Why is Winston so fat?

[KokujinKrusader]

I won't meet you because right now you are a toxic mess of a human being. You're extremely weak and you have a crab mentality that will always have a negative impact with people in close proximity to you. I can see that and others that I have met that know you have said as much.

This right here is a problem on many online forums regarding dating (and as you know, I used to be that guy too). Too many toxic people that want to spread negativity and drag others down with them, or put others down for their own benefit. Well, less competition for those of us that will take the plunge and try to forge our own paths. Confidence won't make you a handsome Alpha, but if I am going to live in this world, I'd much rather look at the chances that I have to get what I want, and ways that I can make strides towards it than sit around and mope all of the time.

[Winston]

I have a theory. Maybe I'm fat because I was born in the year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, and since oxen are usually big and bulky my frame reflects that. After all, the girls I know who are Snakes in Chinese astrology tend to be very thin, such as Dianne for instance. Maybe that's a factor? Perhaps our body physically resembles our Chinese zodiac signs? It'd be interesting to see if there's a pattern of people physically resembling the animals in their Chinese zodiac sign.

[Moretorque]

I think your fat because your a typical American pig who cannot push himself away from the table.

[pete98146]

I have a theory. Maybe I'm fat because I was born in the year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, and since oxen are usually big and bulky my frame reflects that. After all, the girls I know who are Snakes in Chinese astrology tend to be very thin, such as Dianne for instance. Maybe that's a factor? Perhaps our body physically resembles our Chinese zodiac signs? It'd be interesting to see if there's a pattern of people physically resembling the animals in their Chinese zodiac sign.

With all due respect Winston, this sounds like an excuse and a justification for you to continue down the road to early heart failure.

We know that you don't take recommendations from the peanut gallery but let me throw this out there. You don't have a 9-5 job so finding an hour a day to go out and power walk really should be no problem at all. When you were living in Philippines you used to complain about the heat. Well you are up a bit north in China and it's winter time. So you can't fall back on that excuse anymore.

As a free thinker and as a person who makes astute societal observations, wouldn't long walks allow you to do both? Man, when I'm on vacation there is nothing more fun than to take half a day and just walk around random neighborhoods and observe how people live and interact. Aren't you the curious type that enjoys seeing new things? Doesn't that create new sparks of interest in your mind? Plus walking allows you ample time to do some advanced thinking AND clear your mind of clutter. To me, it's like meditating and getting a good workout all at once.

When you are done with your walk, chances are that you won't be very hungry. You then find a place and have a green veggie drink and substitute that for your lunch.

You will lose weight. I ALWAYS come back from a trip abroad 5 lbs lighter.

Just a thought man.....

[Winston]

I have a theory. Maybe I'm fat because I was born in the year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, and since oxen are usually big and bulky my frame reflects that. After all, the girls I know who are Snakes in Chinese astrology tend to be very thin, such as Dianne for instance. Maybe that's a factor? Perhaps our body physically resembles our Chinese zodiac signs? It'd be interesting to see if there's a pattern of people physically resembling the animals in their Chinese zodiac sign.

With all due respect Winston, this sounds like an excuse and a justification for you to continue down the road to early heart failure.

We know that you don't take recommendations from the peanut gallery but let me throw this out there. You don't have a 9-5 job so finding an hour a day to go out and power walk really should be no problem at all. When you were living in Philippines you used to complain about the heat. Well you are up a bit north in China and it's winter time. So you can't fall back on that excuse anymore.

As a free thinker and as a person who makes astute societal observations, wouldn't long walks allow you to do both? Man, when I'm on vacation there is nothing more fun than to take half a day and just walk around random neighborhoods and observe how people live and interact. Aren't you the curious type that enjoys seeing new things? Doesn't that create new sparks of interest in your mind? Plus walking allows you ample time to do some advanced thinking AND clear your mind of clutter. To me, it's like meditating and getting a good workout all at once.

When you are done with your walk, chances are that you won't be very hungry. You then find a place and have a green veggie drink and substitute that for your lunch.

You will lose weight. I ALWAYS come back from a trip abroad 5 lbs lighter.

Just a thought man.....

You don't understand my situation Pete, and you seem to be out of date with my status. I'm in China now. Everyday I walk a lot. And I eat healthy meals. In theory, I should not be fat. But my body weight and frame seems to be FIXED for some reason. Even if I burn fat and eat less and lose some weight, my body mass still seems unwilling to go below a certain threshold, as if my body mass was fixed or something. How do you explain that?

