Getting HEALTHY!!!

[Levusti]

So guise I realized something today.

I am incredibly unhealthy right now. My diet, weight, lifestyle, and genetics are currently a recipe for an early visit to the grave.

Three years ago after a nasty bout of bronchitis I just couldnt shake for a good three months I had to be given steroids to dilate the bronchioles in my lungs. Inevitably I gained a lot of weight. I gained nearly 40 pounds/18 kilos in three months. Initially I was 145 lbs/65 kg and went to 180 lbs/80 kg.

At that time I had the metabolism of an adolescent boy i.e. I could eat anything without gaining much weight. Well I kept that eating habits and by the age of 21 I gained even more weight to the current weight I am 220 lbs/100 kg.

Now I find that I cannot physically keep up in the hospital workplace. To emergency situations like trauma patients, stroke patients, and heart attack patients, we have to rush to the patient to provide immediate care. By the time I get there I often find myself out of breath and unable to perform my duties to help the patient in a timely manner. It's embarrassing and unseemly at the same time.

Now I am finding myself with terrible headaches, especially after a work rush or frustration overcomes me. I am very sure it's because of high blood pressure. My family medical history on both sides have high blood pressure, which makes me really likely to have those issues too. I took my blood pressure the other day and it was 139/95 i.e. DEFINITELY NOT HEALTHY AND AT HIGHER RISK FOR STROKE AND HEART ATTACK. I might find myself in the hospital not to work but to be treated.

Dude I only turned 22 last week. I'm too young to be having these issues. This shit is for the middle aged, not some guy who is just beginning his life.

So I have decided I am going to live a healthy lifestyle, and it's gonna be something I'm not used to. In high school and outdoor college events, physical activity is almost inevitable and it incorporated into your daily life. After all that, no one tells you to be active and be healthy and you just live how you like.

Obviously I do what I like and that's how I am where I am now.

I have told my friends and family so I can (1)have moral support and (2)find myself essentially "proclaiming and promising others of what I will do."

I have a terrible issue with long term commitments. So I decided I will make a series of short term commitments and goals so that I am more likely to accomplish them. In a way, I try to earn "ACHIEVEMENTS!" like you would in video games. Cause I'm all about achievements hahaha.

MAIN LIFETIME GOALS:

• EAT HEALTHIER! I know food is a huge weakness, so I don't plan on eating healthy all the time. I only plan to eat healthier more often and much more than I eat unhealthy foods.
• GET IN SHAPE! I actually enjoyed being active when I was younger but when being a full time student, a full time employee, and a part time gamer (for destressing purposes, not for YouTube/Twitch fame haha) came about it fell onto the back burner of my life. I want to be able to keep up in the workplace and be a productive, efficient, and effective contribution to someone's health outcome.
• ACHIEVE A HEALTHY WEIGHT! This has a few good side effects! My blood pressure will naturally decrease to a healthy state and no one ever says that a healthy body is bad, right?

SHORT TERM GOALS:

• Stay on an active schedule for a week, a month, six weeks, and three months. I know if I can withstand exercise for a good 6 weeks, I could probably make it a habit and routine.
• Lose 25, 50, and 75 lbs (approx. 10, 25, 35 kg)! I at LEAST want to lose 50 lbs. I have no time limit for these, but I just want these goals here. I've calculated if I can lose 2 lbs a week, I can lose 25 lbs in three months. HOWEVER! This is a really difficult and (relatively) unrealistic goal. So I consider the 25 lbs in three months to be a FIVE STAR ACHIEVEMENT. :D
• Eat incredibly unhealthy foods less than three meals a week! I eat the unhealthiest shit ever. And I fucking love it! Burgers, patty melts, french fries, potato chips, pizza, and tacos. Mmm, that shit's the best. But it's not helping! So I will do this by weaning myself off of this. I love food too much to just change my diet so suddenly. I just want to get to a point where I DON'T eat deliciously shitty stuff for more than a day's worth of meals.

