Is it an exercise bike!

@ Knight. Bet a steady dose of adrenalin would fix you up nicely. Good thing is, you don't have to get a written prescription from the doc, pay his fees yadda yadda yadda, to go for a ride.

 

Interesting you say that because this is a serious issue. A high stress job generates a lot of adrenaline that builds up in the system. it cramps the muscles, keeps the sympathetic nervous system overactive and the paraympathetic (release/relaxation) does not get any game time. So the body destroys itself. So technically speaking this requires an adrenaline release which is what you are talking about! And absolutely this weekend I hope to do all the test riding of my newly maintained bike that I can.

 

There ya go. So a spirited ride releases adrenaline, not produces it. So to say you are on an adrenaline high after a ride is a bit of a myth then?

 

Fascinating post Knight. Here in California we have medicinal marijuana (so I've read). It's nice to see that in Ohio, they have medicinal motorcycling! What a great form of physical therapy. Being in constant pain is no way to live. I'm sure it affects every aspect of your life. It's unfortunate that it took ten years for you to discover this "treatment" but better late than never! I hope you find a way to end the headaches permanently but even then, continue to ride.

I did want to throw my .02 in about something you wrote: "Whatever you do, do not starve yourself to lose weight. Your body will store more food in order to protect you and provide backup." First, I'm not a nutritionist or dietician or medical doctor. Although, even among them there are varying opinions about how and why the body loses weight or stores fat. But I've been very successful in achieving a high level of fitness and a low level of body fat in the past that I maintained for years and I've done quite a bit of studying on the subject. Lately, I've let myself go more than I should have but that's because of eating junk I knew I shouldn't and making excuses not to workout. The second thing is that in writing what I'm about to write, I'm certainly not advocating starvation diets! Not because you don't lose weight with them but because your body and mind need the nutrition food provides in order to function properly. So, here's my take:

The belief that starving yourself will send your body into starvation mode resulting in the body holding on to or creating more fat, resulting in no weight loss or even weight gain, is a popular misunderstanding of an over 70 year old study conducted after WWII. We hear and read about sending your body into "starvation mode" all the time. On the surface, it makes sense - our bodies try to protect us in many ways: we find ourselves on the toilet in a hurry when we eat bad food, our livers flushing out the toxins from the whiskey we drank last night, the increased heart rate and adrenaline when confronted with danger. So, at first glance, it's easy to see why so many people buy into this idea that the body will store fat if you eat too little in order to protect you.

Here's why that theory fails (in my humble opinion, of course) - Our bodies are constantly burning calories, even at rest. So long as you're breathing, you're burning calories. As we all know, the more active we are, the more calories we burn. The flip side to that is the more active we are, the more food we tend to consume in order to fuel our energy needs. Finding the right balance between energy output and consumption (calories consumed vs. calories expended) is not a simple process and it differs from person to person and changes over time. But here is one simple truth: If you consume more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. If you consume the same number of calories as you expend, you will maintain your weight. And if you consume fewer calories than you expend, you will lose weight. We can get into a long discussion about basal metabolic rates and differing rates of calorie expenditure each of us has and calorie estimates in food but my point is more on this notion that restricting your diet too much will sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Shortly after WWII the U.S. conducted what was known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. The goal was to learn how our bodies are affected by prolonged dietary restriction (starvation) and the best way to treat people who were starving, returning them to health. There was a huge number of people in Europe and Asia who, because of the war, were starving to death. What was learned from the study was that the body, for the most part, burns a predictable percentage of calories from carbs (sugars), fats and protein. With prolonged starvation, those percentages change with the body burning more calories from protein and fewer from carbs and fat. But here's the kicker, the subjects continued to lose weight the entire time (until efforts were made to reverse the process). The difference being what energy source was being used by the body for fuel. And even though the percentage of fat being burned decreased, it never stopped. Even more interesting, this difference in the bodies preference towards a particular energy source only became noticeable when the body reached a body fat percentage of 6%! Hopefully, you realize just how low 6% body fat is. For athletes, we're talking elite level conditioning. Professional body building levels of fat. At body fat percentages above 6%, there was no noticeable change in the way the body was burning calories. And, again, no matter what the body was using for energy, the subjects continued to lose weight and would have until their death if they continued with the severe dietary restrictions they were under.

