Maybe the "Non-food Prep" forum isn't the best place for this thread. So if not, dear moderator, please move it to a more appropriate place.
I've been thinking that one of the best ways to be prepared for a disaster, where physical and emotional demands will take a huge toll on us, is to be healthy and fit.
I'd like to have a thread or a forum to discuss health and fitness issues--a thread to share ideas and encourage each other.
Maybe the best place to start is with a question: What have you found to be an effective approach to fitness?
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
This is a physical weakness of mine. I am overweight and entirely unmotivated to be physically fit. I am also one of the few folks in my ward that can be consistently counted upon to show up to help others move... yet, I feel it... It is ruining my health, but my job is not very helpful, either... I feel trapped in many ways, and would love to hear thoughts and prayers others have used to escape such a trap.
--Ray
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
I am the moderator for this area, and I rule with an iron fist! It makes it hard to type, but at least I can exercise a little authority, as it seems to me. I'm just kidding. I think this is a great topic for this area. I was in the best shape I ever was when I was a member of a fitness club and worked with a personal trainer. Then I got married and didn't have money anymore. I have dumbells at home and could work out, but I'm never motivated to at home. I'm thinking I should join a fitness club, so that at least the money I'd lose if I didn't go would motivate me.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I tried a YMCA membership for a while. I really liked it when I could go. But it took time away from family, took money out of our budget, etc. so after a few months I stopped going.
I think one important concept is this: Rather than trying to make additional time for exercise, find sedentary routines that are already a part of your life and replace them with active routines. For me, that's commuting by bicycle. I know that's not an option for most people because of weather and distance. Another thing that worked for me in the past was taking my lunch, eating it quickly at lunch time, then spending the remaining 45 minutes walking around the building.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
That's a good idea. I do sometimes wonder if I shouldn't give up altogether on my current career path, which mostly involves sitting in front of a computer... it might do wonders for my lifespan... though it'd kill my budget... though the thought of being unemployed in Washington State ain't all bad... the benefits are some of the best in the country. (cha-ching-ba-da-bing! )
--Ray
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
I think another component is finding a way to decompress at the end of the day so you can rest well.
For me, it's bedtime routines with the wee ones--bathing them, brushing teeth, bedtime prayers, singing Primary songs to help them go to sleep. Sometimes it wears me out, but it also helps me shift from work, school, and challenging discussions at Bountiful , into a peaceful winding-down mode. I never get as much sleep as I would like, but it's almost always restful and refreshing.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
Fun Topic! I'm kind of a fitness nut! Ran track and crosscountry in highschool which kind of set the stage. A few years back I got into karate with my daughter which got me hooked on weights. Personally I try and lift weights 2-3 times a week and jog 2-3 times a week. I also like to start the morning with pushups. I enjoy hunting and scuba diving so a certain level of fitness makes a big difference. As for moving people, I have a rule about moving ward members. You either have to be infirm, old, have had a family trajedy, or be financially in need or I want you out of here. I got tired of moving officers and higher up enlisted guys knowing they got paid to move especially since no one helped me move except my brother. I'm looked at as a heretic in my ward for not doing more but I think if your job will either pay you to move yourself or provide moving service, it is wrong to expect ward members to move you. At any rate, here are my tips for fitness and I will leave my moving rant for another day.
Make the time: Morning or evening. Were only talking about 1 hour or less here. I waste at least twice that much on a typical day. I work early so I get home a little after 4pm and go right into the workout. The habit is the hard thing.
Mix it up: Don't do the same thing all the time. By having a weight day and a cardio day it helps to not get burned out. Change routines, set goals for more reps, further distance. Mix some strength training into cardio like doing pushups every quarter mile. Don't run the same course every single day of every single year.
Use your time wisely: One of my favorite workouts I do while I watch TV. In fact it is my usual friday workout so I can watch Dr. Who and Battlestar Galactica. I call it the commercial workout and I had an airforce officer teach it to me. Basically when a commercial comes on you do a set of pushups, pull ups, sit ups, crunches, oblique crunches, etc. Then after that set I rest until the next commercial. My usual is 56 knuckle pushups on commercial 1, 56 finger pushups on commercial #2, 56 wrist pushups on commercial #3, 8 pull ups on each of the next three commercials, crunches on the next commercial, oblique crunches on the next commercial, and three sets of leg lifts on the next three commercials. Then I might mix in some other stuff. Obviously I didn't start with that many of each exercise but I've worked up the pushups from 10 of each to that over about two to three years. Commercial workouts are great because it takes that wasted lazy time and puts it into something usefull. I also find it to be better than punching the wall when listening to political commentary on the news!