WHAT THIS ISN'T! I feel like I need to keep my head in the right spot. If I have the wrong goals, I will have the wrong approaches. So I need to outline directly what exactly this lifestyle change ISN'T.

• This ISN'T just me getting a good body. I'm fucking happy with how I look even now, cause I'm still damn sexy. To be honest, if I had no health problems, I would just say, "Fuck this shit. I'm all about that foodie life." #yolo #foodielyfe #delicious #pizza #foreverhungry #iwokeuplikethis #hotasfuck But it's for the health problems that I'm facing now and will potentially escalate in the future that I'm doing this.
• This ISN'T just a temporary fix. Returning to my current lifestyle will achieve NOTHING. This has to be a commitment.
• This ISN'T just deserting my previous habits. I will still eat fucking pizza and burgers and fries dammit. Just less.
• This ISN'T just a way to gain confidence. But I will. (Not that I need any. I'm already charming, handsome, intelligent, funny, witty and--most importantly--modest to fault.)

WHAT THIS IS! And just like that, I also need clear understanding of what I'm getting myself into.

• This IS a healthy LIFESTYLE CHOICE TO MAKE.
• This IS a new challenge for me to explore and surmount!
• This IS a testament of my willpower.

I know this is gonna be pretty hard. But I hope if I make this a LIFESTYLE CHOICE and not a "short time intense diet and exercise routine," I'm gonna come out healthier, maybe a little hungrier, but most of all happier!

I'm not the most active on this forum as I used to be two years ago, but this RP community is still awesome to me! I would be absolutely happy and appreciative to have your support on my new journey!!! :D

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Hey man.

I'm personally in the same situation in regards to having a diet, weight, lifestyle and genetics that leads to an early grave (I wouldn't be shocked if I died at 50).
So although I personally couldn't really be bothered enough to fix it (I'm rather happy as I am, and I prefer to have a brighter flame to a longer flame) I can definitely see the desire/motivation to try to change it and live longer.

So go for it, get a healthier body and get some extra years out of life if that's what you want, you only live once after all. :)

 

[Brovo]

Stay on an active schedule for a week, a month, six weeks, and three months. I know if I can withstand exercise for a good 6 weeks, I could probably make it a habit and routine.

There's another bright spot to working out regularly I learned by personal experience: If you keep it up for a couple weeks and really do a routine that burns you out, the body gets used to the routine and starts releasing endorphins as a reward. Endorphins can have impact equitable to that of morphine. In other words: Not only do workouts improve your strength and cardio, after a while, they feel good too.

EDIT

Also, for losing weight in your diet, drop all of the following.

• Sodas/most carbonated beverages.
• Premade dinner pack nonsense. (Especially if it's meat-related. It's generally stuffed so full of bad carbs and preservatives that it'll take you weeks to burn it all out of your system.)
• Margarine. Go with butter. Low fat butter if you can find it.
• Salad dressings. They're literally liquid fat. Stop eating it.
• Pizza & other fast food, for obvious reasons. Subway is fine, but again, avoid the salad dressing crap. Low-fat mayo is okay sometimes.
• High-sugar foods, including some juices, will fuck up your workout routine if you eat them before the workout. They're fine to eat afterwards as a temporary boost to get yourself back on your feet. Except for candy, obviously, it's usually either empty carbs or just pure sugar.
• Ice cream. It has an obscene amount of fat.

You'll want to eat...

• High protein foods. Think eggs, and meat. (Especially lean meat since you're avoiding fat.) Special note on the eggs though: Don't eat more than two a day. They're healthy in small quantities, not large quantities, where it will spike your cholesterol.
• Veggies and fruits. If you don't like veggies, look up how to make stirfries. Meat & a little sauce can make all the difference in the world. Steamed veggies are also much tastier than their non-steamed counterparts and steaming veggies is incredibly easy.
• Whole-grain wheat products. Avoid white bread and other bleached products, a lot of nutrients are lost there.
• Rice! RICE IS MAGIC FOR LOSING WEIGHT. I swear.

