Daily Archives: January 8, 2019

Exercise Myths

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I learned something interesting today: If you want to lose weight, exercise is almost useless.

That explains a lot, really. Unfortunately, a lot of the comments on the Reddit post are conflicting, with some claiming there’s such a thing as “starvation mode” and others claiming that as long as you eat less, even next to nothing, you will lose weight. That doesn’t shock me either. I’ve never gotten straight answers from people about this subject.

Since I don’t give two cents about being “bulk” and my end goal is having my bathroom scale read a lower number when I step on it, I’m not someone exercise is any good for. I only wish I knew that before I went to the gym. That’s time and money I could save. Some comments say “lose weight in the kitchen”. That’s easy. Outside of school and work, I spend most of my time in bed. If all I have to do is cut my (already small) diet in half, my bedroom is close enough (literally; my bedroom is next door to the kitchen).

Basically, diet is for weight loss and exercise is for fitness. I’m not interested in the latter, only the former, so my previously mentioned goal of joining the gym (which I erased from the post after learning this) is a farce. The upside is I paid only a dollar to join due to a promotional offer the gym has going until the 15th of this month, so I lost very little.

That said, I give this diet idea six months. If that darn scale reads in June what it’s reading in January, there will be a lot of rage.

EDIT: According to another doctor (even doctors don’t agree?), this “busted myth” is a bust. Myth six. Apparently, exercise helps you not regain the weight you lose from dieting. Now, how is that not a significant contribution to weight loss and why didn’t someone say that to begin with?!

The Point of No Return – Part 2

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Previous related post.

I took the final for my second-to-last class yesterday. I struggled a lot with this class and didn’t do well, but in the end, I did pass. Shockingly, I could’ve failed the final and still passed, though I’m glad I didn’t. Today is the start of the last of my school’s program. What then?

According to the program, internship follows the end of classes. To say I’m anxious would be an understatement.

Yes, I’m happy school is almost over, especially considering all of the trouble I had to go through to reach the end. I’m still disappointed I couldn’t stay with the first class and graduate on December 4th of last year, but I suppose it doesn’t matter now. At the same time, the only work experience I have is in retail and I truly fear I can’t do anything else.

Retail is difficult in that it’s tedious, repetitive, and draining, the latter especially if you’re an introvert. However, the jobs themselves – at least, my positions – are relatively easy. As a cashier, I stand in one spot, push buttons on a computer, scan barcodes, take money, and put the stuff in bags. The end. As a floor associate, the job description is less “fancy” than that: clean the floor and racks, and put merchandise back. You could teach a child how to do these jobs. Yet, even retail can prove to have its challenge because when I had full-time position for a few months, I ultimately failed because the workload crushed me like a 1,000-pound weight. And I wouldn’t try to get into the hell above that. I’ve yet to meet a manager who likes their job (“Don’t do it! It’s a trap!”), including my own. Two of my managers felt the need to lecture me about all the insanity and stress managers puts up with, and I get the point! Of course, that brings into question why they chose it. One of those two implied he doesn’t think lower employees/associates have the right to feel stressed because of what managers deal with. That’s another reason to stay away from management. I prefer not to look down on people. But I digress.

What I’m trying to say is if I can’t keep with a retail job unless it’s part-time, how on Earth could I do anything else? I’ve heard of people getting very close to graduation, only to quit weeks or days before, and I think I’m beginning to understand why. Taking classes on the subject is not the same as doing the real job. Even interviews are different. As far as I can tell, I ultimately got hired at the stores I worked at because I faked being cute, cheerful, and my awkwardness didn’t scare anyone off. That doesn’t work in interviews for what I’m studying, and having trouble talking will likely mean I bomb over a dozen interviews, if I get any at all. And yes, I do practice. Again, practice and the real thing aren’t the same.

Of course, all of this anxiety is irrelevant if I fail this final class, so maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. I should pass before I talk anymore.