Column number 14
And now for something completely different.
Hiya folks. I know, its been a long time, and a lot has happened since. Unfortunately for you guys, I am not talking about Guild Wars Nightfall. As interesting as that may be, this is not the subject of change that has my current attention. You see, I am going to do that for which columnists are famous: write, and talk, about myself. When I take a long hard look at myself, I can but conclude that a life of gaming, although fun, is not good for one’s health. No matter which way you twist and turn, gamers tend to lead inactive lives, sitting behind their pc or desk and amusing themselves. Moving the mouse does not count as activity. One’s back is prone to damage, because gamers tend to relax backwards in their chairs after a while (your mother would have something to say about that now would she not). Us gamers have a hang for junkfood… just rip open the bag and eat away. Pizza? Order, eat and you are done. Excesses like that guy who peed in a bottle and did not leave his room for two years because he was too busy with some MMORPG are frightful to behold. When you read it, you might think “ha ha looser”… but do not judge too hasty, for it might very well be you, if you had no mom/spouse/friends/roommates that kicked you under the arse, or a job/school to go to. No, the side-effects of gaming are not easily disregarded.
I shall take my own body as an example. Up until recently I weighed a 3-figure number in kilograms (which makes me 200+ pounds by American standards, but only suckers don’t use the metric system ^_^). I’m currently working towards a more acceptable weight, and girth, as in acceptable by me and myself only. I don’t really care for what other people think of it, as long as it keeps me happy. Weighing a lot is not good for your health. Your knees, for one, give you trouble, and you snore, which gives your wife trouble (more than she cares to admit, I guess, because lack of sleep is not good for you). Also, depending on your diet, it increases the chance of hearth failure and certain forms of cancer. I’m not about to wait around till one of those strikes and then reduce my weight, because by then I will be too late. Nope, I am 27, which is a nice age to loose about the same amount of kilograms.
Aside from the obvious health benefits, there are other benefits to a more active lifestyle. Movement generates endorphin, and endorphin is the body’s very own morphine, and it can give you a lot of joy. It also stimulates processes of which not many of our age speak of (bowel movements) unless they have some serious issues with it, and that is quite an added bonus. Loss of weight means my muscles will have less to do in order to keep me moving, which means actual movement will ease up. Since I am an avid ballroom and latin dancer (we’ve been following courses four or five years now), less weight will make it easier for me to turn. And we’re getting to the point in the courses where easy turning is a definite advantage. The level at which we dance is no easy “quick-quick-slow” anymore, but involves a lot of twisting, steering and maneuvering, as well as quick footwork. Being overweight and thus slow on that can lead to twisted knees, sprained ankles and a general lack of well-being.
Yes, a lot has happened, and a lot more will happen. I get to turn around my lifestyle. Lots of walking, dancing, cycling, and in the future perhaps even Yoga to reduce stress effects and learn some decent breathing techniques. I eat differently. Not that differently when compared to three months ago, but I am definitely making an effort to stay away from cake, fat foods and other non-digestibles. Lots of fruits, low-fat products, low fat meat, fish (granted, fish isn’t exactly healthy. Thanks to our loving chemical industry fish is about as polluted as it gets these days), vegetarian products and whole-fibre breads. Thing is, they irritate my intestines, and by irritation I mean cramps, err, bloating, and other not-so-easily discussed side effects. My wife is tagging along, although she doesn’t need to loose any weight at all. She’s disgustingly thin, and she eats more than I do. I mean, she’s 1m56.5, and although I shall not tell you about her weight, it is safe to assume I weigh about double as much as she does.
One thing bugs me though… I have to lay off Santa’s Elves as well. And I really like those little pointy-eared snacks… I mean, you can chase them, so they generate a lot of movement, you can play with them, you can cut off their ears and make a string… such a pity ^_^.
Next time I’ll write something nice and gamey again, I promise.
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