How come I have a few beers with Ethan_sg for a few nights in a row, and I get a pot belly from it, while Ethan_sg is still thin and slim? That doesn't make sense. It's like my body looks for any excuse it can to get fat and big, including using a few calories, whereas other people aren't affected. How do you explain that?

I walk here a lot and take the subway, just as I did in Russia, even though it's still hot here. But I'm still not as thin as I was in Russia. It doesn't make sense.

The BBC programs on fat and dieting said that at a certain age, your body seems to get comfortable at a certain weight and settles at that without much deviation. If so, that would explain why my weight seems fixed no matter how much I exercise or how healthy I eat. What do you think?

Of course, I'm sure if I was a sports fanatic or exercise buff, like Bruce Lee was, and worked out all day everyday, then it would make a difference. But I'd have to be an exercise freak who lives and breathes my workout in order to get such a drastic change it seems. Just normal dieting, walking, exercising and eating healthy doesn't seem to be enough.

I can't seem to explain the above, that's why I was positing the astrological explanation and theory.

You gotta remember that astrology is not 100 percent fiction or false. There are very REAL and CONSISTENT patterns in astrology that randomness and chance can't explain. If you study the work of Michel Gauquelin, you would see that there is strong statistical evidence to back up the reality of astrology. In fact, when the Skeptical Inquirer tried to debunk Gauquelin's work, one of their founding members, Dennis Rawlins, resigned when he found out that his organization was using dishonest fraudulent tactics and that truth was not their real agenda. So the Skeptical Inquirer failed to debunk Gauquelin's work proving astrology, and in fact their research validated it, so they tried to cover that up. That's why their founding member, Dennis Rawlins, resigned from the team and blew the whistle on CSICOP, the organization that publishes Skeptical Inquirer. Rawlins published a paper called "Starbaby" (which you can read online by Googling "Dennis Rawlins Starbaby") where he exposes what happened, and how the professional skeptics ended up validating astrology rather than debunking it.

Also, if the Illuminati and secret societies that rule our world use astrology and numerology -- and ruling elites for thousands of years have as well, from ancient Egypt and Babylon to present day -- then there must be something to it. Remember that such elites are way smarter than us and the masses, so if they take something seriously, then there must be something to it. It's a very logical assumption. However, the astrology and occult knowledge of the ruling elite and secret societies is far more advanced than the layman astrology you pick up in bookstores, and kept in the realm of hidden knowledge that only initiated ones are privy to. They even plan big events such as the JFK assassination and 9/11 around astrologically significant dates. But that's another subject matter. In general though, powerful people and billionaires use astrology and numerology. Therefore, if the most successful and powerful people use it and take it seriously, then there MUST be something to it. It's a very logical assumption. They definitely aren't fools.

Either way, patterns do exist in astrology, so there is something to it. Even practical, realistic, down-to-earth guys like Rock and Ethan_sg, and others in this forum, have noticed this, so they take astrology into consideration as well when dealing with people and relationships. In fact, when I was in Poland and talking to a girl on the train, I told her that I guessed she was a Taurus and she was surprised that I guessed her sign correctly. That happens sometimes too.

Sorry for going off on a tangent there, but you gotta keep all this in mind before dismissing something.

[Cornfed]

Question:

How many push-ups can you do, right now?

That is a somewhat unfair question, as east Asians have notoriously weak pectoral strength.

[Winston]

Question:

How many push-ups can you do, right now?

Without practice, about 5. But if I did push ups everyday, I usually get it up to about 20 or 25 push ups per day, but when I do them, my chest is not going all the way down to the floor, only halfway. White guys are always anal about that for some reason. Why do you ask such a stupid irrelevant question?

That is a somewhat unfair question, as east Asians have notoriously weak pectoral strength.

Yeah but Bruce Lee could do push ups on his index fingers. There's video footage of him doing it too. lol

[pete98146]

I have a theory. Maybe I'm fat because I was born in the year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, and since oxen are usually big and bulky my frame reflects that. After all, the girls I know who are Snakes in Chinese astrology tend to be very thin, such as Dianne for instance. Maybe that's a factor? Perhaps our body physically resembles our Chinese zodiac signs? It'd be interesting to see if there's a pattern of people physically resembling the animals in their Chinese zodiac sign.

With all due respect Winston, this sounds like an excuse and a justification for you to continue down the road to early heart failure.

