I'd say time if more valuable than both. I'd take 10 extra pounds around my gut and 10 in my pack for an extra day in the field away from work. Can't kill critters from work or the gym.
Exactly.
Well, it's fine to disagree, that's what discussions like this are all about. Just realize that: 1) my opinion above is an expression of a concept that can't really be proven or disproven with a financial argument, and 2) your financial argument is seriously flawed.
Your basic assumption is that spending a certain amount of money at the gym equates to losing a certain amount of weight. I don't believe that's true; as a matter of fact, I know it's not. In my case, when we moved here 14 years ago my wife signed us up at the local gym for a family membership for the five of us. In financial terms those costs have been fixed costs for the past 14 years and we'd have incurred those costs if I'd never gone to the gym or if I'd been hit by a bus and killed because she would have maintained the membership for herself and our three sons regardless. For the purposes of a financial analysis, those costs are fixed, not variable, and they are taken out of the equation so to speak.
As it happened, I did go to the gym regularly. For 14 years I had a pretty good regimen but maintained the same weight (208-210) because I wasn't motivated to change it. Last summer, I got the motivation to drop some weight, so I shed 15 lbs. and I've kept it off. My weight loss had nothing to do with what I was spending or not spending for a gym membership because most of it was due to changes in diet. So for the purposes of a financial analysis, I lost 15 lbs. with no addition or subtraction of cost.
Here's another example. Last night I visited with a couple I've known for years, they're in their early 40's. They've always been active and athletic, but recently his job has required that he travel worldwide pretty much constantly. He put on some pounds, and I know it was bothering him. In the last six months, he lost 30 lbs. without setting foot in the gym. They both lost weight by running intervals on the roads in their neighborhood, and changing their diet. Proving that in their case at least, weight loss was 100% independent of spending money on a gym membership.
So, I would say weight loss on your body has much more to do with personal motivation and habits than what you spend on a gym membership.
To reinforce that, I was at the gym yesterday. I see the same guys in there all the time, and there are a few that need to lose 30-40 lbs. but don't--they've looked the same since I started there. They pay their dues every month, but as far as weight loss, they get zero benefit. Because they're not motivated to lose wieght.
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