Getting Overweight from playing live poker and internet poker

[MicroBob]

goodguy gives good advice here.

I'm not exactly in the best of shape myself and haven't been for awhile...but I'm eating better...and still play on a couple of rec-league soccer teams against players 10-15 years younger than me (even though I suck) so I could certainly be doing worse.



Here's the part of the original post that really bothered me:

[ QUOTE ]

I dont really want to work out, I want to devote all my time to playing poker.

[/ QUOTE ]


Did anyone else notice this?? (I only skimmed some of the replies).
You want to devote ALL your time to playing poker??


Look....work-out or don't work-out...whatever you want. You know you'll possibly just get fatter and fatter if you don't and then your self-esteem will get worse and worse.

If your looks are bad and your self-esteem is low you don't have to go anywhere to work-out...you can still do aerobic stuff at home.

but this bit about wanting to devote ALL your time to playing poker is just disgusting.

There's so much more to life than poker...and I suspect that poker is the 'escape'. You are drowning your self-esteem issues in poker (something like that...I'm not a psychologist so what do i know).


Back to the esteem and working-out, etc.
It's the New Year. Lots of fat people will make resolutions and will sign-up at health-clubs. You won't be the only WAY out-of-shape person there.
So if you can muster the strength to get a membership then do that.
Or work-out at home.
You'll need to find your own reason and motivation....or you can just keep playing poker all freaking day long and let your body deteriorate.


You need to find a reason.


I just recently won a trip on the party-poker cruise (to Jamaica and Grand Cayman in March) and the GF and I are using it as our motivation. We were both getting in better shape, but we are both a bit chubbier after Thanksgiving and XMas. It happens.
We want our cruise pics this year to be a little less-chubby then they were last year. And we have about 10 weeks to do that...so we're going to support each other in eating better and working out, etc etc.


But I also think you really need to think about your general life-attitude and this whole bit about "all I want to do is play poker" because that's kind of scary if you ask me.

[yeahihateworking]

You've received some good advice. On the diet side of things, you should and can cut out all refined sugars. When you want to sweeten something, use splenda, equal, or small amounts of honey. Store-bought/vending machine junk foods are usually loaded with refined sugar, unhealthy fats, refined starches or a combination of all three. Cut them out cold turkey. Diet sodas will work well as a replacement for your normal pop. I have yet to see any that contained a significant amount of sodium. Some good replacements for your normal junk food snacks are various types of vegetables such as baby carrots, celery, broccoli, or cauliflower dipped in light salad dressing. Celery dipped in NATURAL peanut butter is also good. Fruits are also a good junk food snack replacement, and they should be eaten with the skin when at all practical (bananas would be an exception, for example) to ensure you're getting the fiber for satiety and slowed gastric emptying purposes. When I'm going to be at the poker room for hours, I take some of this stuff in an igloo container and leave it in my car. When I'm hungry, I'm not at the mercy of the ridiculously overpriced/unhealthy garbage they sell at the casino, and just make a quick trip out to my car.

For your main meals, you want to make sure you're getting plenty of quality protein as well as plenty of fiber. Protein spares muscle tissue from being used for energy as well as having the most significant thermic effect (increased metabolic efficiency) of any of the macronutrients. The fiber helps you to feel fuller on less food and for longer while helping to stabilize energy levels following your meals. Lean meats, lean seafood and lean dairy products should be your mainstays along with sides of vegetables and fruits. You should strive to get at least two good servings of lean dairy products a day due to the calcium. Something in dairy products promotes the body's absorption/utilization of calcium, and a number of recent studies have shown dietary calcium to accelerate fat loss. Good choices in dairy products would include skim milk, lowfat cheeses, and lowfat plain yogurt with your choice of fruit mixed in.

On the workout side of things, resistance training along with a healthy level of protein intake is what will allow you to lose fat without an almost equal level of muscle loss (very common). Misguided attempts by certain authorities have led to the emphasis being on losing weight rather than losing FAT. Unless you want the Subway Jared look, you need to be at least as serious about the weights at the gym or your home as you are about your choice of cardiovascular exercise. As far as cardio goes, try a lot of different exercises. You will be more likely to find something you enjoy and hence, more likely to stick with it long-term.