We know that you don't take recommendations from the peanut gallery but let me throw this out there. You don't have a 9-5 job so finding an hour a day to go out and power walk really should be no problem at all. When you were living in Philippines you used to complain about the heat. Well you are up a bit north in China and it's winter time. So you can't fall back on that excuse anymore.

As a free thinker and as a person who makes astute societal observations, wouldn't long walks allow you to do both? Man, when I'm on vacation there is nothing more fun than to take half a day and just walk around random neighborhoods and observe how people live and interact. Aren't you the curious type that enjoys seeing new things? Doesn't that create new sparks of interest in your mind? Plus walking allows you ample time to do some advanced thinking AND clear your mind of clutter. To me, it's like meditating and getting a good workout all at once.

When you are done with your walk, chances are that you won't be very hungry. You then find a place and have a green veggie drink and substitute that for your lunch.

You will lose weight. I ALWAYS come back from a trip abroad 5 lbs lighter.

Just a thought man.....

You don't understand my situation Pete, and you seem to be out of date with my status. I'm in China now. Everyday I walk a lot. And I eat healthy meals. In theory, I should not be fat. But my body weight and frame seems to be FIXED for some reason. Even if I burn fat and eat less and lose some weight, my body mass still seems unwilling to go below a certain threshold, as if my body mass was fixed or something. How do you explain that?

How come I have a few beers with Ethan_sg for a few nights in a row, and I get a pot belly from it, while Ethan_sg is still thin and slim? That doesn't make sense. It's like my body looks for any excuse it can to get fat and big, including using a few calories, whereas other people aren't affected. How do you explain that?

I walk here a lot and take the subway, just as I did in Russia, even though it's still hot here. But I'm still not as thin as I was in Russia. It doesn't make sense.

The BBC programs on fat and dieting said that at a certain age, your body seems to get comfortable at a certain weight and settles at that without much deviation. If so, that would explain why my weight seems fixed no matter how much I exercise or how healthy I eat. What do you think?

Still might be your diet. I'd look at 5 things in particular:

1. Are you drinking enough water?
2. Cut down on your junk food.
3. Are you able to go out and buy street food? I miss that about Asia. If so, perhaps eat 5 or 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones.
4. Watch your sodium content. That may be your biggest culprit right there.
5. Cut back on sweets. Trust me, I have a sweet tooth and it's not easy.

[momopi]

Winston, buy a compact digital scale and carry a small notebook. Take weight measurements of the food (measure empty plate first as baseline) and itemize everything you consume daily. Do this for 2 weeks and bring the data back to the forum for review.

[Ghost]

.

[onethousandknives]

Question:

How many push-ups can you do, right now?

That is a somewhat unfair question, as east Asians have notoriously weak pectoral strength.

Actually the Japanese do quite well in IPF powerlifting basically only with the bench press, in bench only competitions.

Mind you, giant arch and not a big range of motion, but it's within the rules and they're competing against others trying for the same giant arch and short range of motion. Some are using assistance shirts, some are no shirt. But still, Japan does incredibly well in the IPF for bench pressing in the equipped (with bench shirt) category, and this video has training lifts raw.

I think it's quite a fallacy to say East Asians are weak muscularly, all the East Asian countries currently are doing significantly better than America and most Western countries in Olympic weightlifting. The Chinese have a problem of not having stronger lifters above 85kg or so weight class (but even so, their 105s/supers are still world standard, just not record material...) South Korea and North Korea have done incredibly well in the sport as well, and even Japan has done OK/a little better than us.

So I don't think it's rational to say East Asians are inherently weak or whatever. as results from pro sports says otherwise. They tend to be skinnier than Americans due to lower caloric intake and less hormones in their food. Yes, if you take a 120lb Asian dude and compare him to a 200lb American, the 200lb American will be stronger just by overeating because you do get more muscle without even training, and more muscle from just moving yourself around, but how many 120lb Americans do you see that are super strong, too?

And even with the pushups, most of those Asian countries have compulsory military service, so in this regard it's more likely they'll be able to do more pushups too from that past experience, if you compared... office workers or something, just because of that past experience.

