Pre-holiday health and fitness goals, anyone?

[Metalcat]

So many people seem to choose noon-8 as an eating window, I've been reading about IF online and this seems the most common.

My eating window is from whenever I wake up to 6 hours later. My wake up time varies, so technically so does my fasting time I just realized. I'm most inactive in the evening, so I figure that's when I really don't need food. We already were eating dinner so early, 4:30 or 5:00, because of DH's schedule, and I never snack except for beverages, so I wasn't eating all evening anyway.

I saw my physiotherapist yesterday, apparently she's been doing 16:8 for 5 years, but her adjustment was absolutely brutal for the first month because she had been a heavy evening snacker. I suspect my complete lack of snacking is a big factor in why my body is adjusting so easily.

What eating windows are all the IF folks here doing? What's your rationale for your choice of window?

[jac941]

If she's super observant, then even if you force yourself to eat, she'll eventually pick up on your stress around that eating, especially if you are at all stressed about your weight. She'll put two and two together, at least subconsciously, and see a model of someone who is stressed about eating because of weight. I think if your goal is to lose weight, the best thing you can do is frame that for her. Because even if she doesn't pick up on anything, if you lose weight, she'll be heavily exposed to how much people around you celebrate that. When I was losing, the comments were constant.

In that case, I would definitely take the opportunity to really broach the subject with her in a mentally healthy way. I'm sure there are excellent guides out there for broaching weight and eating with young girls in a way that helps them build the tools to cope with the endless onslaught of body image pressure out there. Or you could contact a child psychologist for advice.

The body image pressure for young people is off the charts these days, it's always been bad, but it's gotten really intense for both girls and boys, I just read a whole book by a competitive weight lifter doctor about how steroids and other appearance enhancing drugs are actually hugely popular among teens today, but doctors aren't taught anything about it, so don't even know the signs, and wouldn't know what to do if they did. It's called "Looks Can Kill".

All good thoughts. It’s pretty hard to overcome the constant body image messaging at school and in the media (which we limit, but it doesn’t matter).

I doubt anyone comments on my weight loss. The gain was very recent and associated some with COVID and then more by sustaining serious injuries. So most people are commenting on my recovery & improved function (which is significant) not my weight. That could change though. My hope is that I lose the weight with the recovery so in 6 more months when I’m hopefully fully functional again that my weight is back to normal (down 20 lbs).

What eating windows are all the IF folks here doing? What's your rationale for your choice of window?

I’m going to put serious effort into IF. I’ll do coffee (with a little milk) in the morning - with a goal of switching to black - and then limit food to 11:30 am - 7:30 pm because this allows me to partake in the family meal. Next week I’m going to incorporate preparing my own item for dinner which I’ll include as an option for everyone else so I can eat way less of the heavier foods. We’ll see how it goes.

[Rusted Rose]

What eating windows are all the IF folks here doing? What's your rationale for your choice of window?

I don't have a rationale other than that it's just what my body seems to do. Not even sure that I knew what IF was until I heard something by Jason Fung et al last year and went, "Huh."

I wake early and have coffee, and I appear to simply get hungry around 8 am, noon-ish, and 4 pm-ish. If I get enough real food by the end of that process, I'm good and it's out of mind the rest of the time. I generally have not been a snacker either.

If I were going for "perfection" I would probably have to adjust my coffee routine and swap in cream again instead of a small amount of milk because lactose, but I don't find it to affect anything much. And I'm not a perfectionist. :)  So I say I'm basically 8-to-4:30 or so.

ETA: Outside of occasional events, which I take in stride and don't disrupt what I go back to daily, I currently don't have to coordinate with others' schedules and preferences, so who knows what may happen if/when that changes.

[brandon1827]

Noon to 8:00 p.m. works well for me mostly due to my family schedule. I wake up, get my son ready for school, drop him off, then head to work. I have coffee in the morning as I settle in for my work day and usually start getting hungry after 11:00. I eat after 12:00, don't really snack, then we have family supper together at home. Usually will have a small snack just before 8:00 p.m. then head to bed around 9:00 p.m. It's harder for me to maintain on the weekends when my day isn't so rigidly structured, but I do tend to stick to the hours for the most part because that's what my body has become accustomed to at this point. I'm not militant about it though, so if I'm away from home and it works out that I need to eat before noon or after 8:00, no big deal and I get back on schedule the next day.

