Box Full of Letters (the new letters thread)

[diesel_powered]

Dear Pollo,

It occurs to me that one possibility may be that many of the student athletes you're coming in contact with probably aren't involved with athletics because they want to be, but rather because they have to be. Either it's their ticket through college and/or their ticket to parental/societal/institutional approval, but either way they're spending their time busting ass for the no doubt fickle approval of others which is enough to put anyone in a bad mood.

Not to mention that at the varsity or college level, they're usually training four or more hours a day (or at least that's what my experience in swimming began to approach) and at that level, training becomes boring as fuck. Throw in the normal sullen teenager tendencies and the fact that some people never let go of them, and you've got the crowd you're describing.

Athletically yours,

M

[Babar]

dear pollo

u just jealous of their manly pecks

-b

[elpollodiablo]

Huh. Whatever, fag.

[Wally]

Dear Athletes or Former Athletes (students, varsity, etc),

I've always been basically a fatty, and never competed in any sport more organized than some impromptu ultimate Frisbee. I'm not trying to be a cock, but I'm genuinely curious: why are so many (as in the great, GREAT majority of you) such sullen, unpersonable sorts? This isn't a criticism, exactly, it doesn't make any difference to me, but.. what's up with that? Is that how you talk to everyone? It's not an age thing, because it seems pretty common in kids from 12-25 (maybe older), and it's not specific to one sport, cuz I've seen in it football, baseball, hockey and basketball players. It's not me, so far as I can tell, because you react the same way to every one of my coworkers, your coaches, your parents and, from what I've seen, your girlfriends. What the hell has got you so down? Why can you not make eye contact with anyone? Why do simple social interactions seem to require some huge internal effort on your part?

Genuinely curious,
Miles

It's 'cause most of them are in there teens or twenties. Those who you meet in that age group who don't fit the description you gave are in the majority. And if you start thinking "yeah. but what about all the dudes and dudettes I think are awesome." Well they're you're friends, and I don't need to tell you that those friendships are based on historical convenience and a whole bunch of subjective stuff.

[Wally]

Not that you shouldn't bitch about them at every possible opportunity.

[elpollodiablo]

Wait, what?

[Wally]

I think what I mean is that most people could be described the way you describe the sporty people you're talking about. At least most people in their teens and twenties fit the description. I mean you could replace all those sports with different types of music, or different occupations, christ if you wanted to be a dick about it you could replace them with a bunch of sexualities.

[elpollodiablo]

Well... no, not really. Not in my experience, anyway. The reason their behavior stuck out to me is because it's become naturally associated in my mind with a certain class of guest here at work. Most people of the described ages I meet while working here are engaging enough, at least so much as polite society demands.

[Andrew_TSKS]

Actually dude if you began a regular exercise regimen I think you'd be surprised how much more energy you have throughout the day. And you do get to feel full if you just eat more low-calorie substantial stuff, like spinach and what not.

yeah, see, i don't really know much about that. i suppose i need to read up on nutrition and shit if i really ever want to figure out how to do that. as it is, i really don't know how to cook healthily in a way that doesn't just leave me starving two hours later and cooking a bunch more food (or hitting taco bell or a 7-11) and feeling like i lost more than i gained on the entire transaction.

No, you needn't do several hours a day. A couple of two-hour sessions a week is plenty. And it is something that is rewarding in its own right, or at least, it should be.

well, i am walking to and from work every day now, which is a little under a half-hour each way, 5 days a week. and it does feel pretty good to do that. but if it weren't a way to squeeze a little exercise time into my day by doing something i'd be doing anyway, i'd never be able to get myself to do it anywhere near as often. also, it doesn't seem to be affecting my weight at all. i was talking about what i'd have to do to look like a buff jock, you know? that would definitely entail several hours a day.

[Andrew_TSKS]

Dear Pollo,

It occurs to me that one possibility may be that many of the student athletes you're coming in contact with probably aren't involved with athletics because they want to be, but rather because they have to be. Either it's their ticket through college and/or their ticket to parental/societal/institutional approval, but either way they're spending their time busting ass for the no doubt fickle approval of others which is enough to put anyone in a bad mood.

