Posted by unregistered user at 8/25/08 5:51 a.m.

if you really want to see fat people, look at a 'bicyclist'

they are much much more prone to be overweight

I don't really see that many fat people running marathons as you claim (and I've done many)

Posted by Patrick Welch at 8/29/08 9:20 p.m.

Even if a bicyclist has more body-fat, there is far less force accumulation in the joints as well as general wear and tear, so I would say it's a healthier alternative to running.

But then again, there is almost no transverse stress in the lower leg joints and so you could argue that the ankles of cyclists are put at risk by avoiding this stress.

What we need is a specific case to debate. I suggest that you post your photograph in a race and we'll use you.

What do you think?

Posted by unregistered user at 9/9/08 5:46 p.m.

Wow, I can't believe in this country of Obese couch potato diabetic wanna bees, anyone has the gual to suggest that jogging is bad for your health. But ok maybe however, I did recently read that there are studies showing that bicycling with out balancing it out with other weight bearing exercise (like umm running), leads to pretty marked bone density loss. The study FYI was done on 20 something male athletes. Weird huh.

Posted by LisaNewton at 10/12/08 7:09 p.m.

I'm confused. In one post, you say "Everything counts" but in another post, you trash long distance running.

As a distance race walker, and one who is training for her first marathon, could you please clarify this two issues?

Posted by Patrick Welch at 10/20/08 1:20 p.m.

I don't trash running, I just don't think it's the be-all to better health that the marketers push.

You're a women. You'd be better off from an overall health perspective to lift weights than run. How often in your day do you need to pick something up compared to run somewhere?

Your choice of walking for speed over jogging is a wise one. You probably will spend less time in contact with the ground than the average jogger and will accumulate less ground forces in your joints. It's a much better alternative to running for sure.

I certainly aggree that we need the opportunity in our lives to test ourselves to truly appreciate our human potential. If that's why someone wants to run a marathon, then I'm all for it. But not because they think it makes you healthier. Lifting weights and running sprints would do a lot more for attaining that goal in a lot less time.

btw, I liked your post on organic produce and doing your own gardening. You pointed out that organic food contains more nutrients by volume and also what's important is what it doesn't contain (more pollutants for the body to deal with) and even though it is more expensive, you could eat less.

And you know that maintaining a caloric deficit while not reducing nutrition is the best way to reduce bodyfat.

Food should be your first priority when your goal is to improve your health and activity should come after you have developed the proper plan and habits around nutrition.