Healthy Living

As I polish off yet another Little Debbie Star Crunch, I somehow feel that I could be doing better things with my body. When I was a teenager I was real active, and could get 6 hours of sleep and wake up completely refreshed. Not so much the case anymore. I wake up tired as hell, go to work, come home only to play some games, grab something to eat, and then sleep.

What I want to do with this thread is get some helpful pointers to start myself, and possibly other people off. I've already quit drinking sodas, and have been off of them for a few months now. I feel a lot better in the sense that I have a lot less gas now, and when I'm working I don't feel like complete shit after downing a 20oz bottle of it. I usually only drink Gatorade now, even when I eat dinner or whatever. Could drinking Gatorade too much be bad for you? I drink the stuff all the time, especially at work. My friend told me I should cut back and drink more water instead, but I find (especially working) that drinking water dries my throat (best I can really explain it). So drinking-wise - what should I do or change?

Another topic is multivitamins. A couple people at work take them and say it makes them feel a lot better, but it all depends on which ones you take. I read somewhere that liquid multivitamins are the best, but I'm not really sure which one would be the best for me. Or should I take something else? Pointers here would really be helpful.

Eating is a big thing as well. I'm a meat and potatoes man. I can't stand eating like a celery stick and shit. Fuck that. I don't need something with a shitload of chemical additives in my food either. I'd like to find a balance between eating something that tastes good and something that's good for me. Also a good eating schedule (some people say it's best to eat small meals frequently throughout the day?).

Another is exercising. You read everywhere and see all those commercials that you only need to do 20 minutes, but that seems kind of foolish. My job I'm constantly doing hard work that involves a lot of body movement, a lot more than 20 minutes worth, and the shit really isn't helping me (you could chalk this up to poor diet though, I suppose). One thing I do notice is my muscles (moreso my chest, arms, and legs) getting a lot bigger, but it's still under flab. What's a good routine to slowly get into for somebody in my position?

Basically, I just want to stop feeling like shit. I've felt like shit the past 3 years and I'm fucking tired of it. I want to wake up and feel energized again. Man, I miss those days. Thanks to any who reply.

Get a blood-suger test done, may be symptoms of diabeties, better treated sooner than later. Sorry, didnt mean to turn this into a hypercondriac thread.

edit- btw you dont need to go to the qwacks, they can probably do it at your local pharmacy.

Sounds like you just need to do some cardio work, and maybe change the diet a little bit.

I'd do either a high rep/low weight type workout, or just something that really gets your heart rate up for a sustained period of time - maybe an elliptical or rowing machine. 30-40 minutes a day, or even every other day to start off with, should be fine as long as the workout is intense.

As for the diet thing, I'd just go for tried and true things - low fat, high fiber, natural sugar (through fruits), and plenty of water. I'm notoriously carnivorous myself, but too much meat can be a problem. Fish is really good for you though - if you're into that I'd definitely implement that into my diet.

And for the multivitamins, I wouldn't spend too much money or effort on them. Just get a bottle of Theragram-M, and try to get your vitamins through food instead. It's worth the extra effort.

I'll never let myself get overweight, I suggest you do night walking and work out more, that shit seems invincible, but when we get to be in our 30's, the fun ends.

People are left with the impression that working manual labor makes you buff, but it doesnt seem to cause its not a consistent routine, just up and down. If anything its not good on your back.

Set up a actual excersize routine, and man trust me, it will balance your life.

Also be aware, if you've had a weight problem or fluctuating weight, to NOT stop eating or your eating patterns. Eat like a pig, dont fuck with metabolism or it will fuck you.

Eat like a pig, excersize it out. Slowly work changes in, only baby steps.

I tell ya, the initial transition from crappy diet to healthy diet aint easy (as you know), but soon as I cut the junk foods and sugars and started running alot, I turned into the incredible shrinking man. I've pretty much repleaced the pizza, ice cream, , snickers etc with vegetables, rice, and fish....though I do dabble in the in the sweets once in a while. C'mon, you gotta live!

I'm also thinking of buying a Poweblock weight system to spice things up and complete my transformation in a sexy beast.

Just stop eating that garbage. It's not hard to kick the junk food.

