When I married my husband he weighed about 109 lbs and he's 5' 6'' He has a gymnast build. I was approximately 175 lbs when we tied the knot. Since then I have gone up and down in weight. But the kicker was 204 lbs (I'm 5' tall) last October. That is when I decided I needed to find something I could do for life. I tried numerous diets, to no success. Fad diets are temporary happiness, which is worse than anything if you ask me. I needed to retrain my brain how to eat. I also needed to learn the worth of what I was putting into my body and apply it to my lifestyle. I was extremely sluggish before I started doing this, now I feel like I can do anything. I still get tired, believe me. But I have the energy to get me through my day. I don't agonize for junk food and I don't feel deprived. EVER. I eat what I want. It just so happens that I choose to eat for optimum health. I still eat sweet desserts and fried stuff and salty stuff, but rarely and in extreme moderation. Those things don't do my body any good, but they do give me a moment of "taste satisfaction", which is why I only need a small amount. I eat so many fruits and veggies and whole grains and lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts and low fat dairy, that I am ALWAYS satisfied and never feel like I'm missing out on anything. That to me is a more useful thing to teach someone than "feeling good" no matter what you might be doing to your health.
For the first time in 8 years of marriage, I have a smaller waist than my hubby. He weighs about 125 now. I still weight more than him, but not by much. There was a time when I almost weighed 100 lbs more than him. That doesn't do one's self-esteem any good. He loved me through it all though.
Also, I always had the mindset that I would take my time to do it right this time. It's taken me 9 months to lose 50 lbs. I am giving myself until my birthday on June 9th 2007 to lose the next 29. I figure a year and 8 months to lose 79 lbs is a more than reasonable goal.
WOW!!~ YOU GALS HAVE QUITE A THREAD GOING HERE GOOD FOR YOU!
I was gone on vacation for a couple of weeks, visiting my mom and 90 year old grandma, they don't have a computer so it has taken me awhile to read and digest this very interesting thread. By the way COLLEEN, I did make it to Bloomington and STEAK AND SHAKE , we went to the one off Veteran's Pkwy ~ the food was GREAT! just as I remembered!
I think everyone is making valid observations here. There has been a lot of anger(?) also ~ I knew it could get heated with my good friend JILLYBEAN involved! and THAT was W/O ME! participating and helping her to stir things up!
I had a lot of time to reflect and observe what bad habits can do to a person over the years ~ my mom being almost 70 and grandma don't get out much, so we spent quite a bit of time watching television and visiting, which was great ~ HOWEVER ~ the reason that they don't get out much is because of the effects of smoking my mom has smoked since she was 16 and my grandma (believe it or not) since she was 40! My grandma, in spite of short term memory loss, is a lot healthier than my mom. My mom is somewhere very close to her last breath from the effects of smoking.
My grandfather was a smoker and drinker ~ died at 53 of a heart attack ~ my father was a smoker and drinker, died at 54 of pancrease cancer ~ his dad died at 63 from cancer (no smoking or drinking at all there) ~ this really concerns me since I am 52 ~ smoked from the age of 16 until 45 ~ drank beer from 21 until 28 ~ no drugs ~ didn't drink a drop for 20 years, then started about 3 years ago ~ up to a 6 pack a day now.
According to the BMI chart I read today I should weigh between 144 and 177 to be normal for my 6 foot height ~ I weigh 198, which is considered the mid range for overweight. My eating habits are not good, however, they really are not that bad (I actually found 3FC several years ago searching the website for a healthy recipe) ~ my enite beer belly is 90% from BEER!
I saw my sister (she and my bil live with my mom and grandma to take care of them) who has lupus continue to smoke ~ I watched my brother in law who has lung issues continue to smoke ~ my brother went with me on the trip. I watched my brother who can barely walk on a VERY bad leg (from being hit 31 years ago at the age of 19 on his motorcycle by a water truck) continue to eat like there is no tomorrow. He is 6 ft 2 and weighs about 250. My little brother died several years ago from a heart attack, effects of drugs and drinking.
I saw all of these things happening to people that I dearly love ~ I felt sad I sat next to a gal that weighed about 300 pounds on the airplane, she was in her mid twenties I would guess ~ I had to help her get out of her seat ~ I felt sad for her ~ I saw a young women in the Krogers on the 4th of July with her mom, all dressed up for the holiday in red white and blue shirts ~ both of them close to 400 pounds ~ again, I felt sad for them.
