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<p>Following the sagging pants trend? :)</p>
<p>Trouser labels (including for men) are not necessarily honest either:
[Pants</a> Size Chart - Mens Pant Sizes by Brand - Esquire](<a href=“http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-090710]Pants”>Pants Size Chart - Mens Pant Sizes by Brand)</p>
<p>Use a tape measure at your navel level instead.</p>
<p>It’s not that simple.</p>
<p>Issue# 1:</p>
<p>It depends were the waistline of the pants fall. My waist now, at the narrowest point (just above the navel) is 33 inches. At the navel: 34 inches. Hips at the widest: 38 inches. So the actual measured waist circumference of pants that fit perfectly could vary depending on where they fall – and almost no men’s pants fall at the navel. A Docker’s 33 with standard rise (“at the waist”) fits me perfectly.</p>
<p>I’m halfway in between the 33 and the 34 in Levi’s standard fit 501s.</p>
<p>Issue #2:</p>
<p>Most men wear pants sized for a little “muffin top” to actually cinching the things up under the belly.</p>
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<p>Great idea, because sitting was linked to heart disease. I will post a link later - it is a royal pain to do so on my iPhone.</p>
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<p>How did you do that? Does your desk convert as a design feature or did you engineer it yourself?</p>
<p>While certainly not obsessed with weigh-ins (I was quite averse to the scale for a long time) it is a good benchmark and helps with goal setting. We are all aware that muscle mass weighs more, and , for eg, I must have had a lot of sodium yesterday because my fingers are puffy, so I’ll think about this when I weigh in today, aand assume I have some excess water today. But I tolerate the scale-- it isn’t my new best friend… yet :)</p>
<p>Weighing in is optional. I am weighing in and measuring my waist line. I think as far as becoming obsessed with the scale, well, that’s just another area of self discipline that is involved in all of this. It is best to way yourself once a week at the same time of day, naked. </p>
<p>I think it’s fine to participate in the thread with the objective being to get healthy and with no interest in weight loss. I’m guessing that if there is a lifestyle change, assuming you are overweight to begin with, you will lose weight despite yourself :)</p>
<p>Another follower not weighing in. I’m not even sure where our scale is, although I recall the kids using it to weigh luggage before flying recently. My goal is to lose enough weight to fit into size 10 pants again, comfortably. So I started with a waste and hip measurement and will track from there. I’m pretty much trying to do it all on diet change and have been successful for 2 weeks now.</p>
<p>I like using the Livestrong MyPlate tracking method even though the recommendations don’t really jive with my low-carb diet plans. The advantage is that I can easily see where the sodium and fat are coming from and so I should be able to make more responsible choices in my calorie intake over time. Yesterday I went way over all calorie and carb counts just by eating egg salad at lunch, corn-on-the-cob at dinner, and a small snack of cashews in between.</p>
<p>I like hearing about everyone’s exercise routines, and eventually will need to add something to my lifestyle. But right now I work a 9-hour day with a 1-1/2 hour commute at each end and there’s just no time. I’m also trying to move more at work. And whenever possible (limited no high heels days) to take the stairs.</p>
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<p>I think you will find that many people here on this thread have, at some point in their lives, done what your sister has done. Honestly, losing the weight is not that hard if you follow any sort of calorie restricted diet. Keeping it off for the long-term is very hard for most people (particularly for those who don’t exercise much like your sister). The statistics are pretty dismal. BTW- WW is very much aware that although many members have great initial success, very few will keep it off more than a few years (statistics I have read report less than 5% of people who reach goal weight at WW keep it off). While losing weight is important, regular exercise is just as important if not more important. I see plenty of thin but not very fit people walking around and by the time they reach their late 60’s, they have lost a lot of the stamina required to do more than just get through their daily lives.</p>
<p>This is just my opinion but it seems that there are people who are lifelong exercisers and then there is everyone else. It’s very difficult for the two groups to related to one another. Going from being a non-exerciser to an exerciser can be a huge step for many people. Can’t tell you the number of people I’ve known who start out with a bang (hiring personal trainers, new gym memberships, etc) do very well for a year or two and then ‘fall off the wagon’. IMHO, it’s because they take on too much too soon. Small incremental changes are bearable to the human mind and lifestyle because they don’t require herculean amounts of will power to sustain. They become habits over time so that you don’t even think about it. Little by little you can add more activity until you reach your fitness goal. Which is basically how most lifelong exercisers start, they just start at a much younger age, when you aren’t dealing with things like aching joints, bad backs and out of shape muscles.</p>
