Misinterpreting 30 Years Of Misguided Dietary Advice :shock:

[Zizzle]

If only my husband could see all the calories I burn doing laundry, dishes, cleaning up the toys, raking leaves, and chasing after kids! To him it's not exercise unless you are sweating and miserable!! But I'm the one who is maintaining my weight. He's eating enough for himself and 5 starving children in Africa! So he goes running and practices self-loathing to make up for his diet.

[tex]

If only my husband could see all the calories I burn doing laundry, dishes, cleaning up the toys, raking leaves, and chasing after kids! To him it's not exercise unless you are sweating and miserable!! But I'm the one who is maintaining my weight. He's eating enough for himself and 5 starving children in Africa! So he goes running and practices self-loathing to make up for his diet.

Overeating, followed by an exercise routine, seems to be the preferred pattern in this country. Actually, though, what you are doing, is much more beneficial for your health and weight control, on a long-term basis. For example, walking, at a slow to moderate pace, on a regular basis, seems to be much more effective for maintaining health and body tone, (in the long run), than burning the same number of calories by running. I have a hunch that the same effects would apply to a comparison of steady, moderate work patterns, compared with short-term, high-energy-consumption exercise routines.

Really demanding exercise, such as long-distance marathon running, seems to cause some of the markers of heart disease, including a possible tendency for chronic inflammation, in "hard-core" runners. That suggests that energy-intensive exercising may not be as healthy as it's made out to me.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ACC/19091

http://www.escardiocontent.org/periodic ... 1/abstract


Linda,

I think that I once saw a treadmill with a generator, advertised in a catalog, years ago. It was ahead of it's time. Today, that might be a practical idea. In fact, virtually all exercise machines could be connected to generators, and if even just a reasonable fraction of all the energy that is wasted on exercising in most big cities, were captured and diverted to practical use, it would amount to a decent source of "free" energy. Instead, in most gyms, it's converted into heat, (from mechanical friction), which adds to the air-conditioning bill, during hot weather.

We seem to have evolved into creatures with some weird habits.

Tex

[Rosie]

In fact, virtually all exercise machines could be connected to generators, and if even just a reasonable fraction of all the energy that is wasted on exercising in most big cities, were captured and diverted to practical use, it would amount to a decent source of "free" energy. Instead, in most gyms, it's converted into heat, (from mechanical friction), which adds to the air-conditioning bill, during hot weather.

Tex, It's already being done, here is link to a gym in Portland! In fact there are franchises available and you can open your own "green gym"! http://thegreenmicrogym.com/about-2/ And with Christmas coming up, you can purchase a "green" exercise bike that generates electricity for only $1099, not including battery and ac converter!

At the Olympic Trials held in Eugene (Tracktown) several years ago, I remember that the media tent was powered by electricity generated by a bank of exercycles. They had a bunch of volunteers sign up so that the exercycles were in constant use!

Rosie

[Zizzle]

Everyone should have an exercise bike or treadmill hooked up to their TV, so the TV only stays on as long as you are exercising to power it!!

[tex]

Rosie,

Good for them. Come to think of it, they might all be doing that these days, for all I know. The last time I set foot in an exercise gym was close to half a century ago.

I remember that the media tent was powered by electricity generated by a bank of exercycles.

That's a good start, but in the media tent, the best bet for generating power would probably have been a method to capture all that hot air, and use it to turn generators, by means of hot air turbines.

Tex