To be honest I saw a whole bunch of heavy people on my visit to see my family in middle Illinois. We certainly have a lot of overweight people here in California but I think the % are less.
I am only guessing, I have no stats, but I think "part" of this topic of accepting yourself as an overweight person is A LOT easier to do when you are surrounded by those who are heavy also.
I quit smoking about 7 or so years ago because #1 my health #2 my wife and family hated it and #3 it was just getting soooo darn hard to find anywhere in California to smoke! In Illinois (the law changes this year thankfully) you can pretty much smoke anywhere you want to, making it so much easier to smoke and boy oh boy do they ever!!
I made a vow to myself to GET HEALTHIER when I got home this week-end from my trip ~ today I walked a 5K ~ 3.1 miles ~ to support the local high school cross country team. I felt good about myself, even walked for a while with a young overweight gal that was wearing a T-shirt that said I'M LOSING IT, from a local medical facility, on the back. I was encouraging her, as she was dying after only a mile into the race ~ I felt sad that she was overweight but so happy for her that she was MAKING a CHANGE in her life!
I finished my race in a decent time for "not training" and felt good about myself! Tonight as I write here I am on my 4th beer and feel disgusted with myself. Knowing that not only is the drinking becoming an issue but that the 20 pounds I have put on is not going to come off easy, is not good for my health, makes me feel like everyone is looking at my gut, especially since most of my life I was underweight if anything!
To make matters worse ( ) my wife ran the race today, her 2nd one this week! She worked out very hard yesterday with yoga and weights, took our golden retreivers on a 3 mile walk, has walked over 20 miles this week alone and that doesn't count the 6 and a half miles of racing she has run. My son is a high school teacher and track coach ~ works out EVERY day ~ he is in Europe for the summer, Spain right now ~ ran with THE BULLS in PAMPALONA yesterday (thank God he was safe!) and still is finding time to exercise a little ~ my daughter is a research anaylst for a company that tests NAVY SEALS ~ she works out every day, or plays tennis, after putting in a 9 hour work day and commute time of 3.5 hours total every day ~ she is in Europe this summer, Austria right now, and still finds time to exercise.
My point is that I have positive reinforcement all around me! Making the thought of "getting back into shape easier. If I was living with my mom and rest of that bunch, it would be so easy to just forget about it!!
I feel proud of myself for being a good husband (not sure if the wife would second that ) a good father etc. However, I feel disgusted with what "I" have done to myself!! with unhealthy habits over the years.
EVERYONE of you should be VERY proud of the good things you have done, are doing and will do in the future. To be proud of being overweight is just nonsense.
FAD or any kind of diets that don't include HEALTHY eating and exercise WILL NOT WORK!! Say what you want, you may lose weight but IT WILL come back if EXERCISE and HEALTHY EATING ARE NOT DONE!! CALORIES IN ~ CALORIES OUT!!
IF EVERYDAY...OK....MOST DAYS, YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING ~ EAT A HEALTHY BREAKFAST ~ EXERCISE UP TO YOUR POTENTIAL FOR YOUR HEALTH ~ EAT A HEALTHY LUNCH ~ HAVE A HEALTHY DINNER ~ EAT A COUPLE OF HEALTHY SNACKS DURING THE DAY AND FIND TIME FOR AT LEAST A SHORT WALK ~ THEN I AM PRETTY DARN SURE THAT YOU WILL FEEL "PROUD" OF YOURSELF! EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOSE A POUND THAT WEEK ~ MY BET IS THAT YOU CERTAINLY WILL THOUGH!!
I know if I did all that that I would ~ BECAUSE I HAVE ~ then I fall.......time to try again!!
Many of you have done very well in your efforts ~ some of you have a long road ahead of you ~ may God bless each of you in your efforts!
My husband and I are visiting my family in Illinois in August, and I think I may just have to budget my WW points/calories for some SteaknShake chilimac. My husband thinks it's greasy and disgusting (and it kind of is), but it is one of my favorite comfort foods from college days!
Being obese is unhealthy no matter how you look at it. Telling someone that's 300 pounds to be proud to be fat is just stupid. It's like saying go ahead eat more, you're fat be proud. I'm 27 and I have bad knees and hips, and a bad back, all because i'm fat. I'm in pain constantly, which most obese people are. It's hard to be happy. But I think we should all be proud of the good things we do and what kind of person we are, not our weight. It's like being proud of the fact that you're tall or having brown hair.
