Eat Bacon, Don't Jog
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yeswehave8 wrote: »This seems very topical, I read it tonight: http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/05/15/take-off-that-fitbit-exercise-alone-wont-make-you-lose-weight/
Thanks for that link. I follow that guy on Twitter, and love it that he refers to Tim Noakes! I exercise a bit everyday, and feel better for it. But yeah, thinking that ONLY exercise is enough is not going to fix things.0 -
We need to know our own bodies and what they respond to. I cannot imagine remaining sedentary whether I was over weight or not. Strength, mind clarity, and the sense of well being exercise gives to me.
I would rather have muscle weight than loose skin , no tone and feel myself getting weaker. No one said it has to be 6 days a week unless you are training. At my age, it is necessary to keep myself strong so I stay out of a walker like my mother did not.
Use what you have. It's there for a reason.
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annieboomboom wrote: »I would rather have muscle weight than loose skin , no tone and feel myself getting weaker. No one said it has to be 6 days a week unless you are training. At my age, it is necessary to keep myself strong so I stay out of a walker like my mother did not.
Exactly, exercise for health and strength. It helps with muscle tone, bone density, mental attitude, and a host of other beneficial things. It just stinks for weight loss. And prolonged cardio (like jogging) in particular tends to be most counter-productive as your body quickly adapts to the physical needs and becomes very efficient doing it, but the appetite and stress hormones tend to stay elevated even when the calorie burn no longer really is.
It is truly amazing how efficient our bodies can be when it comes to movement and exercise, especially compared to the base cost of life itself (heating the body, repairing the body, fueling the brain, etc.).0 -
For definition, I think that jogging is sustainable, whilst sprinting is near flat out. I can jog for a couple of kilometres (a mile or so) but I can only sprint for around 150 metres/yards before my breathing gets out of whack and I have to stop.0
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Steady-state cardio, like jogging, isn't as bad as the book-writers would have us believe. Sure, if the effort is low, it won't build muscle mass like weight lifting. It then becomes a slightly faster version of walking, which everyone agrees is good for you. Jogging will improve bone strength more than walking. It will burn calories faster than walking. It will have a larger "after burn" than walking.
If you jog, don't get discouraged by authors who try to be hip by being unconventional. The only studies I've seen that suggest steady-state cardio is counter-productive look at sessions > 1 hour. After an hour, you can potentially deplete antioxidants and begin suffering free radical damage.
HOWEVER, if you're in ketosis, your body is using less O2 for the same work, and is generating less oxidative stress. Jogging may be the ideal activity during ketosis!
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Dragonwolf wrote: »Sprinting is not jogging.
Did not know that. How embarrassing.
Does that mean if somebody who can only walk at 3mph progressively becomes able to run at 6mph, they did it without any muscle gain because they did not sprint? How fast must they go before it is considered a "sprint" for the sedentary?
I was on my phone at the time and ended up more terse and less clear than I intended. My point was that beyond the initial newbie gains of, say, a Couch to 5K program, jogging doesn't really improve muscle tone. In fact, diminishing returns start setting in somewhere around the 5-10K mark and when you get into marathon level running, it actually starts becoming catabolic. Beyond something like half an hour of a moderate jogging pace, cortisol levels start becoming counterproductive to muscle gain.
Sprinting, however, is more like weight lifting or high intensity intervals -- short periods of all-out effort followed by periods of rest. This allows the workout to remain anabolic, so long as the person doesn't overdo it (again, beyond half an hour or so, cortisol levels start reaching the point of being catabolic).
This effect is actually quite beautifully illustrated by Howard Schatz's Athlete series. Nearly all of the long distance runners have very little muscle compared to their sprinter counterparts.
For most people, the problem arises because they don't generally look to gain speed, at least not in a way that works, and just go for sheer time and distance. The people that jog the most (the so-called "cardio bunnies") just jog at the same speed for upwards of hours on end (and then wonder why they can't lose weight). Programs like C25K work because it's interval training, not constant steady-state jogging.
That's largely what the book Goat posted is talking about. If you notice, the man on the cover is holding a kettlebell. The book likely isn't saying "don't exercise at all," but rather "steady-state jogging is not the right exercise for getting lean and strong in the long run."0 -
I can't jog or sprint due to old knees and formerly broken ankles, but I do walk moderately to brisk 1-3 miles a day. It helps reduce stress (one of the reasons I was overeating) and it 'moves' things along, if you catch my drift.
