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[J-cob9000]

I was thinking today how out of shape I am. I could stand to be skinnier. In fact, I am not comfortable with my body at all. I would very much like to be skinnier and more healthy. Sometimes my stomach just feels... nasty.
I've dieted and tried exercising before. I failed. I thought, maybe, just maybe it's because I didn't have anyone who cared or at least acted like they did to cheer me on and tell me not to quit. So I made this thread since people in real life would just forget about it or make fun of me.

This thread isn't just for me. Anyone here who wants to get healthy with me, post along with me. Tell us what you had for lunch, how much exercise you did. We'll all encourage each other and we just might get somewhere.

[Tyler]

This is about 3 weeks early this year. Usually this thread appears in the form of New Years resolutions. I could afford to get into a bit better shape, but that would require giving up my unhealthy lifestyle, and I am not ready to do as such.

[Ladybug]

I like the thread idea! I have often thought about how maybe getting into shape would be easier if I wasn't completely alone in it, so I guess a thread like this could be beneficial. I was in a fairly decent exercise routine for a little while, but exams came and ruined it all for me. But when I get home, we have a stationary bike in the basement that I am planning on utilizing, so I at least don't gain the weight associated with Christmas food. I would benefit greatly in oh so many ways from getting into shape and losing some weight.

[nobo]

I've been thinking bout making this same thread for a while now.

Around mid-april this year I went to the doctor and weighed in 244 lbs, which is the most I've ever weighed. My weight had gone up 85 lbs in the past 5-6 years. After exercising on and off for the past 8 months or so I've managed to get down to 205ish. Now I want to drop the last 15 lbs and then get really toned up, so count me in.

I think every time a forum member hits the gym or works out they should post. If people see others are working out they'll feel inclined to do so as well.

[jhocking]

Were there any sports you did when you were younger? That might help, to do something that you are already used to doing a lot of. Like, I would totally give up after two days if I tried to run for exercise, but it was pretty easy for me to get back into swimming when I decided to start exercising again because I was on the swim team in hs.

Meanwhile, a large part of why I never bothered to exercise before, and why I started exercising again recently, is because before I only thought of it as something people did to lose weight and I have no need to lose weight. However, I've had a number of health issues recently, so when I started thinking of exercise as important to overall well-being I suddenly felt a great need to exercise. I guess what I'm saying is to consider your own motivations, because having the right reason will help you stick with it.

Also, having a gym across the street from me helps a lot, but that probably doesn't help you any now does it.

[tania]

i'm going to get in shape after i finish my finals too. i keep using the excuse that the reason i've gotten squishy is because i've been too busy with school, but really lots of people are able to find a balance and i'm just horrible at scheduling and time management. next january, a new tania.

i gots a lot of stuff to say about exercise but i don't really know how to sort it all out so this will be a relatively disorganized and scattered post. sorry! i hope it is still helpful regardless.

- if you find it hard to keep excercising, i find it really helps to make a schedule for working out and try to build your entire day around that. this way you're less likely to forget about it, as it'll become routine, and it doesn't really feel so much like it's taking up your entire day cos you can see it in comparison with everything else. normally i try to exercise in the morning and it only takes up an hour at the most, then i have the rest of my day ahead of me.

- if you are poor like me, there are a lot of really good ways to exercise that don't involve going to a gym (but still may involve a few initial purchases). normally i run or do aerobics but i also started skipping this summer and it fucking rocks. a good skip rope is only about $10 and it'll last a long time. it's also a really short, really intense workout for when you are under time constraints. i know it feels kind of girly at first, even i felt really ridiculous doing it but once you get it the habit and start thinking of boxers instead of elementary school kids it is just wonderful. running/walking is also good, but i find this is better more as a maintenance thing. i tend to walk everywhere already by default, and then i set aside a certain amount of time every day to work out on top of that.

- if you want to lose weight, it is better to do both cardio and muscle-building exercises. building muscle helps because the more muscle you have, the more efficient your body will be at burning fat and cardio helps cos it burns fat. i was told the best thing you can do is try to find a way to alternate back and forth between the two. for example, lift weights for 5 minutes, then skip for five minutes, then do push-ups for five minutes, then skip for five minutes, and so on. you end up getting the most out of each activity that way.

