Laurenji Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 So. I've lurked around the outskirts of the Rebellion for quite a while, on and off. I like the the enthusiasm, the nerdiness, and the encouragement, BUT I struggle with depression, and it's been off and on again for quite some time. I finally went to a therapist and got some actual anti-depressants, which are helping a TON, but being depressed totally trashed all of my routines. Right now I'm starting to get back my motivation to do anything besides sit on the couch and look at the internet, but I'm finding it really hard to start everything from scratch. Additionally, I've always had trouble eating. Not like in an eating disorder way, more just that I find eating really boring, and it feels ridiculous to me to have to spend so much time every day cooking food and eating it. I would totally live off of Soylent if it wasn't so expensive. SO, I have a really hard time convincing myself to eat anything, let alone convincing myself to take a bunch of extra time preparing food that I don't really want to eat anyways. So I'm not 100% how to get my diet better, but I know it's important, because I basically live on pop tarts and sandwiches right now. Secondly, I have basically never seriously exercised in my life. I don't have any equipment, and I don't really have the money to buy anything. I want to get into weightlifting, but gyms are expensive and so are weight sets. I live in a little tiny apartment and also winter is coming, so I'm not really sure what to do? I also don't have access to anything that could be used as a pull-up bar. I dunno. I really, really want to get healthier, because I'm pretty sure it would help my mental health as well, but I'm still suffering from a residual defeatist attitude and a perceived lack of resources of any kind. 2 things that I would really appreciate some help with: 1) super, super, super easy things to eat for breakfast or lunch2) Free podcasts, apps, netflix videos, anything that could guide me through a bodyweight strength workout. I'm terrible at following written-down workouts or convincing myself to do the right amount of reps unless I have someone telling me exactly what to do, so these I think would be the way to go. 1 Quote "Then laugh, leaning back in my arms; For life's not a paragraph, And death, I think, is no parenthesis." ~ E.E. Cummings Level 1 Tiefling Adventurer Paladin of Stick 'Em With the Pointy End Link to comment
TheGreyJedi-Ranger Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Breakfastscrambled eggs with whatever in them (scramble one in a mug or bowl with milk and whatever else-I use cheese, salt, and pepper- and put in microwave on 30sec-1min until it looks like an egg muffin. Tear apart with fork and eat like scrambled eggburritos- create egg above, add microwavable sausage patty pieces, egg, and cheese on a tortillaoatmeal- pieces of apple, some cinnamon, some oats, a bit of milk or water as your preference of texture, and some honey. Also, packaged oatmeal for when you're SUPER unmotivated. Lunchsalad- lettuce, cheese, croutons, protein, whatever else.Your sandwiches are actually not bad for you either. Other tips-Try making boiled eggs. They're quick and a dozen will last a while. Easy protein.Maybe if you want something unhealthy, try swapping out for a fruit or veggie? Fresh ones are tasty and don't require extra effort for when you're not wanting to do anything. For workouts, try these. Blogilates helped me a lot as well. 2 Quote Grey Jedi Ranger Jedi Becomes Her Own Hero Jedi Battle Log “Keep Calm, Carry On, and Don't Freeze Up!” - Oboro Shirakumo (Loud Cloud), My Hero Academia Vigilantes Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12. #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42, #43, #44, #45, #46, #47, #48, #49, #50, #51, #52, #53, #54, #55, #56, #57, #58, #59, #60, #61, #62, #63 Link to comment
Lou186000 Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 So. I've lurked around the outskirts of the Rebellion for quite a while, on and off. I like the the enthusiasm, the nerdiness, and the encouragement, BUT I struggle with depression, and it's been off and on again for quite some time. I finally went to a therapist and got some actual anti-depressants, which are helping a TON, but being depressed totally trashed all of my routines. Right now I'm starting to get back my motivation to do anything besides sit on the couch and look at the internet, but I'm finding it really hard to start everything from scratch. Well done on getting some professional help and meds! Yep, starting over is tough, and it's pretty common too. I've certainly had my respawns. Additionally, I've always had trouble eating. Not like in an eating disorder way, more just that I find eating