Curious 10 (How Do You Keep Healthy?)

I know by now--y'all are probably like "why does he keep naming and numbering his posts as Curious X?"

It's really just my nature--inquisitive and trying to spark conversation. That, and it's a social experiment I've been running, and y'all are my guinea pigs. Joking

Regardless--what do you do to keep healthy?

Personally, I like boxing. I've been boxing since I was a teenager; I was a freshman in high school when I first put on the gloves, and a junior when I competed and earned my golden gloves.

Mostly I hit bags for between 30-45 minutes, then do cardio for another 30 (running or using the machines at my gym) or do weights. I also added hitting a tire with a sledgehammer to my regimen, which I call "hitting a tire with a sledgehammer."

I also try to keep between 1500-1800 calories a day; for me that means cutting a meal out--I know--I know... it's not good to do that, but I've trained myself over the years to do it. I try to drink as much water as I can too. Best thing I did was cut cokes out of my diet. I occasionally have one, but I drink mostly a lot of unsweetened tea (very foreign to someone in the South where we all grew up with sweet tea) and Arizona brand green tea (because I have--so much of it.)

--but don't get me wrong (oh no...) I love food; every Friday, my girl and I get pizza or we go out to eat somewhere nice and just enjoy it.

I also try to run. I don't like running that much, but when I do--I like to also run and climb and jump over things, I think there's a professional word for it, but I just call it "running and climbing and jumping over things." Normally, what stops me is the weather; I don't like running in the cold or rain.

I was actually rather chubby over the past few years; but I started up with boxing again a while back. Sitting at around 220 at the moment, but I've plateaued--so I have to keep going to get back to my fighting weight of 175; even though that might be borderline underweight for my height. My picture in the picture thread (the one of me in my boxing stance) is more current. I normally don't take pictures.

Anyway--what do you do to keep healthy? Maybe there's something I can learn from you.

 

I graduated high school at 315 lbs (143 kg). I had a real emotional problem with eating. If I'm frank, I still can at times. My freshman year of college I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and pre-diabetes. That scared the pants off me. I've gotten myself down to 140 lbs (63 kg) and I've maintained that for about 10 years. I have no such problems now.

I like to lift weights. I've mostly done dumbells and some beginner barbell stuff, but I'd really like to get into true heavy stuff soon. I also like to train for a half marathon each year. My diet consists mostly of poultry, fish a couple times a week, fruit, vegetables, at least one leafy green a day, whole grains like brown rice and quinoa, potatoes (all colors, sweets) eggs, nuts, seeds, and plant-based oils. Naturally, I have treats here and there. I love dark chocolate. I usually end up walking/running upwards of 10 miles a day, so if I've lifted weights that day I'll have to eat upwards of 2000-2300 calories (I'm on the shorter side) depending on exactly what I've done that day.

I have to avoid lactose for now but I'd LOVE to add Greek yogurt back in for that sweet, sweet protein. If my lactose intolerance is caused by Celiac's, there's a chance I might tolerate dairy someday again.

 

What i do to keep healthy? Drink 1 can of Cocacola per day = ))

 

I try to run. I ran my first 5k this past year. I want to run more than I do, but I have a bad knee that makes that difficult. I really need surgery on it, but that's expensive.

When I can't run, I try to walk a few miles at least. I also lift weights. I work at a gym, so I've been taking advantage for a few months of the discount I get and have been working out with a personal trainer twice a week. It helps a lot, because I get bored quickly with routine, so she's great at varying things up for me. I've gained a lot of muscle definition.

Foodwise, I just try to eat as healthy as I can. I've lost about 50 lbs and have another 20 I'd like to get rid of so I'm trying to buckle down again and count calories. For me, a lower carb diet works well, not just in weight loss, but simply in how I overall feel. Also, for whatever reasons, I feel best avoiding wheat, so I try to not eat it, though sometimes I can't resist. I always pay for it in the end though. I do eat carbs, just limited and try to keep them to healthy ones - whole grains, veggies and some fruit.

