I suppose I could argue that to some degree, fitness is vanity. Obvious health benefits aside, the body image of an athlete is an ideal in most cultures. Nobody “needs” to train several hours a day, but those that do find rewards that go beyond just regular fitness. Some of those rewards are vanity. Pure and simple.
As to cosmetic surgery, in some cases (and they are more mainstream than extreme) a “better” body appearance usually contributes to a better mental self image. Of couse, like with all things, there can be too much of a good thing. I’m sure I don’t need to cite examples of that.
Interesting. How do you feel about piereced ears, and/or other body parts? Tattoos?
Also, I seem to recall that you’re an avid cyclist. You must have some pretty good legs on you. Ever admire them in a mirror?
I’ve been biking for quite some time as well. When I come up on a fellow rider, I always check out both the ride AND the legs. To tell the truth, I’m not sure which I do first… unless it’s a hot girl… then it’s all about the legs.
I don’t think ANYONE who resorts to cosmetic surgery has any self-image issues cleared up. “There. I’m done. I’m happy now, don’t need to change anything else.”
Further, I don’t think “fitness” is vanity – at least not what I call fitness. I think body-building, body-shaving, tanning, muscle sculpting and those types of things are vain.
I think if you find people who just run, bike or swim to race or stay in good cardio-shape aren’t doing it for reasons of vanity at all.
I don’t know too many cyclists who have tiny little torsos and 12-year old girl arms, ribs poking through their skin and t-shirt tans are looking in the mirror going, “damn, I look good.”
I don’t shave 'em. I’ve checked them out, but good legs is just a side benefit of my goal, to win races. I’ve never actually cycled or done something in a gym with the intention of improving the look of my legs.
I feel pretty similar views about body piercings, dye jobs, and tattoos. I don’t have any. I never have. I think some people who who go all out in those regards are either just being conformists, covering up insecurities or are displaying vanity.
I’m, seriously, the last guy you’d get to cave on any of these points or find much contradictory behavior. I don’t comb my hair in the morning. I shave as little as possible. I shower and make myself presentable on some days only because my job demands it.
And, I don’t “not shave” for a look. I don’t shave because it’s a hassle and I don’t care how I look.
I’ll go one step further… I don’t think anyone AT ALL has their image issues fully cleared up. Some just don’t consider it a priority.
I suppose it depends on who’s definition of fitness we use.
I know plenty of people who do all three. They are fit and good at what they do and you are naive if you think there aren’t layers of vanity wrapped up in that whole scene.
You and I just might just have different “filters” on.
I know some people who run. Their primary goals seem to be to keep weight off and keep the heart and lungs healthy.
If you construe “keep weight off” as vanity, then I guess they’re vain. They’re also people who don’t diet and wouldn’t dream of having cosmetic surgery.
I GUESS if you’re a cyclist who goes home and says, “I got tree trunk legs, and a 12 year old’s upper body. I’m a good looking cyclist,” then you probably think other people are doing the same thing.
Personally, I look in the mirror and think (to the extent that I think about it all), “I’m a scrawny runt but that’s just the way it is for what I do.”
The guys I know race. An expression of vanity becomes that much more ridiculous when you’re shelled off the back of the peleton.
Seems like you’re working hard to get results, and you feel that you can do no more (pushed yourself 110%) and the results can’t come w/o some surgery.
I’d go for it IF…
There is minimal or no scarring. If your goal is to be shirtless all the time to show off your abs then having big incision scars will be just a step above having a little belly fat.
The doctor can assure you that he/she can take away whatever is obscuring your six-pack. One of my friends that I worked out with was telling me how some people, no matter how hard they try, are not built ti have six-pack abs. They can have no body fat and highly developed abs but they still won’t have that effect that makes them stand out.
The filter thing may be true to some extent. We all perceive the world in different ways. When I was younger, I competed in downhill skiing. The top seated competitors certainly carried themselved with a great deal of arrogance and vanity. Their egos were pretty fragile though. A bad race day would be reflected in their mood and general attitude. Often, it wasn’t that they didn’t do well but how many points were gained by their competitors who had a better day.