[joemandadman189]

What eating windows are all the IF folks here doing? What's your rationale for your choice of window?

i have done IF previously, have fasted in the morning till noon and have had lunch be the last meal till breakfast. I have little kids so skipping dinner, so i can assist them in actually eating something, is easier for me, especially if i have a big lunch. Not eating in the morning is much harder for me as i am awake for the last stretch of the fast. if i skip dinner its easier as i am sleeping for the last hours of the fast.

i have a sleep tracker and i tend to sleep better when i skip dinner also, as always YMMV

[joemandadman189]

walked on the treadmill last night with my hunting pack and a 35 lb kettlebell, 5% uphill slope at 2.5mph for ~30 mins., i need to do this a lot more as i was pretty tired when finished

[CNM]

My IF is noon to 8, too, mostly because it is more convenient for my schedule to miss breakfast rather than dinner. Weekends tend to be more challenging as my schedule is different.

I've started a meditation practice and I'm pretty excited about it.  I'm listening to The Anxious Lawyer as an audiobook and it inspired me.  A lawyer friend of mine also suggested The Artist's Way at Work and I ordered that from Thriftbooks.  I will start that one next week.

[Metalcat]

Day 6 of 18:6 going well, although PMS and cramps are kicking my ass. Thankfully though, what is normally a raging, vivid junk food craving is now just a vague periodic passing thought about pizza.

[Morning Glory]

This thread is really keeping me motivated. I'm on day 6 of tracking food in MFP, and I usually get bored and give up after a day or two. I'm averaging around 1500 calories per day which should lead to a slow weight loss as long as I'm reasonably active (I turned off the extra calories for exercise feature). I checked out the macros and know I need to add protein and fiber.  I'm not really doing IF but I am trying to push breakfast a bit later and have just veggies and fruit for lunch, then a reasonable dinner. (today I had to wake up really early for a work thing so I ate around 9:30 and won't have dinner until 7).  Additionally, I'm trying to work in more frequent short walks throughout the day, and quit mindlessly picking off my kids' plates.

I haven't started strength training yet, that's my next step.  Scale says I'm down about four pounds but I know it's water: now that it's cooler outside I've been wearing my compression socks when I know I'm going to be on my feet, and I immediately noticed an impact on my weight the next day.

[anotherAlias]

I'm going to join you folks.  My weight has been steadily creeping up since I moved in with my bf 4 years ago. I have picked up too many of his shitty eating habits.  I'm going to cut out the sweets and try to limit eating out to once a week. Im also going back to IF with a 14:10 window which may creep to 16:8 once I get back at it and my appetite decreases.  That worked pretty well in the past and I'm not even sure how I fell out of that habit.  Like the Malcat household, we eat dinner early so I don't eat after dinner at 5p until 7a.  Now that I'm retired and staying up and sleeping later, this should be pretty easy. 

I also need to revamp my exercise routine.  Since I retired this spring, I've relied on yardwork for a lot of my exercise which hasn't really cut it.  Last week I started the Nerd Fitness beginners body weight workout.  I'm so out of shape, I could only handle 2 reps one time last week.  I want to gradually work up to three reps, three times a week with the other days filled with walking or rowing for cardio.  This is a similar routine to what I used to do before the weight gain. Hopefully this will help the middle age paunch that has settled around my middle.  Ultimately I need to lose 20lbs but the initial goal is 10lbs by Christmas.  That might be an agressive goal but what the hell, I'll give it a shot.

[GuitarStv]

PMS and cramps are kicking my ass.

Weird, I always thought that that led to tummy not butt problems.


:D

[Metalcat]

PMS and cramps are kicking my ass.

Weird, I always thought that that led to tummy not butt problems.


:D

You joke, but you also obviously don't know your anatomy very well.

[CNM]

This morning has been a bit harder IF wise-- feeling hungrier, which is making it harder to stick to it.  BUT I WILL! I only have an hour to go!  Also planned for later today is a barre class with my favorite instructor.

[Serendip]

PMS and cramps are kicking my ass.