Start slow: If you haven't run in years try walking first then turn part of your walk into a jog and start going a little further each day. Many people try and do to much too soon and hurt so bad they take days off to recover.
Do it with a spouse: This is really good for walking. My wife and I used to bundle the kids up in two different strollers (one was a double stroller) and take them along.
Jason has some good advice, if you can make time for an hour block in your schedule. If not, Roper's idea of walking on work breaks is a great place to start. Also, take the stairs instead of the elevator; park as far from your building as possible. You get the idea.
In addition, don't think that you have to have a solid block of time to exercise. Three ten-minute walks are just as beneficial from a cardio standpoint as one 30 minute workout. The only problem with this approach is that you probably don't want to break a sweat three different times during a day, and all the anti-social consequences that may bring. However, it is also a myth that you must break a sweat for exercise to be beneficial. Walking during your breaks is much better for you than surfing on Bountiful.
You may also find that getting some oxygen pumped into your system will help you focus and be more productive during the day. Your energy level may increase. And you'll get stronger, whether or not you lose weight according to the scale.
I just wanted to add a couple more things. Be sure to stretch before doing any exercise and also, if you haven't exercised in a long while get checked out by a Doctor. Especially if you are approaching 40. You don't want to trigger some sort of heart condition.
I recommend having a baby. I've dropped 17 pounds in the past 2 weeks!
Okay, so I also do exercise stuff. Since I have to pay the home owner's association fee anyway, I take advantage of the clubhouse. Lots of weights, machines, and treadmills and stuff. My mp3 workout playlist is good for keeping up my pace. The clubhouse here also has a Kid's Time area where I can pay for them to watch my kids while I workout (which makes it easier to work into my day than getting up before hubby goes to work or trying to get the kids to bed early to go down before closing). Just 4 more weeks till I get the okay to start again...
I recommend having a baby. I've dropped 17 pounds in the past 2 weeks!
Okay, so I also do exercise stuff. Since I have to pay the home owner's association fee anyway, I take advantage of the clubhouse. Lots of weights, machines, and treadmills and stuff. My mp3 workout playlist is good for keeping up my pace. The clubhouse here also has a Kid's Time area where I can pay for them to watch my kids while I workout (which makes it easier to work into my day than getting up before hubby goes to work or trying to get the kids to bed early to go down before closing). Just 4 more weeks till I get the okay to start again...
We also do family walks with the stroller.
17lbs!!! That's what I call a crash diet! Congrats!
Yeah, I'm on the hunt digging up old threads... sniffing around....
"I've been thinking that one of the best ways to be prepared for a disaster, where physical and emotional demands will take a huge toll on us, is to be healthy and fit."
I'm just a few months behind, but this very thought has played on my mind the last...oh, 2-3 weeks. This EXACT thing! Fitness has taken on a whole new perspective now. I think fitness would be an excellent preparation for emergencies.
I've been climbing stairs lately, which feels good and is something I can do several times a day as I get time or the kids are distracted or whatever. Now that the trampoline is up, I'm going to get out there more, too. Trotting and cantering around (always on correct lead) on all fours trying to keep ahead of a 4 and 2 year old is a nice little workout.
I think also it's getting into the mindset that "little things" do matter. Just pass up the truffle, or take a drink of H20 instead of juice or soda, or take an extra 5 flights of stairs on the way up from the laundry... Yeah, it sounds like nothing, but over the course of the day... and the week... I think this stuff adds up.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Unfortunately, those little things are easy to rationalize. "I've been pretty good today; a little ice cream sounds good." or "I just finished working out; I deserve a reward."
Cocobeem wrote: "I've already eaten half the chocolate cream pie. At least if I keep going it'll destroy the evidence..."
My theory is that foods whose names contain multiple silybals are better for you. You burn more calories trying to say them out loud. So Chocolate Cream Pie has got to be better for you than carrots!
