Does anyone else out there get sick of making excuses for living like a T-Man or T-Vixen? What are some of the ways you respond when people react in a negative way to the choices you make, simply because the choices are different from what most people would make? I can’t tell you how many times I’m out with friends (new ones or old ones) who look at me like I’m from outer space when I don’t order a drink from the bar or when I ask the server to bring my order without the toast and hash browns. What does a true T-Man do in this situation? Frequently, what I would like to say is quite the opposite of what I end up saying. Example: “What do you mean you don’t want a drink…what, are you too hungover from last night?” What I would love to say: “No, I’m not hungover, but I want to get up early tomorrow so I can go push plates around like a madman. See, I’m on phase III of Ian’s Guns program, and it’s so much easier to do it early on a Saturday when nobody’s around, because I need to have three stations set up at once. And if my results so far are any indication, I really think if I finish out this program, my arms will be so big that your girlfriend won’t even be able to hang onto them next time she’s riding me like a cowgirl.” Now, although my friends might not share my views, I cannot blame them for simply not understanding what it’s like to live like a T-Man. Besides, having friends is probably not such a bad thing. So instead, I usually just say something like, “No, I’ve got a long drive ahead of me and I know if I start drinking now, I won’t be able to drive later.”
An even tougher situation presents itself when I take customers to dinner; in some situations it just seems like it would be easier to have one drink than to decline. But why? Why do we make excuses for the lifestyle we lead? From now on, I’m gonna stop taking the easy way out when people look at me like I’m crazy. I’m just gonna tell them, “I don’t want a beer because drinking doesn’t fit into the lifestyle I’m trying to lead.” If they have a problem with that…fuck 'em. I would love to hear how some of you deal with this issue…especially those who often find themselves sidestepping the stupid-ass questions like, “what do you mean you don’t drink, what, are you in AA or something?” (Desired response: “Yeah, Anabolics Anonymous mother fucker…when’s the last time you did a fucking pullup?”
Matt…what’s up, pal. I feel your pain, my man. I’ve been leading this healthy lifestyle that I love and look forward to so much for about a year and a half now (I’m 20). One of the most difficult things I run into is the nutrition aspect. A lot of people, especially family members, just can’t grasp why it is that we choose to eat the food and times that we do. Or why we don’t drink. Or eat candy and so on. I used to just get pissed and leave the room, or get embarassed and just say I don’t know. But that was at the beginning. Now, I am much better educated. I now take the time to explain my lifestyle choice. When asked what I eat, I tell them that I choose to fuel my body with the optimal fuel at the optimal times to keep the furnace running. I am able to offer them several analogies that make the fueling and metabolism issues a little more clear. Sure, I get some people who still don’t get it, but the point is showing confidence in yourself and your choices. The best is when you talk about your lifestyle and the person then responds with something like, jeeze, I wish I could do that or that’s so wonderful and so healthy. Or maybe even wants to learn more. I love doing things the way I do them and this is how I plan to lead the rest of my life. I’m not afraid to tell this to people. I think that’s the bottom line, Matt. We have to be confident in ourselves and our lifestyle. We also have to be educated and patient with the lay population who haven’t got off their lazy butts to push their bodies to the limits like we do day in and day out. We have to be patient because they do not understand…I just think how long it has taken me to learn what I have and I’m still learning every day. So I think it’s better not to get frustrated but be able to just walk away or confidently explain our choices. It really does piss me off though…
Yeah, I too recieve many protien bar jokes. I simply ask my friends if they’re proud of what’s under their shirt, and if they’d mind flexing a tricep. While they are simeltaneously wallowing in self-pity and confusion as to what a tricep is, I attempt to procure a hummer from their chick. Listen, just explain simply and with lots of explatives that it’s YOUR body and YOUR life and you’ll do what you feel like and everyone can GFT. Lata.
Just point at some out of shape individual gulping down a drink, and say “I don’t wanna end up like that. But hey, if that’s how you wanna look…” Hehe. There a bunch of nasty comebacks… but then of course you come off sounding like a musclehead, but hey, they ask for it.
