Topic : Exercise

I have fibromyalgia and Reiter's Syndrome.  I know a bit about pain.  It hurts to move and it hurts not to move.  But the more I move, the less I hurt.  I have to be creative with my diet, because certain foods that work well for helping me lose weight aggravate my pain.  Being poor, I also know about the "junk food is cheaper" problem in our society.  Depression, stress and anxiety are factors in weight gain, so I'm working on eliminating those things, but it's a challenge to avoid stress when you are broke enough that you have to decide on whether to buy food this week, or gas for the car to get to job interviews.   

I walk.  I walk three miles every day.  I started out walking about a half mile, and if I miss a few days of walking, when I start up again, I can only manage about a mile and a half, but it takes less time to get back to three miles.  I try to get those three miles done in an hour or less. 

Nevertheless, I gained 15 pounds since I started walking and eating better.  Some fool said, "Oh, but you're gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat."  I'm sorry.  Muscle doesn't hang over your belt buckle.  I had a heck of a lot more muscle when I was 30 pounds lighter than I do now.  But lately, my metabolism has started increasing.  I can tell.  I'm hungry ALL the time.  By the time I finish one meal, I'm so hungry I can't wait for the next meal.  That will change, too, eventually.  I don't cave in to the hunger, I just tell it to stuff itself and I go for a walk.  Last week, I lost two pounds.  After dealing with all the frustration, those two pounds were a godsend.  I managed to get out of debt, too, so even though I'm still poor, at least I'm not in debt (well, except to my brother who loaned me the cash to pay the lawyer!  LOL).  Another weight off my shoulders.  Amazing how much weight you carry there.  I had thought most of it was in my butt. 

  

There is an advantage to having a chronic pain condition and being fairly fit.  I know I'm not actually injuring myself.  It's ONLY pain.  It's pain for the sake of pain, not pain because some part of me is torn or bruised or otherwise damaged.  I can move because the pain is there whether I move or not, so I might as well move.  Since I've been in pain for over 20 years, and it's only been the last few years that it's been bad enough to slow me down, I'm much more hopeful and accepting than I was when it first hit me.  I may eventually be free of the pain and not have to do battle with it anymore.  Then there will be no stopping me. 

Reading your email I noticed you said you've just about given up hope, might as well die fat and ugly, cried in the bathroom for 5 minutes before work, sitting there depressed while typing, your life stinks, your mood smells even worse, etc. I am just a layperson, ie. not Dr. Phil, but sounds like you might be suffering from some depression to me. I would ask your doctor for an antidepressant, you probably won't have to be using it for very long but at least until you feel more normal and feel better about your situation and life, and once you've been using one for a while I bet you will feel more like exercising, dieting, going back to school, and doing other things that are more positive and improving your life. Also tell them about your weight concerns as some cause weight gain as a side effect and some do not! Please post back so we know you are OK! Thanks! 

  

Karen 

Hi, I'm in my mid 30s and I used to exercise (weights) 3X/week. Then I cut back to 2X/week, now I am exercising (with weights) 1X/week.  The reason being is that for one, I got married and my schedule is jammed packed with school and work. I seriously had to cut-back on something to better balance my life out!  I also figured that my work-out only lasts for 1 day anyways, so I didn't really see the relevance of working out 3x/week. I have a nice upright bike on lay-a-way that I am about to get out and I can't wait!  I figured that I could still exercise with weights 1x/week and then use my bike at home to do intense cardio training (you can adjust your resistence with this bike) to supplement my weight work-out.  I have also been focusing on eating a lot more healthy and I have lost some weight. I still want to lose 10 more pounds. So...what I'm trying to say is that I think it is better to eat healthy and lose weight and get my body in a very good BMI state and do a good cardio work-out at home 2-3x/week (for 15-60 minutes) AND weight-train only once a week at the gym then it is to eat anything I want and work out with weights 3x/week.  Any thoughts would be appreciate?! Thank you.

    Hi everyone! I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for some quick exercises. I am a new mommy of a 6 month old and I have a 3 year old as well. I am also in Medical school at nights and I always seem to be the go all day everyday. I've decided to get up an hour earlier every moring to have some "me" time and fit in a workout routine. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have purchased some free weights (2 pounds to start) and a Tae Bo DVD. Since I am in the same boat as a lot of people with the struggling economy the way it is, it is very hard for me to afford "Healthy" foods. But I figure I can cut back my portions and start eating off my toddler's size plates and adding snacks in between (an average of balanced calories) every 3 hours. I've read that it helpes to eat every three hours to boost your metabolisim......is this true? Well, any input would be very helpful! 

