Physical Self-Improvement, exercise and nutrition

[Navarre]

The environment definitely plays a role in all of this. Ideally, we are mentally strong enough to summon our motivation despite external obstacles. But we can't ignore the impact the environment has on us and should try to create the environment most conducive to exercise and proper nutrition.

I am sure many people feel self-conscious going to the gym. I always pushed myself past that but I was aware of it. It can be a little intimidating going in to work out next to guys who look like they curl refrigerators as a warm up.

In my case, I decided the benefit to me was more important than what some stranger thought so I went anyway and felt good about that. But if the gym really isn't for you then the best thing to do is find the environment that will work for you.

[@lantis]

I get the amount of exercise I like from being unable to drive anywhere.  So no matter what I have to do some walking to get to any given destination.

I also personally don't value exercise and nutrition as much as I am sure I will later on in life.  I take a very Nietzschian approach to my physical health.  Whatever doesn't kill it will make it stronger.

[Navarre]

Help me to understand that. Why do you feel exercise and proper nutrition isn't a priority for the quality of your life?

[@lantis]

Two reasons.  First being, I am in my mid-20's and fully understand that my mindset is typical for people of my age.  So I don't really fight against the mentality which tells me I don't need to worry about planning for my future health in these particular years.

Second reason, I am content with how my body is and functions, so why should I take steps to change something I am not unhappy with?

[ZeroHero]

While exercise is certainly a good thing the focus should first be on healthy diet and nutrition. A lot of people dont like to go there for whatever reason but the fact is that you can get into pretty good shape by proper nutrition alone. I can say this from my own experience. When I started taking high vitamin cod liver oil I lost my excess weight real quick plus my body shaped up a bit. I was totally amazed by that. Granted I also shifted my eating habits at the same time from junk foods to mostly raw organic foods but nonetheless. I was still being a couch potato! Or rather, computer chair potato.  

So yeah, right supplementation can make a big difference in diet. Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in the western world (the reason why I took cod liver oil in the first place) as well as other vitamins, but also enzymes (high in raw foods) and trace minerals. Plus most westerners are high on sodium (salt) but lack the counterpart potassium. The ratio is sometimes 5:1 whereas it should be the opposite, 1:5!

So guess what, life expectancy woohoo, because at least 20-30 years of those 77 are being spent in a hospital bed or at home with bone aches, decreasing faculties, all sorts of skin problems, cancers, etc. You get the picture.

[Navarre]

I agree that proper nutrition is just as important as exercise. That is why I have it as part of the thread title. We aren't going to get in shape while on a diet of Dorito's and Mt. Dew no matter how much we exercise.

The two go hand in hand. I see it rather analogous to a sports car, with the car being our bodies. The nutrition is the fuel and we know we can't fill the tank with Kool-Aid and expect to get the car even running well, much less operating at peak performance.

But exercise provides results that are more easily quantifiable than the results of nutrition for those who are prone to poor eating and a sedentary lifestyle. So I think the two should work together.

Knowing I need the nutrition to function well I incorporate it as part of my workout routine just like I do the exercises. Although the exercises may occur during one small period of the day, I remain cognizant of the fact that I am "working out" all day long every time I take a bite of something.

If today I can do 10 bicep curls and my goal is 15, that is easy to measure. But the nutrition is part of what gets me there. So I eat my lean turkey and skip the soda, trying to get to that 15.

One builds on the other.

[Alisha Mynx]

While I agree with the nutrition thing to a point, I also must point out something else:

I can say this from my own experience.

Not everyone has the same kind of body.  Like some people have naturally high metabolism, some don't.  There are many, many factors involved. 

I could say from MY experiences that eating junk food, fast food and soda all day will keep you just as trim as eating healthier foods, but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone.  I have a naturally high metabolism (as well as some meds that alter it a bit as a side effect).  But while I could eat junk all day and not exercise and not get out-of-shape, it isn't making me healthy and it makes me feel just plain awful.