Hey guys I feel your pain. I too am in the same situation. Considering I’m a teenager and in high school its even worse because I can’t say that I have to work the next morning or have shit to do. Well I think most people who know me know how I am because its been a year and a half since I have had a beer and they know I train like a madman, so they have backed off. What I used to say was that I’m trying to get lean so i’m following a special diet. But my fellow Tmen let me tell you something dont bother what anyone else tells you, you will know that in the future that all these little bitches that ask you questions like why you dont drink and why you dont smoke will be riding your dick like a cowgirl not too long for now. And as for the guys, wait till they get a little older and their belly kicks in and they aint gonna be shit.
Some shit I usually hear from people who dont know me goes like this. “If you train so hard you should look like a roider” or “What one beer is gonna hurt you” or “You’re young stop being so sober, get fucked up for once”. Well little do they know that it takes alot to give up to get what you want. Drinking might have been some of the funnest stages while ive been a teenager but you know what its time to move on. So my fellow tmen wish me luck.
P.S. - I read in a magazine not too long ago that alot of women like guys who are dedicated to their bodies and find it attractive. Well here’s an incentive. Now we just have to find them.
I am behind you m8. Well that i eat healty and such don’t bother my friends tough. Even tough my mom thinks my protein powder is a steroid :-(. What bothers me is that everyone HAS to drink nowadays. Especially at my age (18). Party 2-3 times a week (+ the weekends) is obvious. I hate the taste of alcohol and i love being in control of myself. I also hate depressing testosterone, no desire to eat, headache the next day and the fact that i easilly puke from alcohol. Still haven’t found a good respons yet tough…
JDMIAMI, Your outlook on things is pretty damn impressive for someone in high school. I was 25 by the time I finally stopped being the way everyone expected me to be. Shit, I can only imagine how huge I would be now if I had this attitude then. I’m sure the same goes for lots of our fellow T-maggers who visit this board. But one thing we all have in common is that while 95% of the sorry-ass population is getting fatter and weaker by the day, a T-Man is always doing something to make himself better…something to increase his chances of spreading his seed and perpetuating his genetic code. That’s what its all about…
I have never made excuses. Fortunately for me, a lot of my close friends (m&f) are into the healthy trip as well. When I do get some flack/confusion from people I explain to them how good I feel. 4 years ago, when I was 16, I was your typical highschool burnout, smoked weed every day at least once. Could hardly run 100m. Now I can run, lift (and fuck) better than ever. I still drink once in a while (2xs a month, tops) and smoke occasinally, but the overall improvement in my health is enough for me to negate injestion of these toxins.
We don’t need to make excuses, and thats the bottom fucking line. Anyone who tells you different, well, tell them you’ll stop by their funeral on the way to the gym at age 70.
I know what you guys mean. I’ve often said that a jar of vitamin pills comes with a free lecture - usually from somebody who knows practically nothing about nutrition, and is a far less than prime example of health. It is frustrating having to justify your eating/ training patterns, especially when you mind your own business about other peoples diets. It is clearly a sign of disrespect for your decision to live the t-man lifestyle. I beleive that it is born of insecurity - people KNOW that their lifestyle choices are poor (from the perspective of health, and/or achieving their fitness goals), but they want everybody else around them to be doing the same - it validates them. The presence of a t-man threatens their unhealthy little world because all of a sudden they are confronted with somebody who has chosen to do everything that they wish they could do and become somebody who they wish that they could be (ie a great, sexually attractive physical speciman in optimum health).
I used to get angry, and launch into debates about nutrition with these people, but it achieves nothing, and tends to alienate you. Instead I take a light hearted approach, and take a leaf out of Arnold’s book. That is, try and portray bodybuilding as a good, positive thing thatthey should WANT to do, something that beats the pants off eating cheeseburgers and sinking beers. Don’t talk about the sacrifices that you make - the squats 'til your nose bleeds, the eggwhites and oatmeal, blah blah. Tell people how you eat constantly and still have abs. Give thm a Grow! shake to drink, so they know how good the food you eat tastes. Talk about how the girls love your abs, how you can get into all kinds of kinky stuff because of your increased muscular strength/ endurance/ flexibility, and the increased bedroom performance you get from supplements like tribex. Squeeze yourself into a tight shirt when you go to a bar, and see who goes home with the girls and who is left drinking their precious beers. You get the idea.