fitness and finances

[southernrus]

Poor financial choices and obesity. Time and time again I've wondered if these are related. Think I'm going to assign this to my students as a research project next semester. There's been a lot of research on that, and how it is cheaper to buy unhealthy food. But I'd like to take a look at middle and upper class and see what's happening there. 

I live in GA. Over the years, I have accepted that fat people are norm. My H's siblings are obese, 350-380 lbs a pop. Last summer, I went to San Francisco for a conference. It was quite a shocker: I was the fattest one in the crowd at my 145 lbs. I was so upset I had to run and load up another 10 lbs at a chocolate fountain lol.

It has been mentioned on number of occasions that most of the smokers are in the lower income bracket. I still cannot figure out exactly why people make these choices. Cigarettes are not cheap. 

Where do you stand? Do you feel like body fitness opens more doors, better career opportunity, respect? 

[cronewitch]

People have many reasons to not stay in great shape. Many are childhood issues like coming from a family that eats poorly and being overfed from birth. Others might have been hungry as a child and making up for it. Some abused children overeat so they aren't attractive to the abusers. Some seem to be born hungry and have to diet from infancy to avoid being fat. I know some of each and I am heavy myself.

I was raised by a father that grew up in the depression without parents. He was proud that we kids didn't know what hunger was. He took joy in feeding us and was a chef so we were over served good food. He encouraged us to have eating competitions so we developed really good appetites. I started getting fat when I hit puburty because mom started making me act like a girl. Running wasn't ladylike, don't climb trees, don't lift heavy things act like a lady. So I went from stick thin to 150lbs between 10-14 years old. I have been dieting for 50 years. My normal eating has me gain so a few months of dieting then a couple of years to gain it back but I never get thin. I was down to 127 at 18 but up to 180 by 20 and 225 by 25. I seem to be able to diet about 1 year then lose the ability and gain it all back. Now I am down 70lbs the last year but in the last 6 months only lost 6lbs. It might be easier to maintain a lower weight if I was rich. I would have time to exercise maybe get a personal trainer and I would enjoy being thin more because I could buy pretty clothes and go lay on beaches. When you are poor there isn't a huge payoff to being thinner. Once you get fat it is much harder to lose weight because even walking is a lot of effort. Finding a swim suit or exercise clothing is harder and you don't look good until you have lost most of the weight. I am too old now to ever look good no matter what I weigh. I lost at least 30lbs before anyone noticed or I lost a single size so I didn't even have to buy new clothes. If I was only 20lbs overweight I could lose 10 and see the difference so it would be easier to lose.

[susanb]

Saving requires us to accept pain/self denial in the present for pleasure/pay off in the future.  Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising requires us to do the same, so I see your point. 

[milee]

Agree with susanb that delayed gratification and long term focus are key parts of both fitness and financial health, so it's no surprise that there would be some commonality.

I think there also may be more social pressure to be thin at certain income and social levels as well.  My friends and I were at a fund raiser last night (expensive tickets and a wealthy crowd) and were talking about the same thing.  The events with the wealthy people remind me of Tom Wolfe's description of women socialites in "Bonfire of the Vanities" - they are "social x-rays".  I was wearing a size 6 and am guessing that was on the upper end of the size range there. 

At the yacht club there are around 500-600 memberships and although we don't really go to the formal events, just take the kids to the pool and do the boating stuff so we don't know everybody, I can only think of 2 women that are overweight.  And the rest are not trophy wives like I expected.  For the most part, the wives are the original wife or a second wife that is age appropriate, so many of the women are in their 60s+.  But there's obviously social pressure to be thin.

[skubikky]

Good points.  I've also noticed that in certain social realms that the degree of fitness or the degree of extreme activities is also a status symbol.  How many tetrathalons have you done?  How many miles do you run? How many hours a day do you "work out"?  How many days a week do you work out?  Are you doing Pilates and yoga also?  And on and on.

One other thing that I've been wondering about:  as people achieved advanced age(let's say mid-70's on up), of those that are thin,  do they fare as well during illness and injury vs those who are slightly overweight?

[Shooby]

Yes, there seem to more long distance runners too.   I often hear talk of their next 5K, 10K, etc.  One of the ladies qualified and is going to run the Boston Marathon.  I am athletic and play a lot of sports and will run to keep in shape or train but it isn't my thing.

[happyhoix]

Mar 22, 2013 2:48:53 GMT -5 susanb said:

Saving requires us to accept pain/self denial in the present for pleasure/pay off in the future.  Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising requires us to do the same, so I see your point. 

