Weight For It

As noted in a previous blog, women don’t dress to impress men, they dress to impress other women.  Oh sure, you’ll find several who will but on leather hot pants and halter top who have the aim to draw in men, but they are more the exception. However, men more than likely dress just for comfort or to express some level of society (ie, I got money, babe). 

This phenomenon is reversed when it comes to weight.

Women will try to lose weight (or cheat and wear a girdle) when they want to attract a male. If they are worried about their weight and encounter a man they want to know, they’ll actually mention the problem, but explain it in an attempt to throw the man off.

“I used to be so skinny, but gained weight right after breaking my leg/giving birth/disasterous break up.”

They will genuinely attempt to lose the weight. After they begin a new relationship whether they begin to regain again or not often varies. But that’s a different blog.

Men completely reverse the attraction issue when it comes to weight.  If they try to lose weight and get fit, it’s more to impress other men then it is to attract a female. They want to look ripped so they’ll impress other guys about how tough they are.

“You see this six-pack of abs, buddy?  Yeah, I could take you so don’t even think about it.”

That’s right, it’s that old competitive thing surfacing again. In a previous blog I mentioned how men are always competitive and women often see it as childish and aggressive. When a guy hits a gym to lift a few weights it’s so he can compete with the other males and flaunt his toughness/muscles.

Oh sure, there are some of these males who also want to attract a female. They might parade on muscle beach in front of some bikinis that are beckoning, but they are more of the exception.  As noted in another blog, women are just as superficial as men, but while we men look for hot bodies, they look for large wallets.  Even men who get fit know this, but they often want an alternate way to make an approach.

Of course, there are men who don’t want to be in this competition and are content with their beer bellies. They’ll suck in their guts when a woman walks by, hoping it will impress her enough so he can whip out his gold credit card and really make an impact.

The majority though take part in the competition, although on different levels. Some go full tilt and hit the gym, run, lift weights and really make an effort. The other spectrum are the guys who will just try to eat one less hamburger to lose a few pounds here and there and cross their fingers that when they go to play golf with other males, those males will be impressed that he still fits in his last pair of golf shorts.

So if you are a female and want to try to get on a guy’s good side, you could compliment him on his physique. He may appreciate that, but remember, he’s really trying to determine if the guy behind you thinks he's tough. It’s just like how us guys can compliment our significant other about the dress she decided on, but she’s really trying to impress that female waitress who will wait on you at the restaurant. 

Same game, just different equipment.

 

Ah, James Thurber

 

 

Fit in!

The other night while channel surfing, I ran across Nightline. They had a news report about people who were getting harmed by doing too much exercise. As a former PE teacher this seemed hilarious to me. Oh, I felt sorry for the people who developed problems, but this new malady that ABC was pushing just didn't make sense.

Basically what they were raving about was that people who exercised too much could be more prone to injuries or suffer from affects of anorexia. Sure, these could be an outcomes from to much exercise, but to make it an issue worthy of national exposure went too far. 

The US may be the fattest country in the world. I believe the last report I read said about 60% of Americans were overweight.  It also said that of those, 35% were obese.  Of these fat people, men are the worst at over 70%, compared to women’s 60%.

Because of this overabundance of overweight people about 1/2 million people develop heart disease, while close to that number also suffer from diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure and more. The list of complications that relate to being overweight is incredible!

So a few thousand people suffering injuries from being in shape is laughable. Sorry Nightline.

Oh, I understand how news organizations have to sensationalize the news to get noticed. But blowing up something like fitness defies logic. Sensationalize all you want, but at least show some balance. Nightline did not. Oh, they briefly mentioned the obesity epidemic (yeah, I’m sensationalizing too), but it was almost like they said it under their collective breaths. 

I didn't see the whole show, so maybe I missed it, but I didn't see one interview with a doctor. If they did interview one earlier, did she say something like "oh, people need to cut back on exercise?"  I doubt it.

The real problem with reports like this though, is that I think it feeds into Americans ideas that they don't need to exercise. Oh, around the holidays when they really overeat (I mean more than they usually do, because a majority overeat all the time) they might think they need to exercise a little to work off a few of those holiday pounds. But then if they hear of reports like the one on Nightline they'll just say, "why bother? I could get injured."

It's bad enough that Americans have all sorts of other misconceptions. Things like it is natural to get fat as you age, or that if they just walk around the block once in a while it will be enough. Or that sitting at a desk for eight hours in the day is acceptable and part of American lifestyle.

For thousands of years, humans were hunters and gatherers. This meant that they moved a lot. (Exercise, if you will) they weren't naturally skinny, they were skinny because they moved a lot and didn't eat too much. This was the natural state of being. We got away from this by deciding it was okay to be sedentary. 

It is not.

I’m not saying everyone needs to go out and do intense exercise for two hours every day. However, I am saying you DO need to go out EVERY day and get some exercise. If all you can do is muster 30 minutes, then make it a good 30 minutes. And it should be as much of your daily routine as brushing your teeth (you do brush every day, right?) or eating breakfast. In other words, if you don’t exercise, you should feel that something is wrong. If you have a family—take them with you! That’s right, everyone needs to exercise as this country has a childhood obesity rate that is disgusting.

So don’t believe crazy news reports about the dangers of too much exercise. Worry more about what happens if you don’t.

Whew, the PE teacher in me just had to get that out. 

 (Yes, I exercise)

Next time, I’ll talk more about the War Between Men and Women as usual. You know, something like, women exercise to look good to impress other women—which is why men do it too.

 Exercise together!

(images courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/)