Not to mention that at the varsity or college level, they're usually training four or more hours a day (or at least that's what my experience in swimming began to approach) and at that level, training becomes boring as fuck. Throw in the normal sullen teenager tendencies and the fact that some people never let go of them, and you've got the crowd you're describing.

Athletically yours,

M

also, i think this was kinda what i was driving at and i just didn't express myself well.

[Good Intentions]

Walking is a start, or a way to maintain your weight if you're trim. If you want to properly lose some weight, you need to do more, especially look at your diet. I can't think of many better ways to trim down than jogging, it's so good for that that the buff types have to look out to not do too much roadwork since it'll eat away their muscle mass (not a problem for any of us non-fulltime-athletes guys). My exercise is at least 30 minutes walking each day with 2 or 3 two-hour sport sessions.

[diesel_powered]

Actually dude if you began a regular exercise regimen I think you'd be surprised how much more energy you have throughout the day. And you do get to feel full if you just eat more low-calorie substantial stuff, like spinach and what not.

yeah, see, i don't really know much about that. i suppose i need to read up on nutrition and shit if i really ever want to figure out how to do that. as it is, i really don't know how to cook healthily in a way that doesn't just leave me starving two hours later and cooking a bunch more food (or hitting taco bell or a 7-11) and feeling like i lost more than i gained on the entire transaction.

I've been hitting the weight loss tip pretty hard lately with healthy results. For me, getting over the hungry an hour later thing was a matter of increasing protein intake and decreasing carbohydrates. Not Atkins levels by any means, but when I looked at what I was eating, I realized that I hardly ate any protein at all. The RDA for protein is 48-50 grams per day which is an unbelievably huge amount when you think about it. I don't eat much meat and I don't eat a whole lot of protein-rich vegetables (beans, spinach, peas, broccoli) so that leaves   pretty much nothing but carbohydrates. To remedy this, I started doing the morning smoothie thing and adding a couple scoops of protein powder. This means I get half my day's protein out of breakfast and it usually lasts me a few hours before I get hungry again. Plus, it's easier on my stomach in the morning than trying to eat something.

In addition, setting rules to keep portions under control has been helpful. At some point, I read that you shouldn't eat a portion bigger than your fist and that's been a pretty good gauge of portion size for me. As far as fatty things go (salad dressing, mayo... my arch nemesis), it's never more than a measured tablespoon in one sitting. With salads and whatnot, I'm amazed at just how little dressing you really need compared to single serving packages. I had a salad for lunch the other day and realized that the giant dressing package had approximately four times as much dressing as I needed (and this was after using more than I should have). I've been making a lot of coleslaw lately using two tablespoons of vinegar (or other tasty, nutritionally negligible liquid) and one tablespoon of mayo and that turns out to be more than plenty for two giant handfuls of greens. One thing I noticed about fats is that I'm pretty much incapable of estimating that tablespoon and when I try to eyeball it, I inevitably end up using more than I intended. I am a fataholic. I am incapable of using fats responsibly. Admitting that I have a problem was the first step towards recovery. I also made the resolution to stop eating low-end fast food permanently and severely cut down on better fast food. I still eat Jimmy John's every so often, but when I go there I just get a sandwich off the smaller sandwich side of the menu and ask them to go easy on the mayo. Cutting down on fast food has also meant that I never drink soda anymore, which is a good way to cut down on pointless calories. (And don't kid yourself, diet soda is just as bad as it messes with your insulin levels.) I also made the resolution to never buy snacks when I'm out at the grocery store, or at least when I do, buy smart ones. The last time I was shopping, instead of a box of crackers and a wedge of brie (cheese, my other arch nemesis), I went for a bag of Trader Joe's spicy super protein fiber tortilla chips (they have flax and sesame so they're full of omega-3's as well) and a tub of fresh salsa.

