Weight loss/Becoming healthy support thread!

[RedShadow]

Aw, man, sorry to hear about the mental struggles, Amarok. I relate. Part of my taking up running was to try to find better coping mechanisms - plus, I've always disliked running, but when in a mental state where EVERYTHING kind of sucks, effectively nothing does. That seemed like a good time to try something I didn't normally like, haha...

Motivation is one of those prized feelings that is impossible to fake or just ... decide to have. One thing that's helped me is to stop thinking about needing motivation, and more about needing *discipline*. I often don't feel like running or working out. No motivation. Reminding myself that to achieve what I want, I have to do it anyway... and then doing it... that's discipline. The hardest part is just getting started, whether that be in general or on a daily basis.

I remind myself that I've never regretted going for a run, no matter what the conditions or how I'm feeling beforehand.

As for the anxiety... that's a real bitch, I know firsthand. If you think meds may help, it's worth looking into. Personally, I was fortunate that beta blockers taken during my bouts of panic or anxiety were all I needed and I don't even seem to need those anymore. But if it's negatively impacting your life, I think it's definitely worth being proactive about!

Good luck. <3

And YES, hotdogwolf, walking is great and a really underrated way to stay active.

Running...bad? Ouch. I love a good run when it was not all I was doing. I grew up like Sonic the Hedgehog: every little thing I did had to be done fast. Why? It is damn fun, that is why. That said I hate running in public. Even with a huge runner culture, it feels weird, like people will think I like it for therianthropic reasons, (panting is a noteworthy issue) but in the right state, I can be on a treadmill for quite some time, at least in high school. Now my knees give if I so much as brush the same postcode as a good sprint, which I find a bit depressing.

If you get the in-case-of-panic-break-glass pills, they make for good insurance if your anxiety is temporal like mine, but if it is not, look first for something to make a consistent impact of stability first. The one I take is highly addictive if taken in any sort of pattern, (such as once a week or daily) and should only be done to stop a panic attack in it's tracks, but the fact that I have something that reacts fast is very comforting, which is why I am looking into a similar (albeit less addictive) medication for my depression.

On a less depressing note, I am gaining weight. Hooray! And yes I am not being sarcastic. I'm maybe a little shy of a dozen pounds under the average body mass index for my age, which means if I maintain this trend, I will have the stored calories to work out properly for the first time since my early teens. Additionally, my endocrinologist says my blood work turned everything out to be positive, including the vitamin D and calcium I need to recover (yes, recover) from my osteoporosis. Lately, I have been getting lazy from all this good news, but I think I am merely dazed from the contrast of my usual state of mind. Hopefully that does not stick.

[hotdogwolf]

Good news, I no longer have to walk everywhere I go. I can now bike ride to stores and places I need to go too. Weather that is a good thing I think that is something that can be debated. Because I think that riding a bike is less exercising then walking or jogging. What do you guys think.?

[Amarok]

Bike riding generally will burn more calories per hour than walking but less than jogging, but any exercise is still fine, all three are good for you and the extended distance you can travel (and the less time it takes) will certainly be helpful! Woo hoo!

RedShadow, glad things are improving for you! Hang in there. My anxiety is more general, I don't have panic attacks (I don't think). But thanks for the insight.

Tonight's goal is to go jogging! We will see how I do....

[Amarok]

Went jogging last night, according to my Garmin watch, 1.84 miles, 22:01 minutes (11:58 / mile pace). Feels slow to me but I only stopped to catch my breath once. 2 miles is about my limit before my leg starts to go numb. My goal is 2-3 time a week for the summer to see if things improve. I'll try to post here to stay accountable!

Woof

[RagdollTherian]

Motivation is one of those prized feelings that is impossible to fake or just ... decide to have. One thing that's helped me is to stop thinking about needing motivation, and more about needing *discipline*. I often don't feel like running or working out. No motivation. Reminding myself that to achieve what I want, I have to do it anyway... and then doing it... that's discipline. The hardest part is just getting started, whether that be in general or on a daily basis.

This is kind of how I feel about cooking lately. It causes me anxiety to have to cook everything I eat, because then I have to be around people, but if I eat prepared food I get sick... I'm going to see about getting more tests done to try and figure out the problem but in the meantime, I have to face facts, being healthy is not necessarily always sunshine and rainbows. But it is worth it.

I'm kind of jealous of people who can run, haha. I LOVE to run but my knees have been bothering me lately. To everyone who is running and making good progress, I hope you continue to reach your goals!

