General Health/Exercise Topic

[Clear Tranquil]

Rather than preform thread necromancy (and risk the wrath of red letter warnings!~) -

http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php/topic,5347.100.html

(old C25K topic)

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There is also this topic for finding healthy recipes 'n stuff, again thanks to LD =) -

http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php/topic,3424.200.html

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I was wondering how everyone is doing a year or so later on Have there been any major personal trials and/or triumphs? Well done if so!~

Myself well I've been doing a lot of walking recently (since about end of spring/early summerish to now) I'm currently out for a walk four or five times a week (sometimes every day but wow I didn't feel like walking the week after >_>) with each walk generally taking from 45 minutes to 1hr+ (been working on the longer walks recently) I also did a few serious treks/hikes during the better weather earlier this year. I am hoping to do a one and a half hour to two hours hike in the nearby countryside before this year is out too (depends on the snow or not snow I guess)

I've been really enjoying it on the whole. Managed to see some stunning scenery and amazing sights like a 200+ y/o tree too  The scenery was/is well ... autumn. So colourful~

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

I stopped going to the gym last year because work went ballistics come December and then I just got lazy. I -do- intend to go back before the end of this year, though. In spite of not going to the gym anymore, though, I actually lost weight, going from 70 Kg to 65-67 on average. Figure I'd take the opportunity to see if the gym can make some muscular mass stick. I still walk as much as I used to, though.

[Clear Tranquil]

Just back from an hour walk in the country side through some wood/farm land. It was a beautiful winter's afternoon with bright clear blue skies and a strong shining sun. It's getting dark now though. At first the fields were kind of barren and lifeless looking but then later I saw some horses. Yaay. They had their winter coats on. The walk went past the yard where people were preparing a horse to take into a stable. Onwards and there were more horses which were right up at a field gate so I petted them. There was a sign saying "Don't Feed the Horses" though. Not that there was anything to feed them except grass even if I'd wanted to >_>

Yaay. Yeah walking is awesme

About the gym I haven't been back since somebody treated me to a day out at a health club including gym, sauna/steam room and pool but I did enjoy it at the time. It was a reasonably pricey place though.

I haven't been on the Wii Sports/Resort for ages either. Just preferring to get out and about I guess.

Hmmm 70kg-~ Still a bit to go. I am officially 76~kg (12 st 1lb) according to the Nurse from when I was at the health/medical centre (down from 89kg which was the last "official" record but I believe my non official/personal record had it higher for some time after <_< - basically I put more on =/) My height is 5'5 so~

[Lady Door]

Despite starting those two threads, I've made about zero progress. Maybe negative progress?

I blame stress. And also that I'm terrible at committing to things. Notice how I never actually managed the full C25K program, for example...

Anyway. I'm generally pretty focused on being healthy. I log 16-20 miles a week walking the dog, and I now go to two nights of 1.5 hour martial arts classes a week, and I eat pretty healthy on the whole. My Big Issues are still general food anxiety (yay eating disorders!), sugar addiction, and eating out. It's that third one that's really sinking me, because even the "healthy" options tend to provide 2-3x the calories I could be eating if I had the same thing at home.

180 pounds 81 kg HAHA I WIN... oh wait. (I'm 5'7". Medical standards say I should be 57kg - 72 kg with a happy medium of 65 kg. Lowest I've ever been was 65 kg.)

Trying to get down to 57 kg at some point in my life, but right now I'm heading toward 68-72 kg. But honestly, weight aside, my overall goal is just to be healthy. I hate having a desk job because it means I necessarily sit around for 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I really do love to exercise, but spending the time to do it drives me crazy; there's just too much other stuff I want to be doing with my free hours.

Ah, well.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

... okay now I feel -really- guilty about ever thinking I'm fat in the last year.

[Idun]

Mmm, I've lost weight somehow. Honestly - maybe not eating as much since I'm poh? I've done 0 exercise, minus walking everywhere (not briskly). I'm 140lbs now. I'm signing up with another colleague so we can tackle these free (lol student fee) yoga classes next semester. Hmm hmm to this!

[NotMiki]

I've gained something like 10lbs over the past half year.  Not a lot of time, not a lot of exercise (compared to before), lots of stress-related eating, and in the last 2 months, when I've been coming home late most nights, lots of eating out.  I think I'll be able to tutrn it around once the semester's over.

