Am I going to be a fat airline pilot?

Maximilian_Jenius

Maximilian_Jenius

Super User
Okay question for all you airline pilots.

I work out kinda religiously 3-4 times a week.

I'm 5'8 210-215lbs. all muscle nice flat stomach and nice abs etc. and I have like 0% body fat.

I'd say that I'm very well built and have nice body most people say that I'm totally ripped.

It droves all the boys & girls crazy (mostly the boys
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In any event I do freely admit that I have quite a while to be concerned about this. (Disclaimer for Aloft)

But I was at Skyharbor the other day and kept seeing really overweight pilots like alot and I mean alot.

Kinda scared me....
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I know that this career prevents you from eating healthy home cooked meals alot of times. Or excersing regularly.

Airline pilots are in the terminal between flights prolly eating alot of fast food on the go when they can or ina hotel eating at odd hours.

My question to you all is,is it possible to stay in shape while being an airline pilot.

I know that I wouldn't be able to work out my normal 3-4 times a week that I'm used to working out now .

But would working out when I'm off be enough to wart off obesity
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or am I dommed to be an overweight pilot in the distant future?

Do any of you airline pilots work with or know of any lean, muscular possibly even ripped pilots that you work with if so what are there secrets?


Matthew
 
Pilots are just like any other cross-section of the population. There are pilots who like working out, they find it a fun way to keep busy on overnights & it's just generally something they enjoy and there are pilots who don't like working out. If you want to continue your workout regimine, it's totally do-able. You can work out on overnights & days off, and if you're really concerned about what you eat you can pack your own food. (Taking your own food saves a lot of money too.)

I knew a lot of pilots & FAs who would go for runs on overnights. A couple asked me if I ran, my answer was "only if someone's chasing me".
 
I like to call it: "clean cut, bit of a gut." That's the image I aspire to twenty or so years down the road.
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Actually, while sitting in DFW, I was amazed at how many of the pilots were clearly in great shape. When they weren't trim and slender, they were often downright buff. Some seriously built dudes. With these big ol' vein-ripped forearms. I was thinkin': Man, maybe I need to stop running, and start lifting. (Or I guess I could do both.
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But it could be tough staying in shape. The fact that your job consists of sitting on your butt for hours at a stretch, and then being away from home on layovers (meaning fast food and sometimes no convenient workout room/nearby track/etc) leads to, potentially, a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
 
Actually most hotels have decent workout rooms. Also every hotel has an instant cardio workout built right into it: stairs. Put on your running shoes, pick a side stairwell and go run stairs for half an hour.

Kit bags make great curl weights. (Adjustable too, just add/remove manuals!) I used to use mine to hold my feet while I did sit-ups.
 
It's not any more sedentary than an office job - it is what you make of it. If you want to eat McD's and California Pizza Kitchen all the time, yeah you pay for it. But even when traveling, it's possible to seek out healthful foods and to work out. A good number of hotels have workout rooms, and when I'm traveling and am in one that doesn't, I go on walks so long as I'm in a relatively safe neighborhood.

I do travel quite a bit for work and for my 2nd job (training horses - which means traveling to horse shows) and spent two 4-day weekends in a row last weekend and the weekend before out of town. Order off the low-fat menu at restaurants (or low carb if that's your persuasion). If you order salads, replace that ranch dressing with some sort of light dressing...most restaurants offer them. Get the grilled chicken, not the fried. If you order a sandwich, you'd be surprised how much fat you can trim by leaving off mayo or other sauces, leaving off bacon, even leaving off cheese. I'll order a grilled chicken sandwich that *usually* comes with bacon, some southwestern mayo-based type sauce and cheese, but leave off the bacon and the sauce. Substitute more healthful sides for fries.

Pack your own food for snacks. My sister and I each week hit an organic grocery store by my office. I stock up on really awesome breakfast bars, smoothies, cookies and crackers that are all natural and very low in fat. You can easily carry this stuff especially if it's individually wrapped.

It's a challenge that I actually am starting to find fun! My goal is to find low fat, low cal foods that taste awesome. If I don't like it, I don't eat it. I can't imagine a diet of rice cakes, tofu, funky all veggie dishes and yogurt. Yuck! I instead replace that crap with fairly equivalent alternatives that actually have taste. Once a week I let myself 'splurge' on one of my old favorites, like a cheeseburger. It doesn't set me back and the weight is now very steadily coming off. The key is eat in MODERATION (restaurant portions are way too large) and get some exercise!

