Men's Tip Number Seven: Lose the Gut

Avi Woolf 

Men are supposed to be tough and stoic, so I hope they can take some tough love this time.

Here goes:

Guys, lose the damned gut.

Lots of men like to complain about how women don't watch their weight enough, but let's be honest—we set a horrible example ourselves. I've lost count of the number of men I see who do not lack for money and time who look like they take lifestyle cues from Jabba the Hutt. Male obesity is a friggin' plague, and it's one which is entirely preventable.

There is no excuse in this day and age for men to let themselves go. Walking is free. You don't actually need to eat all that junk. You don't need to stay up at all hours.

This isn't just a matter of aesthetics, although that's important, too. That gut is literally killing you in a variety of ways. Aside from all the risks of illness, all that extra weight crushing your lower back, buttocks, and leg nerve endings when you walk and sit increases your risk of surgery or expensive treatment to get rid of the back pain.

Yes, back pain. If you haven’t experienced it, will you ever. Oh, boy, you will. I assure you the stress caused from denying yourself junk food, doing proper exercise, or getting enough sleep instead of partying is less than peanuts compared to debilitating sciatica or a ruptured disc.

​There's more. As I've said in an earlier post, the physical affects the mental. The harder it is for you to do stuff, the harder to walk, to get up out of your bed or chair—the lousier you feel, and the worse your affect and general quality of life. These things feed on each other, both in positive and negative directions.

This isn't coming from some guy who's naturally skinny and has it "easy." I've had a gut for about half my life. It's grown and shrunk, but all the while made my life worse than it could be. I have paid a small fortune to fix the back and leg pain I let happen while having it.

I learned something else while working to eliminate my extra belly fat, too: Being thinner is better in so many ways. To lose weight permanently requires healthy lifestyle changes like getting proper sleep, eating regularly, abstaining from snacks. It is a clear sign of investment not just in your health, but in yourself.

But the results are awesome. You feel better. You walk taller. You have more energy. You feel more confident, and dare I say—attractive. And I'm not even finished yet.

Is it hard? Yes. Damned hard. It takes years. It means overcoming genetic predispositions and psychologically ingrained habits. It requires patience, discipline, the ability to get back up after you fall (and you WILL cheat on occasion)—all of these being virtues you should be cultivating anyway. But it's worth it.

​Men of America, heed my call and LOSE THE GUT.