On topic, getting in shape for Gencon or any other time is a great goal.

Off topic, what's with the recent trend of pundit, Kyle Aaron and others bragging about their adonis-like looks and navy seal workouts? This is an rpg board and a) we don't care and b) your credibility is pretty much zero without verified pics. Come on, either send in a trustworthy third party (maybe Ron Edwards as he knows a thing or two about genitalia) to measure your cock size once and for all or at least keep the ego aggrandizement to vaguely rpg-related topics.

Quote from: RPGPundit;322473For my own part, I have a bit of an "alpha male belly" natural for a man my age, size and body.

This is very good.  Don't forget the "alpha male hair loss", "alpha male huge eyebrows", "alpha male groan when I sit into an armchair", and "alpha male erectile dysfunction".

I don't have any of those.

RPGPundit

A nice goal, E.  Good on you & Dante for thinking of it.  I confess I won't likely join up--but my family is joining the local Y, and we're working on a workout schedule.  Guess we'll have to see what 2010 holds.

Bah, weightloss?

By the thread title and event I assumed cosplay discussion.

Quote from: The_Shadow;322567Off topic, what's with the recent trend of pundit, Kyle Aaron and others bragging about their adonis-like looks and navy seal workouts?

I can't speak for Pundit, but I certainly don't have adonis-like looks. (Having seen pictures of him, he certainly doesn't, either.) I just look better than I did at the beginning of the year, and better than the average Internet Tough Guy threatening to beat me up

And it's hardly a navy seal workout, it's just a regular kind of workout. I felt like throwing up today, so I stopped. Navy seals would keep going

Quote from: The_Shadowyour credibility is pretty much zero without verified pics

If I were going to lie, I would lie with better pics, someone truly buff. Say, Ivan Stoitsov, 2007 weightlifting champion in his weight class (he's 78kg).



But that ain't me, the dickhead in the avatar is instead. Of regular posters on this board, I think only Age of Fable has met me, he can say whether the avatar is accurate or not.

Also, a fat belly is not "alpha male". It's just a fat belly.

Anyway, it's not about having a beautiful physique. It's about health and quality of life (the pursuit of which may or may not lead to a beautiful physique, but modelling is not the same as health). I was on holiday hiking through the Tasmanian wilderness and it wasn't easy - it didn't kill me, but it wasn't easy - and it used to be easy. And I burst the buttons on three pairs of pants. Meanwhile my girlfriend was striding along energetically ahead of me saying, "come on!" So my fatness and lack of fitness was hurting my quality of life. Now I'm stronger and fitter, and fit into the pants with the fixed buttons.

We plan to try to have kids from next year on, I'm 38 now, we wouldn't start till after the honeymoon in Easter, it takes at least nine months to have one, so the earliest they could be born is February 2011, thus the earliest any of them would turn 18 is 2029 when I'm 57. I want to be able to play with my kids, go hiking with them, that sort of thing. I want to live long enough to see grandchildren and play with them, too.

I wouldn't want to be morbidly obese, diabetic with constant back pain and impotent at 45. That's what was in store for me if I kept on the same path - and that's what's in store for a good number of the gamers we saw pictured at GenCon.

Quality of life, mate.

Finally: the longer we live, the longer we can game

Quote from: lastspartacus;322692Bah, weightloss?

By the thread title and event I assumed cosplay discussion.

Hehe. Me too. I'm happy it wasn't though.

On topic: When I get to think about it, I find it sort of... let us say noteworthy to spare sensibilities... that people now have to band together online even for this kind of stuff.

What I find really sad, though, is the "fat loser" stereotype ringing truer with each passing year. When I started gaming, almost everyone in my groups was reasonably fit... we were pretty physical guys, actually. Most of us would meet not only for gaming but also for basketball or football (that's soccer for you north americans). Sadly, not true anymore.

EDIT TO ADD: Of course, I'm all in favour of any initiative to make people healthier, and gaming spaces a more habitable place. Because, the real question here: for some people, obesity or bad hygiene goes deeper, psychologically, than a health problem, or an aesthetic consideration. When someone shows up to the game stinking or with monday's underoos, his problem is not his sense of fashion, his problem is he doesn't give a shit about the other human beings around him. And this is a case where attacking a problem through its symptoms could work. Looking good and being healthier can raise a guy's or girl's self esteem, thus helping him or her relate to others. (Which is also when I must grudgingly accept that the "online support" thing can work at first. Not all the way, though.). This might sound like a) an oversimplification or b) a load of crap, but I do believe it's true.

Just my 0.50 uruguayan pesos.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;322698I can't speak for Pundit, but I certainly don't have adonis-like looks. (Having seen pictures of him, he certainly doesn't, either.)

Adonis-like? No. Just dashing.

QuoteI just look better than I did at the beginning of the year, and better than the average Internet Tough Guy threatening to beat me up

The second is rarely difficult. The first, congratulations.

QuoteAlso, a fat belly is not "alpha male". It's just a fat belly.

Its been a sign of dominance since before we were human beings. That's quite a long ways back.