Common sense supports this too. All you have to do is look at those unfortunate people who truly are starving in this world. And I don't mean those who have calorie rich but nutrient poor diets (that's a separate malnutrition problem). I mean those who simply don't get enough calories from whatever source. They wither away. They become skin and bones until their bodies can no longer function and they die. Those distended bellies we see on those African children are not filled with fat. They are the result of protein deficiency and are swelling of the tissues. Closer to home, anorexics continue to lose weight despite severe calorie restriction. Their bodies don't slam on the brakes and store fat to protect them. They either get the help they need or they, too, wither away and eventually die. Eat fewer calories than your body needs and you too will lose weight.

As I wrote in the beginning of what has turned out to be a ridiculously long .02 opinion, I'm not an advocate of starvation diets. But I'm also not an advocate of what I believe to be well-intentioned but misinformed advice. At a minimum, I offer an alternative opinion on losing weight and the role of calorie restriction. Weight loss at the expense of health is not the way to go. We need the proper amount of nutrients to function properly. There are a host of harmful effects from eating too few calories - depression, immune system deficiencies, anemia, even heart conditions. On the other hand, there are a host of harmful effects from eating too much. We know all those. It's all too easy to underestimate the number of calories we take in and overestimate the number of calories we burn. "Don't starve yourself" is too general of a statement to be of use and I believe is used too often to do what we want to do - eat more than we need.

Strive for health, mental and physical well-being, and weight loss will be a result but not the ultimate goal itself. Starve yourself and you will lose weight. Chances are though, you'll be a cranky, tired bitch in the process. Be conscious of what and how much you eat and adjust it according to your goals and needs and that will go far in getting you to whatever weight is healthy for you. That, and buy Randy's new weight loss book: "The Motorcyclist's Guide to Health, Weight Loss and Hot Chicks."

I've debated whether to hit the "Post Quick Reply" button with this one. I've read what I wrote and although I stand by it all as my opinion (opinions may and will vary), it does seem rather opinionated and know-it-all-ish and pretty fricken long. Sorry for that. I wrote it with the intent of offering another take on something we hear all the time and accepted as good advice. Take it or leave it.

 

Now on sale at Walmart $5.99 while quantities last. Can be found in the comic section!

Seriously though. Thanks for the write-up.

 

Let me start with, anyone who knows medicine well can correct me because I am only semi-knowledgable based on what I personally have been through. It would be very bad for me to give innacurate advice on such important matters.

As I went to respond to you I had to do more reading because I wanted to be concise and accurate. In researching I see many of these "healthy living" web sites have this completely wrong! So I went to an article at Harvard which produced this: "Exercise reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators."

So to answer you, YEP! When your buddy says, "What an adrenalin rush", tell them, "You mean endorphin rush?"

If you guys are riding along, and some cager cuts RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, and you COUNTER LEFT, COUNTER RIGHT, BARELY CLIP THEIR TAIL, AND ESCAPE WITHOUT A SCRATCH..and all through this you FEAR FOR YOUR LIFE, then when it is over you may accurately state, "What an adrenaline rush!" And that isn't the rush you want, is it?

 

Okay everyone - we HAVE to spread the word of this medicinal motorcycling. And when someone says "Oh that is just a rumor" you may use me as a proof/test case. I have sworn to you that motorcycling dramatically reduces pain for me! **NOTE: Symptoms have dramatically improved when riding Honda's superior V4 motorcycles. Suzukis, Yamaha's, even inline Hondas have not proven to provide any noticeable relief.

Secondly you have completely blown away the theory of "starvation encourages the body to store more fat." Clearly that is wrong and I apologize for repeating this rumor. See that's what I get for giving advice outside of my expertise! Great write up and I appreciate it. Your points about fat & energy generation all being reliant on the type and volume of food do coincide with what doctors have told friends of mine who were trying hard to lose weight.

Funny how so many of us can readily say, "Yea I'm eating sugar, salt, caffeine, and I know I shouldn't..." Reading these posts I just sit here and shout, "hey that's me!"

Thanks for the good wishes. You know everyone has a cross to bear and I am a firm believer that one, there is a reason for everything and two, God does not give any one of us a situation that we are incapable of handling. So we keep fighting and fighting. And we either beat it, or we die with grace in God's eyes for having endured it. Or we sit around and curse the world the entire time, and learn nothing from the pain. Our choice.

As an aside metallyguitarded, I am a classic rock guitarist. I just wonder if you are all metal or if you play the milder stuff. For me, a lot of stuff from Buddy Holly to Judas priest (timeline-wise as well as style-wise) is all good.