One more thing that will help is to have one meal a week where you get to treat yourself to whatever entree, side and drink you've been craving all week. That's the time for the porterhouse, baked potato slothered with butter and sour cream, and the full-flavored stout beer. Just don't overdo things. As long as you avoid totally pigging out by keeping your portions during this meal within reason, it will actually be beneficial to you both from a psychological and metabolic standpoint. Good luck.

[Pocketducks]

"Diet sodas will work well as a replacement for your normal pop. I have yet to see any that contained a significant amount of sodium."

Average cola drink- 15 g sodium
Average diet cola drink- 57g sodium
Amount per serving in 12oz can- 2.5
Average soda drinker drinks 3.5 sodas per day

Diet soda is better for you in that it contains less fatty acids and such, but it just creates a whole other problem. Lots of water is good because it will energize your muscles when it's time to work out.

Yes you need sodium to help retain fluid, but there are better, healthier places to get it.

[styleXX]

eat some fruit!

[suzzer99]

2 words: gastric bypass (ala Lederer & Brunson)

I wouldn't want to go through that, looks pretty violent. But if you're really too lazy/undisciplined to work out and eat right...

[Rod Jr]

Thanks for all for all of the replies. I actually went to the doctors and we dicsussed diet and stuff. We took "pictures of me also." He perscribed some mild steriods for me.

I went to the gym for a membership, but where are all the fat people? Everyone in there is already toned and muscular.

Do you know how stupid I will look in there?

[Rod Jr]

Thats the picture the doctor took of me today.

He actually states that eating better and working out will make me a better poker player because I will have the endurance and focus to endure the long marathon sessions I have.

He said, DIET and EXERCISE! LOL

By the way, feel free to insult my picture up above, it will just be used to motivate me! Thanks for all the responses above. I will post pictures monthly to keep you guys on the progress so I cant slack off.

[suzzer99]

Lay off the chicken, it has too many hormones.

[david050173]

[ QUOTE ]

I went to the gym for a membership, but where are all the fat people? Everyone in there is already toned and muscular.

Do you know how stupid I will look in there?

[/ QUOTE ]

The fat people are at home on the couch.... If you are really out of shape, start by just walking. 30 mins of brisk walking will help a lot and get you ready for a more serious program.

[Nomad84]

I think that both Pocketducks and yeahihateworking have given great advice. I decided at the end of the summer that I needed to do something about my body. I was at about 250 pounds in August. I had heard about the Body-for-Life program a few years earlier, but never tried it. I decided to commit to the challenge and change my ways. The BFL program consists of a 12 week "challenge" during which you commit to following the guidelines of the program. One thing that I liked about this approach is that, while you obviously need to continue eating well and exercising to maintain your results, there was a distinct end in sight. It provides a goal to strive for rather than just a vague commitment to eat "better" and exercise "more." I finished my first challenge about 2 weeks ago and I plan to start another in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm not working out much, but I am trying to eat somewhat well, even though I am not on a very strict diet at the moment. I managed to average about 3 pounds/week of scale weight loss over the 12 week challenge. I don't have BF% measurements before and after, so I can't say how much fat I lost and how much muscle I gained, but I have seen visible muscle gain and clear strength increases as well. Overall, I've lost about 40 to 45 pounds since August. I hope to lose another 30 pounds of fat this semester and to continue to gain muscle, which will put me below 10% body fat.