Weird, I always thought that that led to tummy not butt problems.


:D

You joke, but you also obviously don't know your anatomy very well.

:)

[Serendip]

What eating windows are all the IF folks here doing? What's your rationale for your choice of window?

I have tried IF on and off for a few years as I'm a constant snacker and have a pretty big appetite so IF helps me set some parameters but still keep things healthy and not too structured/diet-y.

Once when I was on a meditation retreat the last meal (of fruit) was around 4/5pm--I felt great but there was no way that could transition well into my own life.  My partner and I love cooking dinners for each other and I occasionally work until 7:30pm so I am now trying a later window of eating to accomodate our schedules ( 12-8...or 11-7 on days I do not work evenings). It also allows for more social dining.

I've listened to podcasts about how the earlier eating window works better from a circadian rhythm standpoint (Dr. Satchidananda Panda teaches about this) but at this time in my life I'm willing to lose those potential health benefits in order to keep the social and emotional benefits of eating with my hubby.

(for anyone interested in how circadian rhythms might affect your eating window..here is an older talk from Dr.Panda (2016) with Rhonda Patrick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R-eqJDQ2nU )

[brandon1827]

This morning has been a bit harder IF wise-- feeling hungrier, which is making it harder to stick to it.  BUT I WILL! I only have an hour to go!  Also planned for later today is a barre class with my favorite instructor.

Not sure what your daily water intake is, so take this with a grain of salt...but when I was adjusting to IF and even periodically now, when I start getting hungry earlier and I'm still a hour + away from the start of my eating window, a glass of water to sip on helps bridge the gap

[Metalcat]

Because my DH is up at 4:20am, and in bed before 8pm, we don't do  a ton of evening socializing or eating as it is. Our typical dinner time was between 4:30-5:30.  So I feel absolutely no lifestyle impact.

Also, we rarely go out for meals with people, but I've read that shaking up the eating routine is a good thing, so I'll probably just eat on the rare occasions that we go out in the evening for dinner with people.

I won't do that for the first 6 weeks though, just so that I fully set the habit.

It's been one week though and I am experiencing absolutely no hunger during the evening at all. I'm pleasantly surprised how easy this is.

I have to drink 3+ litres of water a day though due to the salt pills, so that keeps me pretty full a lot of the time.

[Metalcat]

*Facepalm*

Of course I'm not feeling particularly hungry while I adjust to IF, I'm on frickin' Low Dose Naltrexone for nerve pain, but it can dramatically lower hunger in some people.

Well that explains why this is so easy. It's currently being researched as a weight loss treatment.

[Present Muse]

Ok, I'm in! 

Many years back I gained a bunch of weight after an injury and was never able to get rid of it so I'm hoping this will help.  The geek in me likes tracking metrics so I'm going to log the days I'm following my plan along with weight and body fat.  However, I'll be doing this in percentages of my goals (100% being the target goal).  The first week isn't looking great, but I'm just starting to get into the rhythm of things.

Week	%DaysExercised	%DaysEatingWell	%WeightGoal	%FatGoal
1	40%	0%	0%	0%

Good luck everyone!

[anotherAlias]

I woke up a little sore from the body weight routine yesterday but it wasn't as bad as last week.  I managed half of my walking routine today before I gave up.  My Achilles has been real sore and the wind sucked monkey balls today.  We're going to a baseball game this afternoon so I'll get plenty more walking in getting to/from the parking lot. 

The first day of IF went great but day 2...not so much.  I was super hungry last night after dinner which is really unusual.  I caved at 8p and had some nuts.  I was just going to eat later this morning but woke up with a headache.  So I wound up eating  some oatmeal so I could take some ibuprofen. Tomorrow we are taking a day trip which may make timing meals a little difficult since I get car sick on an empty stomach. I'll just stick to good food choices today and tomorrow.

Hopefully the rest of you are making good progress.

[CNM]

*Facepalm*

Of course I'm not feeling particularly hungry while I adjust to IF, I'm on frickin' Low Dose Naltrexone for nerve pain, but it can dramatically lower hunger in some people.

Well that explains why this is so easy. It's currently being researched as a weight loss treatment.

