May 14 2009
Exercise to Kill Appetite
I wish exercise actually did “kill” appetite, but, at best, it stifles it temporarily. Perhaps the increased intake of water also fills the stomach and lessens the “eat now!” feelings.
Today, I tried exercising to reduce my hunger pangs, caused in part by a meatless diet (to which) I am striving to adhere. (English is SO FUNNY.)
I am not starving; I’m simply not feeling satisfied after ANY MEAL! I don’t want to eat junk between meals, so am really trying to snack on fruit, which is mostly water and, incidentally, goes RIGHT THROUGH ME!
I am about “fruited out” for the WEEK! My wife recommends carrots or celery. I don’t like celery, so carrots it is. I get tired of chewing carrots, and still don’t feel satisfied.
My exercise was cut shorter than the time I had planned because my heart rate hit the maximum for my age, (62), but a pulse of 158 doesn’t seem too high; I recall 185 and 195 when I was much (MUCH) younger. (The simplest formula to obtain your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220.)
When I was in the Navy, I was never a really INTENSIVE exerciser like some, but I did fitness training with the special forces people in Coronado, California, that is, the Explosive Ordinance Disposal teams (EOD) and the SEAL teams (1,3,5). We had a great obstacle course at the Amphibious Base there, and it was put to good use by all of us who were at least moderately fanatical about fitness training.
Before I left the Navy I had run in over forty 10K races, five 13-mile half-marathons, and one 26-mile marathon. I vowed never to run another marathon. I didn’t think it was a good thing to do to my aging body, and I was 46 years old at the time.
Now, at age 62, and long retired, I have a very modest workout and very low expectations. Shame on me.
We do have half a dozen pieces of fitness equipment in our workout room, so I occupy myself with the treadmill, the reclining bicycle, and the weight bench. Oh yeah, there is a sit-up thingy down there too, an “ab-something” or other. I do yoga stretches for a few minutes each day but nothing stressful. I am getting SO LAZY.
When I am feeling those pangs I usually go for dried apricots and almonds.Lots of chewing involved and tastes yummy.
Dried apricots? I’ll try it. Almonds are already on my list. Thanks, “sparrow”!