[Clear Tranquil]

Good Luck Jim!  Law is a hungry business!?~

Anyway. I'm generally pretty focused on being healthy. I log 16-20 miles a week walking the dog, and I now go to two nights of 1.5 hour martial arts classes a week, and I eat pretty healthy on the whole.

Well done there That seems like a lot of walking, I'm impressed. Not sure how I'm doing mile wise. I should ask the people I walk with. Having fun with the martial arts? I did Tai Chi for a while earlier this year/end of last year but that kind of trailed off. At the least I should try and incorperate the walking stance/style into my own walking or something >_>

Yaay doggie! How is he doing?~

My Big Issues are still general food anxiety (yay eating disorders!), sugar addiction, and eating out. It's that third one that's really sinking me, because even the "healthy" options tend to provide 2-3x the calories I could be eating if I had the same thing at home.

This sooo much. I've needed to be very, very strict there. Some weeks I just get a sweet tooth though Eating/having lots of fruit to gnaw on seems to help some. Also sweet yoghurt. Eating out wise fortunately? I live two or three small town/villages away in either direction from major big towns and hence from mainstream fast food/etc places like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc so eating there is definitely a rare occurence/treat for me. There also aren't many major restaurants around which probably would be too expensive anyway. The biggest pitfall is the number of takeaway places like chinese, indian, etc which seem to be scattered around just about everywhere~ Currently trying to limit those even more to about twice a month eventually hopefully instead of three to five  depending < the weekendish is usually the kicker. At least I'm not ordering/eating extra stuff anymore >_>

Ok maybe that wasn't quite the biggest pitfall. The other pitfall was fast food of the convenience type (wraps, pies, sandwiches, crisps/chips, shakes, etc) sold at the petrol station/garage right across the street <_< Also more of the same from the bakers, etc. Before I got my laptop I was literally out at the library for the computer nearly every day, there for three hours and then stopping by the garage on the way home for food (or the bakers beforehand for lunch >_>) I was sluggish, lethargic, tired and had no energy for stuff. It's small wonder I ended up with vitamin deficiencies. Bad.

* Clear Tranquil spintackles Snow and Idun (<spintackleglomps!~)

Jim needs to get those khakis back on 

[Lady Door]

... okay now I feel -really- guilty about ever thinking I'm fat in the last year.

That's my job: token fat girl. ... yet another job I want to quit.

Well done there That seems like a lot of walking, I'm impressed. Not sure how I'm doing mile wise. I should ask the people I walk with. Having fun with the martial arts? I did Tai Chi for a while earlier this year/end of last year but that kind of trailed off. At the least I should try and incorperate the walking stance/style into my own walking or something >_>

Yaay doggie! How is he doing?~

Martial arts is great! It's hard, because I've never been pro at being in my own body, but it's excellent exercise mentally and physically. The sensei is constantly teasing me to stop thinking about everything I'm doing and just do it. I can't tell you how hard that is! Plus, I'm way out of shape/fat, so things are harder than they should be. But I love the work out, and I love spending some time just enjoying the things I'm teaching my body to do.

The dog is still one of my major stressors. He is getting better overall. He's a much different dog when we're in the apartment, and even for most of the walk. He still has a really, really big problem with other dogs. We're going to work with an aggression specialist this weekend. It's sort of my last hope that I can do something useful.

This sooo much. I've needed to be very, very strict there. Some weeks I just get a sweet tooth though Eating/having lots of fruit to gnaw on seems to help some. Also sweet yoghurt. Eating out wise fortunately? I live two or three small town/villages away in either direction from major big towns and hence from mainstream fast food/etc places like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc so eating there is definitely a rare occurence/treat for me. There also aren't many major restaurants around which probably would be too expensive anyway. The biggest pitfall is the number of takeaway places like chinese, indian, etc which seem to be scattered around just about everywhere~ Currently trying to limit those even more to about twice a month eventually hopefully instead of three to five  depending < the weekendish is usually the kicker. At least I'm not ordering/eating extra stuff anymore >_>

Ok maybe that wasn't quite the biggest pitfall. The other pitfall was fast food of the convenience type (wraps, pies, sandwiches, crisps/chips, shakes, etc) sold at the petrol station/garage right across the street <_< Also more of the same from the bakers, etc. Before I got my laptop I was literally out at the library for the computer nearly every day, there for three hours and then stopping by the garage on the way home for food (or the bakers beforehand for lunch >_>) I was sluggish, lethargic, tired and had no energy for stuff. It's small wonder I ended up with vitamin deficiencies. Bad.