I loved working out, then I got married, had to actually study, had kids, etc. I am lucky to sit on my butt for an hour or so after the kids are finally in bed. I do try and exercise. My two boys and I do martial arts together. I did it as a teen and in college. It helps me know what my kids are working on, we can practice together, great exercise.
It has been helping with their coordination, confidence, strength, and giving them an ability to know how to handle themselves. It helps them to have the proper mindset to know when to fight or not and how far to take something. We do a blended form of karate incorporating some kung fu. Last night we working on dealing with knife attacks.
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Lo, there I see my mother, my sisters, my brothers Lo, there I see the line of my people back to the beginning Lo, they call to me, they bid me take my place among them In the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live...forever
Ah, the old knife defense. Mine involves Smith and Wesson! LOL.
Seriously, that's great you do martial arts with your kids. Trained for a few years with my daughter until I was sidelined with a knee injury. Martial arts works nearly every muscle group and the cardio workout you get from it can't be beat. Plus it keeps your interest by having you learn new things all the time so it doesn't get old.
I would also say a good thing to do is get your kids interested in playing sports and be supportive. They don't have to be on every team...in fact, that's not the best thing for them at all. But get them out there and involved, so that if they decide to try another sport, they can still make it when they try out.
I played soccer for a year, and then we found out that my brother had a heart condition that prevented him from playing soccer or it could kill him. Soccer was his life, so I quit and became lazy. Then when I wanted to play sports in high school I was too afraid to try out because I didn't think I'd make it. Plus I had piano lessons one afternoon of the week which was my mom's excuse.
However, now that I'm at the time that should be the prime of my life I'm trying to really get into shape...something I haven't been in since the 6th grade. Luckily I've never gotten too bad, but I would much rather be able to play around with my kids however they want to than get out of breath all the time and have to take a rest.
I like workouts such as Yoga and Pilates, and I'll go to the gym and do some running on the ellipticals and perhaps do a rowing machine. I love to run, but because I got out of shape, I can't do it anymore without getting severe shin splints. In elementary school I would spend my recess running because I loved it so much, so I'm sad now that I can't.
Another good tip: when I do yoga or pilates and am sore afterward, or any other workout, the best way to get over it is just to exercise again. It's the quickest way to feel it less. Just don't go as hard if you are already sore...take it easy, but keep up the exercising. It's also good incentive if I go to the gym a little sore because I don't want to be sore, and if working out gets rid of that, that's one way to get into the habit.
It's also about eating better. If you feel ok after just one helping, no need to take another or chances are you'll feel too full. And keep snacking to a minimum. Sometimes it does help you have that little burst of energy, but usually I'll just eat because I'm bored or procrastinating.
Yeah, my fiance and I have talked about this and how we want to try to look as good as or better than we will on our wedding day at our one year anniversary. Just to get into the habit. We both have strict study schedules that keep us sitting down for many hours of the day, but when we start getting tired, he'll suggest that we go for a walk. Sometimes it is better for me to take a nap, but usually going for a walk rejuvenates us, especially since we make it a rule that we can't talk about homework for that 20-30 minutes. Also, I've found that one of my favorite places is the top of a parking garage. I'm from a smaller town where the view from my kitchen window is a beautiful view of the mountains, and now the only place I can get that view is from the top of a parking garage. Climbing that 6 flights of stairs a couple of times is a really good workout, and you can be rewarded by a beautiful sunset or even just a beautiful view.
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Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.
— Oscar Wilde
I walked up Squaw Peak this afternoon. It felt good then, but now my knees hurt.
As I said earlier, I gained 20 lbs with every pregnancy it's tough to take it off.
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
I've found a great way for me to work out, but the unfortunate part is that it is expensive. This week I put in two apple trees. It's a great upper body workout. Especially since I needed to use a mattock to dig the initial hole. Then pouring a bucket of water in, digging out the wet mud from the hole, bringing buckets of manure, etc. It's a great workout, but I can't buy trees all the time. Of course, I'm going to make some more garden boxes next month, so I'll get a workout again from mixing the dirt to put in. Anyway, the reason that it's a great workout is that I'm working towards a goal - for instance, the apple trees were dieing just sitting in their pots, so I had a time limit on getting them in the ground. With the garden boxes, I'll need to get enough ready to get my autumn crop in.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
So, I'm working on getting more healthy. I've been at it since the beginning of May. I'm seriously overweight and I don't care for it. Last check I was down 25 pounds with probably another 55 to go. I will be at it for quite awhile yet.