 

[Kagayours]

I HAVE ADVICE.

I'm gonna come out healthier, maybe a little hungrier, but most of all happier!

DON'T EAT LESS, JUST EAT BETTER.

It's great that you're trying to eat less unhealthy food, and I'm sure that'll be a big help in reaching your goals. But one thing that it seems a lot of people don't consider when trying these things is that substitution is a much better strategy than just avoiding unhealthy foods without replacing them with anything -- particularly in the case of snacks. Cuz, I mean, I don't expect you to skip too many meals (as you really shouldn't), so if you're ditching one thing then you'll have to find something else to eat for dinner. But snacks, though, snacks are what get people. Cuz people always seem to be in this mindset of "oh I'm hungry, but I really shouldn't eat those cookies that I'm craving" and then they think that they just shouldn't eat anything at all, when instead it makes a lot more sense to find something else to satisfy your hunger, like some fruit or something.

I admit that my stance on this is at least partially due to the fact that the only experience I've had with having an unhealthy weight was being underweight, but hear me out here -- if you're hungry, you should eat something. Your body craves nutrients and you really should satisfy those desires, just make sure you do it right. Find some fruits or veggies and just eat away. Don't worry about how much you're eating in terms of quantity alone -- because the amount of calories you would've gotten from eating a few cookies is about equal to the amount of calories you would get from, uh, possibly more veggies than you could eat in one sitting (I mean, celery has negative calories, sooo...).

Don't be afraid to eat your fill. Not only is it healthier for you, but it also makes it easier to avoid temptations to go for the more unhealthy foods. Look at it this way: if your options are to either snack on something unhealthy or not eat anything at all, you might have a hard time ignoring that hunger. But if your options are to snack on something unhealthy or to snack on something else, you've made it a lot easier to avoid the unhealthy option. Which is worse: going hungry, or just eating something that wasn't your first choice? Keeping that option in mind can be very helpful.

And of course, the vitamins you'll get from eating this way will also leave you feeling more energized and just sort of... healthier in general. It's hard to really describe, but I certainly feel a lot more with-it when I've eaten well the past couple days compared to when I haven't. For that reason, I'd also recommend you start taking multivitamins if you haven't already. It's amazing how many people don't get nearly as much of these nutrients as they should from their diets (even I often don't, tbh), and I think a lot of people could benefit from vitamin supplements.

Edit: Wow that's a lot of paragraphs for someone speaking mostly based on personal experience. Oh well, hope it helps!

 

[Levusti]

I HAVE ADVICE.

DON'T EAT LESS, JUST EAT BETTER.

Oh I definitely won't eat less. Food is my fucking motivation for life. In a literal and emotional sense haha.

Nah I know I am gonna be a little hungrier though since I am going to be eating things I'm not used to eating. I'm actually expecting to eat more....

There's another bright spot to working out regularly I learned by personal experience: If you keep it up for a couple weeks and really do a routine that burns you out, the body gets used to the routine and starts releasing endorphins as a reward. Endorphins can have impact equitable to that of morphine. In other words: Not only do workouts improve your strength and cardio, after a while, they feel good too.

EDIT

Also, for losing weight in your diet, drop all of the following.

• Sodas/most carbonated beverages.
• Premade dinner pack nonsense. (Especially if it's meat-related. It's generally stuffed so full of bad carbs and preservatives that it'll take you weeks to burn it all out of your system.)
• Margarine. Go with butter. Low fat butter if you can find it.
• Salad dressings. They're literally liquid fat. Stop eating it.
• Pizza & other fast food, for obvious reasons. Subway is fine, but again, avoid the salad dressing crap. Low-fat mayo is okay sometimes.
• High-sugar foods, including some juices, will fuck up your workout routine if you eat them before the workout. They're fine to eat afterwards as a temporary boost to get yourself back on your feet. Except for candy, obviously, it's usually either empty carbs or just pure sugar.
• Ice cream. It has an obscene amount of fat.