It's not like their eating right to become that overweight. If they ate right and worked out they wouldn't be so overweight, having too much fat on your body is unhealthy. It's a fact. They should love themselves, be encouraged to love themselves, that's for sure, but I wouldn't be proud of being obese and i'm not. I'm not proud to be fat, it's like saying that I'm proud that I'm unhealthy or that I can't control myself.
It may build ones self esteem, and there for they might lose weight cause they love themselves more but to some it's just an open invitation to eat more.
This world is way too concerned about appearences. Health should be the main concern. I know I want to look better, but if i didn't feel better after losing the weight I'd probably give up all together.
I've been reading this thread and figured I'd add my 2 cents on a few subjects that have come up.
First, I think people are turned off by "fat acceptance" mainly because it implies a "you can't do anything about it, so it's ok" type of mentality that we all know isn't true for 99% of us. People don't view overweight people as having a "disease", because a true disease, like cancer, isn't something you can choose not to have. (And yes, I know i'll get flack for not agreeing that obesity is a "disease".) Perhaps you can try to avoid cancer CAUSING habits in your life, but that isn't the same as what you can do to avoid being obese.
It isn't easy for me, as an overweight individual, to hear people tell me that I have a choice. I hate hearing that too - but it's true. I have no argument against it. A friend once said to me, when I was complaining about my struggles and failures with weight loss: "When you want to do it, you will. It's as simple as that." I wanted to smack him. YOU THINK I *DON'T* WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT?? But it is definitely my own free well that bites me in the butt every time. I have the ability to drive down to McDonalds or not to. I have the ability to eat a salad or a big mac with fries. I have the ability to watch tv at night or go walking. And all those times I made the wrong choice, I'm now paying for. You would think that would now make it simple and easy to make the right choices, but we all know it isn't that simple.
One thing that was brought up that I didn't see anyone address was this claim that Lane Bryant was being sued and had been fined by some shopping area in New York just for being there. I'd really like to see evidence of this rather than an odd urban myth mention. Google as I might, all I could come up with was how Lane Bryant is suing a strip mall in Chicago for not accepting their application to lease. That's the complete other side of the coin...
Last but not least, this society is very "looksist". You can be fat and discriminated against - but don't forget the skinny ugly people that are also discriminated against. It would be a fascinating psychological study to read, to understand why humans are so put-off by people they don't find attractive. For those of you that have felt the discrimination from being overweight and are up in arms over it, how many of you can say you haven't giggled behind someone's back at one time or another, for either dressing in a way you don't like, having a hair cut you don't like, having tattoos/piercings that you don't like, etc.? Just a thought.
I herniated a disc several years ago, trying to pull open a frozen car door on my way to the gym before work. For about a year, I needed a handicapped parking space. While I was using a cane, I never saw or heard a negative reaction from bystanders, but when I no longer needed the cane, but still could not walk very far, I started noticing dirty looks. I decided that some people assumed I wasn't handicapped "enough" to need the spot, even though my doctor assured me I did (especially when the ground was icy or wet, a fall would have redamaged the spine). I didn't give it to much thought, because I too had sometimes wondered about apparently healthy people coming out of cars with stickers.
Then one day I overheard a woman say to a friend, obviously about me (and obviously meant for me to hear) something to the effect: "She could walk fine if she weren't fat - that spot belongs to someone who deserves it!"
Wow, I thought. She's not disputing that I have a disability, just that since I "deserved" the disability, the spot should go to someone with an honestly acquired one. And I began to wonder, what if I had become disabled from an accident while driving drunk - would I not be entitled to the handicapped spot, because my handicap was my own fault.
The fact is, unlike people who stop smoking, drinking, doing drugs, engaging in risky and illegal behaviors.... I can't blend into the crowd. It will take me many months of hard work to undo the damage of my choices, so unlike the worst of crimes, there is no chance of people forgiving and forgetting. To me, that's what the fat acceptance is about, not accepting that a person must or should remain fat, just that there is nothing that they can do about it OVERNIGHT.
