'Cheeseburger Bill' in Congress... WTF???
Apparently, people are too stupid to realize that eating tons of fast-food can be bad for you. Who'da thunk it?
The House just passed what's known as the "Cheeseburger Bill," which will stop people from bringing lawsuits against fast-food chains for "making them fat." (You can read the CNN.com article here.)
The fact that our country has to pass legislation preventing people from blaming others for their own foibles makes me sad for humanity. Yes, obesity is a problem in our country. A big problem, pardon the pun. Forget terrorism and all that b.s. - the two biggest problems in America right now are obesity and education. We're stupid and fat.
And I think most of it stems from the "American" tendency to blame others for our own short-comings. When I say "short-comings" I'm not including something like poverty, which is something that most poverty-stricken people can't help. What I'm referring to is mainly... well, obesity and education. Parents and students alike want to place the blame for poor education on all kinds of sources, anything from the teachers to politicians to the word "evolution." I can tell you from my teaching experiences that the major reasons for our country's education problems lie in the students themselves (and subsequently the parents, as well) - the students don't respect teachers (because they're taught directly or indirectly that teaching is a worthless profession) and they simply don't want to learn. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand...
We need to take responsibility for our own health and well-being, instead of relying on the government to do it for us (Lord knows we don't need them interfering any more in our personal lives than they already do). What's next? Congress passing laws that prevent us from suing furniture manufacturers for making comfortable couches that cause us to sit around on our asses all day?
I recently began to take notice of my own unhealthy lifestyle. I've since started exercising every day and watching what I eat. You'd be surprised how many unnecessary calories sneak into your diet each day - even from foods that are advertised as "healthy." I'm not saying this to brag or point out how great I am or anything like that - I'm bringing it up just to say that for me this new-found health-consciousness has made me feel much better. Plus, I was starting to get a turkey neck, as you may can tell from my profile picture.
And I don't care if you cram McDonald's food down your throat all day, so long as you don't try to say that it's McDonald's fault you have a turkey neck.
posted by Scooter @ 11:54 AM
11 Comments:
You don't have wattles. And I think you have to be a 50+ year old librarian named Midge and live in Duluth to get wattles.
You should've seen this school staff photo I had taken a month ago. I really did have wattles. Even my wattles had wattles.
I believe that guy also said during his interview that he'd marry a Krystal burger if he could. I'm not kidding. 100% serious.
Scooter did you really lose 20 lbs or is that an exaggeration? Because maybe I'm blind, but last time I saw you, you didn't look like you had more than about 7lbs you could afford to lose.
Are you on the popcorn, jelly beans, and peas diet again?
Meanwhile, I've been working my buns off in the weight room and drinking more protein than I probably need, and I've actually gained about 10lbs over the past few months. What gives? You spend 2 hours a day in the gym and GAIN WEIGHT.
It actually is true that I've lost 20 pounds (although now it's about 23 pounds; it would be more than that but I went to a huge BBQ at my parents' house in Waycross this weekend).
As Sara says, I've lost my "goozle" (what I call a "turkey neck"). I'm not sure of the distance cause I go more by time, but I've been running 90 minutes a day. I think it's somewhere close to five or six miles. In a couple of weeks Sara and I are going to run in a 5K (about 3.5 miles) race in Monticello.
By the time you come down to visit us at Thanksgiving, J-Man (if you do come down then; if you don't, I'll hunt you down and break your kneecaps), I'll probably have lost 30 pounds, and I'll be at the weight I was in high school.
And that's nothing. Brad's lost over 50 pounds. He looks like a rail. (What was that joke about Etheopians with flies on their lips?)
And by the way, I DID have more than 7 pounds I could afford to lose. I won't say what weight I got up to (it's pretty embarrassing), but I will say that it was a lot. Especially considering what I weighed in high school and even in college.
P.S. If you come at Thanksgiving, I'll tell you what my magic, gobby weight was. Isn't that something awesome to look forward to?
ha ha ha. You're funny.
I weigh 435 lbs right now. BEEFCAKE BEEFCAKE!
When did you start exercising?
About the middle of September, close to five weeks ago.
My regimen, for J-Man (and anyone else, I guess):
1. I jog 90 minutes a day, whether I feel like it or not. You don't have to do it this strenuously, but I wanted to since it would help me lose weight faster. The main thing is to exercise regularly because it's the only thing that can help you lose weight and keep it off.
I can tell you, J-Man, that drinking protein and lifting weights will lead to gaining weight - that's what protein drinks were designed to do, make you gain muscle mass. And, oddly enough, muscle weighs more than fat because it's denser. So, if you're lifting weights and drinking protein and still gaining weight, you may be losing fat but gaining muscle, which weighs more.
2. I watch what I eat. I try to eat less than 2000 calories a day (with few fat grams). Preferably, I try to eat only 1500 calories a day. Once you get to your desired weight, of course, you can bump that number back up.
What was doing me in was snacking and fast food. Now I eat mainly grilled foods (chicken, veggies, etc.) and fruit. Eat fish whenever you have the option. I like frozen dinners, too. They've come a long way in the past few years. They taste good and are relatively inexpensive (i.e. Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine). You can still have snacks, too, just not ones that are fattening or high in Calories. Some of my favorites: sugar-free fudge pops, sugar-free Jell-O cups, Sundae Toppers pudding cups (vanilla and caramel is the best), homemade Rice Krispie treats or Fruity Pebble treats, Baked Doritoes or Lays, sugar-free popsicles, most kinds of cereal (as long as they're not too high in sugar), and various kinds of Quaker rice cake chips (there are dozens of kinds and they're all good). As you can see, you don't have to stop eating; just be mindful of what you eat.
I still eat fastfood occasionally, but I stick to the healthiest things on their menu. Some of my favs here are: Fazoli's create your own pasta (whole wheat penne with marinara and either shrimp or grilled chicken); a Chik-fil-A (I know how you loves the Chik-fil-A, J-Man) grilled chicken sandwich and large fruit cup or grilled chicken fresh wrap with lite Italian dressing; also anything off of Subway's low-fat menu, just watch the cheese and other toppings.
3. You also should find a lady to sex up. That burns calories like a mofo.
HA HA HA heee heee heh heh hoo...
Good stuff.
Thanks for the advice. I've actually been inspired by this, because I've been running 30 minutes a day since June (after Jessica's wedding) and I'm not gettin the results I want. SO this week I've been trying to run for 90 minutes, but I just can't get past about 40 on a regular basis,except the one time I ran almost 70. How did you just jump into it like that? Did you have to work your way up? have you had to buy a lot of new clothes? Do you shave your chest like I do now (cmon, just give it a try!)? Do you wear tighter clothes to show off your recently acquired hotness? Will I recognize you over thanksgiving?
Many questions, so little time... Yes, I had to build up, but I'd been trying to exercise regularly for a few years now. I would just always come up with some excuse not to or find other things to do with my time, and I'd eventually stop. So one day I decided to start and do it every day whether or not I felt like it. I think for about a week I jogged for like an hour - with a short break halfway through. Then I started going 90 minutes, with a short break halfway through.
I haven't bought many new clothes yet. I'm waiting to lose another 10 pounds or so before I do that. But I did have to buy a new belt yesterday. I've been wearing the ones I had on the tightest notch and they were still too big.
I do man-scape every now and then.
You will recognize me. What you might not recognize is the school picture of me with quadruple chins.
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