What's the learning-for-fun equivalent in diet and exercise?
September 30, 2014 9:23 PM Subscribe
I think we learn best not through rigid reading lists and assignments but when we follow our interests freeform. Yet habits, routines, calorie counting, repetitive exercises, and other finger-wagging components of "health as a necessary chore" seem to be the prevalent attitude in nutrition and physical fitness. How could one get really healthy through the fitness and diet equivalents of reading randomly for pleasure, tinkering, exploring, and problem solving for the joy of it?
Have you tried dance or a martial art?
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:35 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:35 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
This is almost so broad or obvious, I'm not sure what to answer. Could you specify what you're looking for?
Excercise can be doing anything for fun that involves your body.
Which is... pretty much all sports, and many hobbies, including owning large pets.
Dancing, tramping, urban exploration, ultimate frisbee, circus arts, hula hooping, dog walking, bike riding, scuba diving, body surfing, building houses, gardening, orienteering...
I could have made an A to Z list instead. :)
Food/Nutrition:
Check out how people geek out over making (largely) healthy lunches in a box - Bento lunch . net
If you decide to make a different bento box lunch each day, that's an intense level of geeking, and incidentally, pretty healthy for you.
posted by Elysum at 9:35 PM on September 30, 2014
Excercise can be doing anything for fun that involves your body.
Which is... pretty much all sports, and many hobbies, including owning large pets.
Dancing, tramping, urban exploration, ultimate frisbee, circus arts, hula hooping, dog walking, bike riding, scuba diving, body surfing, building houses, gardening, orienteering...
I could have made an A to Z list instead. :)
Food/Nutrition:
Check out how people geek out over making (largely) healthy lunches in a box - Bento lunch . net
If you decide to make a different bento box lunch each day, that's an intense level of geeking, and incidentally, pretty healthy for you.
posted by Elysum at 9:35 PM on September 30, 2014
"Fun" is pretty subjective. I actually find it really interesting to build recipes by going backwards from the desired nutritional profile. E.g., here or here.
A common way to exercise is to do energy-inefficient things like ride a bike for transportation or take the stair. Or make friends with really outdoorsy people and hang out with them at remote places accessible only by a few miles of unimproved trail.
posted by d. z. wang at 9:41 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
A common way to exercise is to do energy-inefficient things like ride a bike for transportation or take the stair. Or make friends with really outdoorsy people and hang out with them at remote places accessible only by a few miles of unimproved trail.
posted by d. z. wang at 9:41 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Diet - this may sound weird, but I have found that my transition to a keto diet has been incredibly interesting to research and tinker with, purely because a high-fat diet is the complete opposite of every other diet and piece of nutritional advice I've ever been exposed to. I find it cool to see how my body reacts to different types of fat, and adapting my cooking habits to be low-carb while still full of colorful veggies, meat and fats has been a good challenge.
Exercise - really, it's as simple as finding something you love doing. For me, I had to completely get out of the gym to find love in exercise. The things I could do every day if I had the budget and equipment to do so would be going on looooong hikes through the Olympic Rainforest and stand-up paddleboarding. Your preferences may differ, but surely there is something out there. Rock climbing? Skiing? Yoga? Mountain biking? Volksmarching? If you can, try to squeeze as much money out of other spending categories and give yourself a nice little budget for experimenting with different activities.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:28 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Exercise - really, it's as simple as finding something you love doing. For me, I had to completely get out of the gym to find love in exercise. The things I could do every day if I had the budget and equipment to do so would be going on looooong hikes through the Olympic Rainforest and stand-up paddleboarding. Your preferences may differ, but surely there is something out there. Rock climbing? Skiing? Yoga? Mountain biking? Volksmarching? If you can, try to squeeze as much money out of other spending categories and give yourself a nice little budget for experimenting with different activities.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:28 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
How do you define "really healthy?" What specific or vague goals would you like to reach with diet and exercise? For example, someone looking to eat in a way to reduce body fat won't benefit from many techniques used to build muscle mass.
Would you be happy doing things that are generally accepted as "healthy" without requiring visible changes, or do you have specific markers of health you would like to see improve?
