when your skinny you don't need to work out any more?

sjohnny

The problem is that once you are "in shape" the next level becomes exponentially harder to achieve. I lost 40 pounds in a matter of 6 months. It is taking me significantly longer and more work to lost the next 15. Taking my body fat % from 25 to 18 wasn't easy but it wasn't nearly as hard as trying to get it down to 15%. In 5 months I have taken my 5K time from 27:47 to 24:03. I bet it will take more work and time to get the next three and a half minutes off of that time than it did to get the last three and a half.

The first time I did P90X I was burning 700+ calories per workout. I did a second modified round after having completed Insanity and having been running for several months and I was burning 400ish calories doing the same workouts. More efficiency is more difficult to improve.

In college I worked in a shop where we built hot rod and racing motorcycles. Getting an extra 20 horsepower out of a stock motor was cheap and easy. Getting an extra 20 out of a motor that was already running at top performance was more difficult and more expensive.

Bottom line - someone who is already in shape needs to work even harder to make progress than someone who is trying to get in shape in the first place. I don't see myself getting to a place where I just want to maintain. When I reach a goal I set another. I want to coninue to get stronger and faster and healthier for as long as I can. That will require me to continue to kick it up a knotch at every milestone. My last 5K goal was to beat 25:00. I did that this week (24:03). My 5K goal is now to beat 23:00. When I beat 23:00 I'll set another goal.

fairc3jam

Maybe she was hitting on you.

Amen

mslack01

you have no idea how many times a day i get told that i work too hard...or why do i care what i eat...blah...blah..blah..

well lets see...everything isn't always about how you look, although that is part of it. I have high cholesterol and I am prediabetic. If I don't want to be a full-blown Type II Diabetic I have to exercise and watch what I eat. And I don't do a great job of it. But I am trying.

pastryari

I'll be honest, I totally think like that woman but would never say that to anyone out loud. The thing is I feel that skinny people who come to the gym are natually thin, but just want to tone up a little bit, but they don't truly need it like the rest of us. Yes anyone can get fat by eating too much and anyone can lose 100 lbs, but I think in most cases natually thin people are just that - always have been thin. My neighbor is a size 00 and does cardio 5x a week, I honestly think she's obsessed with not gaining 1 lb. There's no need to work that hard if you're naturally bone thin.

Wow. So you assume that anyone who is thin is naturally thin and didn't work for it? That is the most ridiculous statement.

You also seem to think that there is something wrong with a thin person working hard because they don't want to gain weight? It's called staying healthy and fit. You want her to want to gain weight??

rmhand

Thats the lady that will "diet", lose some weight, then after she meets her goal she will go back to eating like she used to and stop exercising and gain it all back and wonder why, then claim than eating healthy and going to the gym are pointless.

Fitness is a lifestyle.

Sabine_Stroehm

It's exactly that kind of thinking (hers) that gets folks into trouble. She'll likely be gaining it all back.

I've always worked out, and I always will.

Congrats on the odd compliment!

Melanie_RS

if there were JUST overweight people at the gym, wouldn't people get the wrong idea about gyms?

I mean, doesn't it stand to reason there will be thin and fit people at a gym too?

mslack01

I'll be honest, I totally think like that woman but would never say that to anyone out loud. The thing is I feel that skinny people who come to the gym are natually thin, but just want to tone up a little bit, but they don't truly need it like the rest of us. Yes anyone can get fat by eating too much and anyone can lose 100 lbs, but I think in most cases natually thin people are just that - always have been thin. My neighbor is a size 00 and does cardio 5x a week, I honestly think she's obsessed with not gaining 1 lb. There's no need to work that hard if you're naturally bone thin.

Please refer to my previous statement. I was always skinny. But I wasn't healthy. And you can't fight Type II Diabetes without diet and exercise unless you just want to give up and take an insulin shot.

violetta88

I get it more about food - if I turn down a cake or order a salad at a restaurant, people demand to know why since I don't need to lose weight.

I used to be almost 30lbs heavier. Trust me, if I start thinking like that, you won't be calling me skinny any more.

I like eating healthy. I love working out. I'm sure a lot of people on here feel the same way, and the gym should be a place where we can all embrace a fit and healthy lifestyle regardless of our sizes.

You were right on the ball. Keep going for it!

Crochetluvr

One of the the reasons I am here is because I believed that too...dumb, wasnt it? Some times you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

Brandicaloriecountess

I workout so I can eat

kaimi25

LOL! I think for some reason people thinks it's easier to tell people that they are too skinny rather then letting people know when its time to start working out and going on a diet. Thats why america is dealing with a obesity epidemic. I can't stand when people say " Oh, your so lucky to have a body like that." It's definately not luck, it's a lot of dedication and hard work! Congrats to you for keeping on top of your diet and overall health, and forget about that lady with the odd comments, the gym is a place for everyone that wants to keep a healthy lifestyle.

RunnerBlonde808

Seriously? These kind of people are nuts. How does she think we stay the way we are? Crazy crap!

ErinBeth7

Jealousy.

SmartAlec03211988

LOL.

Yeah let me just stop exercising and see how long I stay skinny! Unbelievable.

newhabit

I was at the gym this morning, in the changing room and this lady kept staring me up and down. and then she asked me if i was one of the class instructors here at the gym, because she said my body looked so amazing and in shape. i told her no, i said i just run a lot. she told me that the gym is for people like her, not people like me. bascially saying that since i'm already in shape and skinny i don't really need to be working out. why do people have that misconception that people who are skinny and in shape can eat whatever they want and not work out. how do they think, i got this way. i worked out hard to get to where i am now. and if i want to continue being a healthy weight, i need to keep going to the gym and work at it. i feel bad, cuz the woman was really over weight. i told her, that she can do it too, just have to work hard at it. and she just kinda rolled her eyes, and said, yea in like a hundred years, i would look like you. any one else ever have people tell you that you don't have to work out if your in shape already?

Sounds like maybe she just doesn't get how hard you worked to get there and that you want to stay there. Or maybe she's jealous and has been working hard already and not seen results. There could be about a million reasons why. But I'd just not worry about it because chances are she feels bad about herself already. I'd take it as a compliment that you look good enough to be an instructor.

MurphysLawTD

I workout so I can eat

HELL YES.

Reinventing_Me

I feel sad for the lady. What a defeatist mindset. I hope your response changes that for her.

^This.

Run4UrHealth

I was in a weight loss class and I was told "you dont look like you have a problem losing weight"....if she only knew! I gained all 40lbs back I lost that year. I have now lost 37 pounds and I will not gain it back because I was in that class and learned how to eat and that I need to exercise and eat healthy to keep it off. I think they have low self-esteem and that is the only way to take a "jab" at us without being mean. I just shrug it off!

ChristyRunStarr

I workout so I can eat

I couldn't have said it better myself lol