Re: A cure for obesity (was 'a to-do list for the next century')

From: Michael S. Lorrey (mike@datamann.com)
Date: Thu Mar 30 2000 - 16:32:58 MST


James Rogers wrote:

> 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.

When I went into the Air Force, I was already a pretty serious weight lifter, so
my weight was over the max limits, even though I had low fat levels (the USAF has
the lowest maximums of all services, they want you to look good in a suit,
fighting ability be damned). I sweated and dieted till I squeezed my weight down
to 183 before basic, then I lost 16 more pounds in basic to the point I was
digesting my innards even though I was eating three helpings at every meal...

There were guys who had somehow gotten into basic in an overweight state, and they
got put into the 'fat boy squad'. They were the guys running back and forth
stopping traffic, etc. as the unit was marching across base to various activities.

> 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.

It might be a good camp for a few weeks though....locate the camp in the
carribean, make it co-ed....



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:06:48 MDT