 

Be damned. YOu and I could be long lost cousins. I play the spoons. A mean In-a-gadda-da-vida if I don't say so myself.

I hear you on the pain stuff. Injured my back back in 1978. And damaged it even more a few times since then falling down stairs, traffic accidents and other things. My choice of careers was kinda hard on the body. Both arms, a rib or two a few times and both legs or portions of them have been injured too. But it is the back that is constant pain. The T3s and T4s. (yes there is a T4) are a good temporary relief from the pain but doing things that keep my mind of the pain is my key. This, in my case is woodworking, yard work and above all, getting out there to ride. Pain comes back after though but these are things you just learn to live with.

I could get a medical marijuana permit but to be very honest with you, I simply cannot stand the smell of that shit. I am told that you can get an oil that you place under your tongue though. But I can't cross the USA/Canada border either way with that. I can with the Codeine.

 

Sorry I feel silly, what is meant by T3 and T4? At first I thought you were talking thoracic vertebrae and that these are the ones causing the most pain...?

 

Thanks Knight for putting up with my post and taking it in the way I intended.

That's very nice but made me laugh. I'm confident that there are plenty of people who despite anything I would write on the subject would hold fast to their belief that too few calories causes the body to store fat. Those people wouldn't be so quick to say I've blown their theory out of the water. What I've found is that people will often rely on anecdotal evidence such as, "I hit a plateau in my weight loss efforts until I bumped up my calorie intake and THAT'S when the pounds started to melt off!" And there's plenty of bro-science from guys who, if you look at them, must know what they're talking about because they're lean and muscular but often times, when pressed for the source of their knowledge it boils down to trial and error and what they heard from the other guy who benches 500 lbs. There's certainly room for all that information and it all should be taken into consideration, even the bro-science. I just make an effort to give it the weight it deserves based on the source of information supporting the advice being given. All we can ever do is consider all these competing theories, try to understand the source behind the information being provided, take into account the many variables that can affect any outcome, apply our own "common sense" shaped by our own experiences, biases and education, then go with what makes the most sense to us. All of that takes a level of critical thinking that most of us, myself included, just don't have or make the time for. It's easier to listen to the guy at the dumbbell rack or read the posts of guys on the body building forum or, gasp, a motorcycling forum. Haha. And then go with your initial reaction to the advice being given without bothering to question it or dive deeper.

But, thanks! I'm happy to have someone on my side with this! And I won't be offended if someone else comes along and convinces you that I'm an idiot and you curse my name for having led you astray from what you knew was true all along!

I admire your attitude. That's strength right there. As much as I try to hold on to the physical strength of my youth, I'm not as fast as I once was, not as strong as I once was, I don't have the endurance I once had, heck, I don't even have the same level of motivation, and all of it will continue to fade with time no matter how hard I work. Mental fortitude, however, is something I hope to hold on to for much longer.

I am a self-proclaimed five chord wonder! I love a driving, heavy metal rhythm guitar but the reality is I just love music in general. I pretty much suck (my wife would say I'm better than I know I am) but I love the feel and sound of a well-tuned guitar. The screen name "metallyguitarded" just struck me as somewhat funny and appropriate given my less than awe-inspiring skills. The reality is I love metal, classic rock, blues, punk, r&b, soul, rockabilly, rap, country, opera, old school jazz, afro-Cuban...the list goes on and on. I say you, me and Randy form a band! You can take lead guitar, I'll play rhythm. Randy on the spoons. We're going to need a drummer and a lead singer. Oh, and plenty of groupies. Just not from this site.

 

You got it. Warm up them spoons Randy! World Tour 2015 is just around the corner.

 

You can argue anything with people - economics, science, race, religion, and they all pull anecdotes to make their point. This seems to be the stupidity of human nature. Unfortunately (ARE YOU LISTENING INTERNET?) ANECDOTES ≠ WISDOM. One anecdote, a thousand anecdotes, don't prove a thing!

I am a novice drummer so since we have another guitar and drummers are hard to find, I can pick up drum duties. I got tired of never being able to find a decent drummer so I started playing myself. And guess what? When a good teacher teaches you how to count, DRUMS ARE EASY. You just smack them in time. In a couple years on drums I was far better than after 30 years of guitar HAHAHAHAHA. Hope I didn't offend any drummers but you guys know its true! Ok meet at my house in the Rock Capital (Cleveland) for a round of Joan Jett and Stones remakes.