My thighs and calves are starting to tone and have some shapeliness too! It's all good in my book.0 -
@Dragonwolf: But noob gains like Couch-to-5K are probably applicable to most people here. It basically gets you to the point where you can sustain a jog, and that will generate muscle mass for the sedentary. That's one reason why I think books like this are asinine. More people are sedentary than are addicted to steady-state exercise. Who will benefit from the "don't jog" message?
Lift weights if you like to, but don't be discouraged from doing other exercises you might enjoy more.0 -
Who will benefit from the "don't jog" message?
People who think that is what exercise is supposed to look like because that's how the media portrays effective weight-loss exercise.
Also, reading this book and others of the same message, you get an exercise plan with it. It's much more approachable for someone who isn't doing a lot, physically, because it explains to them that a few minutes of exercise is just as good (maybe even better) than all that exercise they're afraid of. It makes them more likely to actually do something. Someone being told, "5 minutes of giving it all you've got" is more likely to think, "I can do anything for 5 minutes." Tell the same person, "just go out and jog for 20-30 minutes, even if it's slow" and they're not going to even try because working out for 20 minutes is way beyond them.0 -
I agree with Fit_Goat! I am the archetypal couch potato and for many different reasons not least being its just too hot/dangerous on the roads here in Dubai but for those of you who want to try a bit of exercise at home so no one else sees you and you dont need fancy clothes or any equipment you can do a lot worse than use some of the 'walking' dvds available on youtube. I have been known to use Leslie Sansone and I do her 3 mile walk but there are 10 minute ones or 48 minute ones to do at the pace that you can do! Quite a variety on there. And...its just walking with a few variations for fending off boredom and the addition of a few arm movements. Great for couch potatoes who want to move and start burning a few extra cals. I apologise now if anyone curses me for how upbeat and chatty she is and it drives you mad but it does help get you to the end...you are glad to turn her off!Lol.0
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I can only relate my personal experience. I know the benefits of weightlifting. I know the benefit of burpees. I find those things boring, and I do not enjoy lactic acid build up. I find it only slightly better than being waterboarded.
Running gets me outside. I vary my running routine. Slow, fast, hills, etc. I enjoy an occasional 5K with my family and friends. It's social, it gives me a goal, and it gives me a personal benchmark to improve upon. It works for me.
I also do bodyweight exercises, mostly for upper-body, but I find that running has improved my muscle tone more than the resistance has. Probably because I find running more enjoyable and sustainable, so I do it more consistently.
I started running just to keep up with my kid, who joined the cross-country team. We trained to run a 5K together. I keep running because I like how it makes me look and feel. Maybe I'll write a book about that. 0 -
Wow, this topic brought out the different mindsets. I don't know where I heard this quote originally, but "Diet is for weight loss. Exercise is for fitness." And something to go with it, "If you have to exercise to not gain weight, your diet is wrong."
And as to who might benefit? Someone like me. I've always been told that even the fattest person on the planet with bad joints benefits from walking. I even worked up to a fat girl jog before I injured a knee because, due to an number of different factors, I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN JOGGING...
Even more than that though is that I have Pelvic Organ Prolapse. That means than anything allowing gravity to pull on me in the middle can make my condition so much worse, and anything with jumping can blow out what remaining muscles I have. My physical therapist about panicked on me when I told her what I had been doing before this year so far. Her recommendation for my condition and various issues - stationary or regular biking (if being seated is comfortable) or swimming/water aerobics. I had ZERO idea that my POP could complicate it if I wanted to lift weights and stuff. Unless I dramatically improve my condition, SQUATS ARE FOREVER BANNED FOR ME.
Seriously. Squats worsen my condition. A condition I didn't even realize I had. It started with leaking a little urine when coughing or laughing, and well, I won't go into the gory details, but I'm a huge advocate for getting yourself checked for anything not seeming right down there, in front or back, man or woman. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction is nothing to shake a stick at...
I do agree though, not to let a book tell you not to do an activity you enjoy unless you have outlying conditions or find that it negatively affects your progress in health gains...0 -
A lot of food for thought here. (I think Food for Thought is the working title of my never to be written book on eating to improve your mind.) Particularly from FIT_Goat, wabmester and KnitOrMiss. I think I've decided to add another line to my "I don't diet, I eat" mantra. The addition will be "I don't exercise, I live."
