Why Women Should Not Run. The first release of this article was attacked by feminists who deemed it "misogynistic", so the no-nonsense author edited it, adding even more scientific insight and unconventional wisdom.

pinkantlers · 2014-03-25T21:55:50+00:00

I don't run, but I do do extended cardio in the form of swimming and hill hiking. I don't it because I think it'll make me skinny, I do it because I enjoy those things, want to have healthy heart & lungs, don't want to die early from preventable disease, and still want to be moving when I'm 80.

2014-03-25T21:39:37+00:00

I tried to get into running a few years ago. It made me absolutely starving lol. I could not control my eating when I was running. Now I go on a walk and just lead a physically active life (mowing the law, trimming trees, carrying a fat baby all day lol) and I'm the slimmest I've ever been as an adult. I've got five extra pounds, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that cares anyway. My mother on the other hand does a ton of cardio (and weights!) and says she does it because she likes food and wine and wants to even things out. She's not obese or anything, but I would never want to look like that. She's just...thick.

I do like that my "workouts" are so integrated into my everyday life that I will never stop them. It's not like I work out two hours a day and won't have time for it if my mother gets sick and needs to be take care of or something like that. It's easy to do what I do so it seems more sustainable than excessive cardio.

enticingasthatmaybe · 2014-03-25T22:10:12+00:00

[permanently deleted]

2014-03-25T23:40:26+00:00

Guy here.

Every time I read something about training and then discover it's about losing weight I lose my mind. It's like there are NO thin people on the internet. Mind boggling.

TheLadyLawyer · 2014-03-25T21:15:21+00:00

This article is interesting, but my own personal experiences have proved differently. I began running daily in 2008 and have been very happy with the results of my slimmer body and faster metabolism. I have not yet experienced any thyroid issues. For me, I think cardio is a great way to stay slim.

Also, the author proclaims, "there are better ways to lose fat, and there are better ways to look good" but I didn't see a list of any alternatives to running. The article would have been more persuasive, to me, if it did provide other methods of maintaining a small figure.

I'm not at all denying that "Jessica's" thyroid problem is very real or the possibility that it can be attributed to her overly-intense exercising. But I think that's just one example of one person who perhaps engaged in too much cardio, too often. After all, the key to almost everything is moderation.

For now, for me, I think that cardio, in moderation, is a good method for staying small (until other experiences or solid research persuades me otherwise).

Edit: spelling, grammar

Edit 2: It's probably worth noting that I do not engage in the "binge eating" described in the article, so I'm certain that my diet is a substantial factor in my ability to stay small and be a "runner".

Nicanooni · 2014-03-25T23:13:21+00:00

I thought this was really interesting. I was actually just diagnosed with hypothyroidism about a month ago, I was put on a daily hormone therapy for it. While I do not currently do steady state cardio, I used to. Over the past 2 or 3 years I have changed my routine and now do more HIIT and plyometrics. I do really appreciate the article's message though and the scientific resources to back it up.

2014-03-26T00:04:38+00:00

I give you this to swirl around...

Proper exercise and discriminate weight loss.

SuperSlow inventor Ken Hutchins was the first person to ever explain the idea of discriminate weight loss to me. He told me to picture the human body as a corporation that is run by a board of directors. He told me to assume that a body operating on a calorie deficit is like a corporation running at a budget deficit. Each of the body tissues could represent a different department within that corporation. He then presented two scenarios. In the first scenario there is a budget deficit and no department has any unusual demands. In this scenario layoffs can occur in all departments. So your body lays off some fat, some muscle, some bone and connective tissue, as well as nervous tissue . Your corporation (or body) becomes a smaller version of its former self. In the second scenario, there is a large demand placed on the muscle department. In this scenario, no layoffs can occur in the muscle department. Indeed, more muscle has to be hired on. This results in a larger layoff in the fat department. We cannot produce cutbacks in the bone or connective tissue department because we need their support because muscle is not helpful unless it is attached to strong bone by strong connective tissue. This means more fat has to be let go. We cannot lay off any nervous tissue, because our new muscle is useless unless it is innervated by new nervous tissue. This means more fat has to be let go. Under this scenario, all weight loss is shunted toward fat loss. In this scenario, your corporation (body) takes on a dramatic shape change. You have added a modest amount of shape-improving muscle and jettisoned a large amount of shape-ruining fat.