really boring, and it feels ridiculous to me to have to spend so much time every day cooking food and eating it. I would totally live off of Soylent if it wasn't so expensive. SO, I have a really hard time convincing myself to eat anything, let alone convincing myself to take a bunch of extra time preparing food that I don't really want to eat anyways. So I'm not 100% how to get my diet better, but I know it's important, because I basically live on pop tarts and sandwiches right now. Brown sugar pop tarts = my weakness. For a time they had a whole supply at the office as a perk and I would absolutely grab some. Even if I had spinach with every meal, the pop tart was a part of my routine while they lasted. Both relieved and disappointed when they ran out of the last batch. Secondly, I have basically never seriously exercised in my life. I don't have any equipment, and I don't really have the money to buy anything. I want to get into weightlifting, but gyms are expensive and so are weight sets. I live in a little tiny apartment and also winter is coming, so I'm not really sure what to do? I also don't have access to anything that could be used as a pull-up bar. A bunch of folks here are very much into strength training with just body weight, which involves little to no cost and is very effective. (And hard.) I realize you don't like the written-down stuff, but you might enjoy having a gander at darebee.com's videos: http://darebee.com/exercises.html I really like the link that GonnaBeAJedi<3 posted, I'll be having a look at those myself. I dunno. I really, really want to get healthier, because I'm pretty sure it would help my mental health as well, but I'm still suffering from a residual defeatist attitude and a perceived lack of resources of any kind. 2 things that I would really appreciate some help with: 1) super, super, super easy things to eat for breakfast or lunch 2) Free podcasts, apps, netflix videos, anything that could guide me through a bodyweight strength workout. I'm terrible at following written-down workouts or convincing myself to do the right amount of reps unless I have someone telling me exactly what to do, so these I think would be the way to go. I don't know if this would meet your breakfast requirement, but one of my go-tos is a simple bowl of cereal:1 serving of Cheerios1 sliced banana1 oz of chopped almonds6 oz of unsweetened almond milkGood luck on the respawn, I've found the community here to be really helpful and supportive, virtual though it is. Let us know how things go! Quote Lou186000 Battle Log: Battling at the Speed of Lou aaaa42% Link to comment
Raincloak Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Eating may become more appealing if you kick junk food, and/or wait to eat until you are actually hungry. (In other words, if you want an appetite, quit munching pop tarts.) Food seems boring when you don't need any. When you do, it will suddenly become very, very interesting. Also try removing yourself from distracting screens for a while, as they can divert attention from what you actually need and/or feel. Srsly, the TV/interwebs are like opiates. They're testing them for use as pain relievers and everything. Addiction to the screen makes you feel less motivated to eat, as well as to do anything else. Use a timer or browser blocker if you have to.Go for walks. Go for walks. Go for walks. In the daylight is preferable, as the light in your face and on your skin helps combat depression. If you are losing weight and still don't feel hungry, then you might have a problem (could be the antidepressants), consult your doc. Quote Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. Hylian Assassin 5'5", 143 lbs. Half-marathon: 3:02It is pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. Link to comment
Laurenji Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Thank you so much for the replies, everyone! @GonnaBeAJedi<3 - I checked out those fitness apps and I ended up getting the You Are Your Own Gym one. It seems pretty great so far, with premade workouts, videos on how to do every movement, and a built in warm up & cool down routine. I also set a reminder on my phone so that I know it's exercise time. I'm excited to have found something I can maybe actually do. I also love your suggestion to microwave an egg in a coffee cup. I am totally going to try that. @Lou186000 - thank you for the thoughtful reply. That does look like a pretty tasty breakfast, and I may start eating something like that when I'm at home. I need to figure out something portable that I can take to work as well. @Raincloak - unfortunately, "wait to eat until you're hungry" doesn't work for me. I have this weird thing where even if I know I'm hungry, I will refuse to eat until I absolutely have to, and by that point I'm so hungry that my brain has shut down and I can't think well enough to actually make anything for myself. I've basically always been this way, even when I was a kid. I honestly only eat dinner because my husband is around to eat food with me. I will definitely try harder to get out and walk around during the day - I work in an office cave with no windows, and my entire job revolves around being on the internet, so that's definitely not helping my eating problems. 1 Quote "Then laugh, leaning back in my arms; For life's not a paragraph, And death, I think, is no parenthesis." ~ E.E. Cummings Level 1 Tiefling Adventurer Paladin of Stick 'Em With the Pointy End Link to comment