I had something similar happen once when I was on a prescription for albuterol for a short time.  I was like, "Gee, I have so much energy and can work for hours without stopping and I'm never hungry! I wonder what has changed?"  Duh.  Probably a good thing that it was a short course.

[Metalcat]

*Facepalm*

Of course I'm not feeling particularly hungry while I adjust to IF, I'm on frickin' Low Dose Naltrexone for nerve pain, but it can dramatically lower hunger in some people.

Well that explains why this is so easy. It's currently being researched as a weight loss treatment.

I had something similar happen once when I was on a prescription for albuterol for a short time.  I was like, "Gee, I have so much energy and can work for hours without stopping and I'm never hungry! I wonder what has changed?"  Duh.  Probably a good thing that it was a short course.

Yeah, I get the same thing with albuterol, there's a reason body builders take high doses of the similar drug clenbuterol (not meant for humans) for cutting.

LDN doesn't actually suppress real hunger like albuterol does, it just lowers any kind of cravings, so it won't at all get rid of hunger, but it makes cravings for food and drugs much less intense.

It suppresses dopamine, which is the brain chemical that drives cravings and reward. I'm on a tenth of the normal dose though, so the affect is very minor, and ironically, at such a low dose, the body responds by upping the amount of endogenous endorphins in the body through upregulation, whereas the dose for alcohol and drug addiction keeps it permanently lowered.

It's a funny drug, because the drug itself is so low dose to have such minor effect, the main affect for the individual is how their particular body responds to it. So it's totally unpredictable because each person will have a combo of active drug effects and reactive body effects. And some people have no reaction at all because the dose is too low to do anything.

I had no expectation going into it, and was only willing to try it because the side effects at ultra low doses are so minor: just super fucking intense dreams.

[Morning Glory]

Week 1 progress update:
weight: 132 today (started at 135.6, but has been bouncing around a lot)
average calorie intake: 1600 (range 1000-2200), unless I'm way off on my portion sizes. My heartburn is better since I've been eating less.
Macros: 47% carbs, 34% fat, 19% protein (pretty close to MFP goal of 50/30/20).
Exercise: fitbit says I averaged 11k steps per day.

@Malcat I've had those facepalm moments too. It's one thing to have objective knowledge of something and quite another to recognize it in oneself.

[Metalcat]

Week 1 progress update:
weight: 132 today (started at 135.6, but has been bouncing around a lot)
average calorie intake: 1600 (range 1000-2200), unless I'm way off on my portion sizes. My heartburn is better since I've been eating less.
Macros: 47% carbs, 34% fat, 19% protein (pretty close to MFP goal of 50/30/20).
Exercise: fitbit says I averaged 11k steps per day.

@Malcat I've had those facepalm moments too. It's one thing to have objective knowledge of something and quite another to recognize it in oneself.

I literally just forgot. I've been on the LDN for months now because I've been tapering up so slowly, I completely forgot about the potential appetite lowering effects. It just so happened that yesterday I was talking to someone about the drug and was sending them the list of possible effects and side effects, and when I saw it on the list I was like "Oh, d'uh, that explains it"

[oneday]

Joining!

I'm focusing on activity/movement/exercise as that is always the weakest link in my health routine. Right now I have a goal to hike some hills in mid October and am working on rehabbing a weak knee. After the hiking is over, I'll re-asses.

For purposes of this thread, I'll be reporting on numbers of days completing assigned physical therapy and hikes (all shorter and/or flatter than The Hike). Goal is PT on 2 of every 3 days, hiking 1x per week and walking 2x per week.

[FireKingGreen]

I would love to join in as well. I’ve lost over 20lbs in the last four months through diet and exercise changes, but due to the stress of the last year and a half (and associated stress eating) I’m not quite where I want to be yet. I’ve slacked off a bit the last couple of weeks and could use the accountability. My main goals will be focusing on consistent exercise, reducing body fat percentage, and moving my BMI back into the normal range.

[Metalcat]

Boo.

Okay, so according to the multiple books and many medical and academic sources about IF that I've devoured in the past week, apparently, because of my female persuasion, continuous IF is, like, super dangerous and could royally fuck me up.