  

Jamie 

Hello Jamie, 

  

I am very surprised that you say you can't afford healthy foods. I live in the Netherlands, and I don't know whether it's different in the US, but since I started to eat healthy foods, i cut back about a third on my grocery shopping. Maybe vegetables etc. is a bit more expensive, but you can severely cut down on cookies and other garbage you don't need. Money is no excuse to start eating healthy. I know, because my income is VERY low. 

I don't think your idea of using your toddler's plates will work. If you get hungry, you will grab unhealthy stuff again. I'm sure the key is to eat healthy. I strongly believe that this is possible, even on a very low income (mine is around 900 US$ a month). 

  

Sincerely, 

Jo 

Hi there Cluekeeper 

  

I'm a 31yr old female that has also given up on trying to live healthy via health foods. I live in South African and believe me it's not any easier or cheaper buy "healthy" foods here either. You are constantly being lied to about everything. We have a SABS here which is supposed to control this, but it ain't working. You buy "low fat" foods shich aren't low fat at all.  

  

Please don't give up hope. Think about the leprechauns pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Eat normal foods but cook them healthier. For example, instead of frying the meat - grill it.  

  

I'm not a skinny person. For my build (lenght) I'm 30 kilograms overweight - and that's according to my very own skinny (and might I add, very beautiful) female doctor. 

  

If you feel like "talking" to someone about how you feel the day, you can email me and we can "chat. I'm not always online but do get around to emails at night. 

The healthy foods Dr Phil talks about in his books are natural, whole foods. Nothing that is highly refined with lists of additives and preservatives.  So what you should be eating are fresh meats, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Anything that looks like a snack item and comes in a box or bag should be off limits, no matter what the labeling says.

In my experience, it has been cheaper to eat natural, healthy foods, but preparation time is longer, so you have to spend some time planning and preparing. This is where I fall down quite a bit, I wait too long to start preparing, and then start "tasting" as I'm cooking. Once you get into the habit though, the rewards are tremendous because you feel so much better!

I have been told that if you exercise for atleast 30 to 45 minutes 3 times per week, that can be quite good for you and your body. If you want to do more then do so. 

 

My hubby and I joined a Gym just afew weeks ago and well I'm going on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and workouting for atleast 45 minutes. I do 5 minutes warm up on the tredmill and then I go and do some cardio exercises like, doing different exercises with small weights and then after that I'm back on the tredmill for 10 minutes and getting my heart rate up to about 140 or so beats per minute.  

 

Each time I go to the Gym I have been pushing my body just that little bit harder so that my body gets use to the exercise. I hope to start seeing some results sooner than later. 

 

Good luck to you and please TAKE CARE, LOVE KELLY. 

 I started reading Dr Phil's ULTIMATE WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTION  on Monday and am staying at chapter 2 for the week while I write out my goals. If anybody would like to join me, welcome aboard. I've talked about some of my bad habits, and my diet on the other boards, so I won't go into that here.

I know how to lose weight, I've done it before. I lost 50 lbs 1/12 years ago, then have gained back 25. I was within 10lbs of my goal back then, so I now need to lose 35 lbs. I think I was not successful in the long term because I have not incorporated all of the keys into my lifestyle. I had lost all of that weight before I bought the book, so I just skimmed through it, thinking this is good, but I don't need it now. Well, I SHOULD  have read it in depth. I may have lost that last 10 lbs and kept it off. All is not lost if I've taken the lesson to heart though.

This is the exercise board, so I will list my exercise problems. I have had a very good program in the past, but I've become bored with it and need to branch out. I'm extremely fortunate to have a husband who has always made health and fitness a priority, we have a treadmill and various other equipment downstairs. In addition to my routines here at home, I'm going to look into something outside the home, I'm thinking Yoga. I love stretches, and I like meditation, it seems like a natural choice. In the summertime we do alot of hiking, and my husband and I climbed our first 14,0000 mountain this summer. The only problem was, I ate more while I was getting into shape for that, telling myself I was putting on muscle. I lost 4 lbs on the climb, but put on 6 after wards when I relaxed my routine. Then, I succumbed to feelings of guilt and quit working out altogether for awhile. Why do I do this?

I know how much better I feel though, when I'm in shape, so it's back in the saddle for me. I've been back on the treadmill for 3 days and already feeling better, even though I'm not up to the workouts I was before. It's all movement, it's all good.

If anybody would like to join me, I'm on the 2nd chapter and will stay here the rest of the week, while I write out my goals. I want to be as detailed as possible when I write them.

I'm 20 years old. And a mother of 2. A 1 year old and a 3 month old. And I'm looking for all kinds of weight lose ideas that really work. Anybody have some ideas.