I agree with this to a point. However at the same time someone can be very disciplined in one area of your life and not at all disciplined in another. My BIL the tri-athelete, for instance, will get up at 4 AM and run or ride his bike to work in blinding rain. However, he lives on a diet of chocolate cake, ice cream, snack foods, hamburgers,  coke and protein drinks (?!?!). He has some kind of aversion to vegetables and fruits and can't seem to make himself stick to a healthy diet, even when he's obviously being a bad example to his kids. Not sure how he does on finances - I suspect my DS handles most of that for the family.
 
I had a co-worker who was also very athletic and disciplined when it came to exercise and diet, yet she was intellectually lazy. She hated to read, whether it was a book, movie subtitles or a work document. Very smart, very motivated in certain areas, and yet always getting in trouble at work for putting off work or half assing it. Her finances were also pretty much a wreck, as she didn't want to be bothered thinking about that kind of 'boring' stuff.
 
So as a general rule, I would say that more intelligent, more educated people are more diligent with their work, their diet, their exercise, and their finances, but that is not an absolute rule. And I would also say that the outward appearance someone has influences whether they get hired or not, although I don't think their outward appearance always translates to work ability.

[Deleted]

Mar 22, 2013 6:49:20 GMT -5 skubikky said:

Good points.  I've also noticed that in certain social realms that the degree of fitness or the degree of extreme activities is also a status symbol.  How many tetrathalons have you done?  How many miles do you run? How many hours a day do you "work out"?  How many days a week do you work out?  Are you doing Pilates and yoga also?  And on and on.

One other thing that I've been wondering about:  as people achieved advanced age(let's say mid-70's on up), of those that are thin,  do they fare as well during illness and injury vs those who are slightly overweight?

I once read that you can tell you're in Denver when the other mothers in your kid's play group are compariang triathlon times.

There are a couple of things at work here.  First, eating and exercise habits do tend to be cultural.  I was raised in the 50s/60s and Mom was a good cook but exercised reasonable portion control.  It also helped that when she made donuts (rare occasion) or cookies or cinnamon rolls there were 6 other people in the household eating them so they didn't last long.  We swam every day in the summer, weather permitting, and went everywhere on our bikes.  All of us are still thin and active.    I'm on a fitness site now where people who are trying to lose weight report being actively discouraged by "friends" and family members who make fun of them, and deliberately bring their favorite bad-for-you-foods into the house or eat those foods in front of them.  I never realized how much pressure there is in some groups to keep the same bad diet and exercise habits as those around you.  I went out to a business lunch yesterday at a very nice restaurant and had a green salad (dressing on the side) and asparagus with balsamic vinaigrette sauce.  No one blinked an eye.  Heck, my boss runs marathons and I've never seen him drink anything stronger than ginger ale, even at dinner.  It is good to be here.

Second- have you looked at the labels of cheap food?  Starch, fat, high-fructose corn syrup, salt- and all of it made to slide right down so you can eat more.  It's even hard to find crunchy granola bars.  They're all chewy, so you can eat them faster.  And they've turned everything into candy- granola, yogurt, breakfast cereal, protein bars, "vitamin water"- I have to admit that my multivitamins and calcium supplements are gummies.  So, if you have limited funds and no time (or know-how) to prepare your own food, the stuff you buy from the grocery store can kill you.

[Deleted]

"It might be easier to maintain a lower weight if I was rich. I would have time to exercise maybe get a personal trainer and I would enjoy being thin more because I could buy pretty clothes and go lay on beaches. When you are poor there isn't a huge payoff to being thinner. Once you get fat it is much harder to lose weight because even walking is a lot of effort. Finding a swim suit or exercise clothing is harder and you don't look good until you have lost most of the weight."

I don't agree. I don't think it would be easier to maintain a lower weight if you were rich. If you are going to make an excuse, you will make the excuse no matter what. It is the same as "I will start dieting tomorrow". Whether you are rich or poor, the incentive to being thin (well not being overweight) is your health. There are a lot of health problems associated with being overweight. I agree that once you start gaining the weight, it gets that much harder to get motivated, finding the energy.

I don't think weight has much to do with money/being rich or poor. Otherwise, one would conclude 95% of the people in the midwest are poor. It has everything to do with your surroundings though. I live in Missouri, it is normal to see overweight and obese people. So I have to admit I have gained some weight and I am not 110 lbs anymore and while I dont feel good about it, it doesnt bother me as much as if I were living in California. I work in a building where 6 out of 8 floors is a healthcare company and I am not joking when I say 99% of their workers are obese/borderline obese.

[Deleted]

I too, think a lot of the same discipline that it take to be good with your finances is the same discipline it takes to be good with your health.

[Deleted]

People from all levels of finances eat the processed, unhealthy crap. I would say the environment first then education (which sort of ties into finances) effect people's weight.

[Waffle]

Mar 22, 2013 8:12:09 GMT -5 @bunnysmom said:

..." Whether you are rich or poor, the incentive to being thin (well not being overweight) is your health. There are a lot of health problems associated with being overweight....