Apparently it will feel great for a few months, and then will probably start to fry my ovaries, my thyroid, my insulin sensitivity, and my metabolism. All because my own stupid body cares more about my capacity to make a baby I will never have, than it does about my own well being.

Great, just great.

I'm salty about it, because, well, my uterus and I have a pretty acrimonious relationship as it is, but it's not actually the end of the world. I just have to eat a bit in the evening every few days. So really, no big deal.

This happens all the time though. Scientific and medical research is almost exclusively done on males. Even lab rats are almost exclusively male. And then results are generalized to people in general, despite men absolutely NOT being a cross section of the population.

Women don't get studied because our bodies are complicated, but then none of how things impact our complicated bodies get studied. Not until it's too late and the problems show up in the population.

Something similar happened with gastric bypass surgery. It was researched on men, but then years later was found to produce devastating nutrient deficiencies causing serious brain swelling in women.

Being a woman is some serious bullshit sometimes.

[oneday]

This happens all the time though. Scientific and medical research is almost exclusively done on males. Even lab rats are almost exclusively male. And then results are generalized to people in general, despite men absolutely NOT being a cross section of the population.

...

Being a woman is some serious bullshit sometimes.

The Patriarchy is some serious bullshit.

For purposes of this thread, I'll be reporting on numbers of days completing assigned physical therapy and hikes (all shorter and/or flatter than The Hike). Goal is PT on 2 of every 3 days, hiking 1x per week and walking 2x per week.

At the time I'd posted the above, the 2 out of 3 day pace was established, but then I skipped 2 days instead of 1 day. But I was right on for 1 hike and 2 walks. Not bad.

[anotherAlias]

Boo.

Okay, so according to the multiple books and many medical and academic sources about IF that I've devoured in the past week, apparently, because of my female persuasion, continuous IF is, like, super dangerous and could royally fuck me up.

Apparently it will feel great for a few months, and then will probably start to fry my ovaries, my thyroid, my insulin sensitivity, and my metabolism. All because my own stupid body cares more about my capacity to make a baby I will never have, than it does about my own well being.

Great, just great.

I'm salty about it, because, well, my uterus and I have a pretty acrimonious relationship as it is, but it's not actually the end of the world. I just have to eat a bit in the evening every few days. So really, no big deal.

This happens all the time though. Scientific and medical research is almost exclusively done on males. Even lab rats are almost exclusively male. And then results are generalized to people in general, despite men absolutely NOT being a cross section of the population.

Women don't get studied because our bodies are complicated, but then none of how things impact our complicated bodies get studied. Not until it's too late and the problems show up in the population.

Something similar happened with gastric bypass surgery. It was researched on men, but then years later was found to produce devastating nutrient deficiencies causing serious brain swelling in women.

Being a woman is some serious bullshit sometimes.

I read about those concerns when I first started IF and decided to do it any way.  The studies I saw were mostly talking about the IF methods where you skip entire days of eating.  So I chose the less drastic 14:10 pattern.  Even if 14:10 caused all of those problems, I figure the pros outweigh the cons.  My thyroid has been non functional since my 20s.  I'm 45 and looking at perimenopause in the next few years.  My female hormones are going to go haywire anyhow.  Being overweight also causes insulin resistance.  So I'd rather lose weight and try to avoid the the host of problems the obesity causes.  I chalk  this up to yet another way that being a woman sucks....right up there with impractical clothing and peeing sitting down.

[Kris]

Boo.

Okay, so according to the multiple books and many medical and academic sources about IF that I've devoured in the past week, apparently, because of my female persuasion, continuous IF is, like, super dangerous and could royally fuck me up.

Apparently it will feel great for a few months, and then will probably start to fry my ovaries, my thyroid, my insulin sensitivity, and my metabolism. All because my own stupid body cares more about my capacity to make a baby I will never have, than it does about my own well being.

Great, just great.

I'm salty about it, because, well, my uterus and I have a pretty acrimonious relationship as it is, but it's not actually the end of the world. I just have to eat a bit in the evening every few days. So really, no big deal.

This happens all the time though. Scientific and medical research is almost exclusively done on males. Even lab rats are almost exclusively male. And then results are generalized to people in general, despite men absolutely NOT being a cross section of the population.