But I guess most of all, the thing that's helped me get my diet under control recently is getting okay with the idea that it's unreasonable to expect to never be hungry outside of mealtimes. I think our culture teaches us to expect this and if I eat that way, I'm heavier than I want to be. So instead, I've been telling myself that feeling hungry an hour before mealtimes is what losing weight feels like and if I feel really hungry or it's putting me in a bad mood, I'll eat a little nutrition bar and that usually buys me another 45 minutes or so before I get hungry again. Lately I've been getting the Larabars mostly because they're tiny and filled with fiber. They're also kind of high in fat for something that small, but I usually eat maybe three a week and usually on exercise days, so I figure I'm okay.

As far as exercise goes, I made the resolution that I was going to walk to all the places I go to in my neighborhood and further, I was going to try to walk three and a half miles every other day. Believe it or not, walking and jogging burn essentially the same amount of fat. This is good for me because my knees can't handle running. Getting a pedometer helps as well because at any point, I can check it and figure out how far I have left to go. Over and beyond that, I realized that I'm not disciplined enough to exercise for for the sake of exercising and get bored with it easily, so it's a matter of getting creative about spreading out my errands to exercise days and arranging them around the distance I want to make.

So hopefully my dissertation on my own weight loss might be of some use to you. YMMV, etc. My goal is to go from 225 down to 180 and then put on another ten pounds of muscle. I'm down to about 208 right now and I've been working it for about two months. My only worry is what to do when winter hits and I can't really exercise outdoors. I'm thinking of trying to buy a bike or something.

[rockmeamadeus]

hm... that was really interesting! I ain't a chubby dude, but I am all kinds of unhealthy! That is all real interesting...

[silentsigh89]

just a note to say-- Running really can hurt if you're overweight!! I'm a fatty and while I can run short bursts (mostly when playing games), if I try to "go for a run", I am in searing pain for days afterwards. My knees, they hate it!

I'm not really in a phase of trying to lose weight right now, really. But! When I was trying a bit more, I found it was really helpful (especially at first) to actually write down what I ate in a day. Looking at it really kind of helped me put my diet into proportion. There are some sites that help with this-- especially thedailyplate. And it was just a tiny thing that made it a lot easier to think about what I was putting into my body.

[Good Intentions]

just a note to say-- Running really can hurt if you're overweight!! I'm a fatty and while I can run short bursts (mostly when playing games), if I try to "go for a run", I am in searing pain for days afterwards. My knees, they hate it!

This is the truth. Starting out by walking is a good idea, and then you step up to running.

[Greg Nog]

I've been running a half-hour every day for well over a year now, and it's been working out great.  But when I started, it was more like: walk five minutes, break into a light jog for like thirty seconds, go back to walking.  And then, over time, each day, increasing the ratio of jog to walk.  Now, it's: brisk jog for a half hour, where every five minutes, I spend thirty seconds sprinting.  I'm not sure how fast I'm going, but I was running in Central Park the other day, and I passed everyone else along the running route there, and no one passed me, so I guess it's moderately fast, but that speed took awhile to build up.  I also wasn't sure exactly how far I'd been running until I did a 5K a couple months back, and discovered that it was less than I run every day.  So it sorta grows in a sneaky way over time.

As far as the time it takes out of my day, I guess I have about an hour built into my morning for it: I wake up, drink some water and coffee, usually while looking at the internet, and the combination of caffeine and hydration makes me poop, which cleans out my system and gets me ready to run.  Then I run for a half-hour, come back home, and have breakfast.  Three days a week, I also do a calisthenic-type routine after the run, but that really only takes like ten to fifteen minutes.  Anyway, this is all right before I shower; I sweat a sort of insane amount, so it's good to know that after I'm running or calisthenic-izing, I won't have to worry about looking all raggedy-moist to other folk. 

In terms of small amounts of exercise that a person can do each day (to make it a standard part of how your body is used to existing) and by oneself (if one, like me, feels goony as hell exercising where other people can see one) -- I've heard people say good things about shovelglove, and the DIY-ness of it sounds appealing.  I haven't tried it myself, but if you want me to post my own personal calisthenic routine instead, I can do so.

