Exercise is futile. Have some mozzarella sticks and a beer, my friend. As Redd Foxx put it, "All those health nuts are gonna feel real stupid, sitting in the rest home dying of nothing."

er, "hockey player". This NYT article states that a typical 25 year old (certanly I qualify!) could do this for only 30 seconds

Exercise is futile. Have some mozzarella sticks and a beer, my friend. As Redd Foxx put it, "All those health nuts are gonna feel real stupid, sitting in the rest home dying of nothing."

I've lost 53 pounds in three months.

But are you any happier? No pleasure is worth forgoing for an extra few years in the geriatric ward.

Or as Eric Bogosian put it:

"They say that cigars take 3 years off your life. What three years, 86 to 89? Keep 'em, I'll take the cigars."

From 271(!?) the fattest I've ever been, to 218. only 4 more pounds until I beat my record since sophomore year of collage. My back was killing me, and that's one of the main reasons for me wanting to lose weight.

Plus I'm hoping that getting all buff will help me get laid.

Plus I'm hoping that getting all buff will help me get laid.

Only by shallow chicks, but, hey, laid is laid. But wouldn't saying "Fuck it," and just retiring to the couch with a plate of buffalo wings and six-pack of malt liquor be liberating? Screw the appearance and health nazis, man!

*pumps fist in air, sings "One Tin Soldier"*

But are you any happier? No pleasure is worth forgoing for an extra few years in the geriatric ward.

But what pleasures are worth forgoing in order to be dead-sexy? :P

And what are you doing at home on a Saturday night? Shouldn't you be out drinking? You're deflating the myth of the great JONMC!

You both have valid points.

And what are you doing at home on a Saturday night? Shouldn't you be out drinking? You're deflating the myth of the great JONMC!

You've misunderstood the myth, delmoi. I'm more Al Bundy than man-about-town. The weekdays are when me and Divine_Wino hit the bars. And FWIW, I'm on my eighth bottle of Brooklyn Oktoberfest ale, and I consumed a t-bone, a baked potato, corn and a dozen clams oreganata already.

The myth lives.

But what pleasures are worth forgoing in order to be dead-sexy? :P

Being slim does not equal sexy. I'm a svelte 160 at 6' 1". And once you reach a certain age, sex becomes more theoretical than anything else.

Embrace the future, bro.

Only by shallow chicks, but, hey, laid is laid. But wouldn't saying "Fuck it," and just retiring to the couch with a plate of buffalo wings and six-pack of malt liquor be liberating? Screw the appearance and health nazis, man!

But Shallow chicks are the hottest ones!

Actually I always told myself that I would start eating healthy and being healthy when I got into my twenties, and I actually seem to be fulfilling that promise. One of the few self-promise I've kept. Of course, right now I'm mostly eating junk food, the candy bars and potato-chips I can buy at work (and the free soda).

Other then back pain, this is probably not doing much for my health. To be honest, I really love the feeling of loosing weight and feeling these new muscles that are popping up all over my body. It's really cool.

Am I a health nut? I do intend to become one, eventually. Eating healthy and whatnot. But yes, all of this gives me tremendous enjoyment.

Being slim does not equal sexy. I'm a svelte 160 at 6' 1".

Well, when (if ever) I get to 160 I'll change my ways. Actually my goal is only about 180-190, which seems like an impossible dream. Plus reasonably sized muscles.

And once you reach a certain age, sex becomes more theoretical than anything else.

Well, I have not reached that age yet! All the more reason to try to become a beautiful person and cram in all the debauchery I can.

But Shallow chicks are the hottest ones!

That's true. They swallow bullshit better than the smart broads.

Am I a health nut? I do intend to become one, eventually.

You need a night of sheer indulgence on the jonmc/divine_wino plan. we are available whenever you need us, dude.

All the more reason to try to become a beautiful person

The beautiful people are as evil as the rich people and the smart people. Fight them to your last breath.

Now, I'm off to buy my third pack of smokes of the day. BRB.

You need a night of sheer indulgence on the jonmc/divine_wino plan. we are available whenever you need us, dude.

I'm not sure that would help, Alcohol is a pretty good appetite suppressant :P

We's take you Katz's Deli for pastrami, Grey's Papaya for dawgs and M&G Diner for soul food along with the boozin'. Resistance is futile. We'll even throw in trips to Queensboro Plaza for lap dances.

I've lost 53 pounds in three months.

Awesome!

In the last two years I have put on something like 30 lbs. Happened gradually enough, but I did notice it and just didn't want to deal with it. Finally all of my pants were too small. I like really baggy jeans, cargo pants, etc... comfort is good. So it took a while for the super baggy clothing to get too little, but that day came. I've started running reguarly again and I hope in a few weeks I feel much better than I have lately. I've lost three pounds, which ain't much but it is a start. I was much happier when I was keeping myself in great shape and eating well than when I started eating whatever the fuck I wanted. The only six pack I want is the one that I used to see when I looked in the mirror.