As I mentioned, the BFL program is a 12 week challenge. Each week includes 6 days of eating right and working out, along with one "free day" where you don't work out and you can eat whatever you've been craving for the rest of the week. I think the free day concept makes the program much easier to follow during the rest of the week because any time I want something that isn't exactly healthy, it's easy to tell myself that I can't have it now, but I can eat it Saturday. It would be much harder to tell myself I can't eat it for 11 more weeks. Also, the challenge involves taking before and after pics. I just took them at home with my digital camera since I didn't plan to enter the official challenge (which is free to enter and has a $1,000,000 top prize). I strongly recommend taking the pics. It's fun to compare pics every few weeks to see the progress, and it also provides good motivation to improve. There is no cost associated with the challenge other than the cost of a gym membership (which isn't 100% necessary; you can make do at home if necessary), the cost of food (healthy food is cheaper than what I was eating), and the cost of the book if you buy it. All of the information is available on their website (www.bodyforlife.com), but I got the book anyway. It has some information about the "why" behind the principles of the program, along with some motivational material about others who have taken the challenge. I also use some of the BFL brand meal replacement products for quick meals on campus or at home when I'm short on time.

The workout portion of the program requires relatively little time each day. 3 days/week are cardio and the other 3 are weight training days. Cardio days only take 20 minutes using a high intensity interval training routine that gets your metabolism really cranked up so that you continue to burn higher levels of energy for quite a while after the workout, which is something that you don't necessarily get out of a long moderate intensity workout. The weight training days take me about 45 mintues to an hour. I do upper body one day, lower body 2 days later, etc., alternating each weight training day. The website and book both have the specifics of the workouts. It's worth noting that even if you're primary goal is to lose fat, you should still incorporate strength training. It burns a lot of calories, but more importantly, the muscle that you will gain will burn more calories at rest between workouts.

The diet portion of the program involves eating 5-6 small meals each day (about every 2.5-3 hours). Each meal consists of a portion of carbs and a portion of proteins. There is no calorie counting or anything like that, but I've figured that an average day for me is around 1500-1800 calories (around 250-300/meal). A portion of carbs is about the size of your fist and a portion of protein is about the size of your palm. Eating this often requires lots of meal preparation time if you aren't using meal replacements, but you can cook 2 or 3 meals at once and refrigerate some for later. I also drink a lot of water throughout the day. In fact, it's just about all I drink through the week. I drink a small glass of milk sometimes, but I don't drink any soft drinks, tea, beer, etc. except on my free day. This takes a little bit of adjustment, but now I don't even care that I'm not drinking those things. They just don't taste as good to me now, and water does. Soft drinks add a lot of unnecessary calories to your diet (among other things). By drinking water instead of Pepsi, I was able to cut 600+ calories/day out of my diet. 3500 calories~1 pound of fat, so just by not drinking Pepsi, I am able to burn an extra pound each week, roughly. Also, eating the right foods and eating them often helps stabilize energy levels and keep your metabolism working consistently throughout the day. I've told several people that the hardest part of my "diet" was eating often enough. It has nothing to do with starving yourself, and in fact, if you get hungry before your next meal, you didn't eat enough.

BFL produces results, and does it in a very healthy way. I am convinced that if I can do it, anyone can. It really is quite a bit easier than I would have expected. Even though it requires some work, it is a lot of fun to watch the weight come off, and the comments from people I haven't seen in a while are a lot of fun too. I also really enjoy seeing the small improvements each week in my workouts. As for going to the gym, I can relate to your concerns. The gym I use is on campus, so the mix of people will be different from a typical gym, but I was still self-concious at first when I went to work out. It helped me to remember that they didn't get to look the way to look without going to the gym themselves. Everyone has to start somewhere. I promise that after a few visits, you'll stop worrying about what others think. I think that if they even notice you at all, their thoughts will be more in line with respecting your commitment to improving your health than about whether or not you look like a fish out of water.

Even though I highly recommend BFL, the important thing is that you just do something. You've spoken to your doctor, which is always a smart move before starting on any new nutritional or exercise program. BFL worked for me, but pick it or any other program that seems logical and practical and run it by your doctor to get his opinion. Keep in mind that you won't be able to get something for nothing, and there are many useless gimmick programs out there, but your doctor will be able to steer you in the right direction. Any increase in physical activity and any improvement in your diet will help you to lose weight or to stop gaining it (whatever the case may be), so the first step is to just decide to put forth the effort to change. You'll thank yourself for it.