 

I eat a quick breakfast, and meals throughout the day whenever I'm hungry.
I learned that the whole "preparing a meal" and "setting the table" and "having a meal" and "doing the dishes" thing takes a lot of extra time than it should just for the sake of "keeping the custom".
I eat alone, I work alone... nobody cares about keeping the custom, so I cut that time down to simply cooking quick meals, and making little to no mess to clean up.
quick to cook, quick to eat, quick to digest, quick to rest.

I have my office upstairs, so, going up and down the stairs is constant exercise for me.

 

I run about 8 miles 3 times a week and do a good set of 8 400 meter sprints qnd 5 sets of 35 push ups and then 35 sit-ups the other weekdays and rest the weekends. Im still fat though, id like to lose more weight.

 

For cardio I run at a local park about 3~4 times a week, usually in the morning. I don't really have any structure to it, so I have no idea how much distance I'm doing, I just run laps until I've had a decent workout. I find it's more fun and easy to do that way.

For strength training, I lift weights 3x a week. I mostly do standard stuff - squat, deadlift, bench - but I like bodyweight and calisthenics stuff so I also do stuff like weighted chin-ups and leg raises. One day I want to graduate to stuff like dragon flags and headstand pushups buuut....I'm not quite there yet

I did just recently get to bodyweight bench presses and +45lb weighted chin-ups, which isn't that much for people who lift a lot, but I'm 5'6 140lbs and have always been small, so it's a big milestone for me.

My diet is all over the place! I try to have at least some common sense ground rules - avoid fast food/junk food/boxed/premade stuff, cook all my own food fresh as much as possible, etc. - but other than that I kind of just eat whatever I want. I do go to Chipotle way more than anyone probably should though

 

Here's a question:

Do y'all gauge your workouts by time, distance, calories, reps or some other way?

I do things by time, so maybe an hour and a half total on good days. I know others that run will gauge by mile/km.

I normally also go by time for weights rather than reps.

 

Distance for running, reps for weight. Also, adding on weight. If I'm able to add on more weight, that means progress!

 

Sure does! Keep it going!

Also--make sure you go up to random people and ask "Hey--you got a needle and thread?" and when they ask why, you should just yell out

"'Cause I'm ripped." and then walk away casually.

But in all seriousness--I should also add on more weight, I tend to do a lot of quick lifts with low weight over the span of two minutes. I should maybe switch back to reps instead and see if that increases my strength overall.

 

I like to take into account not only the physical health, but also mental health. I think that's the part we often forget about and tend to neglect based on our habits.

What I do to stay healthy?

- Eat enough - remembering to have 3 meals a day.
- Sleep enough - at least 7-8 hours a night, no matter how much of a night owl I am.
- Eating reasonably healthy. I love my sugar and caffeine and can't remove them entirely, but I don't overdo on them either. No more than 3 cups of tea a day. No energy drinks (they're the worst!). No fizzy drinks (they're also horrible).
- Never smoke.
- Don't drink alcohol - I don't really like its taste and have no cravings towards it.
- No other drugs of any sort.

- Exercising regularly and not being too passive - weights, dancing, cardio, running during summer, (used to do krav maga martial art for 5 years in the past, though not nowadays).

- Practice positive thinking as often as possible. This requires being self-aware and catching yourself when you start to feel negatively or getting angry and irritable. It also helps to learn about how to do this properly. Self-help books are a great help, as are multitudes of self-help videos on Youtube with solid advice. I strongly believe that self-help reading should be practiced in schools, because everyone can benefit from this information while they're still young enough to adapt.

- Go out daily, even if it's just for a walk, no matter the weather. Staying at home all day long is going to raise your levels of depression and anxiety. It's even more helpful if you can get some face-to-face social contact every day.