Women don't get studied because our bodies are complicated, but then none of how things impact our complicated bodies get studied. Not until it's too late and the problems show up in the population.

Something similar happened with gastric bypass surgery. It was researched on men, but then years later was found to produce devastating nutrient deficiencies causing serious brain swelling in women.

Being a woman is some serious bullshit sometimes.

Could you point me to one of those sources? A female friend of mine has been doing IF for a few months and I’d like to give her the info.

[Metalcat]

I read about those concerns when I first started IF and decided to do it any way.  The studies I saw were mostly talking about the IF methods where you skip entire days of eating.  So I chose the less drastic 14:10 pattern.  Even if 14:10 caused all of those problems, I figure the pros outweigh the cons.  My thyroid has been non functional since my 20s.  I'm 45 and looking at perimenopause in the next few years.  My female hormones are going to go haywire anyhow.  Being overweight also causes insulin resistance.  So I'd rather lose weight and try to avoid the the host of problems the obesity causes.  I chalk  this up to yet another way that being a woman sucks....right up there with impractical clothing and peeing sitting down.

Yeah, 14:10 seems fine for women, what isn't apparently safe is what I'm doing, which is 18:6. I either need to switch to something less drastic like 14:10, which I do not want to do, because I would actually prefer 20:4 if I could do it. Instead, I have to eat a small amount a few evenings a week. Which is fine, I just hate reading a bunch about IF being great, having a TON of good science to back it up, and then finding out "Oh, sorry sweetie, that science that we marketed heavily as applying to 'everyone' doesn't apply to people like you, even though your group actually makes up the majority of people on the planet."

Also, I totally agree, when I was obese, I was determined to just not be obese anymore. I hated it so much. I wasn't all that big, never into plus sizes, but I felt unbearably heavy because my illness makes my joints and organs weak. I couldn't even comfortably tie my shoes. That's my most vivid memory of that brief time in my life; feeling embarrassed at how awkward it was to crouch down and then try and get back up from tying my shoes. Then there was the basically constant low grade asthma attack and acid reflux. I truly despised the experience. I marvel at bigger folks who can be athletic, my friend at the time was a woman shorter than I am, size 24, and a competitive rugby player. If I had been her size, I wouldn't have been able to walk.

[Metalcat]

Could you point me to one of those sources? A female friend of mine has been doing IF for a few months and I’d like to give her the info.

I've read so much over the past week, it would be hard for me to single out a particular good source, but a quick google of "intermittent fasting affects on women" will produce a ton of decent quality results.

Milder fasts like 14:10 are apparently absolutely fine, or alternate day fasting. It's just continuous, heavily restricted IF that's the problem.

I'm just pissed off because it turns out that the stricter the IF, the better the outcome for my particular medical condition. If this was a weight loss thing, it wouldn't make a lick of difference, but me having to break the fast every few days significantly lowers the benefit of IF for my severe, disabling symptoms. So I'm agitated because for the first time in years I find something that works remarkably well and is improving my quality of life, only to find out that I don't get to keep it because my body is meant for babies, not for me.

As someone who has zero interest in making babies, this is agitating.

[Serendip]

@Malcat --yes, this is frustrating!

I have read about this as well and decided that for me, it likely wouldn't be a big deal as I don't do the extended fasts and am inconsistent enough that my attempts aren't likely to trigger some of the negative side-effects..  But I hear how the benefits you are seeking pretty much require those longer fasts.

So much research leaves women out, it's mega-frustrating.

I wonder if Valter Luongo talks about this at all with this fasting-mimicking diet? I don't recall him touching upon it but I have his book somewhere and will look and see if differences for genders are mentioned at all.

[Metalcat]

@Malcat --yes, this is frustrating!

I have read about this as well and decided that for me, it likely wouldn't be a big deal as I don't do the extended fasts and am inconsistent enough that my attempts aren't likely to trigger some of the negative side-effects..  But I hear how the benefits you are seeking pretty much require those longer fasts.

So much research leaves women out, it's mega-frustrating.

I wonder if Valter Luongo talks about this at all with this fasting-mimicking diet? I don't recall him touching upon it but I have his book somewhere and will look and see if differences for genders are mentioned at all.

