I haven’t posted here for a while. Partly this is because I’ve
realised that whilst I cook a lot of different things I do have a small-ish repertoire
of mid-week regulars, most of which I’ve already talked about here. I’ve also
switched my fast days to be a single meal in the evening and, at 500 calories,
this meal is pretty much ‘normal’; whilst this is more convenient (no
researching 250-300 calorie meals) it also means I have nothing to post about (no
researching 250-300 calorie meals)! However after my last post I did draft a rant
about diet and exercise expectations. Said rant sat on my computer waiting for
me to cook, and photograph, one fast and one non-fast meal to include with it,
that never happened. So I’m posting the rant now…
Can we talk about how difficult it all this diet/exercise/healthy
is?
No, I haven’t fallen into the chocolate mud cake of self-pity
(haven’t fallen into any cake at all, unfortunately), what I mean is a
refutation of those people who comment below the line on any article about
rising obesity levels or the UK’s sugar tax (the BBC is a prime source for
this). Their comments always seem to read ‘Just eat less and move more,
simples’.
If using the phrase ‘simples’ hadn’t been enough for me to
hate them with a fiery passion then the substance of their comment would do the
job. If it really is that simple then why is there a global, billion-dollar
diet industry? Why are there personal trainers, nutritionists and about 3
million people like me trying to figure out what works for them and blogging
about it. Eating less and moving more is the way to lose weight in the same way
that getting paid more and spending less is the sure way to be less poor; it’s
so reductive as to be completely useless as advice.
Sometimes below the line commentators are slightly more
thoughtful, giving a nod to the complexities of diet and exercise (and to my
eternal relief, not using inanities like ‘simples’). Sample comment: ‘Just cook
meals yourself from whole foods and do a mix of cardio and resistance training’
(this is a typical comment left under a Guardian story describing a new diet
and fitness programme or extoling the wonders of this month’s superfoods). It’s
good advice and would probably work, but by beginning it with the word ‘just’
the commenter has still revealed that they have the empathy of a mosquito.
I think there are three main limiting factors (with substantial
crossover between them) on people’s ability to follow a healthy lifestyle:
- Time
- Money
- Inclination
Let’s start with time. Exercising takes time, cooking takes
time. I think I normally spend about six and three-quarter hours exercising in
a week and probably another two to three hours travelling to and from
exercising/showering afterwards etc… cooking takes up another five to nine hours a week I’d guess. If I had
a job that demanded longer hours, if I had children, hey, probably if I cleaned
my own house or had a longer commute, I wouldn’t have that kind of time.
Undoubtedly I could do all my exercise close to home, I could do time-efficient
high intensity stuff, and I could just eat grilled chicken breast with steamed
vegetables every night but I can’t imagine anything worse (see also
inclination). What if someone who doesn’t have the time I do, also can’t
imagine anything worse?
Cost: Having paid for a batch of riding lessons and a batch of
yoga classes in one week recently, the cost of exercise has been at the forefront
of my mind. Given, I live in a very expensive city, but I’ve just done some
quick calculations and I’m on to spend the equivalent of a third of my total
salary my first year out of university on exercise this year, and that’s not
including any equipment or the feeding of my unfortunate lululemon addiction –
woah! I have expensive tastes; I take horse riding, do Bikram yoga and find
that having a personal trainer twice a week is about the only way I’m going to
lift. Some of the cost is accounted for by convenience (see time) for example
I’ve included there the cost of a gym at work as well as the club in my
village. Eating well is expensive too I think though I’m not about to fill my
trolley with chicken nuggets and ready meals one week to be able to do a
comparison (I think it would probably be cheaper though).
My third limiting factor, inclination, is connected to both
the first two. I’m lucky in that I have an enormous inclination to cook. I
love, rather than begrudging, the hours a week I spend in my kitchen. I suspect
that if the time and/or the money I had available was reduced, I would still
make cooking from scratch a priority.
Although I know some people do, I don’t love exercise. I
consider it important, by a process of elimination I have identified activities
I enjoy doing that count as exercise (and the great thing about that is that
when you’re used to exercising six days a week and suddenly can’t get to a
planned class you’re dependent enough on your endorphin boost to drag your butt
out for a run). If my available cash and time were slashed, would I go for a
run three days a week and brave the intimidating weights rooms at the gym
without the emotional pacifier of a personal trainer on the other three days?
I’d love to say yes but in all honesty, probably not. Running doesn’t feel
good, and I feel stupid and self-conscious in the weights room without someone
to tell me what to do.
That’s my rant over. I am looking to start posting more regularly
so fingers crossed I think of something to talk about; any suggestions
gratefully received :-)
