Personal Health?

DanielOcean

DanielOcean

Fart! : )
What do you do to stay fit both physically, and mentally? The last few years I have been looking at our bodies as organic pieces of vehicular meat. We are stuck with them. The older the vehicle gets the more maintenance is required in order to maintain similar abuses that we put on our bodies.

I have spent the whole year so far with the girls. Swimming, golfing, and biking is the norm around here now and I am feeling better than I have in recent memory. I have found that introducing a specific pre, and post routine is way more than the routine/task itself. I get sore and experience a lot of discomfort, but no pain anymore (I know the difference).

I have also found for me that if I eat something shitty even 48 in advance of exerting myself, I feel a difference. So now it seems I eat for the stuff I want to do in a couple days. I am lucky so far that as long as I do not eat horrible I am okay but if I execute properly, I feel a huge difference energy wise. Less bloating too, and not so watered down.

I have gotten really competitive with golf this season to a point I have created my own gym routine that I do every day. Its just those rubber bands of different tensions, 20lb and 30 lbs dumbells with a bench has been really good for me. My shoulder give me issue if I do not keep it working.

I challenged myself to start walking golf courses again in January, and walking 18 easily now while pushing my golf cart around listening to red hot chili peppers.

This is the way I stay active. I am not a gym person. Only reason I do anything with gym equipment is for a specific reason vs standard general reasons. I am sure there is a term to describe the group I would fall in. When I am doing them I am thinking specifically about swing rotations and stuff. When doing pushups I think about taking the impacts of mtb handlebars when you hit the brakes.

Final is stretching, stretching, stretching. I live sleep and breath it. I even stretch out before bed now. I am in early exploration of some massage things as well. Got a cool one you wrap around your neck and shoulder. Doing all this with hot cold therapy as well.

The answer to all your questions right now? I have the boat, and truck loaded up and will be fishing tomorrow morning.

What do you do for your mind, body, and soul? What things have you observed about yourself over the years? For example, if I eat too many oreo's I get really bad shits!
 
No processed foods, no refined sugar, very little dairy, healthy fats and oils. Cook healthy meals at home with ample vegetables. Try to sleep at least 7 hours. Daily hikes and walks with physical labor around the house mixed in too. A big part of mental health is living your life to align with your true self, not the illusory roles we need to play in modern life. Don't postpone, live.
 
I fish a few days a week, and play with the grands kids, work in the yard, clean house, just keeping active seems to work.
Mentally I've just learned to live over the last 30 years, a bit of AA, bit of religion, I don't know, just happy.
This stuff with mom got me smoking again, need to work on that.
 
6 days a week a mix of swimming laps, spinning outside or on a trainer, weights and bands, floor exercises with crunches and stretches. Very little sugar, chicken and fish, occasional steak, veggies, lotta water.
A protein shake every day with a teaspoon of creatine in it, can feel the difference when I don't add it.
And vit B-12 and Iron supplement good for us elders, as both become harder for us to process/absorb as we age.
 
From the late great Shel Silverstein:

RUNNY BABBIT’S BRIG BEAKFAST

Runny, why’d you eat so many
Grandcakes off the piddle?
You’ve gotten teavy in the hail
And mick around the thiddle.
Your chace is fubby,
And you’re tubby
In the bront and fack.
Runny said, “I can’t talk now—
I’ve got to snet a gack!”
 
You guys are good. Wish I did half as much.
I spend a lot of time working in the yard. A half acre lot with some of the biggest cedars in Normandy Park. A bi-weekly trip to the yard waste dump. Followed up with a pint at Elliot Bay - then back to the yard.
Trips to our local beach and walks in the “hood”.
Of course, a trip to our local park for sea-runs and rezzies helps.

I should do more....
 
If ya swing right handed and exercise for that direction, don’t forget to exercise like you are swinging left handed. Muscle are designed to work in concert going both ways….think of push-pull exercises as an example. All this to say, if you do that you will see an even better improvement to your right-handed swing. You’ll experience less (hip and knee) injuries too. Muscle imbalance I believe it is called. It’s one of the reasons I learned to switch-hit in softball and kick with both feet in 30 years of soccer.
 
As it is said around here: the Gorge is my gym!