- set goals for yourself to try to improve every time you exercise but also be very realistic about them or else you will end up seriously hurting yourself, or feeling shitty when you inevitably cannot meet said goals even though you are only human. i went from never running to learning how to run 10km in about two months and ended up fucking up my legs so bad i could not walk for days, and also feeling like a failure even though it was actually remarkable i was able to do this (but also insane and stupid). be nice to your body, if you are in a lot of pain you should listen to it.

- don't exercise before going to bed! if possible try to do it at least 3-4 hours before sleeping. any later than that and your heart rate will be too high for you to get a good night's sleep. also, you lose weight better when you have a good healthy sleep pattern, so it's essentially all a big circle.

- other good reasons to exercise are that it releases hormones that make you happier and less imbalanced/crazy, it helps you sleep better at night, and the sweat clears up your skin (some people say it doesn't, but it definitely works for me).

these are all things very athletic friends have told me that i have found work really well, but if anyone has better advice or thinks anything i've said is horribly inaccurate or unhelpful, please correct me! i don't want to be responsible for injuring anyone.

[Puki]

Uuuh! Like the thread!
I'm 6,6 and have 210 lb (until 8 weeks ago I had ~235 lb) - my recepee (I guess that's the word) (which is working for some time already) -
for loosing weight:
1. If possible, walk to everywhere you go (while being late 15-20 mins, you'll get that power stepping effect - if you walk slow and casually, nothing sweats off)
2. don't trash yourself with food, just eat until you are not hungry anymore (3-5 times a day)
3. if you decide to go jogging - don't run for a whole day, just go for a 30sec sprint(as fast as you can), 30 sec slow run, until you feel exausted
4. do a little research which kinds of food are energy rich, but have low ...uhm... levels of trash? (can't think of the translation, I'll edit this afterwards), and try to replace trash food with it
5. try to minimize sugar rich drinks
6. have something resembeling college obligations hanging over your head

[tania]

the closest thing i can think would be "fiber" and "fat". food that are low in fat and high in fiber are your best bet.

[0bsessions]

Eating until you aren't hungry anymore is actually one of the most terrible ways to fuck up your metabolism. Routine meals at a set time of day every day is much healthier. The human body thrives on routine. Eating whenever you get hungry, sleeping whenever you get tired, shit like that is terrible for you. You need to be in control of your body's internal mechanisms and training yourself when and how much you are going to eat or sleep is much better for you than letting your body dictate it for you.

Also, shit a lot.

[Caleb]

M.U.

...Dude you are way to young to be worried about crap like this.  For all the younger people out there:

-Screw diets and exercise.  Eat healthy and find some sort of sport you find fun.  Don't eat fast food and for God's sakes don't drink soda or energy drinks.  You will be fine.

-If you want to do more develop a routine of situps and pushups that you do everyday no matter what is happening.  I did that when I was swimming and it helped out a lot.


Isn't a thread like this supposed to be started by an 27 year old like me who used to be a collegiate swimmer and now is out of shape?

I have been trying to get in 30 minutes of cardio workout 4 times a week on top of walking to work, swimming occasionally and lifting weights.

I have also discovered the joy of egg whites.  No fat, no carbs and very little sodium.  Egg whites rule.

[Ladybug]

For me, the biggest problems are that healthy food is expensive (but I still try to eat relatively okay) and that I basically suck at anything cardio-related. I'm in an awfully bad shape, and it frustrates me to no end that I can barely run for a couple of minutes without getting too tired. I know that this is something that will improve if I just take things slowly and work at it regularly, but the annoyance and lack of results in the beginning tend to make me give up, which is something I need to change. So I guess my first goals would be to stick with it, and not try to rationalize my dumb behaviour to myself. There is no reason my overall form shouldn't improve if I actually exercise regularly, so why give up too soon when I know that it's just a matter of time?

And if I manage to get into my bunad by May, then that would be awesome.

Also, Jon, I'm guessing he was saying that when you do eat (regularly), you shouldn't stuff yourself until you are absolutely full, but stop when you are no longer hungry/feel satisfied, not that you should just not eat until you are super hungry, and not have any rythm in when you eat at all.