Last year when I was lugging around an extra 65 pounds (mostly belly I think) I was obsessed with trying to find the right shoes and interval pattern so I could use my stair climber without my knees and feet killing me. In February, I spent time doing on-line searches trying to figure out how to properly log snow shoveling.
This past weekend I had to get the house & yard ready for a Memorial Day cook out. I was surprised at the end of one day that Fitbit reported I had climbed 25 flights of stairs. No twinges during or pain after. I was also surprised at the size of the pile of brush, downed tree limbs, whatever I had hauled to the roadside for pick up. Not surprised but pleased that there were no comments when I put a chicken leg & a burger on my plate and walked past the buns, potato salad & fruit salad. Everyone just accepts that that's the way Dad/Grandpa eats.
Rereading this before posting I realize it could be interpreted as a put down of those who jog or run or go to the gym. Please understand that is not my intent nor do I maintain that my way is the "right" way. If someone enjoys running I can understand that, I just don't share the joy. If someone wants to lift whether for muscle tone or vanity, that's fine. To me it's not fun, it's work.
Instead my intent is to say thank you. Last year at 67 I was looking at giving up my house and moving to a place on one floor with people to do the snow shoveling and yard work. Plus a life filled with joint pain and diabetes meds. This year at 68 I'm saying, "Hey, I can do this for a few more years" and my doctor is saying, "No meds for now." For that I'm extremely grateful and I attribute a lot of any success I've had to the support and advice I've found in this group. Thank you.0 -
That's terrific, Keith! So glad for your weight loss and vastly improved health! I'm 68 and working to do the same.0
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Exercise improves insulin resistance, which for the carb sensitive means an easier time losing weight and the more carbs you can tolerate (yeah clementines). Worth finding 30 mins in your day to at least get a walk in. When I jogged I stayed in keto at 75 grams of carbs. Not too shabby.0
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That's a great story, Keith. FWIW, my exercise "philosophy" before I started running was to do exactly what you're doing. Things like yardwork are excellent and much more productive than running, burpees, etc. We have about 200ft of fence along our property, and I clear the grass under the fence with a machete. That's about 100 squats combined with a killer arm workout. Unfortunately, I'd only do it a few times a year....0
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@knitormiss I too have Pelvic prolapse probs and while wandering around the net found this Lady Michelle Conway who is a physio in Australia. She does a monthly new letter which I get and she has a series of vids showing safe exercises for us sufferers. Thought you and any other ladies on here with similar restrictions to other kinds of exercise may be interested. The link is https://www.pelvicexercises.com.au/pelvic-exercise-guided-videos/0
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I didn't run this morning, but I did some of that nasty steady-state cardio. Took the dog for a walk.
It was a sunny morning, but the fog was still rolling in. A lone heron stood in the water.
We walked a little farther, and an eagle landed in a nearby tree.
There's no point to my story, really. But both the dog and I enjoyed the steady-state cardio walk in our own ways.
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jumanajane wrote: »@knitormiss I too have Pelvic prolapse probs and while wandering around the net found this Lady Michelle Conway who is a physio in Australia. She does a monthly new letter which I get and she has a series of vids showing safe exercises for us sufferers. Thought you and any other ladies on here with similar restrictions to other kinds of exercise may be interested. The link is https://www.pelvicexercises.com.au/pelvic-exercise-guided-videos/
That's a great resource, @jumanajane. Luckily, I've got a POP Physical Therapist here who is great. I've only been twice, and my initial evaluation determined that my muscle tone itself was abysmal, but my endurance was good, which meant I had a good chance of improvement. It's been maybe 5-6 weeks, and since we discovered that I needed an abdominal binder (belt/sheet wrapped strongly around the belly to support during exercises due to exceptionally weak abs, from underlying conditions and extended obesity plus pregnancy weakening and some other things), I've actually make some measurable progress. Not anywhere that I wanted, but I can tell improvements, period, which I didn't even know was possible! I hope you are making progress as well!! My individual exercises I didn't find on this list yet, but I haven't looked through all the videos obviously!0 -
I didn't run this morning, but I did some of that nasty steady-state cardio. Took the dog for a walk.
It was a sunny morning, but the fog was still rolling in. A lone heron stood in the water.
We walked a little farther, and an eagle landed in a nearby tree.
There's no point to my story, really. But both the dog and I enjoyed the steady-state cardio walk in our own ways.
Way prettier than a walk on a treadmill for sure!
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