<p>So I don’t think there is anything wrong with starting out simple - exercise 10 minutes 2 a week or 30 minutes once a week and once this becomes a habit, bump it up to 2 times a week, then 3. 10 minutes of aerobic exercise is better than none and you quickly realize it’s tolerable. After a while, you will find that on some days you want to challenge yourself. At least this is the system that has worked for me. I went from 0 regular exercise to 3 times a week over a 10 month period of time by not pressuring myself. My fitness level has increased exponentially and I began to realize that I just feel better mentally and physically if I get a regular amount of exercise. Once you experience that revelation, it becomes easier to stick to a regular exercise program.</p>
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It’s an architecture desk I put together myself. Parallel rule attached to a piece of plywood sitting on a regular desk, so all I had to do was put some crates underneath the plywood. </p>
<p>I haven’t checked the inches recently but, I’d lost a couple at the waist from a year ago last time I checked. I’d like to get a new scale the one I have at home measures only kilograms and is too hard to read. The one at the Y, suddenly had me reading two pound more overnight after a sticky episode while the one at home read as usual, so I think it’s no longer accurate. (Or maybe it never was.)</p>
<p>MomLive, I think you are so right. I do fall into the category of a lifelong exerciser, but lightly. I always used to lift weights or do aerobics classes, once or twice a week. Then I retired, and gave up my gym membership as a cost-cutting measure. Now I find that I need to exercise more often to keep my same level of fitness, and that it’s harder to do because there’s no work to get me out of the house every day. I used to lay out my workout gear at night, and get to the gym before I even woke up. Even when I had a 45 minute commute to do.</p>
<p>So this thread, for me, hasn’t been about trying to lose weight. It’s been about a constant, gentle, cheerful reminder to increase my activity levels. And it worked, at least last week. It is undeniably true that the more you move the more you will want to move. Especially if, as Interesteddad points out, you pick an activity that works with your particular body. </p>
<p>I understand that having worked out at least somewhat all my life, that the habit is already in place at a low level. It will be harder for the absolute non-exercisers to get going. That said, it’s really worth finding your own route into regular physical activity. Any little bit helps. You could always start with mowing your own lawn.</p>
<p>The gardeners were another victim of frugality:).</p>
<p>So I thank you all for getting me out the door more often.</p>
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<p>I agree. It gets better surprisingly quickly. Although I think it is actually the second workout that is the worst - because you are still in real lousy shape and now you are very sore from the first workout to boot.</p>
<p>Vigorous exercise is one of the few fields of self improvement where you can show a lot of very satisfying, measurable progress in a reasonably short amount of time. For example, consider learning a foreign language. After six months of taking lessons and studying you will still be nowhere near able to speak that language. Now, if you take up say running (or some other vigorous cardio-exercise) the same day you start the language lessons, you will be vastly improved at running in just six <em>weeks</em>. In six months you could be running your first marathon.</p>
<p>And as for the running itself, over-use injuries certainly can be a problem to overcome - depending on how biomechanically (un)favorable your stride is and how you go about your training. But I’m puzzled by the occasional comment that running is “painful.” Painful? Hard work yes, even exhausting at times, but not frankly painful in same sense as bumping your head or smashing your thumb with a hammer is painful. If it hurts to run to you are not doing it right.</p>
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<p>No, I use a belt, but there can be a ton of bunching up. It’s the typical
male look for those that have lost a lot of weight. There are a fair number
of people on the office that have done that. The other look is the lines
on the upper chest on dress shirts.</p>
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<p>I go by belt measurements - I need the belt to hold the pants up.</p>
<p>The Size 34 pants that I wore this past week are about twenty years
old - not the relaxed fit stuff that we have today. The pants are
a bit tight on my calfs - they are old-school jeans. The size 32 and
31 pants are probably a lot older.</p>
<p>I was watching Wimbledon matches at a friend’s house last night and we
were talking about weight. He told me that he’s heavier than he’s ever