Sarah
 
I'll probably be a fat airline pilot. Well not fat, but have a gut. I'll be that 40-year old graying captain with a slight gut who talks the crews into going out for a few beers and some pizza to relax after a long day, trying to bring everyone down into my world of obsesity! Ha just kidding. I just bike a lot in the summer (and ride the stationary some in the winter) to stay semi-fit. Otherwise, I hate working out. I also like foods that are good for me, not lots of fatty stuff.
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I used to be on the road quite a bit for work and I can tell you that it is not that hard to get a work out in. Just get your butt down to the gym in the hotel and do something. Run, do some weight work, do something.

The problem is that I made the incorrect assumption that just because I was getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes, I could therefore chow down on fatty, greasy food. Wrong.

You still have to watch what you eat, but you should be eating healthy and exercising anyway. You don't want to lose your medical, do you?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm 5'8 210-215lbs. all muscle nice flat stomach and nice abs etc. and I have like 0% body fat.

I'd say that I'm very well built and have nice body most people say that I'm totally ripped.

[/ QUOTE ]
Okay..... that's it. I officially loathe you.... and Flychicaga.... freakin' stick men!!!
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Kidding. Sounds like, if you keep up your normal routine from this day forward, you'll have no problems.

Take it from me. I was in your kind of shape (minus the abs - never did get those "ripped" abs) when I was in my early 20's.

But, I took - OH - about a decade off from working out regularly and I'm paying for it.

I'm 6'3" 210 lbs., but I have a slight soft belly that I'm fighting with every day.

I'm back to working out somewhat regularly (run, sit ups, curls, push-ups, 3-4 times a week), but it's going to take some real time and dedication to be "trim" again.

Just don't get lazy and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Best of luck!

R2F
 
Ha R2F! Don't be a hater!
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I guess 5'10" 140 lbs is better than 340 lbs... but still, would be nice to weigh more!
 
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but still, would be nice to weigh more!

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Ooohhhh... be careful what you wish for... you just might get it.
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I used those very words once upon a time.... and you've met me..... you've SEEN what can happen....scary!!!
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[ QUOTE ]
Ha R2F! Don't be a hater!
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I guess 5'10" 140 lbs is better than 340 lbs... but still, would be nice to weigh more!

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It's coming my friend, it's coming!

I went to college at 5'8/140 and now I fill in at the circus when they're out of wooden stumps to hold the tent down in the wind.
 
I've always been skinny, but when I started flying all day and munching on pretzels and snack mix and guzzling cokes from the galley, I actually started gaining weight. To be truthful, I started gaining in initial training when I sat around studying 24/7. It probably didn't help that I hit the big 3-0 in the same timespan.

It helps to work out in the hotel, which easier on a hard line than on reserve because you can get into a routine. It also helps to lay off the junk food. Most restuarants are getting healthier menu items. I drink a lot of water and juices now and limit the number of cokes I drink (which makes them even better for a caffeine induced energy burst at the end of a 13 hour day).

I, along with a lot of other people, also bring lunch instead of eating out. Packing lunch can be somewhat tricky for a 4-day, even with a fridge in the crew room. I keep a spare flight bag in the crew room with microwavables and goodies that don't have to be refrigerated. God bless whoever invented Cup-of-soup and instant grits.
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You can cook those in the coffee pot of your hotel room. When I do eat out, I try to vary from the burgers and fries.
 
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5'10" 140 lbs

[/ QUOTE ] Can I officially hate you now? As a girl it is my job to complain about weight....(ok so i don;t really care but thats not the point) Though you are taller then me and weigh the same...I'll let you have a few pounds if you woudl like
 
LOL Its funny I always see alot of skinny airline pilots and fat pilots. Not alot of inbetween.

Max you will make it if you have the drive. You can get some decent workouts in at the hotel. Granted you are probably like me and do alot of free weight movements, but you can at least get the blood flowing to the muscles. Basically, you can maintain your physique off of workouts like that, but not really make improvements. As you get older you will probably have to up the cardio(depending on how rich your diet is). I have cut carbs for contest dieting before, and I just cant see myself flying on a low carb diet. Without carbs, I get really lethargic, and my thinking isnt as good. Good luck!!!
 
Ok, so you both suck. There is this new thing..its called food. Try eating some
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The last time I went to the doctor he told me I was overweight...I told him his stupid chart was wrong...maybe it was made for you skinny boys
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