You'll want to eat...

• High protein foods. Think eggs, and meat. (Especially lean meat since you're avoiding fat.) Special note on the eggs though: Don't eat more than two a day. They're healthy in small quantities, not large quantities, where it will spike your cholesterol.
• Veggies and fruits. If you don't like veggies, look up how to make stirfries. Meat & a little sauce can make all the difference in the world. Steamed veggies are also much tastier than their non-steamed counterparts and steaming veggies is incredibly easy.
• Whole-grain wheat products. Avoid white bread and other bleached products, a lot of nutrients are lost there.
• Rice! RICE IS MAGIC FOR LOSING WEIGHT. I swear.

I grew up with a healthy diet and my family still eats like that. We (by "we" I really mean "they") eat an Asian diet, full of veggies and a little light on meat. I just haven't eaten like that regularly like I should.

Also I hate mayonnaise and salad dressing. I prefer vinegar tbh.

But I'm definitely not giving up ice cream. D: just gonna eat it less haha. (I'm currently typing this with an ice cream in my hand...)

Fast food was more of a convenience that had turned into a bad habit that turned into my regular diet.

I fucking love vegetables and fruits. Except grapefruit. But other than that I'm great!

 

[Nemopedia]

I wanted to rate the thread a cookie, but I'm not sure if that fits the healthy life style. c:

Anyway, I don't have much tips to offer regarding losing weight. Run a lot, drink (water) a lot and cut off the snacks is what I would say, but that would make me a hypocrite as I don't follow any of them. Oh, that and sleep. Though I don't hold onto that very well either.

According to my mother banana in vinegar with brown sugar helps you lose weight as well. It sounds disgusting and like a sin towards all what food is and stands for, but maybe it is an idea. (By the way, she claims that it is delicious on a waffle, I'm not convinced.)

Oh, and a personal one would be, eat eggs with your breakfast. I heard that eggs make you feel fuller and satisfied for longer and it works for me. So maybe that it works for you as well.

In overall I wish you the best of luck with your new healthy life style.

 

[BKenScout]

Good for you. Seriously, your head is in the absolute best place for this, which means you've got the exact mentality for it. You just gotta stick with it. A lot of people say Day 1 is the hardest. They're wrong. Day 2 isn't even the hardest - it's Day 3, that first time you go "I can afford to eat a little more" or "I can take a rest today..." DON'T. Not your first three - get the workout in, you'll start to feel the eurphoria. Are you developing your own exercise routine, or are you using a trainer/gym? There's a lot of angles to work on it and everybody uses a different one.

I started out last October... Well, really, it was about three years ago. I had so many ups and downs that it was insane - I was at my worst (265lbs, male, 5'11" and very little of it was muscle) in October. When I initially wanted to lose weight, I was in high school, typical "tired of being the fat kid" deal, but I wasn't that self-conscious about it. I really wanted to join the military, who wanted me at 196lbs (or below 22% body fat). I couldn't get it off for ANYTHING for those first couple of years. I'd go running, I'd try eating better, I'd lose 10-20lbs, and then... boom, off the wagon. Put it all back on, sometimes with interest. Well, as of April this year, I was able to enlist (I actually got to sign my papers on 4/20, which... is really just funny to me). Personally, I never could have done it without that community of people who were always checking up on me, giving advice, and willing to answer questions that I had about how to go about it. I'm actually still 210lbs to this day, but I'm not worried.

Hope I didn't make that too much about me personally, it was meant more to be about how everybody has that one learning style or fitness need (for me, the community/group/coaches & friends). If you wanna pick at me about any of it, feel free to shoot me a PM. Or here, whatever. And good luck. ^_^ Don't fall off that wagon for even a day - pick 2 (maximum 3) days a week to rest your muscles and don't make them consecutive. Make sure to do cardio, bot not ONLY cardio - calisthenics and (if you want) weights. Push yourself, but don't get hurt. :) You can do it, just gotta keep focused.