[Puki]

Eating until you aren't hungry anymore is actually one of the most terrible ways to fuck up your metabolism. Routine meals at a set time of day every day is much healthier. The human body thrives on routine. Eating whenever you get hungry, sleeping whenever you get tired, shit like that is terrible for you. You need to be in control of your body's internal mechanisms and training yourself when and how much you are going to eat or sleep is much better for you than letting your body dictate it for you.

Also, shit a lot.

Hm... Could be that I am wrong, but it worked for me so far. But - open to suggestions. For now, I've found that I have boosted my condition (uhm - I think it's not the correct term - endurance? I think that's that), and burned the fat (belly and around ribs).
What to do next?

Also, Jon, I'm guessing he was saying that when you do eat (regularly), you shouldn't stuff yourself until you are absolutely full, but stop when you are no longer hungry/feel satisfied, not that you should just not eat until you are super hungry, and not have any rythm in when you eat at all.

Also, that.
I'm sorry for my poor english, I am trying to improve.

[Caleb]

I basically suck at anything cardio-related. I

I have the same problem.  I hate running and stuff.  I like swimming a lot more.  I was the same way even back in college when I was in insane good shape.

I solved this problem by doing different stuff in shorter periods until my body got used to it.

I would use an elliptical machine for 10 minutes, jog for 10 minutes and the use a stationary bike for ten minutes.  Eventually I got to the point where I could do longer periods of time.

Of course this advice is useless without access to a workout center.

[tania]

the best way i can think of to describe it is with a chart showing blood sugar levels. when you eat massive meals once or twice a day or go long periods without eating or crazy things like that your blood sugar looks like this -



meanwhile if you eat a few meals a day and have small snacks in between, it'll look more like this -



which is where your metabolism ends up functioning best. basically, you want to keep it as close to that stable, middle line as possible, which is done better though frequent, small meals rather than massive ones once in a while.

[Edith]

What to do next?

Flexibility is also very important. Active stretching, such as power yoga, dance, or pilates provides, can really help tone your physique and make you look awesome.

I should get back into dance or yoga, yeah. Damn. After I move, then I'll worry about my body.

[Puki]

Power yoga? Sounds fun!:-)
I'll look it up...

[Gilead]

My friend has started helping me train with weights and core so I can build some muscle, It is really fun and is actually helping keep me from being really restless and bored, plus hopefully by february or so I will start looking like a lean mean sexy machine.

Also I cannot lift my arms above my shoulders today, I would be defenceless against koala attacks.

[Fenriswolf]

Ah, I likes this thread. I went from doing 2-3 hours of intense exercise (kickboxing) 6 days a week, to doing little-to-nothing, a couple of kilometers walking to work, a couple of kilometers to walk the dogs a day.

Now, 3 years later I've started kickboxing again, twice a week, which is fucking hard but feels amazing, and am currently trying to fit in yoga and swimming. Can I say I highly recommend Astanga Yoga for anyone like me who fucking hates stretching and is inflexible? It's very dynamic and strength-based but makes an incredible difference to your flexibility remarkable quickly. None of this sitting-in-one-shitty-pose-for-20-minutes crap.

But I have real problems with diet. I want to be healthier, have more energy, and if I want to fight again I need to lose at least 20 kg/44lbs. (I'm 85kg/187lbs, last fought at 67kg/148lbs, ideally should try and get down to something like 62kg/137lbs but that would be like 12% bodyfat ). What makes it harder is I'm having real trouble with depression at the moment, I feel I should try medication but am a bit scared of it, and self-medicate with caffeine and alcohol. This, along with my difficulty concentrating on anything for an extended period makes it really hard to try and eat decent food that will actually make me feel less like shit.

So anyone who feels like making some sort of half-arsed diary of their progress on here, that'd be pretty sweet.

P.S. FYI I'm not looking for sympathy, just explaining where I'm coming from.

[J-cob9000]

M.U.

...Dude you are way to young to be worried about crap like this.  For all the younger people out there:

I don't think there's an age limit for worrying about your health. Clearly, I have made some bad decisions regarding my health. I don't exercise enough and I eat junk food. Not a lot, but enough to be unhealthy. I'm not.. fat. I'm just chubby and out of shape. I'm 6'2-3" and 180 pounds. None of that is muscle. I would like to be somewhere around 155-160. First of all, I'm going to get to 175.
I know it's funny for a 14 year old to be worry about his weight, but I figure that even if it's not a problem now, it could become one if I don't do something about it.