In general, I'd agree with those who have mentioned fun and flexibility. I'd suggest getting in the (flexible) habit of doing something physical every day, preferably outside, even better in a natural setting. This could be a structured solo exercise, martial art or group sport / class you genuinely enjoy. It could be the kill-two-birds-with-one-stone approach of walking or biking for fun and transportation.
I agree that starting off with the idea that you must track exercise (or food intake) makes things less fun. Your lifestyle may support going out at whatever time of day suits you, or you may have a more hectic life where you may find that to continue doing what you enjoy requires some planning and scheduling. But if the activities you choose start to bore you, or if you were hoping for specific changes in your physical and mental makeup, you may find that starting to track your achievements and trying to get better can make things fun again and can help you achieve your goals.
posted by maudlin at 10:34 PM on September 30, 2014
Would you be happy doing things that are generally accepted as "healthy" without requiring visible changes, or do you have specific markers of health you would like to see improve?
In general, I'd agree with those who have mentioned fun and flexibility. I'd suggest getting in the (flexible) habit of doing something physical every day, preferably outside, even better in a natural setting. This could be a structured solo exercise, martial art or group sport / class you genuinely enjoy. It could be the kill-two-birds-with-one-stone approach of walking or biking for fun and transportation.
I agree that starting off with the idea that you must track exercise (or food intake) makes things less fun. Your lifestyle may support going out at whatever time of day suits you, or you may have a more hectic life where you may find that to continue doing what you enjoy requires some planning and scheduling. But if the activities you choose start to bore you, or if you were hoping for specific changes in your physical and mental makeup, you may find that starting to track your achievements and trying to get better can make things fun again and can help you achieve your goals.
posted by maudlin at 10:34 PM on September 30, 2014
1) Pick ten vegetables or fruits you have never eaten. Source them, learn how to prepare them, and conquer the unknown.
2) Decide to eat five vegetable servings a day, but only those you enjoy. Or all at once. Or cut in amusing shapes. Or see how many servings it is physically possible to cram into one smoothie.
3) Pick a really weird goal, like that woman who used her fitness tracking device to draw a cartoon penis on the map by running in a certain pattern. Personally my plan is to take a selfie in the middle of Aquatic Park next to some boats, so I'm working on my swimming. I also think it would be neat to cross the city on foot. I'm also working on bench pressing my own weight, because I think that would be neat. The idea is to think of something that will take a certain amount of stamina and effort to do, then work up to that-- the fitness is a side effect.
4) Ignore calories and focus on using every part of the pumpkin, or perfecting your quiche, or some other weird food goal that is healthy as a side effect. What has worked for me is to track only sugar and salt and go wild with the rest of it, but it's up to you.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:57 PM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
2) Decide to eat five vegetable servings a day, but only those you enjoy. Or all at once. Or cut in amusing shapes. Or see how many servings it is physically possible to cram into one smoothie.
3) Pick a really weird goal, like that woman who used her fitness tracking device to draw a cartoon penis on the map by running in a certain pattern. Personally my plan is to take a selfie in the middle of Aquatic Park next to some boats, so I'm working on my swimming. I also think it would be neat to cross the city on foot. I'm also working on bench pressing my own weight, because I think that would be neat. The idea is to think of something that will take a certain amount of stamina and effort to do, then work up to that-- the fitness is a side effect.
4) Ignore calories and focus on using every part of the pumpkin, or perfecting your quiche, or some other weird food goal that is healthy as a side effect. What has worked for me is to track only sugar and salt and go wild with the rest of it, but it's up to you.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:57 PM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
Diet -- if you cook from scratch a lot of prepared foods don't seem so appealing.
Depending on how you approach cooking, there can definitely be some tinkering, exploring, and problem solving for the joy of it involved.
Exercise -- if you have an activity that you enjoy & it involves moving around you've got some exercise. You can get weighted vests or ankle weights if you need that thing to give more intense exercise. If you want your exercise to have exploring, go exploring! You can explore by swimming, hiking, bicycling, walking, horseback riding, canoeing, sailing, rollerskating, kiteboarding...
posted by yohko at 11:52 PM on September 30, 2014
Depending on how you approach cooking, there can definitely be some tinkering, exploring, and problem solving for the joy of it involved.
