LittleBigMan

What is happening to us Americans? The whole nation is dying a slow death. We are gaining fat everyday, while our muscles get smaller and weaker. The average unexercised person loses a large percentage of their muscle mass every decade after 30 years of age, while at the same time, gaining pounds and pounds of pure fat, until we cannot even rise up out of our chairs.

There was a time when a prosperous male was known by his physical abilities: if he could not perform physically, he could not support a family. At some point, prosperity began to be measured by how fat a man was, because that meant he could afford to eat a lot and to avoid physical labor. By those standards, we have become a very prosperous nation.

I do not want to become a blob of fat who cannot climb a set of stairs! Americans, get out of your cars and bike, walk, run, play tennis, basketball, whatever, but get off your butts and quit stuffing pizza down your throats! Do it now! (I refuse to apologize for this post).

If you do not, you will not keep the place of world leadership you think you now posess.

Your Best Friend,

Pete Clark

Joe Gardner

Great post! I wish i could add more to it :thumbup:

Chris L

Well of course, I wouldn't mind if you yanks all died a slow death . Seriously, you are right, of course (why does Pete Clark have to make so much sense all the time?). What we really need is a serious global fuel shortage (I mean a REAL ONE). This problem is in no way unique to the U.S.

Chris

MichaelW

Americans seem to be either couch potatoes or triathalon athletes who do a bit of mountaineering for fun. Its rare to find an American who does a moderate amount of anything.

LittleBigMan

In case anyone thinks I am being too tough: we just buried an elementary school student the other day. What
killed her? Gang violence? Drugs? AIDS? Child abuse? Automobile crash?

She died of an enlarged heart, brought on by extreme obesity. A child.

toolfreak

Chris "radfahren uber alles" L is right about this, just make fuel 1.50 euro/ltr. (like my country) and get a huge tax for owning a motorised vehicle.

Just bike to your work, school or shop!!!

fietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfi etsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsenfietsen!

Mark b.

tourman

This problem is not unique to the USA. We have the same problem here in Canada.It is just too easy to jump in the car and drive to the store. Unfortunately I feel this is only going to get worse with the cost to all of us in medical care or in your case insurance premiums skyrocketing.What ever happened to mandatory PE classes in school.Kids get no exercise anymore and it seems no one cares. Just my two cents worth.

fubar5

Everything everyone has said is true. Adult are to lazy to do anything, and all kids care about is food, music, and nintendo. But when people(especially kids) try to do something besides the afore mentioned, peopl get annoyed and complian or call the cops.
My brother, my friend(joe) and I don't even have a nintendo. So we go outside and do things like luge down hills on our skateboards, skateboard off the roof, and build jumps for joe's ATV and my bro's BMX bike. so far 5 people have complained, 3 have called the cops, an 6 have come out and treated us like dogs.

LittleBigMan

Fubar, you are right on. If we pave everything and say, "Alright, everyone but cars get off!" (which is kind of what
happens, since the cars go as fast as they want, then a kid gets hit, and the news runs some serious stuff about
how we need to do something, blah, blah, blah, then nothing gets done at all), then where can a person go? Everything else is private property, or you have to drive to get there, or....nintendo. That's no choice!

Pete

aerobat

I guess the thing is, with most of our jobs being of the sedentary variety, we need to make the time to do something physical, and most people just say to hell with it and put their feet up. It's a mental thing to put your mind to it and do it. I guess people need more education on not only the benefits of exercise, but the consequences of NOT getting any exercise, and that it doesn't really need to be that much. You don't need to ride centuries or run marathons to get big benefits from cycling or running.
But I guess here we're preaching to the converted, all we can do is try and spread the word by mouth and by example, such as commuting to work and being active in leisure pursuits.

fubar5

Of course, if everybody rode bikes and nobody was fat, nobody called the cops, nobody complained, there were no jerk drivers...Then, we wouldn't have much to ***** about here would we???

LittleBigMan

Gotta point, F5.

orguasch

its sure is a low death, if you don't exercise, or you take health for granted then you have sign your death wish

fubar5

In Toy Story 2 I think there is a perfect illustration of the American attitiude.
When Al of Al's Toy Barn has to go do a commercial he gets in his cars and says," I can't beliave I have to drive all the way to work!!! All the way to work!!!" he drives across the street to Al's Toy Barn.

technogirl

Yeah, saw that too, in Toy Story 2. Funny, how even little kids also pick up on that, too, that Al drove to work instead of walking across the street!