That's the thing, unless there's research including women, no one will even mention it. Science is seen as genderless, when it is very, very gendered.

[Serendip]

So far I've been keeping around the same level of activity as for the past few months..mostly walking and hiking but am trying to re-establish a yoga routine which will also help me strengthen my legs for ski season. I would really like my legs to be in strong shape so the first few weeks aren't painful adjusting to the demands..  I might even take weekly group ski lessons this year which a friend is trying to organize (that puts a little more pressure on b/c it is nice to be able to keep up with the crew).

I work a physical job so sometimes have a hard time convincing myself to do something after work--it's better for me to be active beforehand and go to work in the afternoons.

[tungu2]

Hi everyone!
I love that it is a health and fitness goals, not a weight-loss thread! I am skinny but in a bad shape. Little muscle, sore joints, feeling very weak.
Right now I am not comfortable going to classes or gym.  So my goal is to start doing YouTube workouts. Short and easy, something that does not provide an excuse to skip. I have always hated sports so even this is hard for me.

[tungu2]

Being a woman is some serious bullshit sometimes.

I did 18:6 for a while. At the same time I was under a lot of stress job-wise and barely slept. After several months my hormone test came back really bad. I think the stress was the main cause but who knows, maybe IF affected me as well.
Obviously, one can’t draw conclusions from one person. But I felt pretty bummed.
I have less stress, sleep is still bad, eating 16:8 but no very strictly. Have not taken the test yet but cramps went back to just painful not excruciating.

[Metalcat]

Hi everyone!
I love that it is a health and fitness goals, not a weight-loss thread! I am skinny but in a bad shape. Little muscle, sore joints, feeling very weak.
Right now I am not comfortable going to classes or gym.  So my goal is to start doing YouTube workouts. Short and easy, something that does not provide an excuse to skip. I have always hated sports so even this is hard for me.

DH and I do a lot of Pilates at home. I find it really great exercise to start with when you're feeling weak because it focuses on your core muscles, and once those are built up, all other exercise becomes much easier.

As someone with a lot of joint pain and weakness, it's actually prescribed that I do Pilates.

Whenever I'm helping someone modify their exercise levels, I always advise that they start with something extremely easy. Getting into the routine is more important than getting in any particular intensity of workout.

Also, I constantly challenge the weird exercise-industry belief that exercise needs to be hard or a certain duration to have a benefit, that's just ridiculous.

It's an old one, but I've gotten a lot of people into a regular exercise routine with Mari Winsor's 20 minute Pilates video. It's short and quite easy, but will definitely give you results in terms of core strength and posture if you are feeling weak.

It's my go to for anyone who has been off exercise for an extended period.

[jac941]

+1 for pilates as a good first exercise!

I also think it doesn’t have to be crazy hard to show results. I’ve been taking a private pilates lesson weekly to complement my physical therapy while I recover from some bad injuries, and I’ve found it extremely helpful without feeling like I’m killing myself. Which at least for me makes it more likely that I’ll do my exercises between lessons.

When I wasn’t injured (and still for cycling workouts), I used apple fitness and liked that - I did their core, hiit, and yoga pretty regularly. I especially like that they have 10 min lessons which I could always get myself to do no matter how tired I was. The annual fee is reasonable ($80), but you have to own an Apple Watch, so there’s that. Starting with YouTube is definitely less expensive.

[GuitarStv]

Also, I constantly challenge the weird exercise-industry belief that exercise needs to be hard or a certain duration to have a benefit, that's just ridiculous.

Yeah, that is definitely bullshit.  Movement (of any sort and for any duration) is better than being completely sedentary.  There's some benefit to longer or harder workouts as your body adapts to the workload, but anything at all is beneficial in comparison to nothing.

[Metalcat]

Also, I constantly challenge the weird exercise-industry belief that exercise needs to be hard or a certain duration to have a benefit, that's just ridiculous.

Yeah, that is definitely bullshit.  Movement (of any sort and for any duration) is better than being completely sedentary.  There's some benefit to longer or harder workouts as your body adapts to the workload, but anything at all is beneficial in comparison to nothing.

Exactly. I was big into body building when I was younger in the very early 2000s when gym culture was really blowing up, and the messaging then was "if you aren't at least doing X, you're wasting your time", and that messaging just kind of never went away.

