Fitness/Self Care Check In

My pleasure! I do a lot of research and have gathered a lot of knowledge over the years, so I know some stuff, yeah. Unfortunately, since I'm no professional, I can never be 100% sure that it's 100% bang-on, but a lot of the stuff I do know comes from trainers, athletes, body-builders, etc. (YouTube, articles, forums, my step-mother, and for what little it's worth: my own experience )

I'm just annoyed that I didn't do things properly years ago, ... I could be huge by now, but I can say right now that I made a few vital mistakes:

I didn't eat enough. I ate hardly anything. I most definitely lacked protein for muscle gains.

I didn't push through into higher weights enough. I often "got comfortable" with weights, which is bad for gains. The idea is if you can do a lil over about 10 reps, then move on to a higher weight! I didn't take this on board and I regret it. Sure, I grew, but not half as much as I should've, and I was at it for years, too. ¬_¬ I really need to order a 20KG dumbbell, as I'm ready to move up for a couple of exercises. (for working my lats and back oh and probably traps)

I did my yoga stretching right before going to bed (and I slept well).

Also, earlier yesterday, I played on the Games forum. I had a blast.

Awesome Seeker, I'm going to be trying yoga soon



I'm going to be doing my walk in a little while. Then going to clean up my room. I wrote in my journal yesterday

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I want a suggestion,i'm trying to lose some pounds and feel more fit,i'm bored of wasting money in gyms places,i need to feel more healthy and improve my body as soon as possible.

Try looking back a few pages for a couple of my posts in which I give a ton of tips. To be fair, if you don't feel healthy after going to the gym to the point of being "bored" (which makes me think you're not pushing hard enough, to be honest - you should come outta there exhausted and feeling like you worked your butt off) then I imagine there's an underlying issue, or you're not seeing the results because perhaps your diet is mismatched.

These things take time, unfortunately. But, when you work hard and commit, you can lose lbs and gain the muscle you want. In a few months, I've gained muscle and lost 19lbs in weight; that's pretty hard to do at the same time. (wasn't new to it either)

33-minute workout done for today. Had one of those "I can't be arsed" moments, but I pushed on and did it anyway, 'cause that's just how I role! Consistency is so important. When you miss one day, it's easier to miss the next, then the next, then the next.

Tomorrow, I have a long walk home from the pharmacy and the stores. For self care, I have a doctor appointment to get a flu shot and get back on my allergy medication. Finally! My allergies have been driving me crazy.

The juicer arrived today. Went out and bought almost £15 of vegetables and fruit. Came back and spent a while juicing and cleaning it. Made quite a bit of "juice". It's incredible. Flavor just slaps you in the face; it's wonderful.

That sounds good Zwang!

Just got home, did two walks today. So that would be a couple of miles. Had to go pick up a copy of my old high school transcripts for college.

Today was the first day back at the pool after an appendectomy followed by pneumonia and some hospital time. It felt so good to just move, slowly paddling through the water. Now if I can just manage to be patient and not try to return to my old routine too quickly. Meanwhile, I'm going to put some effort into learning some basic recipes.

Just did my workout - 30:30, plus some extra, untimed pullups. Just had my shower and juiced, too.

I've decided to not juice in bulk, rather to juice daily. For workout days, I'll juice directly after the shower, which'll work as my "post-workout meal". I've just drank a couple of glasses. I'm wicked stuffed. I juiced too much, but I didn't want to waste it.

There's a problem with storing juice: the good stuff (all the many nutrients) only last so long, because it's incredibly vulnerable to things like oxygen, heat, and light. It's always best to drink it, as soon as possible.

Wow, nice one. 8) I take it you've recovered from the pneumonia?

For self care today I went to group. We decorated our phonebook Christmas trees we made. I love how mine turned out and it was a lot of fun! Also, got some of this stuff from the grocery store that adds berry flavor to your water with no calories or sugar and it also has some vitamins

Sounds good, Blue. You know you have my thumbs up for that.

