Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff

[Arkandel]

Going around in circles with people about fitness.

"I'm constantly tired, my back hurts and I'm gaining weight."
"Well, go to the gym. I can help! We can be workout buddies!"
"I can't, I don't have enough time"

(the guy has enough time)

"Well okay, how about doing something at home then? You can stream or download Pilates workouts."
"I don't think I can do that, I'd look ridiculous."
"... you'd be doing them in your living room man, and you're single, plus why is doing Pilates ridiculous?"

"But okay, what if we start simpler, change the way you eat?"
"I like the food I'm eating now since someone else makes it for me, and I can't ask them to change it."
"Okay."
"But I'm constantly tired, my back hurts and I'm gaining weight."

"Okay, how long do you sleep at nights? Do you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I get eight hours, but my mattress sucks though, it's a twenty year mattress."
"Have you seen a doctor? Or why don't you get a new mattress?"
"I really hate two things in life, shopping and going to the doctor."

<sigh>

[Ganymede]

@Arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

<sigh>

Let me continue the dialogue. I'm good at this.

Arkandel: We're not married, right?
Friend: No, I'm single, remember?
Arkandel: Right, right. Have you ever wondered why?
Friend: I haven't found the right person.
Arkandel: Look, there is no "right person" for you because no reasonable person is going to sit around and listen to you shit on yourself and your life, and then tolerate you continually ignoring or turning down assistance and advice to potential turn yourself and your life around. The reason you feel ridiculous is because you are being ridiculous right now. You are the cause of and solution to all of your fucking problems at the moment, and until you recognize that you need to fucking change you will always be the cause of your fucking problems, and inevitable become the perceived problem of all of your struggling, unhealthy, but dedicated friendships. Now, get off your ass, go buy a bed, and go see a doctor, and count yourself lucky you're not in the United States right now.
Friend: What's wrong with the United States?
Arkandel: Bitch, what's wrong with you?

FIN.

[Arkandel]

@Ganymede What makes me grumble about these things is that I can completely see myself saying them a few years ago. I was just like that - and I know now that unless there's something medically (in a non-self diagnosed way) wrong with you they are almost trivial to fix.

Time? G'dammit if you have time to play games 3-4 hours every day you have time to go to the gym 3-4 times a week.

Tired after work? What, you think I'm not? Everyone is! But we do this shit anyway!

Can't spare the time/effort? Dude, your body will clear your calendar right off if it gives up on you. You're gonna have so much free time then to put a ton of effort in to fix what didn't have to break.

Can't/won't change food habits? This too is so annoying because... I'm the worst cook in the world. But putting chicken breasts in the oven/pressure cooker and waiting for X minutes isn't exactly rocket science, and adding a salad out of a bag isn't that hard. Done. Plus it's way cheaper than eating out. And this shit tastes good, too.

Don't know what to do? Other than listening to friends, do the same thing you do for everything else; google it. There is so much information out there, g'dammit, all made for regular working grunts and not super athletes (protip: super athletes don't need to google this shit up, they have professional trainers... so all this information is written in the first place for everyday people). I even pointed him to the Fitness subreddit which is so constructive and has so many pointers.

It's frustrating because it's so doable. And because I spent decades of my life not doing it.

[Ganymede]

@Arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

It's frustrating because it's so doable. And because I spent decades of my life not doing it.

That's exactly my point. Your friend knows this about you too, if he's your friend.

My partner is a six-time cancer survivor. She has scoliosis of the variety that makes it hard to find pants that fit right. She's a mother of twins at age 4. She's just finished up her first year of her P.A. program successfully, and has 5 weeks before she hits clinical rotations.

And she went to the fucking gym for the first time in over a year yesterday.

So, yeah, I have no patience for this friend of yours. My partner has every reason to just stop working out, but she does it because she knows the health benefits (and hangs around with early 20-something college grads, most of whom could model, and don't think I didn't notice this at their white-coat ceremony, goddammit).

Make the time. Take the time. Stop making excuses.

[Cupcake]

I don't got to the gym because I don't want to. While my recently acquired hip problem is also now a factor, it wasn't before.

Hey, at least I own it.

[Meg]

Some people don't want solutions, they just have problems. This applies to a lot of things.

[Catsmeow]

As a note, I miss a gym with a Pilates class. I use to be soaked (which is gross to some but makes ME feel I worked out) afterwards. It's a lot of work to use your own body. Right now, I'm not gyming because I can't find one that meets my needs. One is a no 'Gym Intimidation' gym. Which is great but I sort of want to be inspired by others. I like going to a gym and seeing people go hard. It makes me want to do it. Those that sort of half-ass their work out sort of gives me a reason to. I'm pretty good with my own excuses.

Also, I'm still a little nervous after the cardiac embolism in March. I have been walking pretty much daily and I'm starting to feel my body is ready to attempt running and strength training. I have to say, even if your buddy just walks to the end of his driveway and back -- it's moving. Moving is important. Baby steps are important. The distance/speed/activity is less important than just moving.

[Tinuviel]

@Ganymede Can you just... write all of my dialogue for me, from now on?
Especially when dealing with those dictatorial pric... er... students.

[Ganymede]

@Tinuviel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

Can you just... write all of my dialogue for me, from now on?
Especially when dealing with those dictatorial pric... er... students.

Sure.

Student: Professor, I have a question.
Tinuviel: I'll bet you do.
Student: What?
Tinuviel: You're stupid. Go away.

