Fitness/Self Care Check In

Walked for an hour today Missed walk yesterday.
Goal is still for a swim by end of the month.
Happy Christmas to all.

First day of NOT working out when I usually would, due to the "injury". I think things are a little better, but not a great deal. See how it goes in a few days. At least it's Xmas, so I can just see it as an excuse to take a freakin break for once.

The Holiday Inn I'm staying at has a "fitness center" ... really just a single Bowflex type thingy with one weight stack ... but it works !!!

Really good isolation with that machine ! Worked the s*** out of my lats and pecs.

i admit i've not done anything good for me lately.

just not had the mental energy

Good job! Hearing about how you made an effort to keep up your exercise makes it easier for me to not just give up for a while. I was tempted to use my mixed up schedule as an excuse to not exercise.

Thanks ! Swimming is awesome

Did full yoga programme yesterday. Was only going to do short session, but got into it and did the full workout. Starting is the most difficult thing. But, having said that, if it's really not working, it's best to give up and leave it for a day.

Also, for mental overload, just spend 20 minutes in Child Pose, letting your mind drift. You can get into a 'lucid dreaming' state from which you emerge feeling clear and re-enegised.

That is so intriguing. Thanks for sharing !

What a good thread! I need to lose weight and work out. I am not sure where to start I know I started going back to the doctor the assistant told me to start walking and get some vitamin D. I do have time in the mornings at the moment and I get shortness of breath so easily aching pains. I want to start a raw foods/organic lifestyle but can't do that because it is too costly and I work part time not enough money in my check to do that. I wanted to sign up for gym at the college I work at, again, being a part timer I don't get a tuition waiver as I have to pay the full amount which is too much!

I did lose some weight and I want to get down to a nice size I hate my body always did for a long time. My problem is the food in the house is a very poor choice and I don't pay for any of it, again, my check barely covers my gas and phone bill. I was getting food stamps and never got it this time because the amount is $16 a month the state keeps cutting it down!

I'll finish this tomorrow, anyone has any ideas?

Hey ladytiger, I can definitely help you with this. I'm a fitness addict and an aspiring fitness trainer (studying to become one), and I know quite a bit about nutrition, so I would love to help you come up with a weight loss plan.

Some tips for now:
- Even if the food you get is not the most healthful, still try to break it down into smaller portions and try to eat a small meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours. This way, your body gets a consistent supply of energy, and you don't store much as fat. Most of the fat we store is the result of eating big meals while we're not very active, so the body doesn't need all that energy ... it just gets stored on our seat cushions. Fruit, if you can obtain it, is great for snacking between bigger meals. Don't eat big meals at night or other times when you are not very physically active.
- If you can't afford a gym membership, no problem. Walk, jog, run ! Walking at a slow pace will not help much with weight loss ... you will have to do a lot of slow walking to burn the same amount of fat as a shorter but more intense bout of jogging/running. The key is to get your heart rate up ... that will increase your body's need for energy, and hence the need to burn fat. So, any aerobic exercise is great for this ... jogging/running, biking, swimming.

The overall goal is to increase your metabolism ... eating often and exercising often are the best ways to do that. Increased metabolism = more fat burn.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

But if you're very physically challenged short even slow walks can help right? I can't walk very fast through my apartment but I do feel it in my legs when I do.

Hey Angelique ! Yes, if you're challenged, short and slow walks can definitely help. It's definitely better than doing nothing at all. You might just have to walk a lot (at least an hour a day) to notice significant weight loss ... again, that also depends on your food intake, etc, so ...

Some trivia: To lose 1 lb of weight a week, you need a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day (you eat 500 calories less than you expend, per day). This is because 1 lb = roughly 3,500 calories = 7 * 500.

Thanks. That's not hopeful.

One idea for you: How about a stationary bike or just pedals ? Are you able to pedal with your feet ? Even if not, you can get pedals that can be cranked with your arms, so you can get a workout in, that way.

Here's an example of a hand pedal exerciser. You can adjust the resistance on it to set difficulty level.

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-...edal+exerciser

Thank you, that's actually a great idea for when I get my place cleared out.

Hmm, a snack which could be what? I used to eat bars, well, I was eating them and now sick of them because I've been eating them so much. Fruit you said? I have seldomly eaten them as a snack the problem is I am fine if I have some chocolate cookies lol bad habit! I love fruit just don't make it a habit I would buy them, eat them a bit, and forget about them in the fridge then they rot. I'd go crazy if I didn't have a cookie, cake, ice cream, etc within me. I went for a while without eating those and was pacing so bad.

The problem I have too much sugar in my body (actually blood sugar is fine had it tested recently). I am always snacking on candy, cookies, etc just love my sweets! I grew up eating very poorly and today had pasta with breadsticks didn't go burn off the carbs. I am looking at detoxing as a way to cleanse my body and start over from scratch.