I do know that exercise saved my life, figuratively, and probably literally, although there's no real way to know that. I've been recuperating from meniscus surgery for the past few months and haven't been able to ride my bike (stationary or e-bike) without pain and subsequent swelling. I miss the benefits and hope to get back to it soon.

It's that important!
 
I try to stay away from carbs as much as possible. Sweets and bread are my demons.
I quit drinking alcohol two years ago and try to get in a minimum of three 4+ mile walks per week. I try to vary where I walk to get different scenery, both natural and human. Golden Gardens, Green Lake, Burke Gilman trail etc. I’ve had some interesting interactions and met some pretty nice people while out walking.
I’ve dropped almost 50 lbs now and can certainly feel it in my knees and hips. I also need a lot less sleep and sleep a lot better now.
SF
 
Some people have a metabolism where they can get away with anything. I was that way when I was young but at 75 there's some foods that can slap a few pounds on me by just looking at them. I weigh myself daily and that tells me when I need to buck up and pay for my sins.
 
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Old406Kid said:
Some people have a metabolism where they can get away with anything. I was that way when I was young but at 75 there's some foods tha can slap a few pounds on me by just looking at them. I weigh myself daily and that tells me when I need to buck up and pay for my sins.
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Me. Still 155#, same pant size as when I graduated high school too. But I got other issues for sure.
 
It is easier to maintain muscle mass/strength than to lose it and try to get it back (if ever).

It is easier to drink than stop drinking. So do not start. Same goes for smoking.

It is easier to become a couch potato than finding out what happens and making positive, healthy choices. Do not become a couch potato.

It is easier to gain weight than to lose weight. So don't gain it.

It is easier to eat tasty, healthy food. Yes supplements are easy to take until they are horse pills and many do not taste good, at all.

Making positive changes does not mean giving up what you luv the most. Just make it a special occasion for your favorite things/food and savor those times/foods.

Do not ask why I know...
 
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Like Stonefish I gave up all alcohol about 4 years ago and that's been the best for my health. Blood pressure dropped magically back to healthy levels and the sleep is so much better and restorative now. But it sure wasn't easy and I count myself lucky that I was able to do it on my own. Oh, and the nagging, daily low-level anxiety that I always thought was just part of life is now miraculously gone.

Unfortunately I didn't lose weight from quitting it like so many do. I actually snacked more and gained so now I'm on a strict calorie counting regime to hopefully will get back down to what I was a few years ago. Down 20lb so far and hope to lose another 20.
 
I was very frustrated with the deteriorating state of my health last fall, especially body mass and conditioning. I have always been "husky" [Have you ever seen a thin marine mammal...]. But I was having difficulty walking even a mile. I was embarrassed at just how bad my conditioning had become when a board member generously offered to share a birding spot that he recommended and I was lagging behind him significantly on what should have been an easy walk. This frustration didn't help in resisting binge-eating behind a computer screen...
I met with my GP the day after Thanksgiving to explore my options. After she indicated that my health plan wouldn't authorize one of the GLP (glucagon-like peptide) injection drugs, I asked to enroll in gastric sleeve surgery. This wasn't my first choice, but I was feeling pretty desperate and my younger brother has gone down this route with success. My GP also prescribed me with a prescription drug combo to help fight binge eating - very effective as it turned out (and way cheaper than the GLP-1 options).
The gastric sleeve program is a multi-month-long process with many hoops to jump through: mandatory diet classes, meeting with a psychologist, upper EGD procedure, sleep apnea study, blood work-up, practice low-calorie / small volume / high protein meals, etc. They want you to lose 20+ pounds before they will authorize the surgery - demonstrating commitment. The diet classes forced me to be deliberate about what I ate (and how). I really restricted my calorie intake, especially carbs and afternoon snacks (the bane of my eating...). I have written down just about everything that I've eaten since then and I use an online calorie app to track my daily calorie intake and to ensure that I am keeping up my protein intake to maintain muscle mass. I've tried to focus on foods that I really like (in moderation). I cut out / dramatically reduced carbs :( and I cut down alcohol intake to special occasions (and even then a single beer or a glass of wine).
I also upped my exercise significantly, especially walking. Some of the walking was relatively leisurely with my cameras while birding, the results of which I have shared with the board on occasion. But I also started walking on a paved trail near my house, building my distance week by week. I'm now regularly walking 6, sub-20-minute, miles several times a week. I have dropped 86 pounds as of last Friday! To keep myself accountable, I go to my local medical clinic every Friday for a weigh-in on their calibrated scale.
Being somewhat of a geek, I graphed my weight records from my GP visits over the last 20+ years. They show a steady gain of 3-4 pounds a year over the last 20 years and a big spike in the last two years (post-retirement boredom / adjustments???). But after I altered my eating habits and increased my exercise, my weight has fallen off a cliff!!! At the beginning, I was losing 5+ pounds a week; more recently, my average weight loss is a little under 2 pounds a week. I weigh now what I weighed in 2011. I would like to roll my weight back to what I weighed 20 years ago (a round 100 pounds...), but I'm happy with where I am right now. I put the gastric sleeve program on hold [It is the hammer if I fall off the wagon].
Through this process, a number of minor health issues have disappeared. My flexibility has increased tremendously. And my attitude is so much more positive. I always have to be conscious of reverting to previous bad eating and exercise habits, but I have worked too hard to get to this point. And the positive reinforcement of being able to do things that I thought I couldn't anymore is a powerful motivator to prevent backsliding.
Steve
 
