stomper
Guest
Hey, thanks for the voluminous response to my utterly vain post about trying to ditch my beer belly. I've been trying to come up with a thoughtful reply, because I'm sure a lot of other people here have weight they want to lose. Not that I'm any example of success, but the topic has been on my mind.
I'm sorely tempted to get down and dirty in the technical arguments about mechanisms of weight gain and loss, but I think it might be more useful to get further into the question I posed before... what would be a barefoot- running style approach to weight loss?
So I'm going to type one up here. I'm declaring here and now this is the plan I'm going to follow for the rest of the year (at a minimum).
Once again, this is a totally personal and vain topic, so if you're not into this kind of navel-gazing, it's totally understandable, and you should leave the thread now while you can still breathe.
So what's really worked for me about barefoot running (BFR)? And how would I translate that into barefoot-running -style of weight loss (BWL for short)?
BFR: The real goal is feeling better, not making a time. I don't time myself more than once a month.
BWL: The real goal is feeling better, not making a weight. I won't weigh myself more than once a month.
Explanation: A year ago when I really committed myself to doing BFR, I pretty much stopped timing myself running except for once every one or two months. I told myself I was going to learn how to feel better while running, and that numbers such as minutes/mile were arbitrary. I took an idea from the chi running book and decided to use timed races as occasional "tests of my knowledge." Curiously, these once-a- month tests showed me getting faster.
Similarly, I think that weight in pounds or kilograms is an arbitrary number. I don't really desire to be X pounds or have X% body fat. What I desire is to feel lighter and move lighter. That would be success. Sure, my body mass does have something to do with it, but it's a crude yardstick at best. If I am doing something right, a once-a-month weighing will show it. More often than that might just be a distraction.
BFR: Exercise is a pleasure and an art that I cherish, not some painful chore I "must" do to be healthy.
BWL: Food is one of the pleasures of life, not the enemy.
Explanation: I have lost weight in the past on programs like Weight Watchers where food is counted religiously. But it gave me an incredibly negative obsessive attitude about food. It robbed the pleasure from it. If I can't cherish my post run Mirror Pond Pale Ale for the treasure that it is, what kind of life is that? It's like saying the only purpose of sex is reproduction. So with the food (fortunately not with the sex) I just need to stop when I've had enough.
BFR: I get some advice, but ultimately it's up to me to figure out how to do it.
BWL: I'll take in ideas, but ultimately I have to listen to my body and figure out my own way of doing it.
Explanation: Listening to my body may be the trickiest part here, because there is no question my body is tuned by evolution and habit to put on weight. I am never ever going to be lithe, though that may have its advantages. I dare anyone to outlast me in a Norwegian snowstorm or a muddy Dutch bog (the places my ancestors came from). But I can definitely tell when my body is feeling healthy and strong, and when it is feeling awkward and overloaded. I will focus on the former.
BFR: Learning to run barefoot is a whole new skill that's taken years; I'm still having fun figuring it out.
BWL: I've gotta give this some time and enjoy it.
Explanation: Ahh crap enough said. Manifesto over. I've gotta get back to work.
Anything to add?
I'll revisit this in a month if anybody's curious. Current arbitrary yardstick number: 171 pounds.
I'm sorely tempted to get down and dirty in the technical arguments about mechanisms of weight gain and loss, but I think it might be more useful to get further into the question I posed before... what would be a barefoot- running style approach to weight loss?
So I'm going to type one up here. I'm declaring here and now this is the plan I'm going to follow for the rest of the year (at a minimum).
Once again, this is a totally personal and vain topic, so if you're not into this kind of navel-gazing, it's totally understandable, and you should leave the thread now while you can still breathe.
So what's really worked for me about barefoot running (BFR)? And how would I translate that into barefoot-running -style of weight loss (BWL for short)?
BFR: The real goal is feeling better, not making a time. I don't time myself more than once a month.
BWL: The real goal is feeling better, not making a weight. I won't weigh myself more than once a month.
Explanation: A year ago when I really committed myself to doing BFR, I pretty much stopped timing myself running except for once every one or two months. I told myself I was going to learn how to feel better while running, and that numbers such as minutes/mile were arbitrary. I took an idea from the chi running book and decided to use timed races as occasional "tests of my knowledge." Curiously, these once-a- month tests showed me getting faster.
Similarly, I think that weight in pounds or kilograms is an arbitrary number. I don't really desire to be X pounds or have X% body fat. What I desire is to feel lighter and move lighter. That would be success. Sure, my body mass does have something to do with it, but it's a crude yardstick at best. If I am doing something right, a once-a-month weighing will show it. More often than that might just be a distraction.
BFR: Exercise is a pleasure and an art that I cherish, not some painful chore I "must" do to be healthy.
BWL: Food is one of the pleasures of life, not the enemy.
Explanation: I have lost weight in the past on programs like Weight Watchers where food is counted religiously. But it gave me an incredibly negative obsessive attitude about food. It robbed the pleasure from it. If I can't cherish my post run Mirror Pond Pale Ale for the treasure that it is, what kind of life is that? It's like saying the only purpose of sex is reproduction. So with the food (fortunately not with the sex) I just need to stop when I've had enough.
BFR: I get some advice, but ultimately it's up to me to figure out how to do it.
BWL: I'll take in ideas, but ultimately I have to listen to my body and figure out my own way of doing it.
Explanation: Listening to my body may be the trickiest part here, because there is no question my body is tuned by evolution and habit to put on weight. I am never ever going to be lithe, though that may have its advantages. I dare anyone to outlast me in a Norwegian snowstorm or a muddy Dutch bog (the places my ancestors came from). But I can definitely tell when my body is feeling healthy and strong, and when it is feeling awkward and overloaded. I will focus on the former.
BFR: Learning to run barefoot is a whole new skill that's taken years; I'm still having fun figuring it out.
BWL: I've gotta give this some time and enjoy it.
Explanation: Ahh crap enough said. Manifesto over. I've gotta get back to work.
Anything to add?
I'll revisit this in a month if anybody's curious. Current arbitrary yardstick number: 171 pounds.