It's your mind that's weak. Sooner you tell it (your brain) to STFU the better you'll feel. That's the problem with most people is a weak mind.

As for exercise just get up and do it. Every time you don't feel like doing exercise remind yourself it's lack of motivation and laziness not time restraints.

There is no magic pill that will make you feel better. Eating non junk foods will provide enough vitamins you need. Save the money on vitamins and buy a good book.

gunrock46 said:

Just stop eating that garbage. It's not hard to kick the junk food.

It's your mind that's weak. Sooner you tell it (your brain) to STFU the better you'll feel. That's the problem with most people is a weak mind.

As for exercise just get up and do it. Every time you don't feel like doing exercise remind yourself it's lack of motivation and laziness not time restraints.

There is no magic pill that will make you feel better. Eating non junk foods will provide enough vitamins you need. Save the money on vitamins and buy a good book.

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Thanks for a thoroughly useless post.

Everybody else: Thanks for your inputs. It's interesting to see what (almost) everybody has to say.

Ok first thing to put your mind at rest is the diabetes test.
You can purchase some piss test kits, you just piss into a little cup, dip a ph stick (in the kit) into your piss for 10 seconds and wait for 1 minute and if it turns dark then there are signs of sugar in your piss which means you should go to the docs for a blood test.

Generally I know how you feel, ive become abit too lazy since joing this site.
I basically smoke too much, do jack shit and eat....so generally abit of excercise is good for you, I plan on quitting smoking and getting fit again.

My sleep sucks, just got some tablets to knock me out, and I supose the sleeping patterns I have don't really help with my health etc.

Anyway sounds like you have your head on your shoulders, just get some excercise and test for diabetes.

SonGohan said:

Thanks for a thoroughly useless post.

Everybody else: Thanks for your inputs. It's interesting to see what (almost) everybody has to say.

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It isn't useless. I was over 300lbs once. Now I'm near the 205 and built. You were asking how to get off junk food (see star crunch). You showed you have a weak mind as you can't stop yourself from loading yourself on a box of processed foods and you haven't been able to motivate yourself to start exercising. Stop messing with your computer and go for a 4 mile walk right now then come home and do no less than 30 pushups.

I still think I gave you good advice. How long have you been telling yourself you need to get in shape? Days, months, years? Sooner you tell your mind to stop letting you poison yourself with things you don't need the sonner change happens.

Eating healthy is good. However you don't have to resort to only eating
beggies. Have a good combination of food everyday, eat at least 3 meals (six
meals is preferrable if you're working out). Sleeping is also a big key, you're not
getting younger, the other way around, so logically you're going to feel tired.
Getting 8hrs of sleep helps the mind and the body everyday. I wish I had realized
that long ago. Also, when eating meals, try not to OVER FULL yourself, eat normal
meals, maybe eat an energy bar in between. Defenately cut all the junk
food, I keep it to a maximum of 3 times a month only. Get a gym membership
if you can, they usually only run for about $25 bucks; if you're business oriented
you can convince the teenagers that work at 24hrs to get you one for about
that price or a little more ($5-$7more). Try getting into the habit of eating
fruits. Those are healthy, and they're usually very tasty, oranges, and apples
being my favorite. Take the gatorade off, and drink water, WATER keeps you
hydrated!

gunrock46 said:

It isn't useless. I was over 300lbs once. Now I'm near the 205 and built. You were asking how to get off junk food (see star crunch). You showed you have a weak mind as you can't stop yourself from loading yourself on a box of processed foods and you haven't been able to motivate yourself to start exercising. Stop messing with your computer and go for a 4 mile walk right now then come home and do no less than 30 pushups.

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Jesus. First of all, the star crunch didn't even happen. It was just a prelude for the topic of the thread. That was it. Nowhere did I say I had to have candy or junk food. I have no idea where you got any of this. Your weak mind apparently can't comprehend my post or it's questions to contribute something best left for a person who doesn't know why they're out of shape.

gunrock46 said:

I still think I gave you good advice. How long have you been telling yourself you need to get in shape? Days, months, years? Sooner you tell your mind to stop letting you poison yourself with things you don't need the sonner change happens.