Cabezon said:
I was very frustrated with the deteriorating state of my health last fall, especially body mass and conditioning. I have always been "husky" [Have you ever seen a thin marine mammal...]. But I was having difficulty walking even a mile. I was embarrassed at just how bad my conditioning had become when a board member generously offered to share a birding spot that he recommended and I was lagging behind him significantly on what should have been an easy walk. This frustration didn't help in resisting binge-eating behind a computer screen...
I met with my GP the day after Thanksgiving to explore my options. After she indicated that my health plan wouldn't authorize one of the GLP (glucagon-like peptide) injection drugs, I asked to enroll in gastric sleeve surgery. This wasn't my first choice, but I was feeling pretty desperate and my younger brother has gone down this route with success. My GP also prescribed me with a prescription drug combo to help fight binge eating - very effective as it turned out (and way cheaper than the GLP-1 options).
The gastric sleeve program is a multi-month-long process with many hoops to jump through: mandatory diet classes, meeting with a psychologist, upper EGD procedure, sleep apnea study, blood work-up, practice low-calorie / small volume / high protein meals, etc. They want you to lose 20+ pounds before they will authorize the surgery - demonstrating commitment. The diet classes forced me to be deliberate about what I ate (and how). I really restricted my calorie intake, especially carbs and afternoon snacks (the bane of my eating...). I have written down just about everything that I've eaten since then and I use an online calorie app to track my daily calorie intake and to ensure that I am keeping up my protein intake to maintain muscle mass. I've tried to focus on foods that I really like (in moderation). I cut out / dramatically reduced carbs :( and I cut down alcohol intake to special occasions (and even then a single beer or a glass of wine).
I also upped my exercise significantly, especially walking. Some of the walking was relatively leisurely with my cameras while birding, the results of which I have shared with the board on occasion. But I also started walking on a paved trail near my house, building my distance week by week. I'm now regularly walking 6, sub-20-minute, miles several times a week. I have dropped 86 pounds as of last Friday! To keep myself accountable, I go to my local medical clinic every Friday for a weigh-in on their calibrated scale.
Being somewhat of a geek, I graphed my weight records from my GP visits over the last 20+ years. They show a steady gain of 3-4 pounds a year over the last 20 years and a big spike in the last two years (post-retirement boredom / adjustments???). But after I altered my eating habits and increased my exercise, my weight has fallen off a cliff!!! At the beginning, I was losing 5+ pounds a week; more recently, my average weight loss is a little under 2 pounds a week. I weigh now what I weighed in 2011. I would like to roll my weight back to what I weighed 20 years ago (a round 100 pounds...), but I'm happy with where I am right now. I put the gastric sleeve program on hold [It is the hammer if I fall off the wagon].
Through this process, a number of minor health issues have disappeared. My flexibility has increased tremendously. And my attitude is so much more positive. I always have to be conscious of reverting to previous bad eating and exercise habits, but I have worked too hard to get to this point. And the positive reinforcement of being able to do things that I thought I couldn't anymore is a powerful motivator to prevent backsliding.
Steve
Click to expand...
Congratulations!
 
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