Anyway, all this has been integral in me feeling less tired and more ready to face life without debilitating sadness intruding on my thoughts.

[Andrew_TSKS]

good grief, greg, what time do you have to get up to do all that before you go to work?

[ellaguru]

just a note to say-- Running really can hurt if you're overweight!!

True dat. Cycling or swimming are going to be a lot easier on the knees. Also, buying good quality dedicated shoes and replacing them somewhat often. Finally, starting your run either slow or at a walk so you aren't stressing an unready body + bit of a walk and stretching at the end to relax your body back into real life.

I found it was really helpful (especially at first) to actually write down what I ate in a day. Looking at it really kind of helped me put my diet into proportion.

Documentation can be useful for the exercise bit as well. Write down what you do now. Write down what you want to be able to do. Write down what you think are good part-way steps to get there. How long should each step take? Tick things off as you do them. Change the goals or the steps as you go if they are too easy or too hard.

This helps if your goal seems imposingly big, because now you just have to think about the next small step, not about the whole thing. And it helps you to see improvement, because you can see that what you're doing now is better than what you were doing a month ago (even if it's not what you want in the end). And it helps to motivate a little, because you can see where today's workout fits into your plan, because you do have one.

[Greg Nog]

good grief, greg, what time do you have to get up to do all that before you go to work?

The schedule is more or less: up at 7:30, read LPTJ as I drink some water until 8, run from 8 to 8:30, eat breakfast and shower between 8:30 and 9, head out the front door and onto the subway, read on the subway for about 45 minutes, be at work at 10.  Of course, this doesn't take into account dawdling, or getting distracted by YouTube videos of little cats, which is why I'm often late for work.

[ellaguru]

Nice to be able to arrive at work at a reasonable time, eh, Greg? On the days I work out in the morning I'm able to get up at 7, workout like 7:30 -9:30 and start work at 10 or so. And, since I work at home, at 6ish I am not only done for the day, but I'm already home.

[Augo]

Yeah, dang Greg!  Do all scientists start work so late?  Must be nice!

[diesel_powered]

Yup. It takes their superbrains way longer to warm up than us normal folks.

[Greg Nog]

Yeah, I'm pretty much 10 to 6, and it works out great.  I also really can't say I mind the commute at all, as it's the only time of the day that I really do much reading.

Also, pursuant to my last post: to be clear, it's really only an extra half-hour that I need to carve into my morning for a run; the rest of the stuff is things I would do anyway.  Dicking around on the internet, showering, eating tuna fish.

[Augo]

Also while we're talking exercise-  My job provides more than enough physical activity to stay in decent shape (although I fight it hard with potato chips and cigarettes), but there are certain areas of muscle that do not get much of a work-out at work (basically I'm putting on tummy lbs. while my arms and shoulders are hulking the fuck up) and plus I often feel tense and weary in my joints and tendons... I'm thinking of beginning some yoga activities, but I'm not one to do things like take classes and pay money, so does anyone have any good suggestions for getting started with this sort of stuff?  Buy a tape and dive in?


xpost- 10-6 is my ideal shift.  I get one of those two or three times a month.  God I wish it were a daily thing...  I envy your schedule, man.

[ellaguru]

Yoga is good for the joints, and in general a very good idea, but isn't particularly efficient for tightening the tummy. You'd be better doing a pilates thing for that. Pilates is less good, but okay, for flexibility, but better for the strength/toning - unless you're fairly advanced at the yoga thing (when it can become a pretty decent strength workout, actually).

Also, even if you do the video route rather than classes, it's a good idea to hit the occasional class, especially at the beginning, because a lot of yoga work is fairly precise, and it's easy to totally miss the point of what you're doing. Having at least the occasional teacher pointing out a mistake or three is useful, but yeah you can totally do most of it at home. Maybe on the regular at home, and hit a class once every couple of months?

That said, I always go to yoga hut rather than exercising at home, because there are pretty girls all bent up into pretzels there and that's the best reason to do yoga.