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I have not let myself go. I'm single and figure if there's any hope left of finding Mr. Right, he would much rather his Miss Right be reasonably in shape.
I'm no barbie doll, currently about a size 10, but after two years of being depressed over a bad break up, I'm taking steps to improve my looks and attitude. I signed up to run a half marathon later this year and am training towards that goal. In the process I hope to lose about 20-25 pounds. My goal is to be a size 6
Several of my friends and co-workers have "let themselves go" and I don't really know why. They were so thin and beautiful when they were younger. Now they've been married for a decade or more, have a couple kids, and weigh a good 50-75 pounds more than they used to. I get together with certain groups of friends and I'm the skinny one I used to be the fat one by far. I weigh slightly less than I did in high school and college now. I can't say the same about any of my college friends.
People can go ahead and say that because I'm single and don't have kids it's easier for me to exercise and eat right. Well, everyone has to eat and it's a choice to eat a salad, or hit the drive thru for a burger. You can incorporate exercise with your kids activities. Whatever happened to kids going outside to play in the park? Ride bikes together, take walks, play ball in the backyard. Taking care of yourself starts early. My parents never encouraged me to exercise and I was the overweight kid the others made fun of in school. If I did have kids I would make sure they never had to suffer the teasing that I did. Then again, I don't think kids today care as much about being the "fat kid" because the majority of kids are overweight. It's really sad.
I am 47, single, have a good job but it's very demanding and high stress, and the more stress and demands i have the more $$ I will make, it's that kind of job
I am a workaholic, have no intimate relationship and not many social supports. I have a bad initial reaction to stressors but shortly i am told i actually tolerate stress and pressure very well.
2 years ago I was told i was overweight (240 actual wt vs ideal is 160), had metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. My BP is well controlled on meds and i don't have any diabetic complications. I was told to get down to 200 but it doesn't work
I was just taken off diabetic meds due to stability(a1c is under 6) and started a biking program last spring. Due to the winter weather i stopped between Nov-march(I hate clubs and have no patience for all this "the gym, the gym" talk) but started again last week. The biking which i do close to 7 days a week, 3-4 miles per day (not much compared to other bikers but great for my health) dropped my trigycerides from 240(hi) to 98(very good) and my cholesterol (never a problem anyway) from 167 to 140, LDL and HDL are very good
unfortunately what the biking cannot do is shed the pounds. I seem to have a nasty weakness for cheese and rich foods and i have a problem with portion control. otherwise I'm excellent at avoiding sugary stuff, machine foods, I suppose this is why my blood readings are relatively good for an overweight person. no matter what i do i am overeating and buying cheese all the time and eating it like a mouse. never cheesecake mind you, just cheese in the raw. hate sugar, but love salty and gourmet foods. butterfly shrimp with bacon, gourmet veal, chicken, seafood in lemon/egg sauce, those kinds of things, i generally avoid fried stuff
the biking will reduce my triglycerides again and make me feel good but it will not shed pounds and this cycle will continue if i don't do something
i have 2 venti drip coffees from starbucks every AM before i even get to work and then after lunch a medium iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts with a shot of espresso(I forgot to say I am a nasty coffee junkie too)
Should i tone down the coffee? maybe it's making me too hungry?
Any ideas about this?
BTW, I have no vices or bad habits, no smoking, drinking but i wonder if i will ever outlive my dad(passed at 78 4 months ago). mom is a health fanatic and kept him rail thin and his cholesterol was 120
I am not into cycling, but it's supposedly good cardiovascular exercise.
Reading this post, the red flags are your diet. It's great you avoid sugary foods as they are not healthy; but, cheese: loaded with fat. Bacon? FAT!
Veal and chicken aren't bad but it depends how the dish is prepared.
If you are willing to try this, join a gym and rather than cycling, use the treadmill and run/jog/walk. Build up your tolerance. If your knees can take it. If the treadmill is too demanding at first, use an elliptical cardio machine (it's much easier on the knees).
With a healthy diet and with lots of cardio each week, fat can be lost. Someone I know did this recently: he lost 10 pounds in one month.
Good luck, and great job staying away from the sugary foods. Congratulations on the success w/ your diabetes medication. And coffee - tone it down a bit. you don't want too much caffeine.
I have not let myself go. I'm single and figure if there's any hope left of finding Mr. Right, he would much rather his Miss Right be reasonably in shape.
I'm no barbie doll, currently about a size 10, but after two years of being depressed over a bad break up, I'm taking steps to improve my looks and attitude. I signed up to run a half marathon later this year and am training towards that goal. In the process I hope to lose about 20-25 pounds. My goal is to be a size 6
Several of my friends and co-workers have "let themselves go" and I don't really know why. They were so thin and beautiful when they were younger. Now they've been married for a decade or more, have a couple kids, and weigh a good 50-75 pounds more than they used to. I get together with certain groups of friends and I'm the skinny one I used to be the fat one by far. I weigh slightly less than I did in high school and college now. I can't say the same about any of my college friends.
People can go ahead and say that because I'm single and don't have kids it's easier for me to exercise and eat right. Well, everyone has to eat and it's a choice to eat a salad, or hit the drive thru for a burger. You can incorporate exercise with your kids activities. Whatever happened to kids going outside to play in the park? Ride bikes together, take walks, play ball in the backyard. Taking care of yourself starts early. My parents never encouraged me to exercise and I was the overweight kid the others made fun of in school. If I did have kids I would make sure they never had to suffer the teasing that I did. Then again, I don't think kids today care as much about being the "fat kid" because the majority of kids are overweight. It's really sad.
I have to agree with this.