- Meditation/brain waves. This helps to put your mind at peace and to channel your thoughts towards your goals. Listening to brain waves can greatly aid in this. For relaxation, alpha wave frequencies are recommended (between 7.5 - 14 Hz). For creative ideas, theta waves are good (between 4 - 7.5 Hz). For good night's deep sleep, delta are go to waves (0 - 4 Hz).

- Being organized. Keeping plans of your schedule is very helpful and can help to avoid stress and rushing. It also makes you mentally aware of what you're hoping to accomplish during the day/week/month, etc, because you end up analyzing each task. When all tasks are bundled together in a chaotic mess, it raises our levels of anxiety and makes us more likely to procrastinate and avoid doing anything.

- Remember to laugh and smile as often as possible during the day. It's important to stay in a positive frame of mind, and laughter is the best way to do it. If we can't find something to smile or laugh about, then we must look for it. No matter how silly it is, even if it's some TV show or Youtube video, make yourself laugh.

 

@Matseb2611 Now--this is something I rarely give attention to--rather something I rarely think about giving attention to.

I do try to sleep as much as I can, but on weekends I tend to under-sleep a lot. I also don't smoke cigarettes anymore (I vape now, I don't know if it's any safer in the end, but I did experiment with running while vaping--something that smoking a normal cigarette would never permit.) I am also happy to proclaim I am drug free.

However--mental stimulation is very necessary! To me, you can't have a solid body without a solid mind. One thing I enjoy doing is playing one of my instruments for at least an hour a day. Lately, I've been playing my piano--before I bought it, I would play guitar, bass guitar or harmonica--as my drum set is generally too loud after 11pm.

Positive thinking is totally necessary--sure the occasional bout of other emotions does come my way; but, I've been very good at releasing my sadness or anger into music. I also like to build castles in my mind; meaning--I like to imagine happier things and do my best to reach a small milestone; such as working on some aspect of my game. I cannot say that I have ever been frustrated with my game--though unfortunately, development is on stand-still until I move all my work over to another computer (as my computer is slowly dying.)

Face-to-face contact for me is ideal, as I am a social person. I am very very extroverted--so speaking to people, even my co-workers is good for me. I also love coming here just to talk to people and make new friends/connections. Part of the reason I made this thread was to potentially meet new like minded friends. In fact--every thread, post, and status I tend to make is created for that purpose. Making friends for me is necessary to be happy. I love laughing, and I love even more when a person intentionally makes me laugh.

I do agree with orderliness, however--I am far from being orderly. I did get a 0% on orderliness for you quiz (yeah--I am rather... disorganized.)

And as for smiling/laughing--we as humans can't get enough. I feel that laughing and smiling should be a constant thing; though I know it can seem impossible at times, especially if situations warrant otherwise.

 

@samkfj : Mental stimulation is absolutely vital for people high in Openness to Experience. It can be either something artistic/creative or something intellectual that makes you think. People low on Openness don't "crave" for it quite as much, because naturally Openness is like a sensitivity to wanting new ideas or experiences on a constant basis, and whichever way helps us to gain it, we'll find it interesting and rewarding.

Visualising our long-term goals in a positive manner is a very helpful exercise. I agree with you there. I personally believe in law of attraction, or at least some sort of variation of it, that positive thoughts attract positive experiences, whether it happens by some unexplainable force or by influencing our minds in such a way that we make the right decisions at the right time.

That's very interesting what you said about these topics and your status updates being made with the main goal of making new friends. That's definitely an extravert thing.

 

Bro--you're too wise. Reeespect.

