On Thu, 30 Mar 2000, john grigg wrote:
>
> I read how in the U.S. Marine Corps the drill instructors call the very 
> obese recruits 'baby whales' and at the end of the 13 weeks these trainees 
> have lost weight and toned up quite alot due to the loving attention of 
> their instructors in making sure they get enough exercise and don't overeat. 
> ;)  Now, we have overweight yuppies paying former drill instructors good 
> money to give them the sort of ferociously loving attention most nineteen 
> year-olds dread.  But of course it is not really the same thing.
When I was in Basic Training (Army), it was common for obese individuals
to lose 40 pounds in 8 weeks and you couldn't help but to gain lean
muscle mass.  I went in at 150-lbs and came out at 135-lbs despite gaining
some lean mass, and I wasn't obese by any means.  My body fat was easily
<10% by the time I left.
All it took was heavy exercise every day and a regulated diet (Army food,
while mediocre in flavor and texture, *is* designed to be quite healthy). 
The results are a lot more lasting too, because it tends to encourage
habitual behavior modification.  The point being that it is a lifestyle
change, not a "something I do for two hours on four days a week", which is
why yuppie DIs are probably a waste of money.
-James Rogers
 jamesr@best.com
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