I live a block away from a really great deli/burger place and a Subway. I am also a 15 minute drive away from everything else I could want: pizza, fast food burgers, Chinese from Chinatown, Panera (my favorite, if expensive, sandwich shop), Starbucks... When I'm at work? I'm a block away from a Subway, Quizno's, Starbucks and four independent cafes. The shopping center that Andrew and I frequent, because it has a Barnes and Noble, has a ridiculous number of cheap-but-excellent places to eat.

I am also extremely lazy, and despite having food in the house I often can't bring myself to bother with cooking. I hate doing the dishes. This is weird, because I do love cooking! It's the time crunch thing again, I think. When I'm cooking, it's hard to be doing anything else.

So basically I need to quit my job and go on food stamps. Then I will have all the time I need AND no money to waste on frivolous purchases. Solution found~

... yeah, no. I just need to stop screwing around so much.

[Shale]

After my attempt at C25K last year crashed and burned, I went with something more traditional - exercise videos - cardio and light weight training - and calorie-control dieting. I'm now down 30 pounds from March, and keeping it off pretty well despite minimal non-work exercise since the move. I've cut bread from my lunch in favor of the 100-calorie sandwich flats, switched to Special K and Total with fruit in them for breakfast, and don't go nuts with dessert and eating out - maybe 2-3 times a week for both combined. I still need to lose about 10 pounds once I can find the time in my routine for exercise again, but it's worked pretty damn well.

[Cotigo]

At around this time last year I got really really sick and couldn't exercise for two weeks.  After that I never got into it again until 4 months later well after any progress I had made had been lost.  I'm just now starting to exercise regularly again, which is kind of unfortunate but hey at least I'm getting back into it. 

[Clear Tranquil]

Yeah. It's like riding a horse. If/everytime you fall off get back on again as soon as possible~

Glad you're doing well with/enjoying the martial arts LD. The sensei sounds like quite a character  It does also seem like a lot of work but as long as you're enjoying it that's the main thing.

I am just so pleased for you that Tally has made the amount of progress he has at last. I think that even as far as he's come is a big deal/great for him. Is it an essential requirement he has to get on with other dogs? =/ It would be a shame for him to have made it w/th handling you/Andy, the house and other people only to be thwarted by this. Hopefully it will work out at least to the extent he doesn't/won't fight with other dogs or something? Don't know if he'll ever be friends with them but not fightning might be good

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Wow! Congratulations Shale!  That is really great. I've been having Special K (fruit 'n nut flavour) for my breakfast this week as well (Special K is actually tasting ok now =))~

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Did the river/bridges/woodland walk again today. Doing this on my own probably wasn't the brightest of ideas but I actually feel safer/more comfortable doing this than in areas with traffic/other people. My deafness means I've been blindsided by/had a few close encounters with traffic even while walking with somebody which is -scary- Walking through/by the trees and standing on the bridges where it's quiet enough to hear the water and just watch it is so peaceful~

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I think only the really big cities over here like Edinburgh and Glasgow have Starbucks so I'm safe there at least. I think. Wat's a Quiznos~

I did end up eating out yesterday while I was out for winter clothes shopping. At a place called Papa Joes which I've never been to before. I had a Cheese and Jalapeno burger with fries, ketchup, coleslaw and salad with a diet cola to drink =) Today looked like -

Small banana
Pear
Bowl of potato and leek soup
Cheese and onion toastie with salad, coleslaw and handful of potato chips
Can of diet Irn Bru
Bowl of Special K Fruit 'n Nut
Six Maltesers
Cup of Coffee (treat!~)

I'm not sure if I managed to hit 1000~ calories today but I'm generally managing to keep it under over 1200 I think.

[Lady Door]

Stress with Tally means whee~. The special session was a learning experience, but it didn't fix anything. More work to come.