I had this doctor long ago who told me I was "Severely overweight" because I told him how running hurts my body physically because of my asthma. If you see me run, everybody can out run me and within 5 minutes my legs/shins are already hurting then I need to sit down for a good while. One time boyfriend and I were catching the bus long ago, he was 20 feet ahead and I was still trying to catch up which was embarrassing but finally caught up and got on the bus. I was so out of breath it wasn't funny plus it's my asthma that does me in. I just don't like running in front of people since it's embarrassing. He told me to do jogging then build myself up to running do it in baby steps. Growing up, I wasn't physically active because I was told as an asthmatic to "never do any kind of running as it is bad for asthmatics." I love aerobics just makes me tired, I am almost 30!

I was eating salads for a while then haven't done it lately. I didn't grow up eating veggies so the bitter/bland taste is still new to me and would rather eat a cookie lol - yea I know sounds bad. It's like I have to pull the air from my stomach just to breathe and get a good breath of air.

When I leave work at 9p and come home, I eat dinner between 930-1030p ish because I use the oven and don't like to eat that late. I was coming home eating a pbj sammy every night because it is quick and easy. I don't own a microwave find it disgusting but am looking at ways to start making small meals ahead of time and really don't get a lunch break at work unless I work 7-8 hrs that would be during the day to take a lunch break. Sometimes, when I come home I don't even want to eat dinner. I know healthy nuts and dried fruit are good. Eating nuts makes me feel sick to my stomach I didn't eat those at all growing up just don't like the taste of the actual peanut I can eat it roasted that's it. I have eaten raw pine nuts which are good but threw up think because I ate too much. I guess you don't snack on nuts all the time...

So yea, just brainstorming my options and seeing how I can start this even if it is baby steps....

Well, I plugged in our old treadmill and went for a microwalk. Only 5 minutes. Tomorrow I'll do 6 minutes. I know, I know, but I've been having really good luck by concentrating on creating habits that I can keep up no matter what. Eventually I hope to get to 20 minutes and then I'lll just try that for a few months. (I get really bored on the treadmill, but it's great when it's dark and cold.)

My husband has been really good about going outside a lot and I try to join him when ever he walks the dogs. For self care, I'm going to turn off this darn lap top before 3:00 am. Goodnight.

I couldn't even do a minute on a treadmill with incline. I just do my tiny mini walks in my apartment, trying to build up my laps. I got up to sometimes I can do 4 laps before I have to sit down. It's less than 5 minutes I think but I'm really not sure. Maybe it is 5 or even more minutes. Ill have to time it.

I went riding today. It is good exercise. It helps with balance; makes me aware of safety; helps with my posture. And it also helps with my mood. I wish I could afford to ride more often. I love the horses.

You could continue eating the same sweet foods (cookies, candy, etc), but just eat them in smaller amounts and at regular intervals (e.g. 9 am, noon, 3 pm, 7 pm) ?

So, if you like PBJ sandwiches, could you just cut em in half and break them up into 2 portions ? Or just make half a sandwich ?

Yeah, nuts are meant to be eaten in 1 oz portions at a time, because they are high in fat (mostly good fats).

Even with the same foods, it's possible to introduce changes in your diet.

Haven't been on in a few days due to holidays and stuff but its good to see people are continuing to check in.

One of the things I got for Christmas is a candle wax melter, with some lavender scented wax and coconut. They are both very nice scents and I find them relaxing. I have also been drinking a lot of Chamomile tea.

Sometime during the week I'm going to start a food and exercise journal, I think that would be very helpful for me to keep me on track

Had the flu over the weekend which knocked me sideways. Should have tried to do some yoga but just wanted to stay in bed. Did some meditation and breathing exercises which sorted me out a bit, but back to form today, so will do a session. Not going to do a physical workout though. Too fragile for that. No point in rushing things and leaving yourself run down. Counterproductive.

I climbed my river trail again. I went up and down the hill twice (four trips). After that I was bored so I stopped.

I did a few minutes on a work out tape last night. I joinged the "daily challenge" site that docjohn talked about. Today's challenge is to walk around a perimeter. I kidded my son, that I could walk around the car. I'll walk around the house though to get the challenge done. Anybody want to join? or want more info?

Or you could get bigger and bigger cars, then vans, busses! But seriously, keep up the good work. Getting a routine established is the essential first step. Then just keep at it and expand it to suit yourself. It worked for me.

Good yoga session for myself yesterday, but I'm not going to risk anything strenuous yet. Perhaps some step aerobics this pm or a gentle bike ride. Still a bit fragile to be pushing it.