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You didn't give me jack shit in terms of advice. All you did was try to preach things that didn't apply to my post. Sorry, and if you read my post it stated that it's been like this for 3 years. Everybody else has given great suggestions from what to eat, how often to eat, and what to change. All you did was come in on your soapbox, tell me I have a weak mind, and make large assumptions which were mostly contradictory to what I've already stated.

Good read, Jorge. I think I'm going to go to the doctor to check out all my levels as well. After reading some posts, I'm pretty paranoid now

SonGohan said:

Jesus. First of all, the star crunch didn't even happen. It was just a prelude for the topic of the thread. That was it. Nowhere did I say I had to have candy or junk food. I have no idea where you got any of this. Your weak mind apparently can't comprehend my post or it's questions to contribute something best left for a person who doesn't know why they're out of shape.



You didn't give me jack shit in terms of advice. All you did was try to preach things that didn't apply to my post. Sorry, and if you read my post it stated that it's been like this for 3 years. Everybody else has given great suggestions from what to eat, how often to eat, and what to change. All you did was come in on your soapbox, tell me I have a weak mind, and make large assumptions which were mostly contradictory to what I've already stated.

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You're not walking outside right now. Weather looks nice in Altus, OK according to weather.com. You know what you need to do to change yet you're still not working towards it, but rather wasting valuable time replying. Look at your post count. Stop posting so damned much and get moving. Make a point that every time you feel the need to post something here to do 10 pushups then 10 crunches. There's no better time to start than right now.

gunrock46 said:

You're not walking outside right now. Weather looks nice in Altus, OK according to weather.com. You know what you need to do to change what you need yet you're still not working towards it, but rather wasting valuable time replying. Look at your post count. Stop posting so damned much and get moving. Make a point that every time you feel the need to post something here to do 10 pushups then 10 crunches. There's no better time to start than right now.

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??

gunrock46 said:

You're not walking outside right now. Weather looks nice in Altus, OK according to weather.com. You know what you need to do to change what you need yet you're still not working towards it, but rather wasting valuable time replying. Look at your post count. Stop posting so damned much and get moving. Make a point that every time you feel the need to post something here to do 10 pushups then 10 crunches. There's no better time to start than right now.

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Actually, right now I'm sitting here at the computer watching Seinfeld and curling 50s. Usually the time I take to post is me relaxing my arms. Once again, don't make assumptions on things that you aren't clear on. I appreciate what you're trying to say, but keep the responses productive. If you have anything to contribute exercise or food-wise, I'm all ears. Telling me that I have a weak mind and to go out and walk 5 miles isn't telling me anything. The reason I created this thread is so I can jot down notes in my notebook to plan around other people's experiences and incorporate them into my own planner. So far I have tomorrow morning planned (I work graveyards).

Snake-Eyes said:

Ok first thing to put your mind at rest is the diabetes test.
You can purchase some piss test kits, you just piss into a little cup, dip a ph stick (in the kit) into your piss for 10 seconds and wait for 1 minute and if it turns dark then there are signs of sugar in your piss which means you should go to the docs for a blood test.

Anyway sounds like you have your head on your shoulders, just get some excercise and test for diabetes.

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Good advice Snake Eyes, probably a good start, but it should be noted that a low blood sugar ratio can also be a bad thing, a blood test is the only real conclusive test. It doesnt hurt, its not like a huge hyperdermic or anything, its really straight forward and painless, and you dont have to go to the docs. (well, at least here you dont, the local pharmacy offers the service)

And if it turns out positive, its not the end of the world, it can often be treated by diet change, no need for insulin. If not treated it may lead to all sorts of complications.

The thing you have to remember is, you're trying to implement changes to last your lifetime. Gamers tend to approach this sort of problem with a full-out all-or-nothing mentality, and then tend to burn out fast and stop exercising and eating well. You have to phase these changes in gradually, slowly to make them stick.

Start with the following:

Reduce your consumption of soda, junk food, fast food, etc.
Try to begin eating better meals, eat until satisfied but not full.
Begin some sort of exercise that makes you break a sweat at least four times a week.

Drinking tons of water really helps. You'll feel fuller at all times, and you'll help flush out your system. It's definitely a key to making things work.

If you're feeling run down, drink lots of green tea.