The incentive to being thin for a lot of people is not health, but vanity - the desire to look good for themselves or others.  Most people are concerned about their health, but that still isn't incentive enough for a lot of people to maintain a healthy weight.

[Deleted]

Mar 22, 2013 8:12:09 GMT -5 @bunnysmom said:

 I don't think it would be easier to maintain a lower weight if you were rich. If you are going to make an excuse, you will make the excuse no matter what. It is the same as "I will start dieting tomorrow". Whether you are rich or poor, the incentive to being thin (well not being overweight) is your health.

One of my co-workers at my last job said she gained 20 lbs. when she joined our team because of all the business travel.  I traveled less than she did but was determined not to gain weight- and I didn't.  Then again, I never saw her in the gym or the pool when I headed there at 6:15 AM on our business trips.  I was also very careful about what I ate at restaurants- something green and leafy without a heavy dressing as an appetizer, and maybe an appetizer as an entree, as well. 

In my case, what keeps me going is not just the effect on my health but the fact that, at age 60, I still look good in a bathing suit.  I like that.

[Deleted]

"The incentive to being thin for a lot of people is not health, but vanity - the desire to look good for themselves or others.  Most people are concerned about their health, but that still isn't incentive enough for a lot of people to maintain a healthy weight."

Yeah you may be right. Majority of the people probably think that way. But looking good also helps with mental health, well maybe I should state it the other way around. A thin person may not feel better about themselves for being thin but an overweight person in most cases feels bad about themselves, may feel depressed, etc.

[teen persuasion]

It can't just be about diet and exercise, though.  It has to be some combination of diet+exercise+metabolism.

I've been paying more attention to this issue because of DH's creeping weight gain.  I'm still ~100lbs, same as I have ever been; I don't pay attention to what I eat (though I avoid junk, I do enjoy desserts of all kinds), don't exercise, etc. but I couldn't gain weight to save my life.  

DH was thin until he hit 30 or 35.  Since then his weight has been creeping up.  He's eating the same stuff as me (same house, I do the cooking), he's tried exercise to bring his weight down and it's had no effect.  I've come to the conclusion that it must be related to some health issues he's been developing, but it's hard to determine which is cause and which is effect: sleep apnea and insomnia, hypothyroidism, restless legs, etc.  Losing weight could help the apnea, but the weight gain could also be due to being chronically sleep deprived and having his hormones thrown off balance, etc.

[thyme4change]

I asked my husband if there was a bell curve-ish shape to weight.  A lot of morbidly obese people at the bottom, healthy people in the middle, and then another set of obese men at the top.  We went to function with judges and lawyers, and holy smokes there were a lot of rich, white, powerful fatties there.  Gross, dudes.  Mix in a salad.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think it's a cultural thing how fitness and finances work together.   In a lot of countries if you are wealthy you are fat because it's an outward expression of the fact that you have enough money to buy food and large quantities of it.

Here it's the opposite.  If you are rich then it is assumed you have the money to join a gym, hire a trainer, get a personal chef etc.  The expectation is with enough money you have the luxury to worry about your weight/health.

[movingforward]

Personally, I think the sedentary lifestyle in the US is to blame for a great deal of obesity.  Sure poor food choices matter and some of it is inherited as well, but we don't get up and move in this country.  We drive our cars to and from work.  Most have desk jobs where you sit all day and then we go home and sit in front of the TV or computer at home.  I don't think everyone has to train for a marathon (actually far from it), you just have to get up and move.  You don't need high impact exercise - take a walk everyday. 

As for the relation to finances... I really don't know. There are some people who work 2 jobs and don't have time to exercise but the ones I know who do that are pretty thin.  I am not sure they have time to eat.  There are obese people at every income level perhaps we take more notice of the ones at the bottom who are using the taxpayers money to buy food.  I definitely think they are judged more harshly in general

[Deleted]

Mar 22, 2013 10:12:34 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Here it's the opposite.  If you are rich then it is assumed you have the money to join a gym, hire a trainer, get a personal chef etc.  The expectation is with enough money you have the luxury to worry about your weight/health.

A couple of weeks ago we had some major snowstorms.  I worked form home, DH did what he could (he's 74 and has a tricky back) and at the end of the day I strapped on my heart rate monitor and went to work on the rest of the snow.  It turned out that an hour of shoveling snow was pretty darn close to my normal workout in the gym.  My 82-year old mother told me, "I wish you'd just hire someone to shovel your driveway".  So then I could get out to go to the gym?
 
Sometimes overweight comes from hiring out too much and spending too much time in your car instead of running errands on your bike.

Cronewitch, I had to laugh at what your mother described as "ladylike".  I got the same spiel from my mother in the 50s.  Fortunately, swimming and bicycling made the cut.  I still love both.