[Darkbluerabbit]

On running, I know loads of people who say "I am going to start running" and then try to just go run a mile or three.  This is not a good idea, and it's probably why a lot of people think that they hate running and give up quickly.  If you stick with it, it can be even worse.  Running if you are not used to it is bad news, because even if you are in decent shape and have good cardiovascular fitness, you can easily wreck your joints or sustain myriad other injuries.

Most trainers recommend that people start with a run/walk program.  Hal Higdon has one that is very relaxed, and is designed so that you advance safely at your own pace.  One from Runner's World has a set plan, for those who want a more guidance.  The idea with these is that you start out mostly walking for thirty minutes, and gradually run a little more each time until you are running for a full half hour.  Then you can start going longer and faster, but again, slowly.  


EDIT:  There is no problem with wanting to be healthier at a young age.  Learning decent eating habits when you are younger is a good thing.  It's the thirteen year old girls on Yahoo! Answers with their "How cn i loose 20 lb by nxt week?  i h8 evrything about my body n i want 2 have no fat except for b00bs!  I m 100 lbs im such a cow!" posts that worry me.

[Fenriswolf]

Seriously? I feel a bit dumb asking that... but when I was fighting last I was pretty damn fit but I've never really been a distance runner and I was pushed into running for an hour, with stairs at the end. I subsequently decided running was the devil and my trainer was a cunt because my ankles are now incredibly weak and achy and because they don't seem to do their job any more my knees have started aching regularly... and I'm 23.

Now I do walk on hills a fair amount but I pretty much went from just sprint-style training to having to jog for 5 miles over hills (I know it's not that far but it is for me!) and it really stuffed my joints.

[ruyi]

the closest thing i can think would be "fiber" and "fat". food that are low in fat and high in fiber are your best bet.

I think fat is good for you, actually? Fat is satisfying, like fiber. Also you don't really get fat from eating fat. Rather it is refined carbs that fuck up your blood sugar level to make you hungrier and more likely to store fat.

Still, the best thing is to think of your diet in terms of whole foods rather than nutrients, macro or otherwise.

[mishy]

i like this thread. i need someone to cheer me on, too.
i acknowledge my utter laziness. in fact, i think i'll walk home today. at least part-way. (it's about 40 min of flat road, about 3 km. that's canadian for less-than-half-a-mile.) it's easy.
i never liked running. it always feels like my ankles or knees are just going to crumble and fall apart. (damn the flat foot gene.)
i need to move more, just move. i play a lot of world of warcraft and i work in IT. this = sedentary lifestyle. i also have habits that make me want to eat food when i'm not hungry. i plan on watching my intake of food. observing it is the first step, altering/controlling the intake is the next step.

the simplest, easiest thing to do for people like me is to eat slower and stop eating when you're full (or, as many diets suggest, when you feel satisfied but before you are "full".) it is true that it takes time for your stomach to say "ok that's enough", about 20 minutes, so if you inhale your food you've eaten much more than you need to by the time you feel full. (i got this from my psych classes in university, not some interweb diet thing.)

if i don't leave now, i won't be walking. good luck to everyone! post again soon.
(sorry if someone else said the same things.)

[Peet]

Could I just posit the notion that the frequency of meals doesn't make a great deal of difference to a) blood sugar and b) your metabolism (putting aside the massive vaguaries of that term). I support this idea with two lines of argument.

Firstly, tania, i believe your graphs are only partly right. Obviously your blood sugar spikes after a meal but i don't think it ever really falls below the required concentration, unless you're in a starvation state. The whole point of the insulin/glucagon system is to store glucose when it's in excess and release it slowly so that you've got enough to fuel your body at all times. It's a groovy system that works pretty well.

Secondly, most of the tissues of the body don't use glucose as a primary energy source. Only the brain and the red blood cells use it exclusively. Your other tissues (particularly the muscles, given that we're talking about exercise) will use it initially for short periods of stress because it's more rapidly broken down than fats, but in the longer term - say a period of exercise more than a couple of minutes - you start to use fat anyway. Fat metabolism is way complicated but in brief it can't be done by a cell in the same manner as glucose. It has to come from fatty acid stores, not just from free fat floating around in the blood as would happen after a meal, and so the use of fat as an energy source is less effected by frequency of meals than glucose.