--

Going to re-start the grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free thing as soon as the milk and cheese is gone. In the two months since I gave up on it completely and just ate whatever whenever, I gained 5 pounds, acne came back, face is greasy, stomach is constantly upset, hair is flat, skin is dry -- totally nuts.

And I started C25K again. I have a GOAL. My best friend asked me to be the maid of honor in her wedding in April, and she bought the dress I'm going to wear. The dress is a couple sizes smaller than I am now -- it's in the size I wear when I'm -not- fat and lazy -- and so I have 18 weeks to lose the sizes.

Not worried about it. Goal is ambitious, yes, but it's more about it being a kick in the pants to do what I've been trying to do for, like, forever.

So the actual goal is just to finish C25K, and figure out definitively what I can eat that doesn't make me feel like crap.

[Grefter]

Trips to Melbourne for work have been great on most fronts other than this.  Back peddle both times.  Need to get up the willpower to go to strange boxing Gym to get some sessions in to fight it off a bit.

I am surprised at how much I am enjoying actually working out with some frequency.  The Weights and stuff I don't mind doing, but the Boxing sessions pretty much slay me because my cardio is terrible (and it has come a very long way...).  I love them so much.  Boxing is fantastic and I really wish I had known this in my teens.

[stevesmith]

Hi,
Following some healthy tips which should be following during rainy season:

1. Skin become dehydrated during rainy season so to protect it apply moisturize it regularly.
2. Wash all fruits and vegetables.
3. Try to avoid eating raw food in the form of salads.
4. Intake of garlic, pepper, ginger, asafetida, jeera, turmeric and coriander will help to digestion and improve immunity.
5. Avoid wearing clothes like jeans during rainy season as it do not dry immediately.

[Dark Holy Elf]

I am glad you registered an account just to provide us with this essential advice, friend!

[AAA]

Uhhh he's a health expert from RayMeds.com?

Do a little research before sarcastically deriding Dr. Smith here

[Clear Tranquil]

Oooft. Four or five pounds put on over the festive period. I'm never exactly sure of my exact weight because the two scales in the house always tell me different things from each other >_> I won't know for sure again until I have another official weigh in at the medical center I guess. I intend to be back in shape before then though. I also have female things and have been feeling a bit bloated which might account for a pound or two which might be lost once female things are finished <_< I'm just being optimistic there though!

Festive food was good and I enjoyed the holiday/the break from the regime but it'll also be good to get back to eating home prepared/cooked food and fruit again =) Also to get back into walking, which I started this morning by strolling one of my old routes to ease myself back into it. Took it easy, didn't push myself and managed to do the full walk without feeling much strained at the end of it =)

[Lady Door]

Derailed the running thing again.

Focusing on diet first, since it's my worst enemy and I'm all about big wins. <_<

Current diet challenge is grain-free (gluten-free), added sugar-free, legume-free (no soy!), dairy-free. It is a DAMN difficult diet, primarily because it necessitates that I cook nearly every thing I eat myself. That said? I lost 10 pounds in the first week. That is 100% water weight, I am certain, and it's because I'm not eating dairy or grains or sugar. I'm skeptical how much of a negative impact legumes have on me, but I may as well go the whole way, eh?

Still, 10 pounds is nice. <_<

Day 11 today, so 19 more to go before I can move to something more reasonable. Last time I tried this, I made it 14 days before getting overwhelmed. (WHY THE HELL DOES ALL DELI MEAT HAVE SUGAR IN IT? And all bacon? And why is there corn or wheat in everything else? Argh!) This time, I'm doing just fine, though I have skipped breakfast nearly every day because I'm just not hungry in the mornings, and I've skipped a few lunches because I haven't planned ahead. NOT ideal.

I've eaten 2 pounds of almonds since January 2, and about 3 pounds of zucchini. They are my staples. <3 I'm going to cut back on the nuts as soon as I find some other way to make sure I'm eating enough calories like, say, actually cooking enough food to bring for lunch.