[onethousandknives]

Winston, it's quite important to get real data regarding the calories you eat. If you have an Android phone or iPhone, or a laptop to take with you, there's an app/website called "Myfitnesspal" and it allows you to type in a meal, or a single food item, and record it down an it tracks your calories. Also it tracks exercise as well, so if you walk 2 hours, it tracks how many calories you burn as well. With the "set point" ideology, it can be true in some people, but you never know if it's actually true with you unless you do actually spend some time tracking your caloric intake. So I'd definitely use it if I were you and see what your actual caloric intake is. It's also very convenient, as it tracks some of your vitamins and minerals, along with fats, proteins, carbs, etc. Doing this will be the only way you actually KNOW if you have a real metabolic issue (ie, low thyroid hormones) or just guessing and complaining, as if you cannot maintain or lose weight with the correct number of calories for your age/activity level, then this should be something you consult a doctor and/or take supplements to fix (ie, chromium picolinate and Vitamin D to improve insulin sensitivity, possibly see a doctor about getting thyroid hormones...) If you don't do this, you don't actually know for sure what exactly is going on.

I say this because my mother had the same idea, and I finally got her using this program and she loses weight fairly linearly at 1lb per week now, and as a guy you can lose 2lbs per week safely generally. But she had the same thoughts of "set point" etc, which I'm not saying is impossible, but for most people it is not an issue.

Weighing food does help, too and gives you more accurate calories, but I would not bring a food scale to a restaurant lololol. But for me for restaurants, say I eat a "banh mi" sandwich, right, I pick one out that seems to fit it closest in myfitnesspal, it's sort of simple, if it's a big sandwich, pick the one with the most calories, smaller, pick one with less, etc.

Try this, and I wish you good luck with this.

[chanta76]

Winston,

You and I are about the same age and same height but the difference is I work out regularly and look much better in shape. You mentioned your eating healthier in China and walking more. That's a good start..but you need to do more to really create change.
Here was my work out routine this past week..Monday..went for 30 mins run followed by kettlebells and clubbell work out for 30 mins. Tuesday..swam for an hour follow by core exercise for 20 mins.
For wednesday I plan on running again with body weight movement and clubbell training. Thats just this week..

I made it a lifestyle choice to work out regularly...I could easily do 50 push ups if not more and 20 pull ups. I ran the NYC marathon and do weekend road races. I used to lift weights where I once dead lifted 400lbs ( which is actually just so-so numbers for powerlifter) at 160 lbs body weight now..that I'm older I do more strength endurance work out ..such as timed kettlebell swings or snatch.

For diet I keep it simple eat natural food and in moderation. I still eat junk food but only in moderation..my wife makes mostly healthy food which HELPS big time.

In order to change your body composition you have to add high intense training with resistance training. I seen your pic..you have poor muscle tone and that will lead to lower metabolism and in the long run easy weight gain.

[pete98146]

Winston, you have so many advantages compared to many guys on this forum who are basically desk jockeys chained to their desks 40+ hours a week.

I dream of my retirement and probably the first thing that I'll do is check out a couple of different martial arts styles and eventually pick one. I'll find something that I can enjoy with my wife with the sole purpose of keeping in shape! Lucky you, you have this time available to you now!!!!!!

Don't know if you watch Anthony Bourdain at all. But last season he was bragging that he gave up smoking and bam...all of a sudden his stomach started to grow. So on the new season, I just watched his segment on San Francisco and he looked noticeably healthier. Well lo and behold he revealed that he's doing Brazilian Jujitsu. He got into it because his wife competes. They profiled him dropping into a Jujitsu studio in San Fran and they showed what his workout entails. Guess they have a very rigorous warm up that lasts half an hour.

Bourdain said that it took him 6 months of practice to get thru the warm ups. That's how out of shape he was. He lives in Manhattan and he says he's in there every morning working out. Now he's able to get thru the entire warm up and routine without any problems and he loves it. Said it's changed his life. He likes it because it's almost like chess in that you have a variety of moves and counter moves that you use to defeat your opponent.

Winston, come on!!! If frickin' Anthony Bourdain can do it so can you. Another beautiful thing is that where ever you travel, martial arts studios are all over the world and I'm sure most will allow a traveler to come by and workout for a nominal fee.

[onethousandknives]

Winston, you have so many advantages compared to many guys on this forum who are basically desk jockeys chained to their desks 40+ hours a week.

I dream of my retirement and probably the first thing that I'll do is check out a couple of different martial arts styles and eventually pick one. I'll find something that I can enjoy with my wife with the sole purpose of keeping in shape! Lucky you, you have this time available to you now!!!!!!