On an unrelated note i think the key to exercising is to do something that you actually enjoy. If you like running then that's pretty great for you but a lot of people don't. I keep pretty trim by fencing three times a week because I look forward to doing it and it's great fun as well as being exercise.

[ViolentDove]

^

What Peet said. I enjoy the exercise I do because it's either casual football (soccer) games in the park, or riding my bike, both of which I genuinely enjoy. Also the latter activity is my main form of transport around the city, which helps.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

sorry, if this has already been mentioned, but i didn't see it and it needs to be said.


after you work out, drink chocolate milk! unless you are lactose intolerant or something (obviously).

there were several studies done recently that showed chocolate milk to be the best thing for muscle recovery after a work out. better than water, sports drinks, and whatever else people might be trying to sell you.

plus it's delicious.

[Fenriswolf]

Chocolate milk is good for recovery why? Not disagreeing, just would like some clarification.

OK I think it's pretty generally accepted that eating every 2 hours is the way to go (ideally of course, it's not the only way). Obviously just because it's generally accepted doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be right but I'm pretty confident it is. Apparently:

So then are frequent meals important?

The answer to this is a big YES. But it requires a bit of extra effort on your part. Research has shown that people who eat five to six meals per day are able to lose more fat and stay leaner than those people who only consume three meals a day.

The absence of food causes the stomach to secrete a hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin is referred to as the “hunger hormone”. It exerts its effects by slowing down fat utilization and increasing appetite. Without consistent food consumption, ghrelin levels remain elevated for extended periods of time, increasing the urge to eat. Frequent meals counteract these negative effects Blood sugar is better regulated and because there is an almost constant flow of food into the stomach the hunger-inducing effects of ghrelin are suppressed, reducing the urge to binge-out

and

When we eat small frequent meals, we derive the following benefits:

* Increased metabolism.
* Increased energy level via regulated blood sugar and insulin levels.
* Because we're not hungry when we eat frequently throughout the day, we have increased ability to avoid binge eating.

Let's look a bit more closely at the "increased metabolism" effect of frequent meals.

When we eat, we experience "diet-induced thermogenesis", or "DIT".  Thermogenesis is the process by which our bodies produce heat.  The energy required to produce this heat comes from the food we eat.

DIT comes from two components.  One is the energy our bodies require to digest the food we consume.  This component is called "obligatory thermogenesis".  The second component of DIT -- called "facultative thermogenesis -- is due to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the stimulating effect it has on the body's metabolic rate.

The magnitude of thermogenesis is generally between 10 and 30% of the calories we eat, depending on the amount and type of food we eat.  Protein, carbohydrates, and fat each have different thermic effects.  That of protein is the highest.  For example, about 25% of the calories in a skinned chicken breast would be consumed in the resulting thermic effect.

And agree 110% re: finding exercise you like. I strongly believe everyone enjoys something, but have this image in their head that exercise = weights/running for miles/something else they can't stand.

[jmrz]

There is a lot of good points mentioned in this thread.

Lately, I've been rather sick, and it is pretty much been figured out that I am intolerant to some types of foods, but we are yet to figure out exactly what those foods are. So, to help the dietitian figure this out, I have to keep a food diary. I have to write down everything I eat, for every meal and every snack and anything I drink (that isn't water) throughout the day and write down how I felt that day in regards to being sick and stuff.

What I have noticed by doing this is it makes me want to eat healthier. Because oh god I just ate an entire packet of tim tams and I must look like a huge fatty if I write that down and OMG. It doesn't mean you should starve yourself, but I've found it's encouraged me to reach for an afternoon snack of fruit rather than stuffing my face with chips or cookies.

