today was the day!

[Mothball]

so ive been lurking here for a while because i think i really need change...

im not even sure where to start, ive been overweight ever since the birth of my son over 13 years ago, before that i was always slim at about 55kg at 159cm height now i weigh about... 90kg or so (i havent had a scale in years so i dont even know my exact weight except that it was too much) 

so today was the day i got started, nothing big but i took a walk for almost an hour, little victories right? there is a huge forest area near my appartment with a free-entry zoo! actually i havent found this zoo yet, this forest really is huge! i guess ill try again tomorrow.

i have never really exercised in my life and with all this fat i carry around im really not sure what else to do except for walking, i cant really afford a gym membership at the moment and i have never been comfortable in gyms anyway ('haha look at the fat girl trying work out' yea thanks but no thanks)

im not a very social person anyway and i get very anxious and nervous when theres more than say 2 strangers around me (thats why this forest is great, theres simply no people around ;P ) but i dont want that to stop me either, there has got to be stuff i can do outside of a gym right? lately theres been so many things i want to be able to do, like do pull ups or jump a fence like they do in the movies, you know put your hands on top of it and jump over kinda sideways? im probably just easily impressed but i think thats amazing! or climb those really high walls in the freeclimbing halls, all the way to the top! id prolly cry at the top cause im not so good with heights and theyll need a crane to get my down again hahaha

 

but those are all things for the future, the problem i have these day is: i cant sleep when i should

this has been going for months now and since i have no job i pretty much dont have a regular daily schedule anymore and so from one day to another i stopped sleeping at night

ive always been a nightowl, i would do fine with 4-5 hours a night but now when i finally do fall asleep around 3-4am in the morning i sleep for 10 hours or so and feel very groggy and exhausted all day 

today has been another prime example, i took that walk for about an hour, trying to go a bit faster than usual (my short stumpy legs dont usually like to carry me very fast haha) i was pretty pooped out by the time i got back, i went to bed at around 10pm but sleep simply didnt come so around 1am i just gave up and got up again... 

i have tried a few things already like setting my alarm clock to 7am but after a week i just stopped hearing it or simply turned it off without actually waking up (and i do that even when the alarm isnt within reach), and i would still fall asleep at 3-4am and then wake up at 7am tired and grumpy

i also invested in a better matress when i moved back to germany (im native german but i lived in NL for 2 years with my boyfriend and might possibly go back, <3 NL! ) and that worked out so well in the beginning until the day i couldnt sleep anymore

so if anyone has a good tip on how to fall asleep im willing to try pretty much anything, at the end of my rope here oTL

 

im hoping a little that all this walking and eating better will power me out enough to actually sleep normally again

ive been looking into paleo and im wondering if anyone knows a good site with paleo specific recipes that also have measurements in kg/celsius? im a little lost with all those funky american measurements...

another thing is, like i mentioned earlier im german, i live in a country that has about 500 different kinds of bread and i love 99% of them (not the crap with the raisins, yuck! ) especially brown bread and i love sitting around baking for 8 hrs some days to make it myself too but since paleo seems to be all NO BREAD!! im wondering if i can at least cheat a little? i think bread is the only thing i really cant live without (also only bad thing about NL, sorry dutchies but your bread is just... meh oTL ), i just love bread with ham, bacon or scrambled eggs for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or all day hah... )

 

anyway i think ill stop here now and try giving sleep another go, sorry this post is probably all over the place but to anyone who bothered to read till this point, Hi! where do the chubby people start?

 

edit: oh yea does anyone have a good idea for a side dish to go with a lambs leg with herbal crust? im making that for christmas but i have no idea what side dish would go well with lamb...

[Guest]

Hello and welcome!

Ah, a fellow baker! Baking is wonderful, who doesn't love their house smelling like freshly baked bread? I know I do.

Paleo is really strict on that, but I think you shouldn't opt for that kind of a revamped diet and completely forgo the things you love. Just keep an eye on your portions

I've found a problem with lots of exercise, especially if you aren't used to it, that you may find yourself exhausted, but you still have so much adrenaline and such pumping through you that your body is still on alert (in case you decide to start moving again.)

I don't know if you're one for supplements, but I've found that valerian root really is quite helpful. It smells like a wet dog foot, but after a week of use I found I was sleeping more readily and deeply. Alternatively, if you try to get yourself up and moving throughout the day you may be able to fall asleep at night. SInce you say you're currently unemployed, maybe you're far more sedentary than you used to be and have no outlet for energy.

I get what you mean about social anxiety, I'm the same way. One reason why I love these forums, all of the benefits of social interactions without the stress of making eye contact or openig my mouth

You've come to the right place we're here to help, never be afraid to ask questions!

Did I already say hi and welcome? Well, Hi and welcome!

[Mothball]

thanks for the welcome

 

aah yes, the smells! thats why i love baking and cooking in general, when i started living with my boyfriend i was so excited to cook for somebody else, i got up at 5 in the morning and cooked him his lunch for work haha

i dont really mind revamping my diet, ive been trying to go mostly paleo the last couple weeks (tried sweet potatoes for the first time, why did nobody tell me how delicious those are?!) but its mostly stir fry and that is getting a little boring

the whole no bread thing is the only thing im worried about tho, those 2 years i had to live with bread that was pretty much all just the soft american sandwich type or way too sweet packed slices of dark brown bread just sucked

 

hm i did look at supplements like herbs and teas and such last night but i should probably consult my doctor about those first, im a marcuomar patient also called an artificial bleeder, means i have a genetic defect that causes my blood to be way too thick (thrombosis and lung emboly in 2005 that couldve cost my leg or my life) so im taking pills to make my blood thinner and theres so many things i cant take with it, like aspirin, green vegetables, red meats etc etc which sucks cause my fav veggies are spinach and broccoli and beef just smells amazing when you fry it

but with this health condition being fat (and smoking btw -.- ) is pretty bad, im 31 now btw and i dont wanna die as a fat 60 year old with dementia... im gonna have grandchildren to meet after all

 

ugh its been raining since yesterday, looks like its gonna be a very muddy walk...

[attackbunny]

Welcome & congrats on getting started!

There are a lot of body weight exercises you can do. Or with stuff you have lying around the house so you never have to go to a gym if you don't want to! I think getting started with walking is great and you can add to it as you go. I started with walking and the beginner body weight circuit from NF and it kicked my butt!!! I followed that program until I could do it 3x and then was ready for the next level.

As for the bread-I say eat it in moderation. A lot of people here are into paleo but it just won't work for me. I'm not giving up that many of the foods I love. I just try to eat more "real" foods and limit the stuff that isn't that great for me. Its working-lost 20some lbs so far. If I may decide to be stricter in the future (but I doubt it)

Don't try to do too much or make too many changes all at once or you will burn out. I've done that to myself many times! Start small and keep adding (or taking away) as you go.

Good luck!!

[Mothball]

thanks for the welcome

 

well yesterday i walked for about an hour (+half an hour for groceries) and according to google maps went about 4,2 km, i still havent found the zoo... when i checked google maps after i got home i realized i only had to walk another 5 mins through thick forest to get there *facepalm* 

didnt do any walking today but tomorrow im gonna find that zoo, im gonna find some deer and feed them! (and after maybe buy some deer meat haha)

 

anyway i wanted to start with beginner body weight circuit from NF today but i was wondering if there is a good time to do it? like before or after eating or right when you get up or go to bed (please dont say first thing in the morning, im the grumpiest morning person there ever was lol)

 

wondering if i should start one of those battle logs too but i gotta figure out a proper goal first i guess

 

 

edit: uff that body weight thing just kicked my butt only managed 1 circuit but all the recommended repeats for it except for the plank at the end, i cant get my back up at all, feels like its gonna crack in the middle trying to lift all my weight... oTL

also wow... my joints sound like firecrackers through all that, should i be worried? never heard my joints going knacknacknack like that... D:

[Guest]

Yes, definitely definitely consult with a doctor then. Sweet potatoes are seriously delicious, I don't know how some people dislike them 

Well, you're on the right track to becoming old and wrinkly Never too late to start.

As for when you should do the NF routine...honestly, whenever you want. If you wake up one morning and go "hot damn, I feel like exercising!" that's a good time. Or if it's just after dinner and you feel a little restless - go for it. It's really up to you. No time is particularly better or worse than the other (well, excepting certain circumstances. I wouldn't recommend being in the middle of a wedding ceremony and just suddenly busting out some lat rows. But that's really your call).

 

Logs are great, Most people here have one. And it isn't absolutely necessary to have a goal initially. I took a few weeks to figure it out, but I started working toward it before I knew what it was. At least then by the time you figure it out, you may already be halfway there and not even have realized it Most people pick something like running a marathon, fit into a size so-and-so, or obtain a certain body weight or fat percentage. Doesn't even have to be that concrete, you could say you want to be able to walk to the store without sweating, or play with kids until you tire them out. My goal is being able to fit into a pair of space-cat patterned leggings. Basically just things you can't do now that getting healthy will enable you to do.

I do wish you luck!

[Mothball]

well i gotta go for my regular blood test tomorrow anyway, maybe there wont be 50 grandmas there and ill manage to see my doc in under 2 hours of waiting (really only disadvantage of living in a neighborhood for seniors, you wait forever at the docs office, appointment or not ugh! )

its good to know i can do it at whatever time i want, wasnt sure there was a rule of thumb or anything, ive been thinking about doing my walks every second day and doing the bodyweight on the off days until i can do 3 circuits and then see where i can go from there or what specific goal to go for.

its probably gonna be something along the lines of making a skirt look like a skirt and not a slowly rolling tent ;D

[attackbunny]

bout doing my walks every second day and doing the bodyweight on the off days until i can do 3 circuits and then see where i can go from there or what specific goal to go for.

 

 

pssst.  this is a goal!  

 

That beg body weight circuit kicks butt, doesn't it?  I did it 3x week and liked that I could see progress with it-it got "easier" and I could do more circuits so I knew I was improving!  If you can't do the plank yet then maybe substitute crunches?  Plank is a more effective exercises for abs but crunches are better than nothing, right?

[Mothball]

ugh no time to walk today so i guess itll be bodyweight again tonight (noooooooooo... Q.Q)

hm well the problem i have with the plank is my belly muscles are pretty much non-existent so i guess i was trying to lift myself with my back or something, im gonna try that again tonight and figure out what crunches are lol

 

im such a fitness noob xD

[Mothball]

got one more question now, is there any warm-up i can do that doesnt involve jumping around or running in place? the apartment walls here are made of cardboard and my upstairs neighbors are loud enough for the whole block already (stairs arent really an option either here)

[Guest]

Push-ups, hip raises, chops, squats, step ups, lunges. (youtube for form if you don't know exactly what some of those are)

Things like that that just sort of get you feeling a little, well, warm

[Mothball]

thanks! i will look those up

just done a round of the bodyweight exercise again and i think the worst part is doing jumping jacks before AND after, i feel like my pulse is gonna explode and my lungs ready to pop out =___=

i hope this gets better soon

 

asked doc about the joint knacks and he said not to worry about it as long as it doesnt hurt - sore muscles dont count Q.Q;;