Just because the kids like fatty foods, etc., it doesn't mean they can't be taught to eat healthy foods. Drenching their salad with processed dressings which are loaded with high fructose corn syrup is a bad choice; a lighter, simple mix of balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil with salt and pepper is MUCH better. Why go for breaded meats? Grill or broil them. Peanut butter is great (I still eat it) but go for lighter versions w/ less fat. Skin the chicken. Trim the fat from pork chops and steaks. Have the kids always eat lots of veggies. Hold the butter. Use fat-free cooking sprays that taste like butter. Feed the kids fruit rather than candy.
I will not judge parents who have children - I see my friends and it's tough. One of my friends has a wife who at 37 (she turns 38 this year) has 3 kids. She's still quite slim and in good shape (can't say the same for him, haha).
But, exercise is a choice and it's a healthy one.
I'm a lot heavier now than when I was college or high school - but that's because I weighed about 145lbs when I was 17. I was thin. I have put on fat, I don't deny it; I could lose 10-15 lbs and look MUCH leaner... but I'm bulking (working out to add mass) at the moment. ANd compared to my early 20s, I'm a lot thicker and bulkier muscle-wise.
Like you, when Ms. Right and I meet, I want to be healthy, fit, and strong.
It seems like you are disgusted with your friend...I t is not hard for people to let themselves go sometimes life change and other things does not seem as important. Everyone is different and is not meant to look the same. Help her out and encourage her because being disgusted with her and avoiding I 'm sure is not helping her one bit.
how people live, or choose to live, is none of your business.
If a person doesn't want to care for their health, why should your uptight opinion be of any consequence?
I'll tell you why. Because almost all of today's leading illnesses are directly related to lifestyle choices. Heart disease, cancer, Type II diabetes, etc. can all be traced to a person's eating habits. As a people, Americans are sicker than ever because we do such a lousy job taking care of ourselves. You may think another person's bad habits don't affect you, but they do. For every person who develops heart disease, cancer or some other illness because of their excess weight, health care costs go up. That means health care premiums go up for everyone. So you and I are basically paying for other people's bad habits. And it doesn't end there. Businesses are feeling the pinch too. Next to salary, the biggest labor-related expense is health insurance. And it's rising faster than any other expense. Why do you think companies have been outsourcing jobs? It isn't just to find workers who'll work for less. It's also because hiring workers here is becoming too expensive. This is why I hope health care reform happens this year. But no matter what reform comes about, people need to take responsibility for their health. We all share the same health care system and the people who abuse it are costing the rest of us, not just money, but for some of us, our jobs.
I'll tell you why. Because almost all of today's leading illnesses are directly related to lifestyle choices. Heart disease, cancer, Type II diabetes, etc. can all be traced to a person's eating habits. As a people, Americans are sicker than ever because we do such a lousy job taking care of ourselves. You may think another person's bad habits don't affect you, but they do. For every person who develops heart disease, cancer or some other illness because of their excess weight, health care costs go up. That means health care premiums go up for everyone. So you and I are basically paying for other people's bad habits. And it doesn't end there. Businesses are feeling the pinch too. Next to salary, the biggest labor-related expense is health insurance. And it's rising faster than any other expense. Why do you think companies have been outsourcing jobs? It isn't just to find workers who'll work for less. It's also because hiring workers here is becoming too expensive. This is why I hope health care reform happens this year. But no matter what reform comes about, people need to take responsibility for their health. We all share the same health care system and the people who abuse it are costing the rest of us, not just money, but for some of us, our jobs.
I'll tell you why. Because almost all of today's leading illnesses are directly related to lifestyle choices. Heart disease, cancer, Type II diabetes, etc. can all be traced to a person's eating habits. As a people, Americans are sicker than ever because we do such a lousy job taking care of ourselves. You may think another person's bad habits don't affect you, but they do. For every person who develops heart disease, cancer or some other illness because of their excess weight, health care costs go up. That means health care premiums go up for everyone. So you and I are basically paying for other people's bad habits. And it doesn't end there. Businesses are feeling the pinch too. Next to salary, the biggest labor-related expense is health insurance. And it's rising faster than any other expense. Why do you think companies have been outsourcing jobs? It isn't just to find workers who'll work for less. It's also because hiring workers here is becoming too expensive. This is why I hope health care reform happens this year. But no matter what reform comes about, people need to take responsibility for their health. We all share the same health care system and the people who abuse it are costing the rest of us, not just money, but for some of us, our jobs.
I'll tell you why. Because almost all of today's leading illnesses are directly related to lifestyle choices. You may think another person's bad habits don't affect you, but they do.
Actually the smokers and obese may not be such a drain as we thought.
Interestingly enough it would appear according to one university study that smokers, by dying earlier than healthy people, SAVE THE ECONOMY MONEY .
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/how-much-does- (broken link)smoking-cos_n_184554.html
Apparently we should be thankful to the smokers and obese for dying early and saving the rest of us some money.
I am in a really strange situation as in being naturally very overweight. I am also very athletic and, in my 20s, was in phenomenal condition, as in world-class athlete condition. I had a friend from work who LOVES tall, muscular, thin men (think NBA player). She always used to comment on men's bodies (including mine). I spent more than a year away from the job to train and then reluctantly came back. She was one of the first people to see me when I came back, and when she saw me, she said, "you look GOOD." From her, who doesn't really like big men, or endomorphic body types, that was a huge compliment. I was still round and pudgy, but I was in amazing aerobic condition and just looked like a pro athlete. But being back in an office and taking care of kids, and fighting with the wife, etc., made it impossible for me to continue to maintain that level of fitness, and, sure enough, the athlete was gone again, buried in layers of fat. About two months after I came back, the female friend was at it again. "You let yourself go," she said. And I did. Now I don't believe I can ever get that back again. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted.
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I used to be the fat one by far. I weigh slightly less than I did in high school and college now. I can't say the same about any of my college friends. 
