Sonja van Baardwijk wrote:
>
> Deborah Harrell wrote:
>
> >http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/70/80978.htm?printing=true
> >
> >"...If you simply take some healthful steps in the
> >direction of your weight-loss goals, you are likely to
> >reap some healthy rewards, even if you never drop a
> >single pound. As remarkable as that sounds, in
> >studies published in March 2003 in the Annals of
> >Internal Medicine, CDC researchers found that those
> >folks who simply tried to lose weight lived longer..."
> >[with healthy lifestyle changes, not starvation diets
> >or stimulants]
> >
> >
>
> <steps onto a soapbox>
> So I'm gonne die earlier because I've never in my life attempted to lose
> weight? Sure sounds a bit strange to me. I'm obese but have had
> approximately the same weight for over 20 years now. (give or take the
> odd kilo). And I never tried to loose any. Because quite frankly I
> couldn't care less what others think about my looks. They can look away
> if they are that displeased. I'm not gonne be told that I should lose
> weight or even attempt it and then start yo-yoing all over the place as
> a result. With the added bonus that I then for the rest of my life have
> to consider the consequences for every morsel of food I wanne eat. No
> thanks very much! I rather stay healthy.
> I walk and bike a lot. That and the house work with all the jobs
> attached to it that usually are physically very demanding are all the
> exercise I need. (I don't know how often I have to climb the bloody
> stairs but I know it is lots).
I read something in the past week or so in some newspaper or another
(gotta be either the Austin American-Statesman or the Wall Street
Journal) that it's marginally better to be fat and fit than thin and
unfit. I think the list from best to worst then goes:
thin and fit
fat and fit
thin and unfit
fat and unfit
And I would recommend to *anyone* who's tried a particular kind of diet
for awhile without the desired results to maybe try a *totally*
different sort of diet, because not everyone is the same, and different
bodies will respond differently to the same diet. My mom tried the
low-fat, complex-carbohydrate intense diet for awhile, and didn't get
much of anywhere, and she decided to try an Atkins-inspired diet, and
she's doing a lot *better* with keeping the carbs down to a minimum (and
using almost all her carb allowance on fruits & vegetables, having bread
or cake *very* rarely) than the way she was eating before, and is
approaching her target weight, after which she's still going to watch
her diet carefully because of other factors besides weight that make it
a good diet *for her*. (Found out that my brother-in-law has also been
eating an Atkins-style diet for the most part, and has lost 35 pounds so
far -- and he was a prime example of someone who *really* needed to lose
some weight.) Mom is also doing as much exercise as she can, but she's
been recovering for almost 10 years from something that messed up a lot
of nerves in her extremities, so she's been somewhat limited in what she
can do on *that* front. (But she's still seeing improvement from one
season to the next, so I figure she'll be in better shape than she is
now in a couple of years, and better shape than that in 5.) But get
various blood levels of various things tested on a regular basis, to
make sure you're not totally messing yourself up. (Mom's cholesterol
levels improved after a couple of months on her new diet, and her
triglycerides responded in a *very* nice way, as well.)
The only recommendation I might make to a woman who feels fairly *fit*
is to spend a little time a few times a week using hand weights (but not
heavy ones, 3kg would probably be sufficient) to strengthen the muscles
that aren't getting as much of a workout in your daily routine. This
has the added benefit of the extra bit of strength being there if a
situation arises where you need it, and you'll be less likely to hurt
yourself then. If you want to go all-out and get a Bowflex, that can
*really* help, but not everyone wants to make *that* sort of commitment
of resources and space. :)
Julia
looking forward to having the lung capacity to exercise again
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