Social Networking And An Open Mind Can Be Important With Respect To Your Exercise Plans

Hi folks!

Internet-based social networking has turned out to have many benefits in my life. My bike guy and one of my Internet mentors, Victor of Bicycle Lab, has encouraged me to engage in tweeting for some time – I finally succumbed – and gave it a whiz and, as Victor said so many times, if done right it really works. It finds useful stuff, it gets your stuff out there, and if used with tools like HootSuite, it takes little or no time to use once it is set up. HootSuite, also recommended to me by Victor, is great because it allows me to see all of my social media sites on one screen, so I can glance at what has come in and use it or move on.

I have to admit that I was very resistant to Twitter simply because it seemed to exemplify the ‘sound byte’ approach of modern society to information processing. This issue is addressed in an interesting article in Newsweek, along with the evocative figure below.

Does Twitterization Epiptomize Our World Today?

This issue, and its potential impact on the way we think, and thus how we develop or handle knowledge, is discussed in more detail in one of my favorite books, Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman, that I discussed in a previous post. It would appear that I had to overcome some personal prejudice before I would even try to tweet. The word itself is enough to put you off!

Victor said, “Kevin, you have got to give Twitter a try, as it really works and it has helped my business a lot.” As I trust Victor when it comes to marketing his business, and as I approached the age of 68, and against my better (?) judgement, I entered the land of ‘Tweetdom’! I came to realize that tweets are like the titles on the spines of books in your local library. You can pick them up or not, it is up to you. In the case of Twitter the titles are represented by links. This morning a tweet that appeared on my HootSuite screen attracted my attention immediately, not that I am interested in ‘sex drugs’ or bodybuilding. I have moved on from bodybuilding, which I must admit I enjoyed a lot in my late 40s and early 50s. I do have a continued interest in sex, like all healthy people (in my opinion), so maybe that is what did it? My HootSuite screen looked like this:

The author's HootSuite screen simultaneously shows the feed status of his LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.

Now, I’ll zoom in on the article that piqued my interest:

and then to the link. That is just two clicks on my computer so far. One click to enter HootSuite, another to follow the link, and here it is:

Article linked by the Vitamin Guru to my Twitter account. The article is an excellent book review, which I recommend that you read if you are interested in the relationship between weight loss and exercise.

I liked this book review, and I tend to agree with the conclusions of the reviewer, which are as follows:

“The take home message is that, contrary to Taubes opinion, exercise despite incurring a caloric deficit, does not increase hunger and does not overly stimulate appetite. But the calories lost from exercise do contribute to helping you to lose body fat, As such, exercise should be an integral part of any effective weight-loss plan. In addition, engaging in weight-training will help preserve muscle mass under dieting conditions, which serves to help prevent the usual yo-yo weight rebound effect that is common in those who diet without exercise.”

I do find that as I enter a period of intense exercise my appetite and my weight increase, but it is temporary, and as my metabolic rate increases in response to the exercise my weight comes down rapidly to below my pre-exercise level. All that said, I really like the cover of Gary Taube’s book, which actually is stimulating my appetite.

Book written by Gary Taubes and reviewed in the blog Applied EndergonicsEnjoy Tweeting. Victor is right, again! Time to get a Tamale at Johnny’s!

Cheers,

-k Your Medical Mind

 

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Disclaimer: As a veterinarian, I do not provide medical advice for human animals. If you undertake or modify an exercise program, consult your medical advisors before doing so. Undertaking activities pursued by the author does not mean that he endorses your undertaking such activities, which is clearly your decision and responsibility. Be careful and sensible, please.