I've just done (and kinda still am doing) a whole bunch of pullups and doing more. Just looked through some old pictures of me, ... body-log kinda pics, from years ago. Sure, I was lean as HECK back in the day, (8-pack sorta lean... miss those days :\) but compared to now? I'm a heck of a lot more muscular. When I get that lean again, I'm gonna be pretty "ripped" for your average 6ft dude. But it's gonna take time and hard work. x_x (and it's gonna cost monies ¬_¬)

Just weighed myself again and it's still around 14 and a quarter stone. Dunno if I mentioned it, but I was 14 and a half, but now quarter. That's about 203lbs I think. 190lbs is my target, perhaps 180-185, depending on how it looks when I get that lean. (I say "when" because I'm damn well optimistic )

Went to the shops earlier and got a ton of veg' and fruit for the next couple of days. 2 cucumbers, a pack of apples, and I still have a pack of oranges in the fridge. Oh yeah, and a pack of tomatoes. Wish I could get different stuff, but that's all I could find in Co-op. --__-- I think I might just get a bunch of peppers and juice them, ... but, can they be "eaten" (in my case, drank ) raw? (seems you can, and they are extremely healthy! So I'll get a bunch )

Did my exercises today, for self care I'm doing things I enjoy like playing my violin, and doing Christmas word search puzzles

Ooo, another string player. Violin is beautiful.

Zwang, how long has it taken you to lose the weight you have lost?

Maybe about 6 months, possibly 7 or even 8, but I got more seriously into it as time went on, so IDK when the "real" weight-loss and muscle-gain started. When I moved here (supported housing) I knuckled down a LOT and switched up my diet, started researching more on weight-loss, and really pushed myself hard, ... been here for about 4 months, I think. Probably woulda lost weight quicker if I wasn't trying to gain muscle at the same time, but that said, gaining muscle helps lose weight in the long run, which is partly why I did it. (plus I'm really into weights 'n' stuff)

Thanks for sharing! My goal is to get down to 120 to 125, I'm 5ft 3.

I like your optimism! I need to work on mine. Today I'm going to go to the supermarket and my goal is to enjoy strolling through and exploring the vegetable section.

I love how balanced your self care is. Maybe today I'll dust off my recorder and play a tune or two. Funny how it doesn't occur to me to do the things that I've really liked doing in the past. I can sure get into an unhealthy rut. I can imagine life getting a lot more fun as I learn more about self care.

Hi Just keep swimming, thanks for joining in the thread!

I hope you enjoy your time at the supermarket, and listening to music is always fun



I did my exercises today and for self care I went back to sleep a few hours after I woke up because I had only slept 4 hours during the night.

Ouch on that sleep, Blue. :| Getting sleep (or lack thereof) like that, then having to workout, is horrible. x_x

I will share all the optimism I can afford. I'm optimistic because I know I can do it; been here before. I used to be lean because I worked my *** off for years; if I could do it then, I could do it now, ... and I am successfully doing it.

Glad you joined us, JKS. Rally on up and let's look after #1. <3

Oh yeh, and as for me, ...

Just had my shower following the day's workout. 30 minutes again. I'm knackered, as I pushed myself pretty hard. Instead of working my biceps 'n' that with dumbbells, I decided to go ahead and start (after brief warmup to get the HR up) with the pullup bar, but I ended up doing about 30 or more pullups (lifting 203lbs or so, here xD) which is definitely a personal best, especially as I previously struggled with that sort of pullup. For future reference, there's three types of pullups (or chinups, ... semantics xD) that I do:

1. Arms wide, palms facing away, pulling up, primary focus is the back. (typical v-shape workout)
2. Arms around shoulder width, palms towards me, primary focus is probably biceps, chest, and lats.
3. Arms around shoulder width, palms facing each other, primary focus is shoulders, biceps, and probably partly the back.

I could be wrong about the primary focus, but that's where I tend to feel it. Wish I knew the names for each one. xD

Anywho, did plenty, so I'm pleased. Definitely getting stronger and getting better at pushing past the ache/pain.

I went horseback riding. It is not only recreation. It is exercise. It is mindfulness. It is also a great distraction. I am getting to know new people. And learning about horse care.

Great job everybody, keep it up!

Today is my rest day so no exercise and for self care I'll just be relaxing, and cleaning some. I actually like cleaning and organizing things.