What bothers me about this thread has been a tendency to see the punishment society foists upon us as at least partially justified (or at the very least preventable), because our fat is our own fault - because of the choices we've made. Most of us here have discovered that weight loss is difficult and unpredictable (many of us here have experienced times where we did everything "right," and the weight didn't come off the way we expected or thought it would, and other times where we felt we barely fell of program, yet gained).
We can say that society is judging us for our behavior - but that doesn't really wash. Our culture envies, and often even admires people who can eat all they want, not exercise, and never gain weight. People joke to anorexics that they wish they would "catch it" for a while (I've worked with anorexics and had a bulimic friend - I've seen this in their lives). Part of the reason bulimia and anorexia are so prevalent, is because they are so ACCEPTED, at least until it's too late.
But then, again, do you say "oh, society is just that way", or do you do your best to try to inspire society to a higher standard? If nothing else, do you say "not from my mouth, not in my presence, not at my place of employment".
Ask yourself this, if you were in the park one day and heard a child being cruel to another child because of his looks (and I mean any aspect, not just weight) what do you do? Do you just let it happen because that is just the way children are? When you hear a fellow employee make a joke about someone else being ugly, do you just let it slide because he wouldn't change anyway? What signals are you then giving about it being okay to treat people badly?
There seems to be a bit of a knee-jerk supposition that just because the movement is called "Proud to be fat", that the members are eating and avoiding exercise in order to get themselves as fat as possible, or at the least, avoiding good eating and exercising practices in order to prevent themselves from getting healthier... ar at the least of the least blaming everything but themselves for their weight issues. But how much of that view is based on really looking at the reality of what the movement does as opposed to it's name?
If you look at the issue and say that it is okay for companies to discriminate for X or Y reasons, that is one thing... but to agree that the discrimination is wrong but go along with it because the battle against it is hard and might not be won....
I can understand how someone can say it's ok for companies to discriminate for certain reasons and still say discrimination is bad. Doesn't mean they're going along because the battle is hard.
As someone pointed out, a company SHOULD be able to discriminate in matters that is good for their business. IE: If your entire consumer base is English speaking, should you be forced to meet a quota on Spanish speaking employees? If you're a small company that cannot afford large health insurance premiums, should you be forced to hire a quota of overweight and possibly more sickly individuals?
It's the discrimination without a reason...because I don't like black people, or I don't believe in Christianity, or I can't stand gay people...that they would still have a problem with.
But many people who want to fight discrimination want to fight it full force...forcing some companies, eventually, out of business by their actions. They want an all or nothing scenario...no shades of grey. They can acknowledge that the business suffers for it, but they act as if they don't care. So in the end, are we ultimately discriminating against business owners?
As for the fat acceptance or fat pride debate...I think people need to treat the obese with as much respect as they themselves would like to be treated. I think that businesses however should have the right to say no to employment if they're simply not equipped to handle them. I think fat pride is a ridiculous notion at best, implying that people should be proud that they've stretched their bodies in ways they weren't supposed to be stretched. I think that telling people it's ok to be fat is a ridiculous notion. It's not ok to down them for being fat, but it's also not ok to praise them for it. It just has the possibility of helping to keep them fat, possibly fatter, to the detriment of their health. Anyone has the right to say it's ok to be fat, but I'd like to see their hard solid evidence proving such a point. WHY is ok to be fat? What health purpose does it serve? If they could show me good points for being fat, then I'd say they'd had a point. Otherwise, I feel like they're just blowing smoke to possibly make themselves feel better about being overweight themselves.
I was self-conscious when I was fat. I didn't hate myself. I DID hate that I'd gotten fat. It's part of what made me eventually choose to do something about it. If I'd ever felt it was ok to be that way, and never felt self-conscious, or thought there was anything wrong with it, I'd still be overweight. Possibly, I'd be dead by now.
So in the end, are we ultimately discriminating against business owners?
As for the fat acceptance or fat pride debate...I think people need to treat the obese with as much respect as they themselves would like to be treated. I think that businesses however should have the right to say no to employment if they're simply not equipped to handle them. I think fat pride is a ridiculous notion at best, implying that people should be proud that they've stretched their bodies in ways they weren't supposed to be stretched. I think that telling people it's ok to be fat is a ridiculous notion. It's not ok to down them for being fat, but it's also not ok to praise them for it. It just has the possibility of helping to keep them fat, possibly fatter, to the detriment of their health. Anyone has the right to say it's ok to be fat, but I'd like to see their hard solid evidence proving such a point. WHY is ok to be fat? What health purpose does it serve? If they could show me good points for being fat, then I'd say they'd had a point. Otherwise, I feel like they're just blowing smoke to possibly make themselves feel better about being overweight themselves.
