should be active every day but I just don’t think it’s realistic to think they ever would
March 29th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Just thought I’d chime in on what amount of time spent working out is reasonable. Personally I think it’s a matter of time management and prioritizing. John is correct when he said that most people spend more than 7-8 hours per week watching tv. Even people who don’t watch tv that much spend an equal amount of time or more on things that could be replaced with time in the gym. 7-8 hours per week in the gym isn’t necessary to improve the way your body looks, but it’s definitely not unreasonable. As a student (22 years old) and working 50 hrs per week I can manage this type of schedule without burning myself out. If getting in shape is high enough on your priority list, you will make time for it.
March 29th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Yeah, I would say 7- in the gym isnt a whole lot considering a lot of people spend hours in the gym every single day, Im probably there for 2 hours 4 times a week which is about all I have time for, On the other hand one of my buddies is there every day the gym is open (it shows) and his workouts are about twice as long as mine are.
March 29th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Does standing count as NEAT? For a few weeks, I kept track of how long I was off my butt each day (walking, standing, various activities.) If I remember correctly, I think I was averaging around 3-3.5 hours per day. Not including standing, it would have been much lower.
Does anybody have any specific activities that they do to increase NEAT?
March 29th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Anthony, it may also seem unrealistic to ask people to reduce their calorie intake, but it must be done.
Not that I entirely disagree with you. But I do believe that what is “realistic” or “unrealistic” can change as someone improves their mental state (commitment, discipline, stop making excuses, taking charge, etc.) What was unrealistic can become realistic as one changes.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
From an AskMen.com article, i laughed:
Myth No. 6: You shouldn’t eat before cardio if you want to lose body fat
The truth: This is a much debated topic, and it basically boils down to the type of cardio you are doing. If it is a steady-state, moderately paced workout, then you don’t need to eat; working out on an empty stomach may even help you access your fat stores faster. If you plan on doing HIIT sprints, however, you must eat beforehand. This type of cardio requires glucose for fuel, ******** so not eating will throw your body into a catabolic state (during which you burn muscle tissue) ********** and you won’t even be able to maintain the intensity this workout requires. You are best off eating a small meal that contains carbohydrates and protein about an hour beforehand