[Tinuviel]

@Ganymede

[Arkandel]

@Catsmeow said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

As a note, I miss a gym with a Pilates class. I use to be soaked (which is gross to some but makes ME feel I worked out) afterwards. It's a lot of work to use your own body.

Back when I was starting out with weightlifting I had gotten cocky; surely if I could push and pull these iron plates my own bodyweight would feel light as a feather, right...? so I went to a Pilates class thinking I'd find it easy.

Hah. Hah hah. Ahahahah. Hah. No.

[SparklesTheClown]

Today I realized that the longer I stay in the house, the more mentally unhealthy I become, and then when I go out and see people that I like, it's like I hit the reset button on my mental state.

I feel like I should learn something from this.

[Catsmeow]

@Arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

Back when I was starting out with weightlifting I had gotten cocky; surely if I could push and pull these iron plates my own bodyweight would feel light as a feather, right...? so I went to a Pilates class thinking I'd find it easy.

Hah. Hah hah. Ahahahah. Hah. No.

I took a friend who's in great shape to a pilates class. He is a runner, he lifts like WHOA, he drinks those vile green smoothie things with kale (I had a bad kale experience, don't drink it now), and all that. He was DYING in it. It's a lot of work. Ballet/barre classes are too.

[Blood_Magic]

It's about energy.

From seeing people and being sociable, to moving to the end of the driveway or four miles a day, it's about energy. Your body anticipates your energy needs and if you slack off, it expects to slack off and you have less energy the next day. So you need to keep moving, or even pushing yourself further. People have auras, and biomagnetic fields, this is why many 'sync' up their moon cycles, and it's because there's always an exchange of energy between people. So you need to be around them in some capacity to engage in power exchanges. Yes. Power exchanges. And when you move your own body and get your blood pumping, you're oxygenating it, and what is oxidization but energy?

Energy, man.

[Arkandel]

@Blood_Magic Well, not quite. I mean it is energy too, absolutely... conditioning matters in everything, but in this case it's got more to do with how one activity translates into another.

There are long studies about how to best preprae for sports, or how much getting stronger in one motion affects another; as it turns out there seems to be a correlation but it's by no means an absolute as long as you're comparing apples to apples. In other words the guy who's very active and works out will be far better than a second guy who's a couch potato, but if the second guy is also involved in their activity of choice then generally speaking it won't be that close.

The body is a very specific machine to train; it becomes more efficient and better at exactly the things you make it do. It's a common advice in weightlifting that if you want to improve your bench you need to bench more; basketball professional athletes mostly train by playing more basketball. Swimmers swim a lot... and so on. You can get benefits from cross-training but your focus always defines what you're the best at. In fact even range of motion matters; do a partial squat (oh-so common) and your quads and glutes will get stronger for that range; your muscles don't have a crap to give that you want them to get stronger overall, they only improve to match the very specific challenge you're forcing them to compensate for.

So pilates just works different angles and tests muscles for things compound barbell movements don't. That's basically where I'm getting at. Sure, energy is a bit thing too, but that's not why you're sore as fuck the day after - you're not tired, that's all DOMS.

[Cupcake]

I am very frustrated with the fact that situations and circumstances that for most people are inconvenient or just somewhat frustrating, for me are anxiety inducing events that reduce me to a ball of frayed nerves.

[Aria]

@Cupcake -- This is why I have (legal) drugs. Ones that I take daily, and ones I can carry around in my bag in the event of the sudden onset of panic. I very rarely use the latter, in no small part because carrying them around and knowing I have them if I really need them alleviates some of anxiety. Huzzah, psychosomatic nonsense?

I recommend having something -- not necessarily meds, but whatever works for you -- that you can carry around and know it's there if you need it. Even if you end up not needing it, that reassurance is surprisingly helpful.

[Gingerlily]

@Auspice

What migraine meds did they change you to? Preventative or acute or both?

I somehow forgot this thread was a thing so forgive me for asking a question related to something you said a month ago

[Gingerlily]

@Auspice said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

I am a slow-ass knitter. Seriously. I am so slow.

And I am constantly being pestered to sell my knitting. No. Nope. Not gonna happen. Then it becomes pressure and then it becomes ruined as something relaxing.

My mother is an amazing knitter too (I am trying to learn but my fine motor skills are not impressive). She's said the exact same thing. I wear her stuff to work and get compliments and "I wish I could have one like that, she should open a shop". I told her I'd help her set up an Etsy shop or something and that it might be fun.

She said the 'fun' part is knitting for herself or her family or friends because she wants to, not because she's supposed to. Fair point mom, and @Auspice

[Gingerlily]

@Auspice said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

Didn't eat enough yesterday.
Put off eating too long today.

Now I'm too far past hunger that it's hard to make myself eat, ugh.

My migraine meds have negated my sense of hunger, so I have to remind myself to eat, except I've always been bad about that. So it's down to setting reminders. But I get caught up in work or homework, so I'll make food, then forget it... or I'll just be so not-hungry from the meds that it'll take me hours to eat it and so on.

And then have days like today. I feel like shit because of the anemia, so I need to eat, but that 'feel like shit' state makes it hard to eat.

Now I know why, when I was reading up on these meds, it said they're, in rare cases, used to treat obesity.

My daily meds make me not-hungry too, you'd think I'd lose weight. Instead I don't eat from morning until 7 or 8 pm and then suddenly I am famished and want all the carbs that exist in my tummy.

I've quit smoking. I've quit recreational substance things. But I can't seem to quit sugar no matter what I try. It's so yummy!