Do you Define Yourself With Food and Exercise?
When I was a kid the Mr Men books were the best ones in the school library. Maybe because they were small and square with big pictures and very few words, or maybe it was how simple the message was.
If you’ve ever seen a Mr Men book you’ll know what I’m talking about. There is Mr Strong, Mr Topsy Turvy, Mr Happy, Mr Tickles and so on.
Each one of them is defined by one thing. Mr Strong is strong, Mr Happy is happy.
Obviously you are more complex than a Mr Men character but where do you draw the line as to what defines you?
Do you allow your eating pattern to play a role in your definition of yourself?
Do you allow your workout routine to play a similar role?
For example you might hear someone define themselves as a paleo bodybuilder, or a vegan powerlifter, or a locavore runner.
It seems like people have a need to fit into some sort of community and have a thirst for definitions of their own identity. And this is precisely where the diet/health/fitness industry can take advantage of you and offer you a new definition for yourself (at a rather expensive price).
In most cases the industry will hand you a vague and ambiguous term that has little meaning once you take the time to inspect it with any real inquiry and depth. Each identity comes with a full list of books you must read to be labelled a true version of their group along with lifestyle practices that only the truest of the true will follow.
A rational view of each will reveal that they are nothing more than clever marketing gimmicks that people cling to because of the apparent human need for a personal definition and a group or crowd to identify with.
As long as you allow fitness and nutrition industry marketers to influence the definition of who you are, you will always be susceptible to purchasing the next gimmick or fad.
So how do you define yourself when it comes to diet and exercise? (please leave a comment if you feel so inclined)
I’ll start:
I eat whatever food I happen to want at that moment and do so mostly because i like eating all kinds of food, and for the goal of maintaining my waist to shoulder ratio (AI ratio).
I workout with weights for the purpose of building and maintaining my AI ratio as well.
John
10 Responses to “Do you Define Yourself With Food and Exercise?”
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January 4th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Can’t keep it as short as yours, but here goes anyway:
I average 14 hours of exercise per week, through a combination of sports, lifting weights and doing cardio (like spinning classes). I try to push myself to my physical limits often, and I work hard. I’ve had people tell me at the end of a spinning class that seeing me work so hard motivated them to push themselves. That makes me feel good, because not only did I get a great workout, but I helped someone else get a great workout, too.
The reason I go and work so hard is so I can continually improve as a soccer player. I want to be the fastest and strongest guy on the field, an be able to run at the end of the game just as hard as I run at the beginning. I always strive to be the hardest working player on the field. I may not be the best, but at least I’ll be giving it all that I’ve got. I never want a lack of preparation to be the reason for my failures. I try to take that approach with the rest of my life, too.
As for food, I tend to eat whatever I want, but I always want to eat healthy. I eat out only once or twice per month and don’t keep sweets in the house, so it makes it easy to eat well. If I do indulge, I try to make sure it’s something that’s not too bad, like an extra 6 oz of grilled steak or chicken. I plan on being active for the rest of my life, but if something catastrophic happens where I’m not able to, I’d like to think that making eating healthy a priority now will keep me on track to eating healthy for the rest of my life.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I lift weights 3 times a week and I like to do some form of cardio 4-5 days a week. I do all of this because A. It helps me relax at the end of the day B. Aesthetic reason (everybody works out because of this) C. It makes pretty much everything I do easier (lifting boxes, yard work, ect.)
As for food I just eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and only have sweets every once and awhile. I think this will help me stay healthy for the rest of my life (my goal is to be 100).
January 4th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
I can completely understand. I’m a martial artist and martial arts can get kind of compartmentalised and religious just like certain fitness circles. I think it’s just human nature for people to wanna feel like they are a part of something to define themselves by. As far as myself, I welcome anything that brings growth in a positive way.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:55 am
Rahim,
I’m with you on the point about welcoming things that help us grow.
JB
January 5th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
I enjoy strength training three times a week, always striving to another rep or add a few pounds onto to the bar. I got a TRX for Christmas and I’ve been playing with that twice a week now too. Pushing yourself and getting better at whatever you choose is what we all want isn’t it?
I eat a lot of steak, chicken, eggs, and potatoes because I like them them. I snack on fruits because they are tasty.
I don’t really identify myself with any “sub-culture” or exercise style because my identity is found in Jesus Christ. I’m secure in my relationship with Him.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Other than simply eating less, my main focus has been breaking two bad habits: eating huge meals and “grazing” in the kitchen. I’ve succeeded at the former over the last few weeks, and I just started on the latter yesterday. I would also define myself as a beginner, for sure. So, I would say: I’m a beginner who’s been successful at breaking some bad habits, and just getting started at eating less. Yep, that’s about it.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Hi John, i sent you an email 2 days ago, did you receive it? I sent it to john@adoniseffect.com.
Thanks
January 5th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
I’ll be honest about this. I noticed that when I was low carbing it (i did LC for 2 yrs), I felt “stronger” or “better” than people who ate what they wanted without regard.
But then there were times when eating out or eating on special occasions that I felt left out a little because i could only eat non-starchy veggies and meat (with no sauces or anything of course:)) (I think I read about mental things like this as being “orthorexic”)
So I guess I let LC define me so to speak. It’s a weird relationship that people have with food sometimes. One that I still fight with a little.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Mr or Mrs Webmaster i just had a popup from my antivirus when i opened your page do you happen to know how come this occured? Could it maybe from your ads or something? Thanks, really odd i pray it was harmless?
January 7th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
thanks for the heads up…everything on my end seems ok
JB