I find tri-athletes to be just as competitive and vain. Perhaps it’s an individual sport thing. Some sports are not condusive to thinking in terms of a team. If you’re a maverick or a glory hound on a cycling team, you’re going to be left to fend for youself by your team mates. The mind set is different. That much I agree with.
OT: You and I should ride together some time. We’re not that far apart, geographically speaking. I’m in the DC metro area. Also, would not mind your opinion on a bike I’m considering… motobecane .
Yeah, the scars… that might be am issue. Not looking to walk around with my shirt off or anything. Also, and I admit to not having done much research on this, I’m prone to weight gain if I don’t train regularly. As I age, I expect I’m going to slow down on the training intensity. My joints won’t last forever. Anyway, part of my thinking is that if can get rid of the tissue that store the fat in the first place… Anyway… like I said… more research. Thanks though.
I know motobecane used to be a French company that made high quality bicycles. Now, they come out of a factory in Taiwan just like everything else (Trek, Cannondale, Giant, Fuji).
So, I don’t think they’re any better or worse than other manufacturers. If you’re looking at bikes in that price range, there are lots of options. This Giant gets a lot of good press, as does it’s cheaper sibling.
Nice wheels and components on those Giants, but no Campagnolo if that’s what you want. The wheels and components on that Moto are very nice, though, and most frames seem to be pretty similar so the parts are maybe what you’re really paying for.
Riding. . .I’m pretty structured right now training-wise. If you wanted to get into racing, there are a lot of teams around here and DC and we run some group rides between here and DC. DC/Balt has a very active racing scene, with every local lower category race filling very fast, and races almost every week. For a flavor of it, www.bikejam.org in Baltimore this weekend (that reminds me, I might have to post something about that in MPIMS).
I’m personally repulsed by the idea of using non-elective surgery to correct niggling details. I’m 24 btw, so I’ve got a long time with these puppies. Nothing wrong if you decide to do it, but I feel that being OK with yourself as you are is important. This is just one Dopers opinion though.
That being said, if you decide to go through with it, I’ll echo what other Dopers have said: do your research, pick your doc carefully, yaddayadda.
Have you done a bodyfat test? It might not be as low as you think. For most people abs don’t show until around the 10% mark (it varies depending on how developed your abs are and genetically and hormonally-dictacted fat storage patterns). If you are in that area, though, you might want to start looking into fine-tuning the rest of your routine. How is your diet? If you indulge in lots of simple sugars, cut them out. If you drink regularly, stop. If all else fails, though:
Yohimbine HCL is pretty effective as an oral, and is commonly run as part of a cutting stack along with caffeine. There are people who swear by topical yohimbine (which in homebrew is just a crude solution of yohimbine in DMSO, which IMO is a terrible idea), but there are gels and such available on the net.
Look also into Lipostabil - phosphatidycholine - I think that’s how you spell it - which is site-injected. Originally used to unclog fatty hearts, but run a search for it on major bodybuilding boards and you’ll see that people have seen quite a bit of success with it.
Surgery should be a last resort. The recovery process is a bitch, I should know.
Interesting. I’m not quite at 10% BF. I’m closer to 15%. So perhaps I should work on losing the 5%. It’s not going to be easy though. I don’t want to add another hour to my usual routines. I just don’t have the time for that. An interesting point is the simple sugars. My diet is pretty good. I’m big protein fiend by nature. Have never been into carbs all that much. But the sugars… I likes me a few cups of sweet coffee a day. I mean 3tsp of sugar per cup sweet. It’s my weakness and daily indulgence. Perhaps I need to seriously look into knocking that off. I’ve thought so in the past but just haven’t wanted to make that commitment. I’m going to try that first. Surgery will be the absolute last option. Looks like I’ve got a few more things I need to try first. Thanks.
QuickSilver - regarding the sweet coffee… have you looked into Splenda? You can buy a box of small packs of it, where each packet is the equivalent sweetness of two teaspoons of sugar. I find it’s indistinguishable from actual sugar, particulary in things like coffee.
Then you could still indulge in your coffee… An 10oz coffee with three teaspoons of sugar is about 50 calories. A plain 10oz coffee is 3kcal - with virtually no calories from the Splenda.