Anyways, I'm quickly starting to rethink the definition of my  belly as "fat", given that unlike you, apparently, I've never actually popped any buttons on my pants.

QuoteAnyway, it's not about having a beautiful physique. It's about health and quality of life (the pursuit of which may or may not lead to a beautiful physique, but modelling is not the same as health).

Modeling certainly isn't the same as health; but looking good makes you feel good. That's why even dressing well can be helpful to your health.
Take your average fatbeard, teach him how to dress so that even despite his obesity he looks slightly less disgusting (at least, the nacho-stained t-shirts full of holes are easy to get rid of), and suddenly he's feeling a little better about him self. Then he'll realize that looking good feels good, and want to feel better. Suddenly, he starts taking better care of himself.  He may even start to wash!

 

QuoteI wouldn't want to be morbidly obese, diabetic with constant back pain and impotent at 45. That's what was in store for me if I kept on the same path

Jesus fucking christ. Do you have a genetic predisposition to any of those?
Because if you don't you pretty much have to be almost intentionally trying to get to that state for it to happen.  I know that even if I didn't exercise regularly, while I'd be less fit, none of those would be likely to happen to me (thanks to my genetics).
Shit, you must be worse off than you look!

I think I'll keep my alpha male bump, you can keep the morbid diabetes, or neurosis, whichever of the two it is you're actually predisposed to, thanks.

RPGPundit

Quote from: lastspartacus;322692Bah, weightloss?

By the thread title and event I assumed cosplay discussion.

We're different around here.

RPGPundit

Before we were human, the larger gut was a universal trait, and it wasn't a sign of dominance- the bigger space was necessary to digest tough plant foods. A smaller gut is actually one of the hallmarks of increased meat consumption...

That would explain the overabundance of morbidly obese vegetarians.

Modern vegetarians as rule don't eat bark or grass; they eat domesticates, which have come into their present form over the last several thousand years, and, as rule, yield a much higher nutritional value than natural plants- including their own natural ancestors. Australopithecus didn;t have access to the vegetarian buffet or the produce section at Whole Foods. Furthermore, the gut in question wasn't a lump of lard, but a larger area for a bigger stomach and such to facilitate the processing of tougher foods.

Quote from: SunBoy;322809That would explain the overabundance of morbidly obese vegetarians.

I can't tell if you meant this as a joke or not; but a great deal of vegetarians I know are quite fat.
Its probably due to a combination of two factors: people who are vegetarian but have no sense of nutrition; and the second is the fact that meat fills you up faster, so many vegetarians (again, practicing poor nutrition) have to eat way more to feel full, and end up gaining weight.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;322756Its been a sign of dominance since before we were human beings. That's quite a long ways back.

Yeah, not so much today, though.

Quote from: RPGPunditAnyways, I'm quickly starting to rethink the definition of my  belly as "fat", given that unlike you, apparently, I've never actually popped any buttons on my pants.

It was while I was hiking in the wilderness, and with pants that would have fit me two years before but now didn't. Like your "it's an alpha male belly" nonsense, buying pants that fit your old physique - "I'm an 34", honest" - is a bit of self-delusion we blokes have to make ourselves feel better.

The buttons popping was the sound of my self-delusions evaporating.

Quote from: RPGPunditTake your average fatbeard, teach him how to dress so that even despite his obesity he looks slightly less disgusting [...] he starts taking better care of himself.  He may even start to wash!

Definitely. How to approach these guys, though? It can be a difficult thing.

Quote from: RPGPunditJesus fucking christ. Do you have a genetic predisposition to any of those?
Because if you don't you pretty much have to be almost intentionally trying to get to that state for it to happen.

I've no idea about my genetics. But the fact is that I had put on something like 8kg of fat from 35 onwards. That's why I said "if I'd kept on the same course." Just being several kg overfat isn't a big deal health-wise. But 4kg a year of fat a year for 10 years till 45 would lead to 40kg overfat. Instead of 78kg or so I'd've been 118kg. And in practice you find that once people get to a certain level of fat, the rate accelerates a bit - so 125-135kg was more likely.

At more than 50% over your ideal non-athletic bodyweight, the risks of diabetes, impotence and so on are quite high - whatever your genetics. That's where I was heading.

As I said, several kg overfat isn't a big deal. The issue there is that it's a foundation on which you can build a very unhealthy physique. It's easy to think there's lots of time, I'm just a bit fat so it doesn't matter, I'll have another doughnut then, and... before you know it, ten years have gone by and you're grossly obese and in poor health.

Quote from: RPGPunditI think I'll keep my alpha male bump

Measure the girth of your waist and hips. A waist-hip ratio of more than 0.9 in males is associated with significantly greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, etc. If your alpha male bump stays under that 0.9 you're alright. Over that, you may as well ditch your pipe and take up a pack a day cigarettes instead. Look after your health so you can still be gaming as an old bloke

To perfect this touching exchange, you ladies should be passing a pint of Hagan Daas back and forth and watching Steel Magnolias.