I think you did a good job of explaining your point, almostheaven. I'd also like to add a bit that hasn't yet bene mentioned--that when people start thinking it's okay to be fat, they start expecting companies to cater to them. How is it fair to say restaurants should make bigger booths, airlines should make bigger seats, stores should make bigger aisles, car manufacturers should make longer seatbelts, movie theaters should make wider/more padded seats...I frequently say one reason I want to lose weight is so I can completely and safely fit into a roller coaster seat/harness. I've had people respond in person that the amusement parks should make those rides bigger so I could fit. Well, no, they should NOT have to cater to my inability to lose weight. Why should they have to use more materials and take up more space and spend more money on fewer seats just to accomodate me?
I, for one, am glad I don't fit comfortably in certain places. I'm glad stylish plus sized clothing is insanely expensive and difficult to find. It all makes a very strong deterrent for me to continue to grow or to stay fat. It gives me reasons (in addition to health) to want to lose weight to improve my lifestyle. Should offices need to provide larger or more padded computer chairs to make my oversized butt more comfortable? larger cubicles? IMO, the more people are convinced it's okay to be large, the more they are going to demand changes from companies such as these, and that's just not fair to these companies/manufacturers--after all, they didn't make us fat, we did.
it's great to be happy with who u are and how u are. But when health is affected u gotta realize it ain't a question of becoming a better person but just putting yourself in a better position for not getting some dangerous symptoms due to being overweight. I know I am and this is what has very very very slowly driven me to lose weight.
Wow, what a thread.
I don't know how I feel about it. I DO think it is great that there are people in the world willing to say "hey! look at me! I'm big, beautiful, and successful! If you don't like me because of my size, then you're messed up in the head!"
To me, that is what the "fat pride" movement means. I don't know how else to take it... I cannot believe that anyone who is fat would ever advocate for others to just not care about their weight. I do think that so many fat people stop caring because of the lack of acceptance in society. I, for one, stopped doing my hair (ponytails only), wear make-up maybe twice a year, and let myself go because I thought no matter what size I was, I would always be beaten down by the stereotypes of society.
Am I proud of my fat?? Well, no. Being fat = being miserable. I've never met anyone who is obese that didn't think so. Why would I be proud to be miserable?
But, I am proud of me. I am who I am because I have always been fat. In some ways I do feel superior to people who have NEVER been through things like I have. My weight made me grow up fast - I didn't have a choice but to learn about how unfair and unforgiving society is to fat people; about how hard life can be when you carry the burden of excess weight; and the feeling of discrimination. I'm only 24, and I am already hardened and cynical; but wiser for my early experiences. Does my weight affect my everyday life? As far as what I think I am physically/mentally capable of, NO. As far as my self esteem, YES.
I really believe that had I not been on the receiving end of so much cruelty at such as young age (as early as kindergarden), I would not be the size that I am now and would have much more confidence in myself. Really, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't hope that all those people that dished out the crap then get fat now... what goes around, comes around. They all deserve to know what it feels like.
I see the "fat pride" movement as being able to stick your nose in the air to all those nasty people and make them see you, and make them see that fat people can be great people - that they were wrong! Size doesn't matter!
Yes Amanda, that is exactly what Jen(Andoreth) and I have been trying to say. It is certainly true in my case that by refusing to focus on the weight itself (which ultimately is only a number), the weight is coming under control on it's own, because I am instead focus on what matters more - career, education, social life, community work, health (mental and physical - nutrition, exercise, stress, spirituality, love and relationships) and my personal interests and passions.
Many people say they will love and respect themselves WHEN they lose the weight. I say you will never lose the weight permanently if you do not love and respect yourself. And if you love and respect yourself, you will not allow others to be disrespectful of you.
This doesn't mean that you "demand" or expect that others CATER to you, or even be nice to you, but you do make noise when people do not. This is a free society with a free and capitalist economy, and we make our opinions known at the ballot box, with our voices, and with our money. We have a right to do all three. It's just too bad that many fat people do not understand this.
