how do you fellows keep in shape?..I find that many years in this sedentary industry have left me with a girth that keeps expanding south of the border..long tedious nights of sitting and flipping, which has left me with a well developed wrist (no wise-acre remarks!) and growing adipose tissue everywhere else...deadlines sap my strength, so for my only outside recreation I go to the movies, and we all know you cant see a good film without indulging in a few treats...anyway, I'm about one and a half times the man I used to be..dont get me wrong, inside I'm still a Jedi warrior, but outside, I'm Jabba the Hut..so, does anyone else suffer this same syndrome?..if not, what's your secret?
lol. Oh man. What a great post.
I feel your pain. Ever since I started along this career path I've found my office chair is beginning to form to the shape of my...well anyway. I've always been told to take breaks every hour to at least keep blood flowing. I promised myself that once I got out of school I'd start a regular exercise program again. It really does get easier to do after a few weeks of doing it...
That...didn't answer your question at all. But best of luck. We're all in the same, steadily growing boat.
Ender
I'm sure most of us can relate. When I'm in studio just about all day and night without a real chance for exercise, it just kind of jumps on you. If only they would invent a chair that would exercise your buttocks so real exercise would be unnecessary.
-moot
Recently I've gotten into swing dancing as a weekend and occasional weeknights thing. Most good-sized cities have some kind of a swing dance community if you look hard enough for it, and the group I'm hanging with is very easy to jump in with. It's great exercise (and since you're dancing with someone or in a group instead of next to somebody to an instructor you forget it's exercise), you make tons of new friends, and it's almost guarunteed that most of the people involved will love animation. Since I've started swing dancing about five months ago I've gotten five belt-holes thinner and have much more energy. Still a big guy, but give it a little time. You also meet some awesome personalities in swing groups that make for good animation inspiration.
This really is a great post. I'm in the same boat. I may not be a pro but working you but off to meet school deadlines does take it's tool on you. Right now I also working on a book and time to workout is non existant. If it's not a page deadline it's getting the animation done. I just finished the book one and i'm really excited. Right now i feel like I have all the time in the world but realisticly i probably only have about 5 min.
I told my self that once i finished this deadline i was going to go back to my martial arts class and this time stick with it. Working out is hard as is especially if you don't have someone to be there with you to push you. So i hope that in class i'll find that someone to push me
I guess it's like a new years resolution. My friends say that it's not that hard. Just dedicate one hr to working out every day, and don't renig on it or it'll just fall apart.
Good times.....right.:o
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What does work for me (when I behave).
First, cut out snacking on junk. Snack on fruits or veggies. I really believe you can eat almost anything as long as its 3 meals a day as snacking is the culprit. Usually in these fad diets they make the meals the villian but stop snacking on junk first is like a process of elimination. If you don't notice a change after you stop sancking on junk then work on having all food groups with your 3 meals.
You don't have to go all fanatical as atkins but yes, lower carbs. If you have two slices of toast in the morning , make it one or none.
I don't believe in 8 glasses of water a day but I would say more than usual to fill you up and metabolise fat.
And good old milk with each meal is good for your bones.
And now exercise. This is just as difficult to me. As I mature I hate the gym (too crowded) and my free-weights at home, half the exercise is changing them. I wanna get one of those machines.
Last year I did that power 90 for half the plan from beachbody.com and saw a difference. The thing with videos though is that they get real boring real quick.
buy a super stalling star from here and you're set:
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here at work we're all caught up in the hacky sack craze, and play twice a day. we even have it scheduled in our calendars! :)
you only need to do it for a short time to get some air to your brain!
Once I saw a cab driver who lost 20 pounds in a week, simply because he stopped eating carbs. Of course after a couple weeks you have to eat some, but if you're looking for fast fat burning, it works. Scientifically.
Me, I don't know what's going on. I keep eating pizza and hamburgers every day, and drinking Coke like a monster. The other day I checked my weight and I was below 90 kg for the first time in 10 years.
The only reasonable explanation is that stress is a great excercise...
As for actual exercise, the kind you do to keep you alive, not slim, I strongly recommend 15 minutes of walking every day. You don't even need those fancy clothes and portable radios. Just walk: you, your feet, the ground, and keep moving. You can even walk back and forth from work, or get down of the bus a few stops earlier. The important thing is to do a little exercise everyday, and make a pleasant experience, so you won't stop.
Yeah, as if I was *the* expert... hehe
Funny. I thought most animators were starving artists. Even tho, we keep getting fatter every day. That's weird.