spongegloss00 · 2014-03-26T00:27:18+00:00

Interesting! I didn't know this. I now feel better about all my cardio consisting of walking and zumba, and all my strength being weightlifting. rad.

and as for misogyny, I literally don't even know where people got that from. That's nuts.

taw · 2014-03-26T03:40:17+00:00

The article is pretty dubious. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, and their levels differ based on metabolic conditions (weight, caloric intake, exercise) - because that's what they're for - adapting body's responses to metabolic needs. But that's an extremely tight feedback loop, and there's a pretty wide range of healthy levels of thyroid hormones.

If you believe you might have thyroid problems, check with your doctor. It's a quick and cheap blood test, it's a relatively common condition (like 10% of people, by order of magnitude, more women than men), and many people with borderline hypothyroidism can benefit from low level supplementation even if they don't show outright symptoms of clinical hypothyroidism.

For big majority of people with healthy thyroid, supplementing low levels of thyroid hormones (T4, T3, or both) will do exactly nothing. If author was correct, and thyroid was the key, we would already have a cure for obesity, cheaply available since 19th century (as prescription, or from random Internet sources).

And seriously, do a blood test if you didn't have one recently, and consider borderline results (tsh>3) as worth investigating if you have other symptoms, but your thyroid is far more likely than not to be fine.

scallopkid · 2014-03-25T22:27:06+00:00

I always did like sprint intervals better than LSD days when I ran track in high school. My good events were high jump, shotput, and triple jump. My coach called me the field specialist. :)

TzeGoblingher · 2014-03-25T22:55:35+00:00

I took a look at the sources and holy shit.

2014-03-26T06:07:57+00:00

Interesting article. I'm going to have to tell my friend to lay off the steady-state cardio, since she insists on doing that. Actual running, though, might do some good. It's great that he listed so many sources (and condensed them that much). I've seen lazier research before.

I'm also glad I prefer swimming, P90X, and some other activities to treadmill running.

redderthanpurple · 2014-03-26T10:43:44+00:00

I love to run. I don´t actively hate people who do not like it, but this article is written like a bad FPS r/fatpeoplestories

Not to make fun of fat people who are actively making sure they do not REMAIN fat, however, a lot of the fat people I have encountered have this mentality that "physics is not real, feels over thermodynamics!! shitlord, check your privilege!!"

Women and men should run to enhance their physique their cardiovascular health as well as their metabolism.

It is proven that running helps your joints, your mental wellbeing as well as lowers your risk of cancer.

This may not be a completely unbiased source, but please take everything I say with a grain of salt as I myself am not an unbiased being.

http://www.imnotfittorun.com/running-good-for-health-in-general.php

Thank you -RED

reggieray · 2014-03-26T13:45:35+00:00

Body by Science.

wendy-fly · 2014-03-26T17:13:14+00:00

Fascinating. A few years ago I tried to start running and got up to about 3-4 miles several times per week. I enjoyed some benefits- sleeping better at night, increased energy, not feeling winded going up long flights of stairs, but I got crazy hungry and ended up gaining weight. I do not love running enough to gain weight from it! I stopped running all together and started yoga, which was awesome but I missed the cardio benefits- specifically the sleeping better and the not getting winded. Now I run 2 miles a couple times per week along with my yoga. Two miles seems to be a magic number that gives me the benefits of running without increasing my hunger. The running and yoga are all about wellness, while my weight is controlled through diet.

aaron_the_just · 2014-03-25T23:55:29+00:00

By the same token it's "misogynistic" to tell women they don't have testicles?

Excessive cardio and especially running are really BAD for women... it would be misogynistic not to tell women to stop doing things that will harm their bodies.

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