Groupies - hilarious - I have done several things that seemed to have attracted the women. I was recently telling a buddy that carrying around a professional camera beat being a rock 'n roller greatly in this way. Now after taking my new bike out just a handful of times, and the high school girls at the car wash are all waving and stuff....my buddy explained, "The motorcycle is the king...forget your guitar or camera." Ironically, strange people coming up to me is the only thing I always HATED about my hobbies. I do them to do them...because I am compelled to. All the guys around me played music for the girls... I think its funny now, but when a desparate single, I was slightly miffed and offended that my hobbies would draw more attention than I would get without my guitar slung...etc...if that makes sense. Normal manly guys would probably not understand this...

 

Not at all. T3 is Tylenol #3, T4 is Tylenol #4

T3: 300mg acetaminophen, 30mg codeine, and 15 mg caffeine
T4: 325mg acetaminophen, 60mg codeine and 15 mg caffeine

Both are very effective and often prescribed pain relievers. The T4 is prescribed much less than the T3 though. Codeine apparently converts to morphine once in the body, or so my doctor says. They "can" be habit forming but from what I read, that is only in 1 - 3 percent of the users. I think that by time you have taken enough of these to become addicted to them, your liver would be shot.

I use only one doctor and one drug store so that there is consistency to what I am taking and there are more than one person watching out for my welfare, but not so many that the waters get muddied.

I was on the T4 for a while. The T3 were loosing their desired effect. I took myself off those, with the full knowledge of my doc, because I found them to be quite upsetting to my gut.

BTW. I was serious. I do play the spoons, depending on the quantity of fine scotch I have consumed. Its a hoot. But I also tickle the keys and have so since I was about 7 years old. Can't read a damned note of music though. Wished I could. Also wished I could play guitar like my son does too. I got him started on that with a very nice sounding acoustic. I think it was a Garrison but not certain on that. But it did have nice sound.

 

Oh gotcha. I should check those out. Percoset made me sick and did nothing for pain, so I stopped trying with prescriptions. BUT the massive caffeine does I take daily is very very bad...

Oh okay I thought you were being a little figurative and you were a drummer! Spoons have a GREAT tone! It is that man-made shaped metal.

I wrote a guitar book for novice and also anyone who plays by ear but wants to advance and learn theory. If your son does not know the intervals, my book would be excellent for him. I don't know, can you message people personally here? If you can, and if any interest, let me know.

 

Hey Knight, I'd be interested in a copy of your book! I'll even pay for it! If you click on either the name or the avatar, I believe it takes you to a spot where you can then send a private message.

And Randy, that's fantastic about you actually playing the spoons! Coincidentally, my playing sounds amazingly like Jimmy Page after a couple glasses of scotch.

 

I think I understand where you're coming from. Can't say I relate to it, but I understand it. Haha. I, too, love the guitar for how it makes me feel and not for the attention it brings. In my case, that attention is usually from neighborhood dogs howling in pain and angry stares from passing children. I don't think I'd be too put off by attention from hoards of women though. I can't say that the bike has done it for me either. I'm starting to think you have some unrealized mojo going on and you've been selling yourself short all this time!

I asked my wife if my guitar playing or the fact that I ride had anything to do with the attraction she has for me or even just the initial attraction. Her response, "Uh, no. That's cute." I got a "that's cute"! So, what kind of camera do you recommend?

 

OH this is a RIOT!

Regarding the motorcycle, I am wearing full gear and unrecognizable...and the "Hey that's a cool bike" comments have been pouring in. So the mojo - well its the VFR mojo! Dang the bike has more mojo than I do. Well glad we figured that out!

Your wife's response is CLASSIC. My wife kids that she's with me because of my car (red 6-speed 2000 Celica.)

OK here's the deal. When I wasn't jamming I would go to this local club that would have 3-5 bands every Saturday night. I had an Olympus SLR (detachable lens). Would carry the standard lens and a "long" 70-210 mm zoom. I recall getting "What magazine are you with?" My advice today would be a $500 SLR (Nikon /Canon) would be fine, and carry 2-3 separate lenses hanging from your shoulders. That is enough to indicate you MUST be a professional photographer.

 

Well at least the kids don't throw rocks at you, most people like my Mad Max look. I get some high heel boots and I just instantly grow. Now where do I get high heel motor boots.:funky::typing::vtr2::flypig: