Emergenscenery Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Hey, everyone!! My name is Justin Code. I'm 23, and I live in Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada. I'm new and fresh here to NF. My friend Loren Wade has been referring this site to me for a while, so I thought that I'd give it a try. I just really need a change in my life, and am looking to surround myself with the community to do it. Honestly, I've had millions of excuses over the years for why fitness hasn't been a huge part of my life. One of them has been the fact that I have no arch in my feet, and having flat feet absolutely kills me when I jump into some cardio. God knows I'd love to someday run a marathon or something, but I just get waaay too weary. Over time, I've watched myself allow the reasons (I'm going to call them excuses now) to naturally pile up for me, unfortunately. And it's time to lay them all aside somehow. I'm currently fluctuating between 215 and 220 lbs., and I haven't been liking it at all for a while. Presently, I'm thinking I want to lose about 30-40, and get my energy and ambition back. I've got to start building new habits:- For one thing, I need to re-learn simple exercises and cardio. I can barely do a pushup to save my life!! And that sucks. - I'm going to need to get a gym membership and start going regularly. I used to go off and on casually when I was in college, and I'd read books on the exercise bike and play around a bit with the weights. But it didn't do squat for me, because I was also competing against all carb-loaded cafeteria food I'd eat from day-to-day. Which brings me to…..- I also need to look at my eating habits a bit more. I'm looking into the Paleo diet right now, and seeing if that's something I can swing. I'm not afraid of healthy food at all, as I'm a fan of all types of food. But often enough, I can easily cave into silly stuff like nachos, slurpees, and burger/fry meals. And it certainly doesn't help that my new current job is as a cook at Denny's, where they cook just as much junk as they do decent food. I've got to make new choices, and find the strength and determination to hold to them. I've tried a few times before, but I always lose resolution after a few weeks. Not good. So, yeah. That's a teeny bit about me. Any ideas, tips, wisdom, and encouragement would be gladly accepted. (especially for my cardio frustrations - anyone else have flat feet?) I truly need all the help I can get!! I've been really encouraged and filled with hope, after checking out some of the testimonials and stories on this site. I'm hoping to write a daring chapter for my own life. Anyone who wants to help me write it, you're very welcome to join me. Thanx, guys. See y'all around. "We come from isolation, but we're never alone." Link to comment
AutumnWynds Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Welcome!Have you tried barefoot running? That's supposed to help strengthen the arches of your feet. I don't have flat feet, so I can't speak to it personally, but I do love minimalist/barefoot running.Pushups take a little work, but progression can be pretty quick. You can start with knee or wall pushups and progress, or you can do full pushups and just do one or half or whatever you can manage. Push yourself a bit, making sure your form is good. Next time, try to do more, and so on.As far as diet, falling off the wagon doesn't mean you have to give up completely. Acknowledge that you made a poor choice and get back to eating healthy the next meal. Try hard to tell yourself no when temptation strikes - you'll get better at it the more you do it.Good luck with your goals Elf RangerSTR-10 DEX-10.75 STA-7 CON-13 WIS-6 CHA-8Challenge Log Link to comment
Emergenscenery Posted May 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Thanks so much for the encouragement!! I've thought about barefoot running, yes. I'm always in bare feet anyway. lol. Never thought about how it might strengthen my arches. That might be worth looking into, I think. "We come from isolation, but we're never alone." Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted June 1, 2012 Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Welcome, dude! Glad you're here! lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
chickenstitch Posted June 1, 2012 Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hi hope the forum helps you with your goals Goals complete c25k podcasts: 2.66 do 10 full push ups: 4/10 Link to comment
Dave0222 Posted June 1, 2012 Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hey Emergenscenery - I feel like I'm in a pretty boat; a bunch of half-heated starts, lots of excuses over the years. Glad to have found a site like this that provides such a sense of support and accountability! How has your past week gone? Been able to get the exercise ball rolling and avoid the Denny's food trap? I used to work at a Dairy Queen, and remembering how much junk I ate there makes me kinda nauseous. It's tough to stay clear when it's in front of you all the time! Congrats on getting to the starting line - hope you've had a successful week since this post :-) Link to comment