-first of all it has caffeine, which gives you energy

Coffee has caffeine too, but that's about all that it has going for it. Green tea on the other hand

-is a strong anti-carcinogen

-is 98% water, which helps flush out your system (like Loopz said)

-is also good at killing bacteria and viruses, so it's good to drink if you're sick

The only drawback with green tea is that it'll probably make your throat drier than plain old water, especially if you drink it hot. One way around this is to make it, then stick it in the fridge for a few hours and drink it cold.

I need to start doing something.

Last summer I completley cut everything out drink-wise and stuck with water. And I drank alot of water, clear piss for weeks.

I did that for awhile, but for some reason stopped.

In about a year, I've jumped from 220 to about 250.

I R teh fatass.

Ah, I had the same problem a few years back when I worked in an office. I'd wake up, go to work, play games and off to bed with little to no physical activity.

I cut out the sodas for the most part, maybe a mountain dew with lunch but that was all. I switched to tea to replace it. There's tons of different teas out there and I've really gotten to like it. I really dig earl grey and green tea.

I quit the office job and got a job in a shop where I was doing lots of physical activity. I didn't get buff or anything (I probably never will be) but I lost around 25 pounds and look a lot better now.

Diet is important. I started shopping for food instead of buying it from a drive through window. I saved a lot of money and ate much better as well. I love vegetables; its an aquired taste IMO. Cut out the enriched white flour stuff; it's havoc on your blood sugar levels. I switched to whole wheat bread which took some getting used to, but again, it levels out your blood sugar so you're on an even keel all day. It has something to do with how your body breaks down the food. Whole wheat takes some time and effort to break down so you're not hungry as often and your energy levels are more consistant. Same with white rice, brown rice takes longer to cook, but switching to it has the same effect as switching to whole grain breads.


I tell you, I used to be on a rollercoaster where I would eat and have energy and then be tired after an hour or so and feel like shit all the time. I think these symptoms are for metabolic syndrome or whatever the hell doctors call it this week. I don't know all the medical details but I can attest that following this sort of diet and having some exercise thrown in really makes you feel %1000 percent better. In addition, if you change your diet you'll have the energy and drive to do some physical effort.


My two cents, hope this helps.

The thing I did was just work out. Working out alone helps in ways you can't imagine. The eating part is the hard part. There's not a thing that goes in my mouth that I'm not thinking about, and I would say about 75% of my body comes from the food I eat. Sure, working out is VERY important, but be aware of how you eat. It's very hard, and everyone has an opinion.... it depends on what you want to do with yourself. Go to a really low, ripped body weight? Just lose a bit of fat? You can go gung-ho and eat Tuna and drink water all day with some carbs for energy and turn yourself into a super hero look-a-like, but will you be happy?

Push ups and crunches everyday

Make sure you eat breakfast

Make sure you drink water

Cut soda, most sweets, and a lot of empty carbs

Eat often, but small

Don't eat right before bed

You do these things, and you will transform your body very quickly. I did.. I was a shapless fat bastard. It takes work, but not as much as you think. It's what you make of it. After a while you'll know that food isn't a recreation, but a thing to keep your body working.

Good luck, and if you have ANY questions on diet or exercise, you can always PM me or even call me up on the phone. I love talking about fitness and helping others with it.

If I can offer any advice it's that the more active you are- the better you'll feel.

The Human body evolved to move- and move alot. To run, jump, crouch, neel, climb, etc.

Eat alot of vegetable matter, some meat, and vitamins don't really hurt

Sleep regular hours

Don't drink too much

Get laid regularly

- You'll be ok

I'm about to sound like a total asshole here, but there's some great advice here, and some that's.... just advice. However, doing anything is a step in the right direction. Good luck, man!

you just have to want it.

BryLmoo said:

you just have to want it.

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Good advice

I can't help but think of a physically fit person the way Paul Mooney from Chappelle show said: "Everybody wants to be a nigga, but nobody wants to be a nigga"

I can't help but think that everyone wants to look great, but nobody's going to take half of what it takes to do it. I get compliments and what not about my work ethic and physique, but when people see me eating tuna, beans out of a can, water, and rice, they all make fun of how I eat. Look you fat bastards, you have to do something to get something. I wish I could tell people that... but I just smile and eat my food.

It takes more discipline than most people seem to have.