been. I asked him how much he weighed and he said 150. He’s 5’7" and
in his early 60s. I’ve played tennis with him for 15 years and I’ve
never known him to get tired on the tennis court. I don’t think that
he does a lot of exercise outside of tennis as he hates running,
weights, etc. But he’s always been in good shape, even without working
out for a while.</p>
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<p>I’m in the lifelong camp, even as my weight has gone up and down over
the years. I do think that everyone has done some amount of exercise
in school and has at least a little familiarity with US games and
various exercises.</p>
<p>I think that strength-training is an absolute must at 50 years and
older along with some aerobic training.</p>
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<p>The ability of the human body to get stronger is pretty amazing but
it takes time and steady effort. Exercising isn’t all that different
from making other kinds of life changes though.</p>
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<p>I think that support systems make a huge difference. If you have
family, friends and workplace support, if you have easy access to
doing exercise that you enjoy, if your peers all workout, then it can
make it hard not to workout.</p>
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<p>Running can be rather addictive and many runners try to run through
injuries. It’s not necessarily doing something wrong that can cause
pain.</p>
<p>It also hurts to run if your body has certain characteristics. I couldn’t run easily when I was 20 and can’t now. My whole family is exceptionally prone to shinsplints. Our calves are genetically muscular, and apparently this causes us more problems than the general populations - or so say doctors. I suppose I probably could run if I had a very rigorous program around it, but why not just choose another form of movement?</p>
<p>Running can also be painful when you’re quite overweight.</p>
<p>The weather caused our DS to be diverted last night (bad news) but it meant we picked him up at the airport and went out to breakfast (good thing) and for a walk.</p>
<p>I’m down another pound! Woo hoo! Haven’t measured the waist yet. I’ll keep you posted. I’m sure you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until you find out if my waist is smaller! lol</p>
<p>I am giving mydsrlf a bit of a break this weekend-- will be back on track Monday. Wont overdo it, just not gonna get upset if my calories are a bit high</p>
<p>Ok - was at the mall earlier this afternoon where I practically ran up the stairs (as fast as I could in flip-flops) to get to the upper level and wasn’t even winded. This felt so good because 6 months ago I would eye those stairs with absolute dread, knowing I would be totally out of breath by time I reached the top and often opted for the escalator instead. Knowing I’ve made this much progress (though no weight loss) motivated me to go put in 30 minutes on my elliptical when I got home. Small victories! They do add up. Congrats on the continued weight loss, EPTR and thanks for starting this thread.</p>
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<p>Attempting to run through an injury is folly and is an excellent example of doing it wrong. </p>
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<p>Why not indeed? I’m all for that. I’m for everyone finding whatever works for them. But whatever it is it needs to be vigorous and sustained if it’s going to help with fitness and weight control. I often use the example of running because it’s the sport and exercise that has worked for me. But I hate to see someone reject running out of hand because they’ve think it’s “painful.” With that mindset you don’t have to look very hard to find an excuse to reject every form of cardio exercise and go right back to your old sedentary ways. </p>
<p>When done right, most people can quickly get into shape and can soon be running for miles with nothing that resembles pain.</p>
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<p>Actually, the statistics I’ve seen show that 60% of runners will suffer an injury this year serious enough to keep them from running for a while. That’s a staggeringly high injury rate. Running is fantastic exercise. Maybe the most effective form of interval training. But, you have to be very fit to do it. It’s not the ideal choice for newbies, especially those of us who start out overweight.</p>
<p>As far as fat loss, many of the top fitness coaches believe that short bursts of very intense exercise produce the most effective results – for reasons that aren’t entirely understood. Intense exercise reduces insulin resistance, meaning that your body will tend to burn stored fat a little easier and increases the production of human growth hormone, meaning the body will tend to build lean muscle mass. This can be as simple as go very hard for 30 seconds, rest for 90 seconds, go hard for 30, rest for 90, etc. Just 12 to 18 minutes of those kinds of intervals a few times a week will work wonders. Treadmill, bike, elliptical, rower, dumbbell/kettlebell swings, jumping jacks works with just about anything. Heck, you could do it at home swinging an old backpack filled with books.</p>