Perhaps if you guys have troubles with making yourself eat healthy, maybe writing it all down will help? Looking back on two weeks worth of things I have eaten and realised I had KFC and junk food more often then I should was a bit of a wake up call

[Ladybug]

Yeah, the food diary thing can be a brilliant tool. I've been doing it (trying to, at least, so nearly every day and nearly everything, but not quite) for a few months now, and it sort of works, when I put my mind to it. I use MacJournal for keeping a sort of diary (which means I only see titles of older entries, and not the food diary content), but I've been thinking of actually just using an Excel spreadsheet or something, so that I couldn't "hide" previous days so easily, but even just writing everything down sort of brings perspective and makes me want to eat healthier, even if I am the only one who will potentially read it.

[tania]

admittedly i don't know too much about the blood sugar thing aside from those mental images i was given, so thank you peet for clearing it up. mostly it is meant to be an illustration of why eating one massive meal a day or going really long periods of time without food is not very likely to help most people lose weight. if you go long enough, it actually makes your body think it is starving and the next meal you eat gets stored in a much higher proportion as fat instead of being used as energy like it normally would.

i also realized the fat/fiber thing i posted was overly generalizing and incorrect too. you are right, ruyi, fat is important. what i meant, i now realize, is that it's the proportion of fat/fiber that is important, not just eating one and eliminating the other. basically it's good to keep an eye on the amount of fiber in what you eat and make sure you get a good amount of it every day. this doesn't necessarily have to be all bran cereal, vegetables are pretty good.

[Fenriswolf]

Lately, I've been rather sick, and it is pretty much been figured out that I am intolerant to some types of foods, but we are yet to figure out exactly what those foods are. So, to help the dietitian figure this out, I have to keep a food diary. I have to write down everything I eat, for every meal and every snack and anything I drink (that isn't water) throughout the day and write down how I felt that day in regards to being sick and stuff.

They really can't test that shit can they? *sigh* I'm definitely lactose intolerant, possibly wheat intolerant and possibly allergic to sugar. I just want a test damn it! So are you going to be doing the elimination thing? God I need to get off my lazy arse wrt the diet thing.

[ViolentDove]

Dancing for five hours straight is also great exercise. People should go clubbing more.

[Edith]

Um, yeah, they can test for food allergies. They can't really cure them, but they can figure out what you're allergic to.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

Chocolate milk is good for recovery why?

i don't know the details, i'm not a scientist. but apparently it contains all kinds of great nutrients and stuff that help your muscles repair themselves much quicker, which reduces soreness/pain after working out and could, conceivably, make it easier to build muscle i guess.

[Fenriswolf]

Ah, but Google is your friend (more social to ask the person who mentioned it though): "To summarize, “adding protein and antioxidants to a carbohydrate beverage could help to decrease muscle soreness which also could help with recovery.”"

Pretty cool, but even if I wasn't lactose intolerant the idea of something sweet and creamy after training makes me feel unwell.

[Spluff]

I am very fit, I work out every day, I am 5'10, 160 lb with 8% bodyfat. I think fitness is an admirable goal and that there is never too early an age to start pursuing it.

If there is one thing you need to do when you start a new excercise program, it is to work your way in. If you go straight in to a high intensity workout without any prior muscle conditioning, you will be seriously sore the next few days, and unless you are incredibly motivated, your new fitness goals will probably stop right there. DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) can be a seriously painful thing, and you will probably experience it no matter how soft you start, but if you go all in, there is a good chance you will not be able to even straighten your limbs for a week - I've seen it many times before.

Second, if you make it through those first few workouts, but find yourself struggling during your excercise - don't worry. At the early stages of excercise, a lot of your problems will be neuromuscular - your body will need to 'learn' how to do the exercise, and after a week or so, and it has learned, you will find that exercising is a lot easier, and you may even start enjoying it (endorphins people!).

Also, on the food/drink after excercise issue, it is a myth that eating or drinking a certain substance after excercise will decrease soreness. A high protein / carbohydrate substance will give your body the necessary nutrients it needs to build muscle, but it will have no noticeable effect on soreness. For every study you find saying "xxxx will decrease DOMS symptoms", there are 2 saying that it won't. The only real cure to soreness after excercise is for your body to become more conditioned, which means more excercise. After your body gets used to your routine, soreness will be minimal - it will show up for a little while again you change routines, but this is a good thing. It means that your body is constantly being shocked into developing muscle / burning fat.

