Let's be honest with each other. Role-playing gamers aren't know for being the healthiest demographic on the planet. We even have the stereotype of eating bags of chips and pizza while chugging 2-liter bottles of soda while sitting on our butts for hours at a game table. Now that we're older, possibly with a spouse and children, we have to take better care of our bodies. In essence, constitution is not a dump stat, so why treat it that way? Hopefully, The Dice of Life can help.
In our younger days, sitting still for hours and fueling game sessions with soft drinks, bags of chips, and pizza was the norm for any gaming geek. In our more mature years, our metabolic rates aren't as high, and our bodies become more sensitive to the foods we eat. We've probably put on a few extra pounds as we've gotten older; we might even have high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, or other unhealthy conditions; and our jobs might be relatively sedentary, making our physical conditions even worse.
It's easy to become psychologically comfortable with your current health condition, rationalizing about how you're simply not as physically adept as you once were, but if you have a spouse and/or kids, you might want to think about how your health might affect them. We're not talking about trying to look like or have the physical aptitude of some of your favorite, heroic RPG characters; it's about maintaining a healthy body and preventing serious health problems. Now that we're adults, we need to seriously consider the foods we eat and increase our physical activity levels.
With that in mind, The Dice of Life will occasionally post articles providing suggestions for living a healthier lifestyle. We'll feature healthy foods to eat at the game table (or on a daily basis) and convenient exercises you can do during breaks while prepping for your next game or while at work without having to take time out to go to a gym.
We're also interested in any suggestions you might have of your own. We're not professional trainers or dieticians, so if you know of any awesome healthy alternative snacks for the game table or of any convenient exercises, techniques, or practices, please feel free to join our Google Group and post them there. In the mean time, we'll be working on the first of these articles for release within the next few days, so stay tuned.
2 comment(s):
Amen. I can't wait to read more about this topic. Only recently has this become a concern for me (Well, it should have been a concern sooner, but certain events opened my eyes). The only problem I have is keeping with actually making changes. The desire is there but the flesh is week and pudgy.
Though, if I may, to share something with those first reading this, a little healthier recipe I found from, I believe, John Kovalic.
Gamer Dip
8oz Fat Free Cream Cheese
8oz Low Fat French Onion Dip
1 tablespoon Salt Free Garlic and Herb seasoning (Though originally it called for 3, but that was strong enough to kill vampires with so season at your discresion)
Chopped Green Onion
Pretty Easy to make. Mix the dip, cream cheese, and seasoning, top with onion, eat.
Spot on, GeekBob. I always recall this one particular summer when I dropped 20lbs. in 2 months with a routine workout schedule and a very controlled diet. It felt great shedding that weight, but I was young, single, and had tons of free time. I also taught classes at a community college that had its own gym. I was able to schedule workouts (and a nap afterward) around classes. It was a lifestyle that was finely tuned.
Now I have a desk job 8 hours every weekday, a wife and 1-year-old daughter, and very little free time. This series of articles is mostly inspired by these circumstances.
My wife is actually really good about healthy foods and squeezing in time for exercise, but the latter requires me watching our daughter or her doing it while our daughter sleeps. I'm difficult to motivate when it comes to exercise these days, but once I'm motivated, it's on! It's kind of like an all or nothing scenario for me.
Speaking of my wife, I'll be posting a few of her healthier snack ideas. They're usually pretty good. :)
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