I no longer "Exercise"
From the above most recent photo, I am not 'overfat'. I prefer 'overfat' versus 'overweight' b/c weight is fairly irrelevant. We can lose muscle mass and gain fat mass but remain the same weight, which would be negative for our health. Many women can attest we can lose fat, gain muscle mass and gain weight as well. This would be positive for health, but it can be negative for our minds when we are attached to the number "weight" on a scale. As a result, I advise all clients to throw their scales away.
As a health coach and as someone not overfat, I am constantly asked what I do for "exercise" and I answer "I no longer exercise", which is true. I used to train for athletic competitions, training and exercise are different. I no longer am competitive, so I do not train either. My focus now is on health, well-being and happiness; none of which are dependent on exercise.
As a health coach and as someone not overfat, I am constantly asked what I do for "exercise" and I answer "I no longer exercise", which is true. I used to train for athletic competitions, training and exercise are different. I no longer am competitive, so I do not train either. My focus now is on health, well-being and happiness; none of which are dependent on exercise.
Exercise is some form of arbitrary movement normally with the purposes to lose weight, look good, attempt to offset sitting on one's butt all day or because we think we are "supposed to". Exercise is also something we normally do not want to do nor like doing once engaged. It's suffering with no real purpose and likely - no real results. All the gyms, trainers, sports, races, food companies, supplements, (ie. marketing companies) prey upon this mis-belief we have to "exercise". It's total b.s., but people buy it and all those companies make billions of dollars.
I do not exercise because forcing myself to do something I do not want to do is pointless. If something is not adding to my well-being and happiness then it is subtracting from it. There is no neutral affect in life (at a minimum it cost me time, which is more valuable to me than anything).
When I work with a client and they think they "need to run" and hate running, I tell them not to run. We have little time on Earth as it is, so why suffer needlessly, especially when it won't really work to reach your goal anyway. Most overfat people are metabolically broken, over-stressed and biomechanically inefficient, so running in that state will only make the problems worse, not better. Same goes for most conventional forms of "exercise" - they simply do not work for fat loss.
The result is the trainer, gym, supplement company, marathon race or whatever else basically gets a lifetime client stuck in a negative feedback loop. We train, make no progess (or get worse), then are told we need more of what is not working. Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results." And that's what we do in the mainstream "exercise" dogma.
When I work with a client and they think they "need to run" and hate running, I tell them not to run. We have little time on Earth as it is, so why suffer needlessly, especially when it won't really work to reach your goal anyway. Most overfat people are metabolically broken, over-stressed and biomechanically inefficient, so running in that state will only make the problems worse, not better. Same goes for most conventional forms of "exercise" - they simply do not work for fat loss.
The result is the trainer, gym, supplement company, marathon race or whatever else basically gets a lifetime client stuck in a negative feedback loop. We train, make no progess (or get worse), then are told we need more of what is not working. Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results." And that's what we do in the mainstream "exercise" dogma.
In the past I was an "over-exerciser" and ruined my health and well-being. I would argue to anyone that being any kind of competitive elite level athlete requires a trade off between health and fitness. The problem being - most of us aren't competitive or getting paid and still we are willing to ruin our health for some arbitrary fitness goal. The long list of divorced amateur triathletes, marathon runners and weekend warriors I know is astounding, I am one of them.
I absolutely ruined my mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health when a competitive athlete. This is not solely because of the training and diet, it was also because of chasing the rewards of winning, being "good" or "better" - seeking external validation of my self-worth as a human being through achievement.
As a child through college, I trained and played hard to win and be better than other people, not because I actually enjoyed much of the process or the sport. Winning was all that mattered and the only time sport was fun; when I lost it was a mental, emotional and spiritual loss - now I was not "good enough". For some time, that pain drove hard work and some success, but eventually it lead to a dead end.
As an adult post-college, I trained and competed again to win and beat others, but this time I also wanted "look good naked" to attract a mate as that was becoming more important. In that way, athletics was also a "healthy" way for me to stroke my own ego and vanity, but typically only when I thought I looked better than someone else or found a mate, which was erratic at best. There is always someone better and better "looking".
I wasn't fat by any means, but people would ask if I was sick all the time. When I was racing at my best as an adult I was 145 pounds at 24 years old, which was the weight I was as a Junior in high school at 16/17 years old. My guy friends would joke that I had AIDS. I had an 8 pack, but I also had like 5% body fat and was obsessed with losing one more pound becuase I believed I would be albo to go faster as a result.
It's not common for men to speak of body image issues as it's typically thought of as a "female problem". I can assure you most men also have body image issues. When men see all the muscled up hollywood stars, magazine cover models, TV stars they experience the same thing women do with all the "perfect" versions of females floating around in the media.
I wasn't fat by any means, but people would ask if I was sick all the time. When I was racing at my best as an adult I was 145 pounds at 24 years old, which was the weight I was as a Junior in high school at 16/17 years old. My guy friends would joke that I had AIDS. I had an 8 pack, but I also had like 5% body fat and was obsessed with losing one more pound becuase I believed I would be albo to go faster as a result.
It's not common for men to speak of body image issues as it's typically thought of as a "female problem". I can assure you most men also have body image issues. When men see all the muscled up hollywood stars, magazine cover models, TV stars they experience the same thing women do with all the "perfect" versions of females floating around in the media.
On top of all of that I smoked my hormone levels, experiencing extremely low testosterone and cortisol, which led to feelings of exhaustion and depression and continued substance abuse issues. Throw on a typical athlete diet high in carbohydrates and I got to add in experiencing anxiety, blood sugar issues and eventually metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes). I was exercising to win and attract a mate and even if I found a mate, I was worthless in the relationship part.
So other than the external validation of people thinking I was a good athlete (which only exists in my head now), there was no other benefit in my overall life. It cost time, money, mental health, physical health, relationships and all I have to show for it are some plaques and trophies and the general perception by most I am "fit" or an "athlete". By and large, no one cares what I did in sports, it only comes up when people ask me what some of my tattoos are now.
What do I do now?
99% of body composition is diet and sleep in my opinion. Sure, we can exercise 40 hours a week to not be overfat or have a six-pack, but it will only work in the short term and there will be long term health and well-being consequences.
There is an epidemic of endurance athletes with heart problems, starting as young as their 30s. There is an epidemic of endurance athletes with metabolic syndrome, diabetes and other blood sugar related issues. Just go to a triathlon or marathon and there will be a large number of "overfat" people, yet we believe these people are healthy somehow. It is not their fault, they are doing what they are told.
Another major factor in my current success, body composition and happiness is that I eat a ketogenic diet, which is basically high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate. Now I don't "have to" exercise and I still have a 4-pack, which is good enough as I no longer care about having a 6-pack. No one else cares if I have abs or not and to quote Dr. Tommy Wood, "There are no studies showing people with six-pack abs live longer".
On the ketogenic diet I can still do whatever I want to by physically active without having to "exercise" to prepare for it. I can play soccer for an hour on weekends with friends or with my high school soccer team on the spot. I can lift heavy weights whenever I want to, maybe not for a PR anymore, but as long as I can squat my weight I am good now. I can play with my son on the playground for hours and run with him while he rides his bike. I can go on a 2 hour bike ride at any point and be fine without needing gels, powerbars or sports drinks. I ran a 12.4 and 15.5 mile trail race with no training and did them with no problem and without needing to eat.
If I am active now I try to do it with other people, which is what I always wanted - to be connected with others. What is the result? Health, wellbeing, happiness and connection...
So other than the external validation of people thinking I was a good athlete (which only exists in my head now), there was no other benefit in my overall life. It cost time, money, mental health, physical health, relationships and all I have to show for it are some plaques and trophies and the general perception by most I am "fit" or an "athlete". By and large, no one cares what I did in sports, it only comes up when people ask me what some of my tattoos are now.
What do I do now?
99% of body composition is diet and sleep in my opinion. Sure, we can exercise 40 hours a week to not be overfat or have a six-pack, but it will only work in the short term and there will be long term health and well-being consequences.
There is an epidemic of endurance athletes with heart problems, starting as young as their 30s. There is an epidemic of endurance athletes with metabolic syndrome, diabetes and other blood sugar related issues. Just go to a triathlon or marathon and there will be a large number of "overfat" people, yet we believe these people are healthy somehow. It is not their fault, they are doing what they are told.
Another major factor in my current success, body composition and happiness is that I eat a ketogenic diet, which is basically high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate. Now I don't "have to" exercise and I still have a 4-pack, which is good enough as I no longer care about having a 6-pack. No one else cares if I have abs or not and to quote Dr. Tommy Wood, "There are no studies showing people with six-pack abs live longer".
On the ketogenic diet I can still do whatever I want to by physically active without having to "exercise" to prepare for it. I can play soccer for an hour on weekends with friends or with my high school soccer team on the spot. I can lift heavy weights whenever I want to, maybe not for a PR anymore, but as long as I can squat my weight I am good now. I can play with my son on the playground for hours and run with him while he rides his bike. I can go on a 2 hour bike ride at any point and be fine without needing gels, powerbars or sports drinks. I ran a 12.4 and 15.5 mile trail race with no training and did them with no problem and without needing to eat.
If I am active now I try to do it with other people, which is what I always wanted - to be connected with others. What is the result? Health, wellbeing, happiness and connection...
If you like this, check out my book "Letters to My Son: Choosing Yourself First" on Kindle through Amazon.
If you want to chat, feel free to email me at douglashilbert@yahoo.com
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