stomper
Guest
There's something that's been driving me mad. I need a barefoot-running style approach to the problem. But be warned, this is long and completely vain. Feel free to skip.
No, don't just feel free to skip it. YOU MUST skip it unless you are a masochist.
There, you've been warned.
It's my weight, or not even my weight, really, it's the beer belly I have. It's not terrible. I weigh about 170 lbs at 5'4" and I'm pretty muscle-y and stocky in nature, so I'd say I'm a mere 15 lbs overweight. I'm not like Billy Carter or anything.
But that particular 15 lbs isn't cute, either. It sticks out in front of me. It precedes me in life. And I'm sick of this particular companion. It causes me to slump back in chairs to hide it. Or to wear black shirts when I'm not feeling particularly like wearing black. (And really, I've chosen pictures that minimize the issue. A realistic picture is far worse.)
But here's the frustrating part: the beer belly seems to be independent of my level of fitness and diet. No matter whether I can't run a block or whether I've been training 5 days a week for a martial arts test, I always have it. Right now I can run faster and farther than I could 10 years ago, and I know I eat far FAR less than I used to, but I still have the belly. I still weigh the same. It's completely mysterious.
Right now each week I do two short but hard crossfit workouts (kettle bells, calisthenics, etc), one or two 90-minute sessions of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and run 10-15 hilly miles, sometimes more. It seems like a lot. I also don't own a car so I do a lot of random walking and biking. I've been on this particular fitness plan for the last three or four months and in that time my shoulders and legs have started looking awesome. But the beer belly has constricted marginally at best. And my total weight hasn't changed. What gives?
I do know that my body seems to be very good at learning how to do things lazily. For example the week I switched to a single speed road bike (from a multispeed) I lost 5 pounds. But then it came back as I got used to riding it. Same deal when I started jiu jitsu.
I'm not sure what part food is playing here. I do know that I'm eating far less than I used to, but I abhor counting calories. The rule I've been using is "Only eat exactly what you want to." Which sounds very liberal, I know, but it actually has kept me from a lot of impulsive eating that I would have done 10 years ago... (when, oddly enough, I weighed exactly the same, though I must have looked... softer).
I would welcome any advice or suggestions that you could give. Just FYI, I am unlikely to follow complicated diet plans that involve counting things. Simple rules I can deal with. More exercise is possible.
Basically, I'm looking for an instinctive, informal approach to this problem that allows my body to tell me what's right. Much like BFR has worked a whole lot better for me than chi running or P*se running or any plan anybody has ever given me for running.
Input?
No, don't just feel free to skip it. YOU MUST skip it unless you are a masochist.
There, you've been warned.
It's my weight, or not even my weight, really, it's the beer belly I have. It's not terrible. I weigh about 170 lbs at 5'4" and I'm pretty muscle-y and stocky in nature, so I'd say I'm a mere 15 lbs overweight. I'm not like Billy Carter or anything.
But that particular 15 lbs isn't cute, either. It sticks out in front of me. It precedes me in life. And I'm sick of this particular companion. It causes me to slump back in chairs to hide it. Or to wear black shirts when I'm not feeling particularly like wearing black. (And really, I've chosen pictures that minimize the issue. A realistic picture is far worse.)
But here's the frustrating part: the beer belly seems to be independent of my level of fitness and diet. No matter whether I can't run a block or whether I've been training 5 days a week for a martial arts test, I always have it. Right now I can run faster and farther than I could 10 years ago, and I know I eat far FAR less than I used to, but I still have the belly. I still weigh the same. It's completely mysterious.
Right now each week I do two short but hard crossfit workouts (kettle bells, calisthenics, etc), one or two 90-minute sessions of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and run 10-15 hilly miles, sometimes more. It seems like a lot. I also don't own a car so I do a lot of random walking and biking. I've been on this particular fitness plan for the last three or four months and in that time my shoulders and legs have started looking awesome. But the beer belly has constricted marginally at best. And my total weight hasn't changed. What gives?
I do know that my body seems to be very good at learning how to do things lazily. For example the week I switched to a single speed road bike (from a multispeed) I lost 5 pounds. But then it came back as I got used to riding it. Same deal when I started jiu jitsu.
I'm not sure what part food is playing here. I do know that I'm eating far less than I used to, but I abhor counting calories. The rule I've been using is "Only eat exactly what you want to." Which sounds very liberal, I know, but it actually has kept me from a lot of impulsive eating that I would have done 10 years ago... (when, oddly enough, I weighed exactly the same, though I must have looked... softer).
I would welcome any advice or suggestions that you could give. Just FYI, I am unlikely to follow complicated diet plans that involve counting things. Simple rules I can deal with. More exercise is possible.
Basically, I'm looking for an instinctive, informal approach to this problem that allows my body to tell me what's right. Much like BFR has worked a whole lot better for me than chi running or P*se running or any plan anybody has ever given me for running.
Input?