I also wanted to put a basketball hoop here at the studio, but the outside floor didn't allow it. But I strongly recommend it too. It's great for companies, studios, etc.
danielpoeira.org
eek!
I tried doing the Atkins thing back in February, but MAN it freakin' drained me of energy!!! I couldn't even stand up. I have hypothyroid (low metabolism) too, so I think the energy drain effected that...Atkins was also REALLY expensive. So after about a week, I quit the thing. But I bought a kickboxing DVD during that week and it was nice to actually start excercising (which I had never done before). I also live in an apartment complex that has a pool, and I LOVE swimming (an old lady at the apartment calls me 'mermaid':) ).
My boyfriend is still doing the Atkins thing and since February, he has lost 50 pounds. Every night we have a piece of chicken and a bowl of salad with cheese, and either water or Crystal Light lemonade (it has no carbs). He likes the Breyers Lo-Carb ice cream; it's cheaper than the Atkins ice cream. He says the trick is to stay away from Atkins-brand products; they are more expensive.
...Personally, my theory is: life is short, indulge in life's pleasures...I think that most of the time, but then I look at myself in the mirror and I'm like "Man, I could look so much prettier if I was skinnier..." But then I think, is that me talking, or society brainwashing us?:confused:
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Hi guys. What a great issue! Working in any industry where you sit on your rear for so much of your day has the obvious effects on the scales. I totally agree with what Graphiteman said about healthy snacks. It's a really easy thing to fall into the trap of sitting in front of the PC with a packet of something nasty. You munch away, without even realising what you're doing. If you can make sure it's something healthy, then all the better.
The issue of weightloss is an extremely debatable one! What works like a charm for one person, might be a totally unsuccessful endeavor for another. At the end of the day, if you follow the basic golden rules of 1) Eat a healthy, balanced diet and 2) Move your body! then weightloss is achievable!
For those of you who are interested in a bit more of the nitty gritty, I'm about to include a BIG chunk of info that I typed out last year for a bridal website. I've modified it so it makes a bit more sense. The biggest thing I find that's frustrating about weightloss, is the amount of info (a lot of it BS) out there that is so confusing and contradictory. I believe I managed to wade through all of the extraneous rubbish to find something that really worked for me. So anyway, here's that info I promised:
My sister-in-law is a physiotherapist and health freak. She's been personally training me at the gym and has given me loads of advice on weight loss. I've watched my mum yoyo diet nearly all of her life (don't get me wrong, she's not a big lady and is looking great at the moment too). I don't want to yoyo and get really frustrated with all of the claims that seem to change about what is the "right thing to do" etc etc. Fortunately, my sister-in-law is constantly researching this topic and can give me the latest research info and the science and logic behind why it works. So for anyone who is interested, here's what I picked up from her:
1) Eat unprocessed foods (anything that comes out of the ground) or as unprocessed as possible. The less things "man" has done to them, the better.
2) Eat foods that are low in fat & low in sugar. DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP BY THE LOW FAT HYPE! Many products have "low fat" or "98% fat free", but fail to mention they are absolutely packed with sugar.
3) PREPARE! Plan your day if you can. If you know that you are going to be on the road, or for example at a footy game where there are only pies with sauce, take something healthy with you. Always have healthy foods at hand at home too, so when you do get the munchies, you've got something good there instead of something bad.
4)You should eat about 5 times a day (about every 3 hours) in small portions. (Yep, they've scrapped the ol' 3 square meals idea.) This keeps your metabolism working throughout the day. For example, you might have a decent breakfast, but then have a low fat/low sugar yoghurt for morning tea. Don't starve yourself. Have you ever noticed how a lot of supermodels may be very skinny, but have no muscle tone? They're all soft and flabby around their upper arms and belly. This is likely to be due to them having a very poor diet of regularly eating nothing but water crackers etc. Their body goes into famine mode and stores fat in those areas of their bodies. So, eat healthily and regularly.
5)Exercise first thing before breakfast. Your stomach will be empty and as your body doesn't have any carbs to burn, it burns your body fat. Exercising releases endorphines (happy chemicals) in the brain, which make you feel good and also more alert. You feel more charged for the day ahead, plus, if you leave your exercise until the evening, you might pike out because you are too tired to be bothered, or maybe time has gotten away from you at work.
6)Reduce the size of your evening meal. Most of us have been brought up to eat a big yummy dinner and then go to bed shortly afterwards. This is the worst thing we can do, as our body obviously then is at rest and is at its most inefficient state of burning fat, carbs etc.
7)Designate one "bad day" a week. On this day, you can eat whatever you want and can also make it a complete rest day from exercise. If you are after faster weight loss, try having just one "bad meal" on that day instead of the whole day.