So eating healthy is great, and I wish more people would do it, but alone it isn't going to do the same thing for everyone. 

[Navarre]

You are equating thinness to health though. That isn't true.

I have an extremely fast metabolism. I have weighed exactly the same for twenty-five years (unless I add what little muscle mass I can).

But I am not in the same degree of health eating Big Mac meals and soda versus turkey sandwiches on wheat and water.

[Alisha Mynx]

You are equating thinness to health though. That isn't true.

I have an extremely fast metabolism. I have weighed exactly the same for twenty-five years (unless I add what little muscle mass I can).

But I am not in the same degree of health eating Big Mac meals and soda versus turkey sandwiches on wheat and water.

Well I didn't mean thin-thin, but "healthy" trim.   Not undersized but not oversized either. 

But my main point was saying something like "I know this from my own experience" doesn't mean it will absolutely work for everyone.  But I still agree that eating right is a good step. 

[Navarre]

A few weeks ago I was very sick; more sick than I'd been in years. But near the beginning of this month I felt I had recovered enough to get back to exercising.

It's going well. I feel a bit more motivated than I had before I got sick. Maybe I'm feeling more "up" after that.

Do you ever notice how, after being sick, you hit that point where you feel so much better you want to do something active?

Maybe we'd all be more motivated if we were injected with a dose of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Then we'd really appreciate our opportunity to exercise later.

Too extreme?

[Navarre]

My workouts have been going well. But I have been feeling more and more tired as my level of exercise increases.

My conclusion is that I am not getting enough of the proper nutrition for my high metabolism. Here, money becomes an issue. But I need to make some changes.

Fortunately, Professor Erskine has completed work on his super-soldier serum. I should be in great shape by the end of the week.

Am I the only one on a physical improvement regimen? Anyone else working on a goal?

If so, what is the goal and how's it going?

[Slappy]

I am not a Vegan, but check out some of their diet websites to get the protein you probably need.
I was sick a few years back and my digestive system had to slowly learn how to properly process food again.  I couldn't eat red meat for a while, but a colleague of minewas a vegan and had me check out a site to find out how to eat properly on veggies etc...

[Navarre]

I definitely don't eat enough in the way of vegetables. Half the time I'm only eating cereal or a sandwich of turkey, ham, or roast beef.

I'm probably short of just about every vitamin out there. I seem to feel more tired every day. Right this second it is 8:15 pm and I can barely stay awake.

I guess I should be eating my brussels sprouts.

[Navarre]

So I am still trying to become more physically fit.

I have been working out at home with Tony Horton's Power90 Master Series. That's the series before the P90X that most people talk about.

I have seen some results from the lifting. But the results are somewhat better muscle tone.

I do not feel I have more energy or could produce better performance other than with the routine I am doing. Yet I have skipped the cardio every time because I get bored.

Only lifting with no cardio isn't going to get me where I want to go. I know that. So I am trying to assess my options.

I would be ready to switch into the next phase of the Master Series program. The lifting exercises would be different and includes both plyometrics and cardio.

The advantage would be that I have all I need here at home. But if I haven't been maximizing my efforts before, I am not sure I would on the next phase even though they are new exercises.

Another option is a personal trainer. There is a center here that offers that, customizing the program to fit my needs.

But the cost is $675 for 17 one hour sessions. That is a lot of money.

I could justify investing that if it got me where I want to go but I don't know what I would do when it is over. I feel what I need is a workout partner but I don't have anyone.

Thoughts?

[GiantGnome]

I don't know of the exercise equipment and programs you mention, but motivation is the key to everything, and a physical trainer and/or a workout partner is important to that.

I certainly know that the ~$250 i spent on 6 months of weekly weighings, guidance and motivational weight-loss sessions have paid off big-time (almost 90 lbs lost in four months). When you're paying a substantial amount of money for something, you also want to get your money's worth, and that is certainly also a motivation.