Staying in Shape

So I was reading Jay's post, with which I find myself completely agreeing with (every visit to the store elicits the thought "I can't believe all the chunky kids here."). Which leads to thoughts of people I work with and friends.

I get so many comments about how "lucky" I am to have a "fast metabolism" so I can eat "anything" I want. At the same time, I get the comments, "I don't know why you keep eating salads for lunch, you don't need to," and "Oh, take a bigger piece of [pie, cake etc] you can afford it."

This leads to the following thoughts:

• I want to know when these people became doctors, when they secretly took blood samples and had test done to determine that my metabolism is so much faster than theirs (or the general populace).

• I don't see why they can't figure out that the reason II "don't need to eat salads" is because I eat salads, use sugar substitutes, don't drink sodas (or sugar laden drinks), and try to eat healthy. I "can afford to take a bigger piece of [whatever]" because I don't take a bigger piece of [whatever] or don't take any at all.

• I try to get plenty of exercise, which most people don't realize, or refuse to believe even if they have been told about it.

A gal at work just had gastric bypass surgery. She was constantly on diets (so she said), but couldn't loose weight. She told me yesterday that someone had put "dirt cake" out on the counter. Now, dirt cake is one of my favorites that I don't even try to resist (although I did tell her that I wish she hadn't told me about it). So I went out to get some and came back with a loaded bowl.

I made the comment that I would have to run stairs that night. After a couple of seconds, "Do you really do that?" She asked. I replied, "Yes, although normally I do weight training, but I'm still sore from the last couple days, so need to do something different." I explained running the stairs to the deck or using the stepper that WS got me several years ago. She asked if I did all my exercise at home and I told her about the machine WS got me for Christmas one year and all the free weights that I have.

I could tell it made her think a bit, that yes, skinny people (or in my case, normal sized people) really aren't magically that way, especially as we get older. There is some hard work involved, not just a "fast metabolism" as so many people like to believe.

Comments

[Frankie]

So true! I'm sick of seeing all the commercials for magic pills and potions. Unscrupulous marketers appeal to our desire for a quick fix, encouraging our denial that physical activity and a little self-discipline is the only healthy route to . . . um, health.

[bogie]

I couldn't agree more Frankie!