We's take you Katz's Deli for pastrami, Grey's Papaya for dawgs and M&G Diner for soul food along with the boozin'. Resistance is futile. We'll even throw in trips to Queensboro Plaza for lap dances.

Haha. Sounds like fun. You're in NYC right? My sister lives there now so if I ever get a chance to visit I'll let you know.

btw: today I ate:

*Two 280 calorie iceream bars.
*Burger King Tendercrisp sammich, 9pc chicken fries and medium French fries.
*A bottle of Snapple ice tea.

That's definitely not 'healthy' but it's not a lot either.

*Burger King Tendercrisp sammich, 9pc chicken fries and medium French fries.

Have you had the Meatnormous Breakfast Sandwich yet? I'm dying to eat one just to say I did. That and it looks tasty.

Exercise is futile. Have some mozzarella sticks and a beer, my friend.

I'm a svelte 160 at 6' 1".

Jon, your little anti-exercise rant has annoyed me more than anything I've ever read by you. It sounds like you don't have a weight problem. Congratulations. Now can you lay off those who do, and are actually doing something about it?

I applaud your efforts, delmoi. It's tough as hell to change your life and lose weight. By the way, have you tried the BK chicken whoppers? 350 calories with no mayo, and delicious.

Doom to the haters.

To answer the original question: I think most exercise machines are pretty inaccurate when it comes to calories burned. I usually half the value it tells me.

Jon, your little anti-exercise rant has annoyed me more than anything I've ever read by you.

What, have I defiled your sacred cow? delmoi's the one who made the initial post and he took it in the good humored spirit it was intended. Relax, Jenny Craig.

And as you know, I have kidney stones, and probably incipient cirrhosis of the liver, lung cancer, heart disease and a million other things that come with my indulgences. they are consequences, not punishments. We have different ways of dealing with the world we're given, my friend.

I lost 80 pounds between Feb. and now. I found things I now love to do and did them alot (like biking). Now I don't feel as bad when I eat a candy bar.

Now can you lay off those who do, and are actually doing something about it?

Seems to me that jonmc wasn't making a value judgment against being overweight the way that you seem to be. So why is he in the wrong and you're in the right?

True, he's being all opinionated and implying that anyone who worries about being overweight is shallow while at the same time himself not facing the social stigma of being overweight. So, I dunno.

Maybe it's worth pointing out that the matter is so highly charged--as we can see on any of the relveant MeFi threads--that a certain tact and sensitivity is always in order when discussing it. No matter which direction you lean on the matter.

As a sidenote, which I actually think is relevant in a roundabout way, my best friend from college has always been noticably underweight. He's touchy about it--but because he's underweight people feel perfectly free to make light of it and tell him how "lucky" he is.

So many implicit value judgments about appearances and so many ways to carelessly hurt someone's feelings.

Seems to me that jonmc wasn't making a value judgment against being overweight the way that you seem to be. So why is he in the wrong and you're in the right?

Well, can we take it as a given that being overweight is bad for your health? (Especially since delmoi listed a specific health problem that was being caused by his weight.)

I find it highly annoying when someone is trying to improve, and others feel the need to sabotage them. Even if your comments are offered in a humorous manner, if you're telling someone to quit their diet and go grab some mozzarella sticks, you're being anything but helpful. If a man were trying to quit smoking and his friends lightheartedly offered him cigarettes all the time, I can imagine I'd find that annoying as well. If I myself had quit smoking in the past, I would probably get even more peeved about it.

If a man were trying to quit smoking and his friends lightheartedly offered him cigarettes all the time, I can imagine I'd find that annoying as well.

Me, too; but it's not because I necessarily agree with his judgment about quitting smoking. I agree because it's impolite to undermine something someone else thinks is important and is difficult for them to accomplish. It's just not nice.

Sure, being overweight is bad for your health. But no one's managed to convince me why doing something that is bad for your health is a vice that is so easily ridiculed in public. Not wearing a seatbelt, smoking, free climbing, whatever are all bad for your health, too, but people don't feel that these facts form a substantial foundation for judging someone's entire character. Frankly, in my judgment, being overweight ranks fairly low on the list of things that I am willing to condemn people for. Being a member of the GOP ranks much higher, for example.

I don't mean to rehash the arguments on mefi here, only to try to point out that there's not a good reason to assume that one's personal sensibilities--yours or jonmc's--are nearly universal and should be taken as some foundational and unspoken assumption for an argument.

If someone says "I'm trying to lose weight" the best response is "good for you". If someone says that they really couldn't care if they lost weight, the best response is..."good for you". See?

It'll suck when you die young, Jon, but if you die happy, why the hell not?

Me, I find drinkin' and smokin' and eating bad stuff once in a while is pleasurable, just like you, but so is the feeling I get from regularly and vigorously working out. We all get off in our own ways.

And good on ya, delmoi for losing weight, if that makes you feel better. I dropped about 30 pounds last year, too. Could have done better, and will, but like jonmc, I prefer not to refuse myself my beer and pasta, so it's a gradual thing.