[tania]

doing something you love while working out is maybe the most important thing. i know this sounds really self-explanatory, but it is so easy when you make it a really routine thing and start setting goals for yourself to get into a mindset where all you do is push yourself harder and harder, until eventually you are working out not because you love it but because it's the only way to not feel like a fat failure and completely hate yourself. the irony is that this often happens to the people who are incredibly healthy and really not fat at all, but it's just a mental perfectionist thing.

so be nice to yourself! you are only human! and if you can't really run that far or work out for that long without getting tired it is okay because you are still exercising and trying and that is the best and most important thing.

[jmrz]

Lately, I've been rather sick, and it is pretty much been figured out that I am intolerant to some types of foods, but we are yet to figure out exactly what those foods are. So, to help the dietitian figure this out, I have to keep a food diary. I have to write down everything I eat, for every meal and every snack and anything I drink (that isn't water) throughout the day and write down how I felt that day in regards to being sick and stuff.

They really can't test that shit can they? *sigh* I'm definitely lactose intolerant, possibly wheat intolerant and possibly allergic to sugar. I just want a test damn it! So are you going to be doing the elimination thing? God I need to get off my lazy arse wrt the diet thing.

YES! They can! This is the process I went through:
1. Went to my normal GP, explained all my symptoms and she sent me for blood tests.
2. Blood tests came back, noted I had problems with my B12 and Iron (which was causing other problems, so we fixed these).
3. Sent me to an immunologist who asked a bunch of questions about the type of reactions I've been having and how I feel and blah blah blah and then his assistant did a test to see what I reacted to. She tested for dust and animal hair and all sorts of things. She put little drops of liquid on my arm and then poked me with a little thinger and I had to wait to see what reacted and what didn't. Nothing reacted, which meant I wasn't allergic to anything so the next step is the diagnostic dietitian.
4. This is where the food diary comes in. As far as I am aware what she will do is look at this and then adjust my diet and see what happens. Apparently there are special tablets you get made up now so that you don't have to gorge on one type of food like you used to. According to my immunologist, due to the work that this lady does with her patients, she has gotten people to the point where they can eat normally and where their tolerance increases. I get to see her on the 16th of this month.

Basically, I suggest - go to your GP first and explain all your symptoms. Start keeping a food diary and make note of what you eat. This will help if you get sent to a specialist.

[Eris]

I have trouble with exercise because a) I am really lazy, b) My back makes me overly cautious about higher-impact exercise, and c) I get nervous when I drop under 50kg (my weight now), a result of me being very underweight and being too skinny to look at myself in the mirror.

I used to go to Curves with my mother for the sole reason of getting fitter. Both mum and I figured it would be less of a thing if we went together (gyms scare me because everyone is so into it, and I feel a bit silly), so we were moral support for each other. If I could afford it I would probably go back by myself, because I toned up nicely and it wasn't a chore after a while, because of the short time I would be there. My problem at the moment is that I want to tone up my stomach, but can't do sit-ups or crunches because of my back, and haven't really worked out a suitable replacement. Reading this thread has reminded me how much I liked skipping when I did taekwondo, so I think I will go buy one today. Thanks, healthy thread!

[nobo]

Went to the gym for the first time in almost a month. Had a rather shitty workout where everything hurt and I couldn't put up much weight.

Its good to be back.

[Fenriswolf]

Do you see anyone about your back Eris? I have a pretty shit back but I found a combination of going to a chiropractor and being very active really helped. I'm currently going to a masseuse once a month and while I don't think it does a huge amount alone is certainly helps with stress levels and going fairly regularly definitely has some impact on the pain (I get constant low-level pain).

[jhocking]

possibly allergic to sugar

this is horrible to contemplate

re what I eat after working out: I've gotten in the habit of eating a tin of vienna sausages after I get home from swimming. I started doing this figuring I need protein, and a tin of vienna sausages is a pretty convenient package of protein. Is this weird?

[Spluff]

My problem at the moment is that I want to tone up my stomach, but can't do sit-ups or crunches because of my back, and haven't really worked out a suitable replacement. Reading this thread has reminded me how much I liked skipping when I did taekwondo, so I think I will go buy one today. Thanks, healthy thread!