Haikoo Posted June 1, 2012 Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Welcome! That would be really difficult for me to work around all that food that you are trying not to eat. Though, some people say that after working in it they get sick of it. Maybe that will happen for you!As far feet, you may just need to find the right shoes. There are a lot of stores now that have the tech to analyze your gait or see where your foot applies pressure when you stand or run. This can help them get a shoe that supports you properly.As far as building cardio stamina, I found the couch to 5k program worked miracles for me. I have difficulties running because of shin splints and stuff, but even the first 6 weeks of the program brought my stamina so far I couldn't believe it. It's really based on a interval training. When I started, I couldn't even jog 60 seconds without feeling like I was going to die. by the 6th week or so, I could actually jog for a full 20 minutes--it was hard, but I did it! It's amazing how quickly interval training beefs up your stamina and cardio vascular system.Good luck on your journey! STR 7.2 | DEX 3.5 | STA 5.8 | CON 8.4 | WIS 5.55 | CHA 5.5 Most Recent Challenge Link to comment
Emergenscenery Posted June 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Wow, thanks for the encouragement, guys!! Not going to lie. It's been a rough week. I've got to cut the excuses and get more exercise. I've been out for a few brisk walks, mostly. Hopefully going to be getting my hands on a gym membership this week. But I can make quite the busy life for myself between my rotating work schedule and hanging out with the youth I work with. I need to purposefully make time in my schedule. Dave, it's been here and there for me. Sometimes, I pack my own lunch for work. But since I'm a cook there, I do get free meals, and I've got to be careful to avoid the junk. The salads and fruit cups are great, for sure. But everything else is definitely a huge temptation. Plus, there's limitless pop for the staff. Sometimes, it's so tempting, especially when I'm tired and crave caffeine. There's been small victories this week for me, but I'm still got this war in front of me. Haikoo, I know what you mean. Somedays, I've found myself wanting to not eat during my shift and do it later when I'm not around the tempting stuff. And I definitely have been checking out new footwear. I went to my local sports store the other day, and talked to a bro there about some options. The consensus from everyone seems to be orthopaedics for my shoes. I tried on a pair of Vibrams, as I've been interested in barefoot running, too. They feel cool. But without arches, I'm honestly scared that they might now survive very long with my feet. I destroy shoes naturally so quickly. An average sneaker for me is about 3 weeks life span. Running shoes last about just over a year with me. Looking at the seam between the fabric and the rubber, I'd be nervous that I would wear it apart in a month and a half. (Any one know what the average lifespan of minimalist shoes are for people with flat feet?) Wow!! Your running progress sounds amazing. I definitely want this type of miracle!! What's the couch to 5k program? "We come from isolation, but we're never alone." Link to comment
Haikoo Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Barefootdawsy is the guy to see about barefoot around here, or so I hear He is in the chat room sometimes. I was just talking to him last night about barefoot stuff. He could probably tell you how the shoes last.Couch to 5k is an app you can download and use with your regular music while you are running. It has chimes and such that tell you went to start running and when to walk again. It progresses through something like 9 weeks. In the beginning you are mostly walking, with a few short bits of running. By getting your heart rate up, then getting to a calmer place again you are doing an interval which is amazing for your body. It basically tells you what to do to train. The program is meant to take someone who is not running and transform them into someone who can do a 5k. There is also a dj out there who took the program and just set it to music for you. It's called Podrunner. YOu can find him on Itunes in podcasts. I have used that one rather than the Cto5k app as it was free and I don't mind techno music while I am running. This one was nice, too because I prefer to use my tiny ipod instead of a big ol' phone while I'm running. STR 7.2 | DEX 3.5 | STA 5.8 | CON 8.4 | WIS 5.55 | CHA 5.5 Most Recent Challenge Link to comment
Emergenscenery Posted June 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Sweet!! That sounds really cool!! I have recently started playing around with the "Zombies, Run!" app, which seems to do a similar thing in slowly breaking you into a more habit of running (from imaginary zombies, in this case). I've only just begun with it really, but it's fun. But Podrunner and Cto5k sound really awesome. Being able to work through a progressing program, anyway. I'm going to have to look into those. And I'll definitely have to keep a lookout for Barefootdawsy. "We come from isolation, but we're never alone." Link to comment
Haikoo Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Yes! Zombies Run is basically the same kind of conditioning I really want that app... STR 7.2 | DEX 3.5 | STA 5.8 | CON 8.4 | WIS 5.55 | CHA 5.5 Most Recent Challenge Link to comment
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