Is being overweight and being a Jedi a good thing?

I've known overweight people who are quite healthy. If your weight makes life more difficult, makes it harder to meditate, makes it harder to do things and go places with people -- in other words, if it gets in the way of your life -- then it is something you should consider fixing for your own sake. If it doesn't bother you, more power to you.

This isnt a question for others, but yourself.

The fact that you asked it at all, is telling, and you should listen to that.

Your body, aside from those who have extenuating circumstances(which is amazing in itself how many people will claim such) is something you do have direct control over.

You can change it, shape it, etc, and even those with certain circumstances can to a degree.

When questions like these are asked I ask myself, are you looking for an excuse, or consolation?

Then I look to the responses..

Do you feel being overweight is not a good thing?

For anyone?

Jedi are a strange lot in real life, because they will spend hours meditating, or reading, etc, but when it comes to the same type of discipline on the body, well, their training seems to seldom reflect the same type of discipline, and commitment.

So, I dont know that this is a question for others, much less a web forum.

Are you happy with where you are at weight wise?

If not, then do something about it.

"Friends" will say the friendly thing, and those with the same values, or lack of them, will say the same thing,.

What is it you want?

Thank you all this has been beneficial to me. Vladucard, I apologize if my opening sounded insensitive and anyone that "you couldn't be a Jedi if your overweight" that wasn't my point. What I meant is that in certain cultures to be overweight is gluttony. As Jedi we seek balance and I feel like that also means in what eat. Vlad, you cannot help those things it sounds like and I am sincerely sorry if I upset you I wouldn't ever want that or anyone if I offended anyone. I guess perhaps for some what Yoda said, "Not this grude matter." Maybe as a Jedi that doesn't matter whether your overweight or not.

On, the other side I am have started a new diet today, went to the gym, took on a fitness trainer once a month (All I can afford atm). I haven't drank any soda, sugars, very few carbs if any. My trainer is putting me on the grapefruit diet atm for two weeks and he wants to see how I do with that. Eating lean chicken breast I make myself at home 3 oz, 5 oz of green veggies it's actually really good. Drinking about 8 oz or more water everyday and I am going on a 12 mile hike this weekend which I am excited for.

You didn't offend me at all! I was just chiming in my two cents on the matter, lol (don't worry, I'm not one of those "I'm easily offended cause I'm fat people").

It's good that you got a trainer, they are ridiculously expensive! While I went to the gym, they kept trying to get me to sign up with one and i kept telling them how I couldn't afford them. They gave me one free session to try it out, learned about what he had to say, and just added it to my routine.

Hopefully yours will help you in your case

Oh whew...that's good. Yeah they're extremely expensive at first he wanted to charge me like 399.99 for a month of training I was like "Noooo...thank you." I told him my situation and I think he felt sorry for me and so he told me I get one free session with him each month and if I would pay 19.99 for one session a month then he'd just show me some good techniques and things to do on my spare time to get in shape.

wow, that's amazing! He must really care about people if he is willing to do that for you!

being a jedi is a way of life. one is not supposed to live a life of excess,to be mindful of one's health. however the current state of self is not the concern what is, is the mindset behind it, so it sounds like you are willing to learn and change to be in the present to be mindful of the things you put into your body. weight will only stop you from being a jedi but being a jedi in its's truest form will keep you from being overweight if you dedicate yourself to the cause in body and mind as a jedi should

Yeah I was a little surprised Vlad for sure being that personal fitness instructors a lot of times that I've seen get paid commission from their clients and if they don't have any not good. He still gets a little out of me and I get a little out of him so in some cases we both win.

Yes, David I think you dug down into what I was trying to say originally.

Here's what it boils down to: master your impulses. If you can't restrain yourself from eating or being lazy, conquer it. I don't know (or care) about what makes you a jedi here based on the opinions of other people, because the only person that ultimately cares about/has a right to say anything about you is YOU.

You're clearly not happy with your body because you posted to gain others' approval. That's all I see in your long OP.

Start there.

Good luck.

Been awhile since I've seen you Snowy...I appreciate the response. But, sheesh you sure are blunt.

Sven One wrote: Been awhile since I've seen you Snowy...I appreciate the response. But, sheesh you sure are blunt.

It always surprises me when people say that. I don't know why, but it does.

If I did not care, I would not say anything. It so happens that I like you and care a great deal for your overall well being. I also care about not wasting your time reading volumes when a few short sentences will do; I care enough to tell it to you straight and not have you guess at my meaning.

So anyway, yeah. Blunt perhaps, but never cold or indifferent. Despite even wanting to hate you guys sometimes, I really do think you're good people and that you're trying (even if the method drives me bananas).

Sven One wrote: My trainer is putting me on the grapefruit diet atm for two weeks and he wants to see how I do with that.

The first step to long term weight loss is to not get caught up in fad diets like this that actually do nothing for you and ultimately dont work. Sorry, but grapefruit doesn't burn fat. At most the water in grapefruit helps you feel full, and then you eat less. But if you're hoping that grapefruit will melt fat, you're going to be disappointed. Even if it worked, you would be likely to gain it all back, which is the case with any fad diet. If you want permanent weight loss results then stay away from any sort of diet at all, especially the fad ones. Instead focus on behaviour modification and slow but permanent diet improvement. It's much better to lose weight at a slow, steadier pace over time by focusing on a plan you can live with for life than "jumping through the fad hoop" over and over.

Chiming in with Kyrin- Going on a 12 Mile hike is VERY dangerous in the condition you initially described. You really should be working on smaller goals. A two mile walk on a paved track might even be too much at first.

Khaos wrote: This isnt a question for others, but yourself.

The fact that you asked it at all, is telling, and you should listen to that.