Pretty much any cardio will 'tone' up your stomach. Doing sit ups/crunches to tone up your stomach are not necessary, as you cannot spot reduce fat (ie. doing sit ups will not make you loser stomach fat), and tone is just muscle combined with low fat. You will almost certainly already have muscle, and if you don't, most cardio will require you to use you core muscles to keep your posture and will therefore build enough muscle to look good whilst reducing any fat you have across your stomach.

[Fenriswolf]

this is horrible to contemplate

It's particularly horrible to contemplate because it basically means ideally I should be eating only whole foods. No wheat. No lactose. No sugar. Veges, rice, meat. That's my life should I choose to try and be genuinely healthy. *fear*

[Eris]

Fenris, the problem with my back is that most of it is fused, so I can't bend it where I would need to in order to do crunches. When I need to bend over I used my lower back, hips and legs, rather than bending most of my back like most people. I only have a few vertebrae at the top and bottom that are unfused, so I don't want to screw them up. It is also a very easy excuse to not do anything, though.

Spluff, that is why I figured skipping would be a good thing to do that doesn't mean I have to go anywhere other than the backyard. The main problem I have with this stuff is that I generally can't be bothered going out and doing exercise; if it's jsut at home then I will probably do it, because no one is looking at me and straight after I have done it I can flop onto the couch.

[Fenriswolf]

Most of it is fused?  That suuuuucks.

If you're into skipping though you could buy a thai rope, dunno if you've ever used one but they're heavy so a bit more of a work out.

[Eris]

yeah, I have scoliosis, and two big curves means lots to be fixed so I have three vertebrae at the bottom and four at the top that are still able to move. Lots of metal in my back now, though!

I wish I was at home, because I could get Mum to get me a skipping rope from school. Those ropes are awesome, just right to whip your legs something shocking if you're skipping fast enough. Maybe I could ask her to get me one for christmas....

[Fenriswolf]

Oh my, how old are you?? Yay skipping ropes for xmas, I reckon you can swing it. 

[Scandanavian War Machine]

i guess i have a little more to offer this thread than i thought, considering i pretty much grew up in a gymnastics center and could do most kinds of flips before i could spell so...

one of the most surprisingly effective workouts for me was simply finding something really squishy that wasn't bouncy and just jumping up and down on it for a while. your legs will be so unbelievably sore, you won't even know what to do with yourself. take it easy at first though because that wore me out and i have very very strong legs.

i'm trying to think of something a "normal" person could use for this purpose and i'm having a hard time. i always just used the big "whale" mats in the gym that we use for landing on (they are about three feet thick and about as wide/long as a small sedan). maybe a couch or bed that doesn't have springs? i dunno, use your imagination.


also, i don't recommend lifting weights (much) because that builds big muscles but it's more important to have the right sized muscles for your body, so lifting your own body weight is more important IMO. do chinups, situps, jumping jacks, jump in place, handstands, handstand walking (if you can balance)....that sort of thing. variety is important if you don't to become unbalanced and really fuck up something up.


and for godssake stretch!!!! Both before and after a work out.

[Fenriswolf]

YES! They can! This is the process I went through:
1. Went to my normal GP, explained all my symptoms and she sent me for blood tests.
2. Blood tests came back, noted I had problems with my B12 and Iron (which was causing other problems, so we fixed these).
3. Sent me to an immunologist who asked a bunch of questions about the type of reactions I've been having and how I feel and blah blah blah and then his assistant did a test to see what I reacted to. She tested for dust and animal hair and all sorts of things. She put little drops of liquid on my arm and then poked me with a little thinger and I had to wait to see what reacted and what didn't. Nothing reacted, which meant I wasn't allergic to anything so the next step is the diagnostic dietitian.
4. This is where the food diary comes in. As far as I am aware what she will do is look at this and then adjust my diet and see what happens. Apparently there are special tablets you get made up now so that you don't have to gorge on one type of food like you used to. According to my immunologist, due to the work that this lady does with her patients, she has gotten people to the point where they can eat normally and where their tolerance increases. I get to see her on the 16th of this month.

Basically, I suggest - go to your GP first and explain all your symptoms. Start keeping a food diary and make note of what you eat. This will help if you get sent to a specialist.

Oo, I missed this somehow. I'm slightly excited now... now I know you can do the inject-under-the-skin thing for allergies, but what about intolerance? I guess I should suck it up and go to the doctor. Bah.