[Deleted]

I am seriously considering buying a spinning bike or treadmill.

With the amount of trash TV I watch on my days off or when I get home, that is a lot of cardio that could get done while still watching TV

[thyme4change]

Carl - if you do, buy it used.  There are millions of people who had good intentions, and never used their treadmill for anything but hanging clothes.  You should capitalize on that.

[ihearyou2]

The reason why promises to exercise don't work is the same reason why diets don't work. People aren't good at living in an unpleasant state of mind, you have to find an exercise that you enjoy. The same thing with money you have to feel like you get some enjoyment out of your money or it becomes a miserable task on saving and scimping and most people give up.

As far as the person who is the tri-athlete and eats junk food, let 'em, those people burn everything out of their system. Michael Phelps used to burn 10,000 calories a day while he was training and ate everything under the sun.

[formerroomate99]

Yes and no.  If you're talking about someone working one job with a reasonable commute, then yes, both your financial and physical fitness will be related to your willingness to forgo short term pleasures for long term goals. 

But there are other times where the correlation is negative.  Many people who take a second job to improve their financial health will end up packing on a few pounds.  In my case, one of the worst financial decisions I've made was an investment in heath and fitness.  I overpaid for a house that has lost a third of it's value is because my commute would go from 90 minutes each way to 10 minutes, leaving more time to cook healthy.   And since the new neighborhood had sidewalks and a community gym at the end of the block, I'd have plenty of opportunity to exercise. 

[souldoubt]

I think first impressions and presentation go a long a way.  If you show up for an interview huffing and puffing and sweating because you're overweight looking like you ran a marathon when you walked 100 feet that might not come off well.  I need to lose about 10 lbs because despite working out 5-6 days a week I'm on my ass in front of a computer for 40+ hours a week and there's always food provided by work to snack on.  Sometimes it's hard getting motivated to go to the gym but I know the older I get the less time I'll have for it and the harder it will be to eat right.  I just want to make it to retirement and be in good shape and not be hampered by health issues that stem from being overweight for years. 

[formerroomate99]

Teen, you need to get your husband to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor ASAP.  Sleep problems are highly correlated with heart problems, and you're not going to get him to exercise if he's exhausted from not sleeping well. 

[movingforward]

I admittedly don't have much willpower and that is something I need to work on.  Especially since the legislative session started here in TX there is always candy and snacks in the office for our legislative committee members who are here planning, etc.  Often times danishes and bagels are brought in for breakfast and/or pizza or BQ for lunch.  I am not involved in this aspect of the business; however, the food is here for everyone and it is hard to resist.  What I am good at; however, is exercising and eating a light dinner.  I am one of those crazy people who actually enjoys exercising so it is not a chore for me.  Afterwards, I eat something light like cheese and fruit or soup.  This seems to work for me and it keeps my weight down.  I think the key is really to find what works for you and make it a lifestyle. 

[skubikky]

Mar 22, 2013 10:19:53 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Mar 22, 2013 10:12:34 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

  My 82-year old mother told me, "I wish you'd just hire someone to shovel your driveway".  So then I could get out to go to the gym?

I'm a horse owner and this subject has come up with many of my horse friends.  They say they get more exercise doing chores(shoveling shit) than they ever did at a gym.  Instead of paying a gym fee they could invite people over and give them the horse farm workout. 

Sustained exercise over a period of time that's linked with a task such as barn chores or whatever, seems to be so much more fun for me.  I do exercise classes of various types  and have for many years.   Instead of 45 minutes doing artificial weight lifting, treadmill or some other gym type machine exercise, doing an hour and half of chores and riding over a period of hours seems to be better for me.  Swimming  or biking on the other hand, as it is self propelled, also gives a sustained period of exertion as well.

[teen persuasion]

Yeah, I've been concerned about lots of conditions that he could develop, like heart conditions and diabetes.  It doesn't help that he's adopted, so we have no idea of family medical history.

DH has been using a CPAP machine for years; it helps a bit, but not enough.  They've told him he has both obstructive and central apnea, so I think he probably needs a BiPAP machine instead.  He's finally going to have another sleep study done, w/ a different company (he hated the other one).  It was supposed to be last Friday, but he came down w/ a nasty cold and couldn't sleep, so he rescheduled it so he could get back to "normal".  I'm just not pleased at the OOP cost: $600 x 2 studies + ? for whatever they want him to purchase.

[Bluerobin]

I am a tall fat old guy.  You would kill for my credit rating.  NW isn't too shabby either.  So much for stereo types. 

[thyme4change]

Mar 22, 2013 14:03:58 GMT -5 Bluerobin said:

I am a tall fat old guy.  You would kill for my credit rating.  NW isn't too shabby either.  So much for stereo types. 

I know a lot of fat old guys with money.