My siblings and parents are overweight. My dad has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes. My mom has high cholesterol and arthritis. I do not want these things for my future. I really wish that my parents would take their health more seriously, but this would be one of the things in my life that I cannot change.
I am a compulsive overeater. I go to 12-step meetings. I go to the gym a lot these days. I dream of having enough money for a personal trainer. I have a strict eating plan that I mostly stick to. It's very important to me. I am fighting for my life, actually. Because, I will end up dying from this disease if I don't change.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Good for you, hiccups! My mom has high blood pressure and my dad has type II diabetes (and he's the skinniest of all of us ). What's sort of funny is that he was priding himself about when he was a child of around 10, he came to the conclusion that candy was "bad" and he swore off eating it. He has the most willpower of all of us, etc... and he was sort of rubbing it in our faces in a mostly nice way. My mom, who has no diabetes, chimes in with, "I ate a candy bar everyday for lunch growing up because it was the cheapest thing there was." We all sat silent for a moment and then the snickers (pun intended) started to spread around the room...
-- Edited by Cocobeem at 11:26, 2007-07-13
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Well, I cannot guarantee that I won't end up with type II diabetes, but I sure am going to do what I can to avoid it. My father was basically given 10 years notice that it was coming and told that he could stop it or at the very least slow it down considerably through diet and exercise. He did neither. I think he honestly doesn't think he could eat right and still like life enough to keep on living it. And my mom tries to help him eat right, but that's like the blind leading the stubborn. Not to mention that my mom has a few interesting delusions about food and eating.
I do have a hard time letting go of what I can't change. But I can change what I do. That will have to be enough.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
I actually have a good chance of getting type II, too. With baby #1 and #5 I had gestational diabetes. I had to watch what I ate. With the last one (and a Dr. change) I even had to write down everything I ate and take my blood sugar with a pokey deal and tell them what the reading was like 4 times a day, I think it was! Yeah, it was when I got up, and an hour after each meal. Luckily, once I started figuring out what to eat it was a piece of cake (he he) to keep the reading below 120. There's even tricks to it. For instance, we were on vacation last year and we were eating out a lot (this was when I had 3-4 weeks left). I discovered that if I ate a good amount of meat toward the beginning of the meal, I could finish off with dessert and it wouldn't shoot my blood sugar up at all. In fact, if I ate steak first I could eat fudge or pecan pie or whatever! It was awesome! I gained 0 pounds the last 2 months of pregnancy on this diet. Weird, huh? In fact, I thought my numbers were doing so well that maybe I didn't *really* have the gestational diabetes after all. I decided to give the "all-you-can-eat" pancake breakfast a try. Whoa, people! Try 225! My sugar shot up like the space shuttle! So much for that idea. I ate some beef jerky (another trick I learned) and it went down again pretty fast. The baby ended up being 7#2* and healthy, with a little hard birth, but that's because of a small pelvis, not the diabetes issue. (Total tangent- when I was born, the Dr. said I'd have trouble having babies, because my pelvis was small - they had to do exercises with me, etc... and my first OB said anything over 7 pounds would probably be a c-section. I've had 5 kids so far and no c-sections! )
Anyway, I don't actually recall taking the glucose tolerance test (3 hours) with #4. He was 8#15* and I betcha, looking back, that I had the diabetes with him, too, but you can see the difference in baby size the diet apparently makes. I'm definitely sticking to the diet. It's of course easier when they make you fax them your numbers every week and threaten you with insulin shots...
I guess the point is, now that I don't have any health issues right now, it's harder for me to lose weight -- see how lame I am? I've always been healthy and I feel good... but I do need to get smaller. When you're 5'3", 10 or 20 pounds makes a bigger difference than if you're a tall person. And you have the right attitude, hiccups, prevention is where it's at.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
There's a trail up the canyon by our house for bikes, horses or hikers and Sat. night I made it to the top with the baby in the backpack! It's 2.3 miles roundtrip, which isn't a big deal, but it's a pretty good climb... plus with a baby... anyway, I like that type of workout better than the gym nowadays. And I used to go to the gym A LOT. But having the baby along is fun, cuz he REALLY loves the backpack. His head darts back and forth from side to side to see what's going on in front... he gabbers... then, about halfway up he zonked out and stayed asleep the rest of the time. Little sweetie! MrCoco had the 2 and 4 yo's at the Pool...