8)An average of 1kg (about 2.2 pounds) a week is a healthy weight loss. Any more than that, and you are probably losing lean muscle or water. Don't forget, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are exercising, as you put on muscle, the scales may even go up before they go down. Don't be dejected if you don't lose any one week or even go up a bit. As some people have mentioned, scales are not a reliable way of seeing your fat loss. Try measuring your stomach, hips, thighs and upper arm with a measuring tape and record your progress. If you must jump on the scales: always do it at the same time of day without clothes and always use the same scales. If you're really keen, there are special scales you can buy which measure body fat only.
9)In regards to exercise: The more lean muscle you have on your body, the faster your metabolism will be. Therefore, try and do a weights workout or a class like "Body Pump" that uses weights to music. It's also good to mix up the type of exercise you are doing to "trick" your body into fatloss. Once your body becomes too accustomed to one type of exercise, it becomes too efficient and you will lose less fat. A great example of this is swimming. While it is a great form of exercise, if you do it and nothing else for too long, you will find your fatloss will drop.
10)Gain support. Try and gain support from your family and/or friends. Although my husband is supportive of my weightloss, he does have a habit of driving through Maccas with me in the car. This sort of thing is pretty unhelpful. Appeal to your friends and family to give you a hand. If you can't get this type of support, find someone like minded who is trying to lose weight &/or get fit and team up with them. Having a designated time each day (or whenever you can) to meet up for exercise is a great motivator, because you not only let yourself down if you don't rock up, but you let them down too.
I don't claim that the above info is gospel - particularly as even the scientists keep changing their mind!...but at this point in time, the diet-related info I've put up there is pretty much up to date. On the issue of low carb/no carb diets: interestingly enough at one point, my sister-in-law believed that was the way to go, and cut out all pasta, rice, bread etc. She said she had the extreme feeling of lethargy whilst eating that way too.(Cybercyst mentioned similar results) There have been numerous debates recently on the carb issue. I know many people still swear by it, while others are saying it's quite unhealthy. I think most doctors are talking about how removing such a big food group from the diet, can lead to significant health problems. FYI my sister-in-law has returned to her original theory of "all in moderation". Her energy has returned, and her weight is healthy.
One final point. I did lose weight through the above info. Finding a form of exercise that is fun was one of the keys (great ideas Borogove with the dancing classes and Kevan with the hackysack). If you're more of a solo player, then just going for a walk as Daniel mentioned is a good way to burn fat. The second big key for me, was actually going on a home-delivered eating plan (it's called Lite'n'Easy over here... I'm sure you'd have something similar). This particular one is extremely nutritious and yummy, and the whole week is planned out and delivered to you. You're not starved at all, and everything's done. It's great because if you're really busy and on the run on the time, you've got something there that's healthy and you're not tempted to go through the ol' drive thru, or order a pizza!
Well, many apologies to anyone who has fallen asleep or has died of boredom from my extremely long post.
I hope it helps someone!!
Hey my man...sitting collecting tire insurance I see...
Well there's only one REAL way to get in shape...and using this latest breakthrough in medical science, you'll be in better shape then anyone you know..and fast.
Here goes...
Dance. More so...partner dance. That would mean anything from Swing, to Salsa to whatever is high energy and great music.
I'd wasted years of my life on the f-n treadmill, trying to eat like a bird, but it's a waste of time my friend. When you dance, you're not only burning fat at an unbelieveable rate, but you're having fun, socializing, meeting people, exposing yourself to a new culture and much more. You're enjoying yourself obsessively, so you aren't paying attention that you've been sweating like a freak for 6 hours straight. Guaranteed, you'll practically be able to watch that tire turn into a surfboard.
If you can't dance, don't worry, noone cares, and you'll eventually learn...20 minutes on a stairmaster or treadmill or exercise bike isn't only difficuly because it's redundant, but it's bloody boring too...nothing to do but pedal away like an idiot.
Combine that with a little discipline when you eat. Stay away from things like pizza and soft drinks, and try to eat lighter and lighter...eventually, with the exercise and the discipline, your appetite will drop, and you won't get hungry as often or as much. Make a point of not binging when you eat.
And if you don't believe this is the only way...take it from someone who dropped from 225 (6"3) to 175 lbs in about 4 months. Believe you me...you'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner...there's alot of fun out there waiting for you..
Good luck.
Adam
Good idea, Adam. You can't go wrong with dancing...and it's free!