Your body, aside from those who have extenuating circumstances(which is amazing in itself how many people will claim such) is something you do have direct control over.

You can change it, shape it, etc, and even those with certain circumstances can to a degree.

When questions like these are asked I ask myself, are you looking for an excuse, or consolation?

Then I look to the responses..

Do you feel being overweight is not a good thing?

For anyone?

Jedi are a strange lot in real life, because they will spend hours meditating, or reading, etc, but when it comes to the same type of discipline on the body, well, their training seems to seldom reflect the same type of discipline, and commitment.

So, I dont know that this is a question for others, much less a web forum.

Are you happy with where you are at weight wise?

If not, then do something about it.

"Friends" will say the friendly thing, and those with the same values, or lack of them, will say the same thing,.

What is it you want?

I wish i could say I was on the sit on my butt and call myself a jedi bandwagan. If i was I would save about 4 hours a day on average from workouts, and taekwondo classes. I would also bet that lets then 10% of the people who say they meditate for a hour a day or actually doing it. After all this is the internet and people can say what the want.

Anyone is free to call me out for my pt sessions but anyone who has seen me from one gathering to the next can certainly see a huge differance. As well as the people who watch my videos on fb can see the bulkiness showing.

I wish i could say I was on the sit on my butt and call myself a jedi bandwagan. If i was I would save about 4 hours a day on average from workouts, and taekwondo classes. I would also bet that lets then 10% of the people who say they meditate for a hour a day or actually doing it. After all this is the internet and people can say what the want.

Anyone is free to call me out for my pt sessions but anyone who has seen me from one gathering to the next can certainly see a huge differance. As well as the people who watch my videos on fb can see the bulkiness showing.

I turned this message upside down, looked at the back, and rifled through the envelope, and I still couldn't find a point.

Did you forget to put one in?



(It's alright mate, I often find myself agreeing with some of the things you bring up, I just don't want your occasionally good message to be lost in the noise from your cheer squad)



(Yes, I'll get a slap on the wrist for discussing people not ideas. Knighthood gets ever further away for me)


Sven, I do have some thoughts on your situation, I'd like to raise my ideas in another post after coffee

My opinion about the condition of being overweight in regards to my Jedi path, hmmm, it would be presumptious of me to judge anyone for their conditions and limitations but my own thoughts as they apply to my path, sure.
I do think it accumulates for want of a better word toxin's, which reduces my awareness and control of my lifestyle and meditations, as I don't want something buffering self harm and I really don't want to carry it around to leach or be released during stress. For me that is really important as it disrupts a large part of my Jedi focus. Obviously there is the cardiac issue, and diabetes issue (my cat got type 2 and I was able to fix her back to good health), immobility issues, and stats to indicate shorter life expectancy etc. All these things then fly in the face of my efforts to connect to the Force, work better, be happier and love long time :silly:

So being overweight and working on weight loss myself I would be two faced if I judged anyone for it. But what I can say is that as a Jedi we should be mastering and bettering ourselves in all areas of our life including the physical. This means being as fit as whatever our medical condition might allow and eating sensibly with an eye towards our health. Will we ever be perfect? Nope. But it is the consistent aiming towards the lofty goals we set that matters most. Sometimes the target is just something to aim for even if we might never hit the bullseye. So basically do your best and do it in a manner that does not hurt you but can bring lasting improvements

Ob1 hasn't been around much, so I'll try to sum up my thoughts in a way he'd like



"Jediism isn't about winning every match, it is about putting time on the mat"


Whether you are overweight or can do 100 one handed clap pushups is really irrelevant to your Path - It's that you follow the principles and do what you have to do.

You've have identified something you want to change - now apply skill and discipline (or precision and force, I love my Avatar) to the issue

Here's some Doctrine -

Wisdom is the sound application of accrued knowledge and experience through patient, good judgment. Knowledge can be acquired by focusing on the task at hand. Focus is the art of pruning the irrelevant and pouring the best of your mind into what you are doing.

I think the 7 Habits put it as "Learn, Commit, Do"

Thank you all these have all being helpful advice and thoughts and insights. Honestly, I got light headed this afternoon from probably lack of calories because the diet is so strict in what you can eat that I ended up getting a half sub at subway after the gym despite my workout coach was disappointed. I told him, "Sheesh man, I am here to lose weight not kill myself over it."

He told me he was sorry and that maybe this "diet" wasn't the right one for me and that next time we got together he would set up more meal plans for me. He told me to do light workouts every other day until I could go everyday except one day where it was comfortable and my body had adjusted to it. As far as the hike he suggested that I didn't do it because he thought that was really a bad idea especially that I just starting working out. So I told my friends that I wasn't going due to health reasons. But, I have been talking short walks through the park each day aside from my working out.

JamesSand wrote:

I wish i could say I was on the sit on my butt and call myself a jedi bandwagan. If i was I would save about 4 hours a day on average from workouts, and taekwondo classes. I would also bet that lets then 10% of the people who say they meditate for a hour a day or actually doing it. After all this is the internet and people can say what the want.

Anyone is free to call me out for my pt sessions but anyone who has seen me from one gathering to the next can certainly see a huge differance. As well as the people who watch my videos on fb can see the bulkiness showing.

I turned this message upside down, looked at the back, and rifled through the envelope, and I still couldn't find a point.

Did you forget to put one in?



(It's alright mate, I often find myself agreeing with some of the things you bring up, I just don't want your occasionally good message to be lost in the noise from your cheer squad)



(Yes, I'll get a slap on the wrist for discussing people not ideas. Knighthood gets ever further away for me)


Sven, I do have some thoughts on your situation, I'd like to raise my ideas in another post after coffee

Perhaps you should work on your comprehension skills. Sorry i can not write it in crayon for you. Perhaps next time.