Don't know if you watch Anthony Bourdain at all. But last season he was bragging that he gave up smoking and bam...all of a sudden his stomach started to grow. So on the new season, I just watched his segment on San Francisco and he looked noticeably healthier. Well lo and behold he revealed that he's doing Brazilian Jujitsu. He got into it because his wife competes. They profiled him dropping into a Jujitsu studio in San Fran and they showed what his workout entails. Guess they have a very rigorous warm up that lasts half an hour.

Bourdain said that it took him 6 months of practice to get thru the warm ups. That's how out of shape he was. He lives in Manhattan and he says he's in there every morning working out. Now he's able to get thru the entire warm up and routine without any problems and he loves it. Said it's changed his life. He likes it because it's almost like chess in that you have a variety of moves and counter moves that you use to defeat your opponent.

Winston, come on!!! If frickin' Anthony Bourdain can do it so can you. Another beautiful thing is that where ever you travel, martial arts studios are all over the world and I'm sure most will allow a traveler to come by and workout for a nominal fee.

Ah, this would be pretty cool. Even if Winston sees it as too violent, even if he did something like Tai Chi or something regularly, it'd likely help him a great deal.

Anyway, Winston, you spoke of Chinese astrology as being a reasoning why you're so fat. Now, I'm not going to debate with you about the specifics of the actual astrology (I am a horse, btw) but, according to Chinese medicine, there are different food/dietary types needed for different body types and constitutions, with astrological sign being a part of it. But most is that food has different properties, heating, cooling, damp, dry, etc. Now, I'm not an expert in TCM, but from viewing pictures of you, you have problems of excessive heat and dampness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_food_therapy http://www.lotusrootacupuncture.com/nutritition.html Heat because of acne and dampness because of the pot belly and swollen cheeks. This is my diagnosis, but since you're in China, it should be quite easy and cheap to find a doctor of Chinese medicine who can tell you a good dietary plan for your ailments and constitution.

For me personally, because I am more of a yang person (Yang Metal Horse) I need more yin foods, and actually cannot eat much meat or else I get very aggressive and short tempered. However, some people, especially very skinny and frail type of people do need more meat, you'll see them be excessively pale for example. But for me, in my diet cutting down meat and excessively "heaty" foods makes me feel much better and more even headed feeling. This even has to do with climate, too. You can even notice this among cultures. Take for example, Vietnam or China vs the Philippines. The Philippinos tend to be more short sighted, more hot headed, etc, and you can actually say this is in part due to their diet. High meat levels, lots of fried food, coupled with a hot climate. So it leads to the same conditions in psyche and body. You can look across cultures, the cultures with lower meat levels tend to be more calm, less aggressive, etc. The Vietnamese and Chinese have relatively lower meat levels in their diets, and due to the Chinese influence, you can notice this in Viet food, they'll try to offset the meat in a dish with something cooling to make it more balanced. IE, banh mi has pickled carrot and cucumber, and cucumber is cooling, thus kind of offsetting the meat. Same the soups with lots of vegetables, etc. Even common Chinese people will say "Oh, I need to eat more beef and spicy food because it's cold out." But won't eat spicy food in the summer.

Obviously, this isn't like some 100% fool proof thing, but please do look into this. Calories and all this do matter, but this is something, not really astrological, but more esoteric, to experiment with. Look at the TCM properties of various foods you eat, and the properties of yourself (being 100% honest) and see what needs fixing. You can even notice simple things like feeling hot all the time with a high meat/cheese/fried food diet, and this is due to having internal "heat" levels increased. Then if you eat say, only salads and cold foods for a few weeks, you'll notice you'll be very cold basically everywhere you go. You notice this especially with women, why they always say "I'm so cold" as they tend to be less heatier and/or of a yang constitution than men. But a large part of this is why different diets do work better for different people. For example, a raw vegan diet tends to actually work very well for an average white male, as they tend to have a very yang and heaty type constitution, so it balances them out well and they feel on top of the world.

I wish I could say more, but probably sound a bit crazy. But this is something you should look into alongside actually counting your calories, as it may help you lose weight, but your life generally will improve dramatically if you have a dietary type that works for your body type and whatever your goals are. Also, in your case, I would say quite simply for you right now, working on this model, avoid cheese (probably hard to get in China) and oily food, or food that's fried, and if you eat out, order a soup or dumplings instead. For alcohol, simply switch to wine, as beer is more dampness inducing, and wine expels dampness (but increases heat...)

PM me about this more if you want.