A power output of 1.2 KW: that says your about as powerful as a 1.6 horsepower lawn mower.

Sure, I'd buy it. Probably not at all accurate, but I bet it is in the ball park (your Lance A. numbers seem too low to me -- my cousin was told to eat like 5000 kcal a day when he was on the HS swim team).

As for me -- I stay in shape because life ain't worth living as a fat slob. For me. But if it is for you, more power to you.

I haul my ass up the side of a cliff on occasion. My forearms feel every damn pound. So I'll stay in shape.

The wattage figures you see for Armstrong and other cyclists are the power that's going into the drivetrain of the bicycle, measured by the tension in the chain (or similar techniques). That's not the same - not by a long shot - as the rate at which you're using energy. Your elliptical is computing (well, estimating) the latter figure. If you had a power meter on a bicycle you'd be seeing something around 130-140 watts.

To put things in more familiar units, if I'm on the road, not drafting, then using 1100 calories per hour is about a 20-21 mile per hour cruise; on the flat, that's upbeat but comfortable recreational riding. For a one hour time trial Lance and pals are riding at 30+ miles per hour (over courses that are not mountainous but not really flat either). Now that's "just" half-again as much speed but bear in mind that due to air resistance, power increases with the square of speed. If you want to get a feel for this, borrow a bike with a computer sometime and see what 30mph on the road feels like. There are a lot of people that can't hit 30 in a sprint.

I also read somewhere that Lance Armstrong puts out 500 calories,
That a wattage figure, incidentally, not calories-per-hour.

A cigarette takes 2 minutes off your life, but they take 5 minutes to smoke. So really, you're ahead.

Also, keep in mind that what are usually called "calories" in America are properly "Calories" (with a capital C), and that pronounced out-loud, "calorie" is "calorie", and "Calorie" is "kilocalorie". That's right, a calorie is a calorie but a Calorie is a kilocalorie. Horrible, horrible, horrible naming convention.

Dunno that it relates at all, but it does crop up a lot when trying to compare American statistics and non-American statistics.

And, while I know the difference between calorie and Calorie, I didn't know that Lance Armstrong wasn't an astronaut until I read the linked article.

I dropped about 30 pounds last year, too.

Well, good for you both.

As did I, thanks to a low carb diet and riding a bike. I don't talk about what I eat to anyone anymore due to all the unsolicited pronouncements and free advice.

All I know is I'm 30 pounds lighter and still dropping and my blood pressure was 114/60 the last time I got checked.

My own experience is that losing weight and not drinking really do wonders for the libido.

Quitting drinking was easy--especially after reading about studies which how a lifetime of heavy drinking can often cause neural damage to nerves in the lower spine, resulting in--ta da!--permanent loss of sensation in the, ahem, sensitive areas of the penile organ as well as permanent impairment of erectile function. I am not making this up.

Poppy tea and kava kava are not so deleterious as intoxicants, and while you may get inclined to be immobile with the former and wobbly with the latter, you don't get progressively stupider in the process.

If you don't drink, you really notice how fast people who do can lose the ability to listen, comprehend and converse in the process of an evening.

A cigarette takes 2 minutes off your life, but they take 5 minutes to smoke. So really, you're ahead.

There's old and then there's older than your years. Cigarettes really ravage the collagen in the skin--the more so the closer to the point of entry. If you don't smoke, you notice--the older you get--how much older people your age look if they have been life long smokers. It's really shocking to see someone you haven't seen for years if they have been smoking all that time.

Have you had the Meatnormous Breakfast Sandwich yet? I'm dying to eat one just to say I did. That and it looks tasty.

You know, I *hate* 'breakfast food'. I always have. I wish the damn restaurants would just serve normal food at those hours, or at least keep burgers and fries on the menu. The only time I'm ever hungry at that hour is when I've been up all night

I applaud your efforts, delmoi. It's tough as hell to change your life and lose weight. By the way, have you tried the BK chicken whoppers? 350 calories with no mayo, and delicious.

I think they renamed them the 'tendergrill' and I just noticed that they were 450 calories today when I was looking up the calories for the stuff I ate. (the tender crisp is 450). BK's website will tell you the calories for each ingredient.

I'll probably get one the next time I'm there.

The wattage figures you see for Armstrong and other cyclists are the power that's going into the drivetrain of the bicycle, measured by the tension in the chain (or similar techniques). That's not the same - not by a long shot - as the rate at which you're using energy. Your elliptical is computing (well, estimating) the latter figure. If you had a power meter on a bicycle you'd be seeing something around 130-140 watts.

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. And yes, I know the diffrence Kilocalories per hour and watts, which actualy not that much

Oops, the tendercrip is 790, not 450. But damn tasty.

don't buy a drunk a drink but if you do don't listen to 'im

having less baggage will help you get laid, as liking yourself makes a difference, unless you're talking about some kind of sex where you want the other people to be uncomfortable--
still you get more of a range of positions

watch out for gall stones