And regarding the "cater" business, I mean that businesses that "cater" to me are going to get my money. Restaurants and movie theatres with seating I find comfortable will get my praise and my money. Those that don't will get my complaint, and my reason for not returning. I saw an elderly (thin) woman with a very bad hip trying to sit in a very tight "all-in-one" chair at the taco bell. She had more difficulty than I at 350 lbs (I could at least squish my tummy to fit) - she was nearly falling on the floor trying to get into that seat. She complained that there were no real chairs in the restaurant, and would not be back. She is voicing her opinion with her voice and her pocketbook - just as I have a right to.
Back to the "choice" issue--I've been "choosing" to fight my obesity for 30+ years and am still morbidly obese. So would you still say I have a "choice?" Some people may have a genetic lack of leptin and have little or no signal they are full. Others may have estrogen dominance which doctors theorize can cause weight gain. Then if you do lose weight, the estrogen stored in your fat is released into your blood stream further increasing your estrogen levels increasing your tendency to gain weight. (Can you say, "YoYo?") The more you diet, the more ghrelin you produce making you hungrier and hungrier. The list goes on and on.... There are so many difficult to control factors involved in obesity that are so very, very difficult to diagnose and manage. Personally, I'm sick of being judged by my obesity when who KNOWS what exactly is contributing to it? I think we have to try to learn to love ourselves no matter what our weight. It doesn't mean we love the fat but that we are just learning to deal.
No, people do not "choose" to be obese--it often happens without intention, sometimes even without notice until it's too late...I don't know that I've ever heard of someone becoming intentionally obese--but how many people honestly have a medical reason for being so? With the rampant "epidemic" in obesity, no one can convince me that it's all due to genetics or thyroid or hormones or whatever--most (not ALL, as I know there are many with medical conditions) obesity is caused by inactivity and poor food choices. I'd like to see what percentage of people have a legitimate medical reason for their being overweight. I'd also like to see the percentage of people who DO have medical reasons to be overweight, yet have been able to lose and maintain a healthy weight (I know they're out there, for there are even many on this site). And so, of all the overweight people in the country, I'd be willing to bet there are actually very few who legitimately cannot control their weight (few as in a small percentage, not literally meaning only 4 or 5 people in the country ).
I know I'll get jumped all over for this one, but it is how I see things based on people I've met both in real life and online.
Oh, and you absolutely have a right to not pay for businesses who don't cater to your unhealthy size. That is definitely your place to do as you see fit--I, for one, don't think companies should have to make adjustments for me simply because I'm fat. Rather, I would prefer to work to become healthier so I don't have to seek out places that do--it is neither fair of me to expect bigger seats and wider accomodations nor is it fair that people of a normal size feel engulfed by the supersized surroundings created to make the unhealthy people feel more comfortable.
He weighs about 125 now. I still weight more than him, but not by much. There was a time when I almost weighed 100 lbs more than him. That doesn't do one's self-esteem any good. 
Wow!
GOOD FOR YOU!
, we went to the one off Veteran's Pkwy ~ the food was GREAT! just as I remembered! 
heated 
with my good friend 
JILLYBEAN involved! 
and THAT was W/O ME! participating and helping her to stir 
things up! 
my mom has smoked since she was 16 and my grandma (believe it or not) since she was 40! My grandma, in spite of short term memory loss, is a lot healthier than my mom. My mom is somewhere very close to her last breath from the effects of smoking.
I sat next to a gal that weighed about 300 pounds on the airplane, she was in her mid twenties I would guess ~ I had to help her get out of her seat ~ I felt sad for her ~ I saw a young women in the Krogers on the 4th of July with her mom, all dressed up for the holiday in red white and blue shirts ~ both of them close to 400 pounds ~ again, I felt sad for them.
) my wife ran the race today, her 2nd one this week! She worked out very hard yesterday with yoga and weights, took our golden retreivers on a 3 mile walk, has walked over 20 miles this week alone and that doesn't count the 6 and a half miles of racing she has run. My son is a high school teacher and track coach ~ works out EVERY day ~ he is in Europe for the summer, Spain right now ~ ran with THE BULLS 
in PAMPALONA yesterday (thank God he was safe!) and still is finding time to exercise a little ~ my daughter is a research anaylst for a company that tests NAVY SEALS ~ she works out every day, or plays tennis, after putting in a 9 hour work day and commute time of 3.5 hours total every day ~ she is in Europe this summer, Austria right now, and still finds time to exercise.
if the wife would second that 
).