When I need to grab something at the store now, I ride my bike to the grocery store, or head off at the local AM/PM (mini market) on my bike...

You said it Pete. We really need to start re-thinking how we live. I certainly wouldn't want to die a slow death (of course, I've been stuck in some really boring business meetings that could be exactly THAT). I mean really...just a way to get outside. Sometimes I even ride those little scooters with the neighborhood kids to the park (yes I wear a darn helmet) just to get outside, do some exercise and have fun!

My doctor keeps telling me he wishes more of his patients would exercise.

Man! All I have to do is kick this addiction to chocolate, and quit my paste-eating habit that I picked up in grade school, and I would be all set!

Rich

It seems like a heated topic!!

Me and my girlfriend are in the same position, where we were quite fit, but have let it slip a little ...it seems hard to motivate yourself after a hard day at work, but we're starting walking after meals, just 20 minutes in the evening...

It doesn't have to be alot of exercise, but we're feeling better already...

Maybe that's the way to go, a little but often!!

Rich

TriBob

I think it has a lot to do with the parents. If kids see parents enjoying exercise, the kids will be inclined to exercise as well. The converse seems to be try also. I work with an overweight guy and his 5 y/o daughter cannot wear a 2 piece bathing suit because she is too big. He also bought her a motorized car to drive to the park a 1/4 mile down a walking path instead of taking a bike. My kids bike to the park

LittleBigMan

We are trapped into being overweight by our technologically advanced society, to be fair about it. But we can never use that excuse to stay unfit, for the price is an early grave.

The prescription for being overweight is to exercise long and hard (after getting your body in shape to handle it). This is what stimulates the metabolism to continue to burn extra calories for hours afterwards. Twice a day, in the morning and at night, continues this effect. Alternating heavy days with lighter days allows your muscles to recover and avoid overtraining. Once you overtrain, it may take weeks to fully recover. Don't be in a hurry: it took years to put the weight on, didn't it? Listen, don't waste time with expensive gimmicks, diets or pills! Exercise, it's free! And once you reach your target, you'll find it's easier to maintain that weight than it was to lose it, as long as you keep exercising regularly.

That's why, for me, commuting by bike/walking is perfect. Twice a day, I ride or walk. When I get home, I already have done my workout. And I don't feel guilty eating a lots of nutritious food, because I know my body needs to eat to stay strong.

Another tip for losing weight is to eat more "low density" foods, like vegetables. They fill you up without the extra calories.

Danny Y

Someone mentioned "our jobs being of the sedentary variety", which I think is a key point. I sit in front of a computer or in a meeting most of the time at work. I try to avoid using the phone if I can walk to the other side of the building instead, but that's all the exercise I get (except for my hands typing, like right now!). Between work, the burdens of being a homeowner (something always needs to be fixed!), and wanting to spend time with my wife and 4 year old twins, there isn't much time left for exercise. I already feel guilty when I take time away from the kids to get projects done around the house and property. I live in the country and it's 16 miles to work (one way), with most of it being along narrow winding country roads, or roads with no shoulder where people drive 50 to 60 MPH. So far, I just haven't had the guts, or maybe I just haven't been dumb enough, to take my chances out there! By the way, no one else around here has either, since I never see anyone cycling to/from work, the only cyclists I see are in the evening after traffic dies down.

Chris L

Of course, coming from the most obscure angle, the problem may just solve itself. If people get too fat, lazy and soft, they may just actually lose a Middle Eastern war . Of course, if this happens, we can say goodbye to cheap fuel for a while.

Actually, it mightn't be a bad thing at all. Sooner or later there WILL be a post-oil economy (just as there was a pre-oil economy), meaning some kind of transition WILL have to be made. The sooner this happens the easier it will be.

Chris

LittleBigMan

Danny,

I am in the same boat as you as far as family time is concerned. I have three children at home and the youngest if five years old. So, the only way I can get exercise is to do it as part of my work-commute. I started with walking part of the way. Now, I choose to cycle all the way. Getting that daily exercise can be done.

Yet your mention of those high-speed country roads cannot be ignored. The danger is real. One should not cycle in conditions in which they do not feel confident.

But don't give up, there may be an option somewhere!
Don't forget the possibility of driving most of the way, then walking a couple of miles the rest.

Peter