Exercise -- if you have an activity that you enjoy & it involves moving around you've got some exercise. You can get weighted vests or ankle weights if you need that thing to give more intense exercise. If you want your exercise to have exploring, go exploring! You can explore by swimming, hiking, bicycling, walking, horseback riding, canoeing, sailing, rollerskating, kiteboarding...
posted by yohko at 11:52 PM on September 30, 2014
Do "real" things for exercise -- like hiking to place you want to see, group sports, chopping and stacking wood, rowing a boat, gardening, etc. -- instead of just running in place on a treadmill or using weights in a gym day after day. My 70-year-old Dad never goes to the gym but is in pretty good shape these days thanks to his endless quest to rearrange the trees in his backyard.
For diet, taking cooking classes (or read books / watch videos) to learn how to cook in cuisines that are generally pretty healthy, e.g., Japanese, Mediterranean, etc. Take up vegetable and herb gardening as a hobby (you can do it in containers if you don't have a yard) and/or become a locavore foodie on a quest to obtain as much of your sustenance as possible from farmers markets, CSAs, and local farms.
If you don't have the time and/or money for the above, maybe put your desired diet and exercise activities into Habit RPG?
posted by Jacqueline at 1:19 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
For diet, taking cooking classes (or read books / watch videos) to learn how to cook in cuisines that are generally pretty healthy, e.g., Japanese, Mediterranean, etc. Take up vegetable and herb gardening as a hobby (you can do it in containers if you don't have a yard) and/or become a locavore foodie on a quest to obtain as much of your sustenance as possible from farmers markets, CSAs, and local farms.
If you don't have the time and/or money for the above, maybe put your desired diet and exercise activities into Habit RPG?
posted by Jacqueline at 1:19 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
For diet try learning to cook French. Make decadent meals but eat very small portions. Preparing the meal is so much fun and interesting. Recipes can be complicated or simple, but using fresh ingredients, real butter, home made stock are the gist of it. The food tastes so good it's worth it to not waste calories and enjoy the expansive flavors. I personally would avoid cooking most type of Italian, except for their salads, meats, and vegetables. Their heavy in wheat side dishes, of course, but try something like a mushroom based vegetable dish. Scandinavian fish and soups are healthy. Most people over cook their fish, be careful about cooking temperatures and use a meat thermometer with a reference from a gourmet source, not the FDA who tends to love all meats charred through. Also, Austrian liver pate, yum. Eat that with a Wasa cracker and pickles.
Just try to experiment but keep portions small. You can fill up on a nice big salad with homemade French vinaigrette and soup after your main--don't sate your palate before the main. Avoid alcohol, even small amounts of wine can cause insulin spikes that cause cravings and fat synthesis. YMMV
posted by waving at 3:44 AM on October 1, 2014
Just try to experiment but keep portions small. You can fill up on a nice big salad with homemade French vinaigrette and soup after your main--don't sate your palate before the main. Avoid alcohol, even small amounts of wine can cause insulin spikes that cause cravings and fat synthesis. YMMV
posted by waving at 3:44 AM on October 1, 2014
Play with little kids. I think we lose, as we get older, the ability to physically play: it's trained out of us by schools that tell us we have to sit still and follow directions. But little kids still know how. Go outside with them and ask them what we should play. Let them help you make up an elaborate game that involves tagging each other and then running away and whoever can climb to the top of that tree fastest is it and wins the game, or that game we all played where the ground is lava and you have to set up a system of rocks and toys to step on so that you don't fall in so that you can get across the yard, or whatever. That's what playing is, and it's the best exercise.
posted by decathecting at 5:55 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by decathecting at 5:55 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Get lost, or just extend your boundaries.
If your city has decent public transit, randomly choose any neighbourhood or choose a neighbourhood you have always been curious about and ride there on transit. Explore that neighbourhood (and its people, activities, markets, public gardens, etc.) then ride/bike all or part of the way back.
posted by maudlin at 6:50 AM on October 1, 2014
If your city has decent public transit, randomly choose any neighbourhood or choose a neighbourhood you have always been curious about and ride there on transit. Explore that neighbourhood (and its people, activities, markets, public gardens, etc.) then ride/bike all or part of the way back.
posted by maudlin at 6:50 AM on October 1, 2014
Parkour?