[yourdeer]

I've been working on exercise and weight loss steadily over the past year or so. While I'm not going to the gym super-regularly right now because of other life stuff eating up my evenings, I've been making sure to walk places, take the stairs, etc. I do push-ups while I wait for my lunch to heat up in the microwave at work, and I've been eating a little healthier.
When it comes to going to the gym, there's actually times where I want to go because I feel the need to use some energy. I agree with what Kiso said - other than those times, it's more about discipline than motivation.
I've actually managed to lose about 20 pounds so something is working!

[Kisota]

How goes it, fitness folks? Any updates? Big goals for 2019?

I'm looking back at my posts here... I kind of broke my workout routine mid-summer 2018 because field work was keeping me pretty darn busy. Hard to squeeze in my hour-long strength routine when I'm already getting up before dawn and hiking around all day. I resumed my routines (3x week strength, 3x cardio) when the season wound down a bit and have made some strides.

My 5k time got down to a personal best of 25:13. I definitely have a goal of getting below 25. But I haven't been feeling the running much lately, and instead have been doing high-intensity interval training on my stationary bike. It's challenging, but one of the weird things about HIIT is that you generally improve really quickly. It'll be interesting to go back to running after this and see if the VO2 max gains translate.

Strength-wise, things are going well, although I can't say I've made any big marked improvements. It's all pretty incremental. I'm starting to hit the limits of what I can do in my apartment. I should probably start seeing what other more difficult exercises I can start implementing, because I definitely don't feel like I'm progressively overloading much anymore.

I've been focusing a lot of work on my abs and am getting slowly but surely closer to the six pack. It's there, it's just not very crisp yet, haha.

Handstands are improving all the time, but slowly. Probably should be pushing myself a little harder.

[RunningRed]

2018 was a bad year for me. I wasn't able to hit distances I used to and also with missing several gym days due to stress did not do well on my weight loss.
Started fresh for 2019. Renewed determination to better portion my meals and eat more fruits/veggies.
And changed gyms (I'm working out of a different office and actually closer to a cool gym I used to use nesr Portland). Reset my speed to 5.0mph and plan to increase distance till I'm doing 5miles, then slowly increase the speed, while working to maintain that distance, and with it the calorie burn.

Also started joining a furry friend who does swimming on Fri evenings at a local rec center. A lot of fun and I've begun pondering whether there's an aquatic side to my therian self.

How goes it, fitness folks? Any updates? Big goals for 2019?

I'm looking back at my posts here... I kind of broke my workout routine mid-summer 2018 because field work was keeping me pretty darn busy. Hard to squeeze in my hour-long strength routine when I'm already getting up before dawn and hiking around all day. I resumed my routines (3x week strength, 3x cardio) when the season wound down a bit and have made some strides.

My 5k time got down to a personal best of 25:13. I definitely have a goal of getting below 25. But I haven't been feeling the running much lately, and instead have been doing high-intensity interval training on my stationary bike. It's challenging, but one of the weird things about HIIT is that you generally improve really quickly. It'll be interesting to go back to running after this and see if the VO2 max gains translate.

Strength-wise, things are going well, although I can't say I've made any big marked improvements. It's all pretty incremental. I'm starting to hit the limits of what I can do in my apartment. I should probably start seeing what other more difficult exercises I can start implementing, because I definitely don't feel like I'm progressively overloading much anymore.

I've been focusing a lot of work on my abs and am getting slowly but surely closer to the six pack. It's there, it's just not very crisp yet, haha.

Handstands are improving all the time, but slowly. Probably should be pushing myself a little harder.

[Zami]

My "big 2k19 goal" is to up my muscle mass to at least 75% of my weight, maybe 80% if I can. I'll do it mostly through improved quality of nutrition (seriously, why did I think that eating only pasta was a good idea to begin with?) and keep on walking whenever I can instead of taking the bus (I'm not afraid of walking 40 mins to go somewhere and then 40mins back).

I'll go back to the nutritionist too, coz I really need someone to help me keep in tracks.

[elinox]

My gym and nutrition routine went to shit in the summer of 2018. I still went to the gym and kept mostly to my normal 1200/weekday caloric intake, but weekends were all binge days. And I stopped pushing myself so hard at the gym. I didn't even really do a lot of weight lifting, which I usually enjoy. I just stopped caring after my Dad died. I still don't really feel motivated to workout hard like I used to, I've just been going through the motions.

Luckily, I didn't gain too much weight. I want to be motivated again, but I'm just not sure of the point. :/