Daniel P. mentioned something about animation studios adding a basketball court or whatnot to their buildings...I know Nickelodeon has a really nice basketball court to keep their artists in shape (not to mention catered lunches every Fridays--not sure if they still do this, though; might have gotten cut since 9/11). Someone mentioned that they used to have a little golf course, but that got torn down to make way for the parking structure. I have always admired Nickelodeon for the incredible atmosphere they keep for the artists--it's like going to an amusement park every day, but getting paid for it. Even the cubicles are colorful and cozy.:)
...sorry, I got a little off-track there...
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well, what more can I say..just reading all your wonderful suggestions for weight loss has caused the pounds to fall off like so many blood gorged leeches..I'm down to a svelte 197 and taken the struts out from under my work chair...keep those ideas coming fellas, those jeans I bought back in '95 are about to make a re-appearance.
...I have decided to eat fruits, vegetables, chicken, and cottage cheese; along with water and/or green tea. This combined with some swimming I think will make me feel a lot better about myself.
I looked up the 'bread and water' diet and it looks good, but I think there would be a serious lack of proteins there...bad for the muscles. I always thought it would be cool to just drink water and nothing else...lots of trips to the bathroom, but I would think some serious weight loss! Anyone else heard about the 'water diet'?
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interesting you would mention the water diet, kyberpass, as I once tried the kydney-recycled water diet, ..the amount of vomiting after each ingestion had my usually bloated weight down to to a trim 65 lbs..that was enough to keep me working as a runway model for 2 whole years..ah but I was so much younger then
I used to have a 30" waist until I started sitting in front of a computer all day. Here some of the things I do to combat the bulge.
1. Do push ups and crunches everyday. This should only take up 15 minutes. It will build a larger upper body which will help your midsection look smaller. And the crunches will pull your abdomen tighter and improve your posture. This however won't really get rid of that fat around your belly.
2. Get into some fun cardiovascular workouts. I'm in a soccer league and play once a week. It's a workout, but once a week isn't really enough to keep the fat off. Dancing is really great. I used to go club dancing for 3 hours straight and that kept me lean. Which reminds me...
3. Drink hard alcahol. No beer. I prefer vodka. Don't mix it except with ice or water. Some how this keep me lean too :rolleyes: .
4. Now that summer is here I'll go boogie boarding 3-4 times a week. Swimming in the ocean against the waves is the best full body workout ever and it's fun. Since I'm freelance, I go during the day and work in the evenings when it cools down. Of course this requires you to live by the beach. And finally...
5. Vigorous sex. You don't even need to leave the house and what could be more fun. Of course you will need a partner for this activity. And with any excercise, make sure you put your entire body into it. It's all about getting the full body workout. ;)
-Colby
Yeah, vodka and rum have no carbs! Sweeeet. However, Those Smirnoff Twists are disgusting. The apple flavor is really gross.
Heh...this is a good one, but the 'vigorous workout' factor depends on lots of things (like a decent partner....hrm, I hope my significant other doesn't read these forums!):rolleyes:
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Well, not an animator, just a wanna be, but I work long hours and try to draw in whatever spare time I have, so, I'm pretty busy. I'm no expert, but I've found this has always worked for me. Could partly be my genes though:
I eat a variety of foods from the four food groups (I've heard variety is key)
Nothing like unrefined carbs is really evil, just the amounts and what they are combined with (i.e., starches with proteins (steak and potatoes) - not a good combo, so I try to limit these combinations and have steak and salad instead). There's alot of info out there about this.
I try to snack on healthy foods.
Enjoy the odd junk food - It won't hurt as long as it's not overdone.
I try to drink at least 3 - 4 glasses of water a day
Green tea (it's good for loosing weight cause it detoxes you and the more you drink, the more beneficial). Because it's bitter, I tend to drink it when I'm eating fruit or something sweet. I find it's a good after meal.
I try to get in 20 minutes of excercise around 3 times a week (I just pop the tape in and alternate between one of the three exercises depending how I'm feeling (Yoga, TaeBo (Please don't laugh, it's amazing for working the stomach and butt) and Pilates) And if I get bored of these I sometimes, when watching the odd bit of Television, do some lunges, and or free weights.
Don't count calories. I've tried it and actually gained weight. It's also exhausting and a pain in the...
Hope this helps.
I read all the messages on the thread and did an average of all the techniques described here. Here it goes:
- Take the bread off and eat only the red meat inside
- Drink vodka like if you were a Cadillac
- Bop till you drop
- Have sex like there was no tomorrow
Please notice that the order in which these activities should be done is exactly this. Dancing before drinking and drinking before eating is very very dangerous.
See? It's easy!! :D
P.S.: This reply is serious.
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