Fast-5 Diet and Lifestyle: Re: [fast5] Re: WooHoo!

Hi Rick

The point you make about the reactions of other men is interesting. As far as unwillingness to be active is concerned, this is a mystery to me, as personally I find no greater pleasure in life. Living in a relatively compact city, we enjoy walking everywhere, hardly ever use the car around town, and escape into the beautiful nearby countryside at every opportunity. I suspect to some degree this may be "different folks and different strokes", though of course as physical effort becomes increasingly difficult because of excess weight and fitness related problems, it's all too easy to rationalise this as lack of desire. I don't think this phenomenon is confined to the USA in any way, although, as in so many things good and bad, you may be ahead of the trend.

As far as the issue of physical appearance is concerned, it does seem to have been the case historically that men - and to a degree women too, in their assessment of us - have often associated bulk itself, however constituted, with "heft" and power. In fact I've been told that lawyers have an expression for the impressively reassuring effect of a well-suited belly in court, although unfortunately it escapes me at the moment. No doubt there is some sort of evolutionary rationale for this tendency. In the face of such an unconscious bias, there's quite likely to be a defensive psychological reaction when someone is clearly rationally choosing health and effectiveness over "traditional" considerations, especially where there is a personal unwillingness to do the same.

Speaking for myself, my wife (and many years ago, my mother and even my grandmother) occasionally used to comment that I was "too thin", but this was usually when I had dropped some extra weight after having allowed it to creep on and stay for a while. In other words, they'd simply grown accustomed to my somewhat fatter appearance, and were also perhaps unconsciously influenced by the old association between slimness and ill health (in the bad old days being thin was often associated with poverty and dread conditions like tuberculosis). When I worked in a large office, for the most part, the other guys wanted to know how I did it. One aspect of this may have been that I was generally considered to be very good at my job (in IT, not the law) and perhaps they figured that if that's the way the guy who's effective looks, maybe it's the way to be!

To the extent that I'm still motivated by residual vanity these days (and which of us isn't?) I get my positive feedback when people comment positively on my physical robustness and health, and also, to a degree, on my slim and strong appearance. Even at my present advanced age, wearing a tee-shirt, I still get my share of compliments on my shape and muscularity from women - even from my wife - and even occasionally from male friends! By the way, often what people actually say is "you look fit", and it's intriguing to reflect that, here in the UK at least, this is also the vernacular for "you look sexy"! Back when I first started using the Heavyhands exercise system 25 years ago, my "mentor", Dr Schwartz, was exactly the age I am now, and it was the muscular image and rude health of this "ripped" 60-year old that motivated me to follow his example. These days, I guess don't look so dissimilar to those old photos of the good doctor, and based on recent pictorial evidence, the man himself - now a very active 85 - really hasn't changed all that much.

Anyway, it will be intriguing to see if in reality the guys - and gals - at work respond to a more streamlined version of you as less "masculine" - as opposed to more muscular, more active - more attractively youthful, perhaps? Methinks Hamlet might consider that they were "protesting too much". Or, as Miss Piggy might have said - "Defensive, moi?"

David

On 8 April 2010 13:55, RickS <rstewart@iaff.org> wrote:

David- Thanks for the encouraging words! And a "Well Done" to you for maintaining your weight and health for so long. It occurred to me that it was possible to get WAY down in weight when I realized that the guy in this picture ( http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ ) is 5'10", 57 years old, and weighs 165.

I agree it is distressing, even at my age (43), how many of my peers don't want to walk the steps one flight, or ride a bike or walk to the grocery store that's less than a mile from home. In fact, there's a disturbing cultural fear I've uncovered. It may be local to my area or part of a larger issue, tell me if you've heard of such nonsense in England... I've spoken to three men that I work with about my goal to get thin. Their first concern was if my wife would think that was attractive. There seems to be a fear that looking "healthy" (thin and muscular) is too small and feminine. The three guys I spoke to all said that they think they look better carrying a little weight, like 185 or so. Have you run into this idea where you live?

-Rick Stewart

--- In fast5@yahoogroups.com, David Nyman <david@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Rick
>
> Congratulations on your commitment to a worthwhile goal! Like you, I'm
> 5'10" and of medium build. I'm both a long-time FF-er and exerciser (mainly
> based on Len Schwartz's undeservedly neglected Heavyhands protocol), a
> combination I've found particularly effective for weight (or more properly
> fat) control. My weight is now steady around 160, and according to my
> Tanita scale this represents about an 8% level of body fat. I find it
> really rewarding to maintain this level of condition - which I haven't found
> too tough to do with the FF+HH combo - as I find at age 60 it gives me an
> edge of physical capacity compared with most of my age cohort (fortunately,
> my wife excepted).
>
> A recent hiking holiday in the hills of the English Lake District we both
> undertook with a family friend of similar years, made this point quite
> forcibly. He and I used to hike together a lot 20 years ago, but the extra
> 30 pounds or so of weight he's now carrying so wore him out that he had real
> trouble completing the first day's hike (perhaps the constant moaning and
> complaining also sapped his energy). At one point I actually had to put a
> hand in the small of his back and help to push him up the hill! Next day he
> couldn't even contemplate anything remotely involving an ascent. By
> contrast, for Pam and me, in decent physical shape, a week or so of hiking,
> biking, or skiing can still be a pleasurable diversion, not gruelling
> physical torture. If an active life is any kind of priority, the commitment
> to fitness that is perhaps optional when young becomes a stark necessity in
> one's "golden years".
>
> If my experience is anything to go by, you shouldn't have too much trouble
> achieving your goal, or maintaining it. I wouldn't rush my fences though,
> especially as you close in on the target. I've found that aiming to shed
> not more than one pound of fat a week on average, by a balanced combination
> of extra work and modestly reduced calorie intake, works very well, and some
> strength-oriented training in the mix guards effectively against any
> significant loss of muscle mass during the process.
>
> Best of luck and keep us posted!
>
> David
>
> On 7 April 2010 15:01, RickS <rstewart@...> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > I've been on Fast-5 for well over a year, but I've always used it for
> > health benefits, convenience, and because I don't want to buy food if I
> > don't have to. :)
> >
> > But over the last two months I've been making a concerted effort to lose
> > weight using Fast-5 and exercise. My goal is to get down to the weight that
> > the doctor's charts say I should weigh for maximum longevity. The charts say
> > a 5'10" male with medium bone structure should weigh between 151-163! That
> > has always sounded ridiculously low to me- Lance Armstrong weighed 153
> > during the Tour de France.
> >
> > But since F-5 makes it so easy to lose I think I'm going to go for it... at
> > least to 165. I've dropped almost 30 lbs since the beginning of February and
> > I'm down to 175 now. It's the final stretch, that LAST ten lbs...
> >
> > -Rick
> >
> >
> >
>