TheGreyJedi-Ranger Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 That's awesome If you need something for the morning, you could make overnight oats in a thermos the night before and eat them at work?Sent from my phone so please excuse the autocorrect errors Quote Grey Jedi Ranger Jedi Becomes Her Own Hero Jedi Battle Log “Keep Calm, Carry On, and Don't Freeze Up!” - Oboro Shirakumo (Loud Cloud), My Hero Academia Vigilantes Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12. #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42, #43, #44, #45, #46, #47, #48, #49, #50, #51, #52, #53, #54, #55, #56, #57, #58, #59, #60, #61, #62, #63 Link to comment
Raincloak Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 @Raincloak - unfortunately, "wait to eat until you're hungry" doesn't work for me. I have this weird thing where even if I know I'm hungry, I will refuse to eat until I absolutely have to, and by that point I'm so hungry that my brain has shut down and I can't think well enough to actually make anything for myself. I've basically always been this way, even when I was a kid. I honestly only eat dinner because my husband is around to eat food with me. I will definitely try harder to get out and walk around during the day - I work in an office cave with no windows, and my entire job revolves around being on the internet, so that's definitely not helping my eating problems. So, what you're really saying is, you ARE interested in food, just not until you reach the "too hangry to cook" stage. Right? I hear you, that happens to me too sometimes. There's four solutions to that: 1) do no prior planning, just wait until you're hangry and then grab whatever's available, such as pop tarts. This is pretty common behavior, especially in the tech industry, but as you've discovered it's not good for one's health. 2) learn to cook, wait until you're starving, and then figure out what to cook at that point. Not a great option, although it's one a lot of people end up using because they don't plan ahead. (A lot of working moms use this system.) Unfortunately it's super frustrating, and tends to devolve into takeout because that's easiest. 3) plan ahead, prepare stuff before you feel hungry, then when you get hungry, pick up the food and eat it. This one is probably most ideal for you, since you have problems keeping your attention focused and those problems get worse when you're hungry. It will require a bit of mental adjustment, because you will have to prepare food when you aren't in the mood to eat. This isn't that difficult to do, it's no harder than remembering to wash your laundry before you're all out of clean socks. (Says the woman sitting here in yesterday's socks because she put off doing the laundry... well, I never said I was perfect. ) Getting a meal plan or a list of foods and following it is pretty simple, and you can do this at a time when your willpower is at its maximum (eg, first thing in the morning on the weekend). 4) get more in tune with your brain and body signals (this may take practice) and become aware when you're getting hungry, so you can go make some food before you reach the "can't think, must eat" stage. I'm mostly in this camp. Mostly. I think part of being depressed is having severe inertia and not wanting to do anything your body needs for maintenance, such as showers, eating, exercise, etc. Meditation and taking breaks might help, as might reminding yourself that maintenance is fun (ahhh, hot shower) and you are worth it. By the way, there's actually nothing wrong with sandwiches nutritionally if you put the right stuff in them. A well stuffed sandwich contains carbs, protein, and a serving of veggies; add a vegetative side dish, and you're all set. But if you want cooked food, like I said, probably best to plan ahead, since you're not into making up meals on the fly. 1 Quote Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. Hylian Assassin 5'5", 143 lbs. Half-marathon: 3:02It is pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. Link to comment
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