Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 3112 of 3212

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Hey, Nathan,

I'm going to have to say "no thanks" to your suggestion. For one, 
my
goal isn't a particular number on a scale, but a certain body
composition involving higher muscle percentage, lower fat percentage,
and strong bones. I'm more interested in overall fitness, and weight
isn't necessarily the best way to measure that--as I've mentioned
muscle is heavier than fat, and requires certain nutrients and
exercise to maintain. Plus, it'd be meaningless for, say, Reinhard and
me to duke it out with someone who's clinically obese because our base
weight is relatively low to begin with, whereas the obese person is
able to lose so much more. Also, since type of weight lost (fat vs
muscle) is more important than the measure of weight, I think
encouraging possible unhealthy weight loss by making a race of who can
get the pounds down is a bad idea. After all, it looks like 1-2 lbs a
week is the most anyone can lose healthily anyway without tripping the
body's starvation trigger (which makes the body's metabolism slow down
to preserve you from starving to death), so what are people supposed
to do, try to outdo that amount? Eh, I don't think so. What's more, I
think competing makes people feel bad and guilty if they don't
"measure up" to some semi-arbitrary standard, and that's what 
I
personally was trying to avoid in joining this list.

Plus, I'm too lazy to do the homework involved in reporting in
regularly. I can't even bring myself to use the calendar. The truth
comes out! The real reason I'm against it--for myself at least. :-)

Er, I hope I haven't offended you, as that wasn't my intention.
Certainly, I assume people are different, so if anyone feels they'd
benefit from such a contest, I'd be curious about their reasoning.

Oh yes, all that said, I think it would be interesting to get a status
report on people because I'm nosy that way, so if you were trying to
encourage something to that end, I'm all for it.

Cheers,

mayo