[Shale]

Back on morning exercise now, because (a) I noticed my belt getting a little tighter after a couple of months of no exercise other than walking to and from the bus stop (which, in my defense, is better than two miles a day); and (b) because I like having the leeway to eat non-diet food at least once every few days. So I do about 10 minutes of dynamic stretching every morning, followed by a round or two of interval training (30 seconds cardio, 30 seconds weights, repeat 3 times per round). It's not going to make me a bodybuilder anytime soon, but I'm keeping my weight steady and getting the benefits of strength training while not having to walk past the super awesome oatmeal pies they sell at the Amish market, so I call this a win.

[Clear Tranquil]

Been keeping up the walking though not back to doing it as intensely as before the holidays yet. Getting back on track mostly though  Went out a walk this afternoon because it was beautiful outside with a clear blue sky as opposed to the cold/rainy/windy weather here lately so why not?  The walk I took was a bit off road at first, green with a brief section going round a small park/playing field type thing and out into a suburban scheme with the path going over a burn/stream, with water features in stagment pools with water reeds nearby too (brown and shrivelled at this time of year though =() The suburban scheme I found myself in was middle class I think, white washed, fancy cars/gardens, etc. Nice place. I ended up going further/doing more than I thought when setting out since following the road straight through the scheme didn't take me back on onto the main road as soon as I thought it would (there's a side road which comes out right by the supermarket but I must have missed it/wasn't sure which of the detours on the way went there and I didn't want to get lostish so) The upshot was there was an inclined hill for the road at the end so the walk at the end was quite steep so I had to put more effort in there, especially at pace of walking I like to go. Good work out. Got my heart beat/rate and the sweats going~

My mother doesn't like me doing off road walking because I'm classified as a vulnerable adult but ehh my physical health's a lot better and my mental health/depression's a lot better than it used to be too (well ok there are still times when I struggle some times but), my balance/co-ordination's better from all the walking I've done and I always wear my hearing aid while out now so ... and staff/support are not always available to go out walking with me. Last two times I've asked this week they've backed off and my main keyworker is on her days off this week, hopefully she'll be back at the weekend since I'm not visiting home/mum this weekend and I don't want to be stuck in my room over it the whole time ; D I'd like to do one of the more extensive off road/country walks again soon.

[Magic Fanatic]

So.  I finally decided that, after my last trip pants shopping and getting my weight registered at the doctor's office, I'm just too fat.

Solution: get back into DDR.  It's been ages since I've last played this, so I am WAY out of practice, and combined with me being out of shape...  It's a difficult combo to get started in.

Today's day 1 of logging things in Workout mode, and it reports that I burnt 200ish kcals, which it logs as the same as jogging about two and a half miles?  Close enough.  I am thinking about getting a headband to keep the sweat and hair out of my eyes while I'm playing - it's not a big problem when I'm starting up, but down the road...  Yeah.  I'm gonna try to keep that up and see how I do by mid-May.

It feels like a good start.

[NotMiki]

Awesome, best of luck to you!  I lost a good chunk of weight in large part due to playing a ton of DDR, so trust me: it can work.  If you're out of practice or just want to get better, might I suggest DDR Supernova's Stellar Master Mode?  It's set up in a way that demands you get good fundamental skills but is flexible enough that you're not gonna hit too many roadblocks that prevent you from advancing.  I always found it easier to keep going when I had an in-game goal to try and accomplish.

[Veryslightlymad]

I've been hitting the gym three times a week, drinking protein shakes a couple of times a day on my exercise days, and either zero or one time a day on my rest days. It's only been a couple of months, but I've made significant gains on some exercises, and some disappointing gains on others. My goal is to have ripply abs in time to show y'all up at the con. My weight has.... stayed in the 140-145 region. I dunno if I want more or less. Fuck it. I just want strength and definition. I like the general shape of my body.

I've been keeping with it but it's expensive and I dunno how long I can keep it up without a job. And it's frustrating at times, because I want to be strong NOW. Or to have a panty-melting body NOW. I'm just not sure there's anything that I can do to get either. Even though I push myself, I think I'm just, you know, genetically meant to be a smaller, weaker guy.

Ahhhhhhhhhh. The other thing is, this is basically the only thing I do to get out of the house. So it's doubly frustrating because there's no real social side to the activity, but it's also bad because even if there WAS, I'm like, the low man of the place.

In short, I am the avatar of frustration.

[Grefter]

Oh you want to socialize while doing it?  Better start ignoring my advice regarding the showers then.