Or work physical activity into your everyday life? I bike to work when the weather isn't terrible. When I have a few free hours I like to hop on my long-distance bike and explore the area where I live, especially back roads in the hills that might have an interesting stream or pond, or wildlife to see.
I never thought of the best diet and nutrition advice as being particularly finger-wagging or prescriptive. But then, I think that Michael Pollan's advice is best: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Learn to cook more vegetarian and vegan meals (you can get fat as a vegan, but it's harder if you keep an eye on oils and other fats).
The question does seem to border on chatfilter, so perhaps you could clarify what you mean. Just because an exercise is repetitive doesn't make it not fun. I have several bike routes that I do over and over again because I like the things I see along it. I also really enjoy running when my knee isn't acting up, even if I usually run the same route. Things do change along it with the passage of days, weeks, and the seasons.
There are some things I do not because they're fun, but because they're good for me: bodyweight resistance exercises. I think of them as like brushing and flossing my teeth: not fun in themselves, but the positive outcome is worth it. I don't see a point in putting much effort into making routine dental self-care fun, nor do I see a point in making my toothbrush-level exercises fun.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:44 AM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Or work physical activity into your everyday life? I bike to work when the weather isn't terrible. When I have a few free hours I like to hop on my long-distance bike and explore the area where I live, especially back roads in the hills that might have an interesting stream or pond, or wildlife to see.
I never thought of the best diet and nutrition advice as being particularly finger-wagging or prescriptive. But then, I think that Michael Pollan's advice is best: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Learn to cook more vegetarian and vegan meals (you can get fat as a vegan, but it's harder if you keep an eye on oils and other fats).
The question does seem to border on chatfilter, so perhaps you could clarify what you mean. Just because an exercise is repetitive doesn't make it not fun. I have several bike routes that I do over and over again because I like the things I see along it. I also really enjoy running when my knee isn't acting up, even if I usually run the same route. Things do change along it with the passage of days, weeks, and the seasons.
There are some things I do not because they're fun, but because they're good for me: bodyweight resistance exercises. I think of them as like brushing and flossing my teeth: not fun in themselves, but the positive outcome is worth it. I don't see a point in putting much effort into making routine dental self-care fun, nor do I see a point in making my toothbrush-level exercises fun.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:44 AM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Some of the coaches at my Crossfit talk a lot about the importance of play a lot, and they favor dance, parkour, and just going to the playground and making up games with their friends. Games that require climbing and running and swinging and doing all sorts of different movements.
I'm a little old to enjoy that kind of play frequently, but I find the variety of Crossfit does something kind of similar, and I do find it kind of fun. At least fun enough to keep doing for years in my 40s.
posted by ldthomps at 8:50 AM on October 1, 2014
I'm a little old to enjoy that kind of play frequently, but I find the variety of Crossfit does something kind of similar, and I do find it kind of fun. At least fun enough to keep doing for years in my 40s.
posted by ldthomps at 8:50 AM on October 1, 2014
Fitbit's competitive aspect, for some people.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:05 AM on October 1, 2014
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:05 AM on October 1, 2014
(We need a 3.5 hour edit window: in my comment above, that should have been "walk/bike" all the way back.)
posted by maudlin at 10:27 AM on October 1, 2014
posted by maudlin at 10:27 AM on October 1, 2014
This obviously depends on personality types, but I found that after a week or so of figuring out the mechanics of calorie counting on MFP it very soon did lead to "reading randomly for pleasure, tinkering, exploring, and problem solving for the joy of it". I've found myself procrastinating at work by playing around with recipes and meal plans trying to hit my macros and reading forum posts and chatting with friends to see how other people are doing it. If you've tried it and it doesn't work for you that's fine! But don't necessarily write it off as a chore.
posted by no regrets, coyote at 12:04 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by no regrets, coyote at 12:04 PM on October 1, 2014
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posted by hejrat at 9:33 PM on September 30, 2014