I'm sore today. Most people get sore the next day, but it's always been closer to 36-48 hours later for me.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Good for you, Coco! BTW, I'm the same with soreness--I still feel decent the next day but it hits two days after really heavy exertion. Which makes Mondays all the more difficult to roll out of bed early.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
BTW, as far as diabetes, two things that can help a diabetic reduce his need for insulin shots, or to keep you from going over the brink into diabetes, are pumpkin and cinnamon.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I have a family history of diabetes (dad and younger sister), but thankfully haven't developed it yet myself. So you're saying that I can reduce my risk by eating copious amounts of pumpkin pie? Do I have to leave off the whipped cream?
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
Coco, I have some bad news for you. I'm also usually sore the second day out and when I'm sore the first day after exercise, it usually means I'm going to be really sore that next day. I'm not hoping it's the same for you, but you might want to have the epsom salts handy just in case.
I was just thinking of popping over to this thread to make an update. I checked my weight this morning and I'm down 29 pounds. I'm starting to get excited. Besides, I get a whole new wardrobe at goal because I've given most of my small clothes away. That will be a happy, happy day.
And that hike sounds like a lot of fun, Coco. Maybe I'll drag my lot camping this weekend.
-- Edited by hiccups at 09:41, 2007-07-16
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
I have a family history of diabetes (dad and younger sister), but thankfully haven't developed it yet myself. So you're saying that I can reduce my risk by eating copious amounts of pumpkin pie? Do I have to leave off the whipped cream?
Unfortunately pumpkin pie has large amounts of refined sugar in it, which helps you become diabetic even faster. So eating a pumpkin pie to avoid diabetes would sort of be like eating a few big macs and a large shake after your workout to get thin.
I've heard that honey doesn't make you diabetic. I don't know. I don't even know if the sugar in a pumpkin pie can be replaced with honey. That'd be an interesting experiment to try.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Don't leave off the whipped cream! What are you thinking? 'Sides, real whipped cream with no added sugar has zero carbs.
What was cool about the hike is I saw an awesome mule deer - a doe - ahead of me on the trail like 30 yards. Just gorgeous. (Lest cat or others east of the Rocky Mts. picture the wrong thing, this deer was BIG.) She bounded up the side of the mountain without making a sound. With all the leaves and debris on the ground - just awesome. I also saw about 33 stinkbugs and a cow with two older calves. She wasn't running from me like I'd liked, but a couple well-placed rocks helped her get the picture. There were quite a few campers, too. In one group of "young men" one of the guys was leaning into the tent with his backside outside and I thought his pants were down and showed his bum, but luckily, when I got closer, I saw he had underwear on. (I'm pretty near-sighted.) Then at the top there was this band playing loud hard rock type music in the amphitheater. When you're out in nature, it just doesn't jive, somehow... So I was glad to turn back down the trail...
Awesome, hiccups!
I'd heard that about cinnamon, but not pumpkin... hmm....
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
)
, into a peaceful winding-down mode. I never get as much sleep as I would like, but it's almost always restful and refreshing.
I sabotage myself...
Last check I was down 25 pounds with probably another 55 to go. I will be at it for quite awhile yet. 
). What's sort of funny is that he was priding himself about when he was a child of around 10, he came to the conclusion that candy was "bad" and he swore off eating it. He has the most willpower of all of us, etc... and he was sort of rubbing it in our faces in a mostly nice way. My mom, who has no diabetes, chimes in with, "I ate a candy bar everyday for lunch growing up because it was the cheapest thing there was." We all sat silent for a moment and then the snickers (pun intended) started to spread around the room... 
Whoa, people! Try 225! My sugar shot up like the space shuttle! So much for that idea. I ate some beef jerky (another trick I learned) and it went down again pretty fast. The baby ended up being 7#2* and healthy, with a little hard birth, but that's because of a small pelvis, not the diabetes issue. (Total tangent- when I was born, the Dr. said I'd have trouble having babies, because my pelvis was small - they had to do exercises with me, etc... and my first OB said anything over 7 pounds would probably be a c-section. I've had 5 kids so far and no c-sections! 
)
