Most Bloggers Ain't Joggers

Sean at The Blue Boar shares with readers his struggle to hit and maintain a healthy weight. It's a battle I suspect is not unknown to a lot of us blogger types - I'm just going way out on a limb and hazarding a guess, here. My day job involves sitting at a computer most of the day, a number of my favorite pastimes involve sitting on my can (reading by a fire, blogging), and oil painting isn't exactly an aerobic activity.

I have struggled a bit with extra weight, but have been blessed to have a pretty decent metabolism. None the less, I put on two or three pounds a year for 25 years and found myself (gasp!) at 230 pounds, standing 5'9". I not only ended up with high blood pressure, but the specter of the diabetes that runs in my Dad's side of the family also began to haunt me.

That's why I started the low-carb thing, and it works very well for me, provided (like any program) I stay on it. The thing is, I find it easier to stay on the low-carb regimen for longer periods of time than other plans. I might cheat for a day or two, but then I am able to get right back on (usually... heh).

The most difficult aspect of low-carb is being around people who don't eat that way. At work I'm inundated with bagels, sticky buns, cake... all of which I have to take a pass on. But I'm used to it. The main thing is to stay away from processed white flour, processed sugar, processed rice, potatoes, etc... I don't consider this a fad diet at all. It's a fact that most Americans just eat way too much of these things.

My goal is to get back under 200 pounds and stay there, which will also require more exercise - a great excuse to go hiking more. The day I see a "1" as the first digit on the scale (please God), I will truly celebrate... with a steak, some steamed veggies and a premium beer.

This whole topic puts me in mind of some thoughts I've had over the last few years concerning the most forgotten sin in our society... gluttony. It seems that nobody takes it seriously as sin anymore, yet tradition has it as one of the Seven Deadlies. I'm going to throw in with Chesterton and allow that our ancestors were on to something important, here. Watch for an upcoming post.

Comments

[Sean P. Dailey]

Thanks for the plug, Tim! And best of luck with your own efforts. Whiat is it about modern culture that says we should be thin, but does all it can to keep us fat?

You know, yesterday I was in MacDonald's having lunch (I know, I know, fine place for a Distributist to have lunch; mea culpa) and I could barely squeeze into the booth. And I wondered: here is an outfit that serves food that makes you fat, and yet they make booths so small that no fat person could ever fit into them. I just can't figure that out.

[J.R. Stoodley]

My struggle is less common but no less bad. I'm 5'11'' and have trouble keeping my weight above 130. Combination of high metabolism, very little money to spend on food (or food isn't a high enough priority for me), being too used to being hungry, cold temperatures, lots of walking everywhere I go, and not enough muscle-building exercise. Also I loose my appetite easily when stressed or heartbroken or whatever.

[U Know Who]

Also I loose my appetite easily when stressed or heartbroken or whatever.

Not to belittle your comments -- on the contrary, it's more of a compliment if anything else; but you should consider yourself fortunate since most folks eat themselves to an unhealthy weight when they're stressed, heartbroken or whatever.

[freddy]

Forgive me, but it's really not fortunate to struggle with being underweight. Athough it's not a problem I share, some close to me do, and it carries a similar cycle of un-health as does being over weight. Depression/anxiety can lead to lack of appetite, poor eating, loss of energy, lower resistance, more illness and back to depression and anxiety. In our over-weight culture, people who struggle with this are often ignored or envied.
J.R., I don't know what you do to combat this, (and I'm not qualified to give advice) but there are programs & books and such that can help. God bless you, and God bless all of us on the other end of the scale!

[ScottD]

Low Carb? Does this include beer?

I look at my beer gut....I look at my beer.....I've made my choice ;>)

[U Know Who]

Forgive me, but it's really not fortunate to struggle with being underweight. Athough it's not a problem I share, some close to me do, and it carries a similar cycle of un-health as does being over weight.

I didn't mean to sound unsympathetic to Mr. J.R. Stoodley's plight; rather, I wanted to point out something positive.

Yes, there is that unhealthy side to it that it shares in common with its opposition (i.e., overeating); however, I don't believe it carries all the negatives, such as insufferable self-esteem issues along with other seemingly severe difficulties that those who over-eat due to such adversities seem to suffer.

[Elijah]

I also am a skinny guy no matter what I do. It ruined my dream of becoming a pro wrestler.

[LarryD]

JR - when I was in college, I barely maintained 150 lbs, being 6'0". It wasn't until my senior year that I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and after some treatments, was finally able to get to a more ideal weight. More importantly, though, I had a serious health issue diagnosed and treated. One thing you may want to consider. Peace!

[J.R. Stoodley]

I looked up hypothyroidism and while I have several of the symptoms there are other things in my life and habits that could account for them. Anyway, I can't afford to get sick (no money, health insurance, etc.) so I'm going to have to just hope I'm not.

[ukok]

Tim, thanks so much for your comment on my 'spouse journal' post. I really appreciate your thoughts on my quandry as to whether to keep it going:-)

While I'm here I would like to comment on this particular post of yours if I may. This topic is very much at the forefront of my mind and seems to have been perpetually so since I was about 15 years old.

I think it's crucial to find something that works for each of us.There's no one size/method fits all (we both know that for sure don't we!).

For me, excercise has to be pretty minimal because of my asthma. I can walk on the flat fairly consistantly but I can't exert myself in sports etc.I do hope to become more active as I lose weight, but I was actually underweight when I began taking the steroid inhalers etc and I steadily gained weight through the increased appetite they caused and by the debilitating effetcs of my asthma. Even so, I hope that my asthma will be better managed when there is less of me as I will get less breathless etc.

The good news for me is that I seem to have found a way that has really helped me to become more disciplined with my food intake. I now use an online nutrition tracker (that is free to use)to record my daily intake into (when I remember!).

After only a couple of weeks and despite not being the most meticulous record keeper I have already lost a considerable amount of weight and I hope to continue to lose more. I am calorie counting, but really very loosley at this stage. I know that I will have to get much tougher with myself once the weightloss plateaus, but right now, this is an acceptable way of getting some order back into my disorded eating habits. I know that like yourself, a lot of people find that cutting carbs really works for them. I just adore bread and potatoes and pasta so I would have a hard time with that and as I'm prone to binging when I have tried denying myself food groups, I find that 'moderation' in all things really is the key for me.

Having said all that, this is really the honeymoon period I suppose....when the weight loss diminishes and there's a danger of slipping back into my old eating habits, I suppose that will be the true testing time for me.

Tim, I will remember you and your weight loss endeavours in my prayers. If you can spare a prayer for mine I would very much appreciate it.

God Bless!

p.s. I recently wrote a post about my own struggle with my weight issues, which you may be interested in perusing should time permit. (entitled The Weight of the Cross, somewhere on my front page).