 

I usually just run to mc donalds in the morning, eat some breakfast there, and then jog back home. I know it doesn't sound good, but it keeps my mind at rest just knowing it's better than doing nothing

 

I used to body build - i could push pull and lift 500 pounds in any direction - and practiced martial arts. I enjoyed being strong and able to knock jive turkeys out if need be (but i practice nonviolence lol. Better to have ko skills on hand and not use them unless absolutely necessary). But i let haters get the best of me and stopped doing it.
Now that I'm getting older (and falling apart) i decided to get back to it and ignoring everyone while at it. If i want guns as big as cinder blocks then i very well can! If i want thighs big as tree trunks why tf not? I might not be fast anymore and snap kick like lightning but i can still maneuver out of conflict with ease and embarrass fools with my skill when they underestimate me.

I keep it simple - i hit the gym and do a circut of steps and various nautilus machines which takes an hour. I up the weight of 5# or 10# each week (depending on machine). On weekends i pop in a boot camp style exercise tape. I ride my bike everywhere because i don't own a car.

As for diet, I'm on a strict one because I'm arthritic, diabetic and have a bad heart. I'm also glueten and lactose intolerant. I don't calorie count because i keep it around 1200 and my doctor keeps bugging me to eat more since i actually eat very little with all the activities i do , making me prone to passing out. (bad habit developed in grade school - i was teased for being fat when actually i hit my adult size by age 10. I'm actually wearing an outfit i had on for a fifth grade function right now XD)

For mental health i walk about the park and meditate. I also paint and listen to jass. I decided to cut off my phone and withdraw from the IoT because it was causing so much stress. If I'm online its only during library hours. Otherwise im off the grid working on important projects. :3

 

How far away is it? XD When i was still eating fast food, i liked micky dees breakfast combos and would haul myself 4 miles every morning to get my order. EVERY DAY. even in the rain.
Until my first heart attack. Then i quit.

 

Yeah fast food will get you--moderation is good, but so is fast food... it's a love/hate thing.

 

Get a dog for walks! Helps keep you active, especially since I tend to be pretty sedentary.

 

I'll take the dogs for a walk every morning around 5 am. This usually takes between an hour or two, sometimes longer if I don't have to go into work that morning. Don't normally pay much attention to the distance but we don't use roads most days, instead wandering in the woods a lot so that adds to the workout. Though truth be told I'd count this as more of a mental health activity than a physical one.

Two days a week (ideally, not always) I'll take the labrador on a run in the evening (a run is a bike ride where he runs alongside me).

Weightlifting every day. Dumbbell work mostly, though I also have a bench and a cable lift too. Don't really time it though, I'll just do a bunch of sets of whatever kind of exercise I feel like with the dumbbells mixed with some bench presses or pully work (though I don't really have enough weights for both, so usually I'll use one for a couple months then switch it up because I'm too lazy to go out and buy more weights).

Punching bag is my favorite cardio, probably. Need a new bag, mine's been patched and refilled and restrapped so many times now that its falling apart on a near weekly basis. This I just do when I feel like it, as catharsis as much as exercise. It isn't nearly the same as mma drills or a cage match but since messed up my knee it's the best I can do safely. Really need to get back into traditional martial arts like I used to do as a kid/teenager, as much as I hate the exhibition over function focus most federations are obsessed with I do miss the dojang/dojo, even more so since I quit mma, and unlike mma it is something that I could still for the most part do.

As for health as in eating...I do nothing. I smoke pot for my mental health (I can't cope with people enough to live a productive life otherwise, tried various prescription drugs all throughout my childhood/early teens and nothing I took save lorazepam had positives that even came close to outweighing the negatives. And lorazepam can't be taken long term or it gives you dementia, I only got it briefly when I went crazy enough to require hospitalization as a teen. It was such a shock when my depression turned to recreational drug use that said drug use finally helped me get that depression and anxiety under control after so many years of struggled failure to do so through medical means.) so I figure I'm already gambling with cancer or whatever just trying to keep my mental health under control, so what's the harm in a cheeseburger now and then? Is it the smartest way to approach life, no, probably not, but I've made my peace with it. Also I have nosocomephobia so regardless at least I won't be burdening society with the effects of my bad choices when they do finally catch up to me.