The Student Room Group

what’s your reason for being healthy/exercising?

we’re going to d*e anyway? so why not just eat whatever you want and exercise when u feel like it - not force yourself to do it everyday?
Original post by 14t
we’re going to d*e anyway? so why not just eat whatever you want and exercise when u feel like it - not force yourself to do it everyday?

Because you only get one body, and you have to live in that for your entire life. If that body falls apart through neglect and misuse, then you're going to have a pretty miserable, shítty life. If you treat your body with respect, maintain a healthy weight and stay fit you can (hopefully) continue to do the (active) things you enjoy throughout your life - not just sports and games, but just normal activities of daily living without finding things a chore.

This won't mean anything to you because you're young and can't imagine your body 'falling apart'. But I know enough people in their early 40s who have started to turn into wrecks - and they might have another 50 years remaining...
Reply 2
Original post by Reality Check
Because you only get one body, and you have to live in that for your entire life. If that body falls apart through neglect and misuse, then you're going to have a pretty miserable, shítty life. If you treat your body with respect, maintain a healthy weight and stay fit you can (hopefully) continue to do the (active) things you enjoy throughout your life - not just sports and games, but just normal activities of daily living without finding things a chore.

This won't mean anything to you because you're young and can't imagine your body 'falling apart'. But I know enough people in their early 40s who have started to turn into wrecks - and they might have another 50 years remaining...


Content Warning - Referencing Suicide

Spoiler


Yes, I can understand that it would be very overwhelming to feel you have to start again. But it's really crucial that you do - you don't want a 10kg weight gain to become a 20kg one, and then 30kg and end up with a really serious weight problem that takes a monumental effort to correct. It's easier to nip it in the bud early.

Make lots of small changes over time which you can stick to and don't go back on. Lots of small changes add up to one very big change. And don't look too far ahead at some monumental, daunting task, but take each day at a time. If you can eat healthily today and do a bit of exercise, then you've succeeded - and that's all that matters: not yesterday, not tomorrow but today.
Reply 4
Original post by Reality Check
Yes, I can understand that it would be very overwhelming to feel you have to start again. But it's really crucial that you do - you don't want a 10kg weight gain to become a 20kg one, and then 30kg and end up with a really serious weight problem that takes a monumental effort to correct. It's easier to nip it in the bud early.

Make lots of small changes over time which you can stick to and don't go back on. Lots of small changes add up to one very big change. And don't look too far ahead at some monumental, daunting task, but take each day at a time. If you can eat healthily today and do a bit of exercise, then you've succeeded - and that's all that matters: not yesterday, not tomorrow but today.

thank you that means a lot man
Original post by 14t
thank you that means a lot man

No worries - good luck with it :smile:
I've always enjoyed leisure walks and rambling in the countryside, it's something my parents used to do a lot with my sister and I when we were young and we've continued doing it of our own accord, into adulthood.

I've cycled 8-15 miles every morning for about 6 months, most mornings for the past year and a half and as often as I've had time and the weather has allowed it over the past 10ish years. I'm really disappointed when I wake up and it's raining heavily or there's high winds outside, especially if it doesn't abate at all later in the day. Generally I wake up, eat breakfast, then cycle before I bathe/shower and focus on productive things for most of the rest of the day.

I took up running for about 6 months but stopped because it was ruining one of my knees, to the point I couldn't walk some days. But running was addictive - the sense of having triumphed over that little nagging voice of doubt in the back of my head saying "you won't make it to the end of this route, you might as well give up" and also the endorphin high. Plus there's the sense of progress when I'd run my route 15-20 seconds faster each time and get my average mile down to around 5 minutes. I think men generally have some kind of primal desire to push ourselves to find out what we're capable of and where our limits are.

Exercise lowers stress levels and also helps me to focus/concentrate better, which is good for my studies during the academic year and recently has been good for sorting out my CV, building a portfolio of coding work and completing applications for industrial placements.
I run for enjoyment and achievement
I feel much better, I can concentrate better, I have more energy and more motivation to do other things unrelated to health and fitness. And I wanna prevent disease later in life. We're all gonna die but there's a huge difference between living to 60 with chronic health problems and disabilities and living to 80 with relatively good health.

I also want my potential woman to be attracted to me and I think how your body looks like plays a big role in that.
Original post by 14t
we’re going to d*e anyway? so why not just eat whatever you want and exercise when u feel like it - not force yourself to do it everyday?


I have seen members of my family just not bother with themselves, eat carbs all day and it's truly a sad life. When I see them now, I don't want to live like that when I am in my 30's and 40's.

Some of my relatives have the choice to make a better life but they just don't, and not only that but you are passing bad habits onto your future children. I actually blame my parents to this day for my bad eating habits as I wasn't taught how to eat well when younger. I choose to exercise and get fit because I want a strong body, not to please anyone. I didn't take fitness seriously until someone didn't want to be with me anymore. Even though I am average weight, this hurt me and so I chose to better myself.
My motivation for exercising is so that I don't end up like my mum. She developed diabetes at the same age I am now, only ignored it for a fairly short time and now she's going blind and has got kidney failure at 52. Its horrible to see. You don't just have a great time and then abruptly die if you live an unhealthy lifestyle, you suffer years of miserable ill health first that nothing can reverse. A lot of things going on inside your body that you can't see also. Now I just need to fix my diet. That's the really hard part.
I found out through experience that there is an inverse correlation between the circumference of my waist and how sexually active I can be.
Because it's fun....it's something to do when I'm bored.
Reply 13
As for me, the main thing is that you feel comfortable in your body and you have no health problems. I'm sure that you can lead an active lifestyle without training in the gym. I often ride my bike on weekends with my family and we really love this outdoor activity. But during the winter season, cycling is quite difficult, so I found a healthy alternative to this. I want to buy across trainer machine that will allow me to stay in shape in the winter and not feel the discomfort of a sedentary lifestyle and bad weather.
(edited 2 years ago)

Quick Reply

Latest