I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who feel like if they can't get at least 45 minutes of intense exercise in, that there's no point.

Well, yeah, if you aren't pushing hard, you aren't going to become highly athletically conditioned, but who among us actually needs to become highly athletically conditioned?

For most people, if their goal is just to improve their health and stay active, then the goal should be getting to a point where a certain level of fitness is easy.

I'm not allowed to increase my weights past a certain point, it's too dangerous for my joints. So my weight reps, when I'm able to do them, are stupid easy. That's fine. They only need to be harder if I want to get even stronger, but I'm plenty string, so I do my stupid easy reps with my light weights and it feels like I'm doing nothing, but if I were to stop doing them, they would become difficult again.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with getting to a point where reasonable exercise is easy and just staying there.

I don't increase my weight amounts, my DH doesn't run more than 5km at a time, my goal with Pilates is to make excellent posture comfortable and easy to maintain all day without having to think about it.

Exercise doesn't have to be hard unless you have an ever increasing level of performance you are trying to attain. But unless you're an athlete or a body builder, then why would you feel the need to always make it hard?

The reward can be "wow, exercise is now so easy, I can happily do this every day, tra la la, I love being fit enough for exercise to be easy"

[anotherAlias]

Friday was a complete bust both diet and exercise-wise.  Fortunately our trip to the apple orchards only happens once a year.  Since then I've done 3 straight days of fasting and my exercise program.  Today I even managed 3 sets of body weight exercises without feeling like I was dying.  This week I want to keep up the momentum and increase my water intake.  I tend to substitute caffeinated drinks for water during my allergy season to offset the sleepiness from my allergy medication.

[GuitarStv]

Exercise doesn't have to be hard unless you have an ever increasing level of performance you are trying to attain. But unless you're an athlete or a body builder, then why would you feel the need to always make it hard?

It's not hard, it's type 2 fun.  That's what I live for!  :P

Seriously though, hard physical activity is enjoyable for many people.  I exercise for mental as much as for physical health, and very light exercise just doesn't provide the same mental benefits (at least for me).  If my heart doesn't start hammering and sweat doesn't start dripping I don't feel as good for the rest of the day.  The challenge is usually figuring out where to draw the line - as there's a tendency to overdo things and injury has to be managed when you're pushing your personal limits.

Whenever I've coached and trained athletes, my goal is always first to get them moving . . . but then to try to teach them ways to enjoy hard workouts more than easy ones.  There are exceptions, but the majority of them seem to find hard exercise a more fulfilling and rewarding experience that light.

[DaMa]

DH and I do a lot of Pilates at home. I find it really great exercise to start with when you're feeling weak because it focuses on your core muscles, and once those are built up, all other exercise becomes much easier.

As someone with a lot of joint pain and weakness, it's actually prescribed that I do Pilates.

Whenever I'm helping someone modify their exercise levels, I always advise that they start with something extremely easy. Getting into the routine is more important than getting in any particular intensity of workout.

Also, I constantly challenge the weird exercise-industry belief that exercise needs to be hard or a certain duration to have a benefit, that's just ridiculous.

It's an old one, but I've gotten a lot of people into a regular exercise routine with Mari Winsor's 20 minute Pilates video. It's short and quite easy, but will definitely give you results in terms of core strength and posture if you are feeling weak.

It's my go to for anyone who has been off exercise for an extended period.

I'm going to try the Mari Winsor workout.  What I really need is a good core workout video that is standing or sitting. If anyone has any recommendations, please share!

Getting up and down from the floor is hard on my knees.  It also hurts my back when I lay on a hard surface.  Both are getting better with the personal training, but I've got far to go.

[Metalcat]

Exercise doesn't have to be hard unless you have an ever increasing level of performance you are trying to attain. But unless you're an athlete or a body builder, then why would you feel the need to always make it hard?

It's not hard, it's type 2 fun.  That's what I live for!  :P

Seriously though, hard physical activity is enjoyable for many people.  I exercise for mental as much as for physical health, and very light exercise just doesn't provide the same mental benefits (at least for me).  If my heart doesn't start hammering and sweat doesn't start dripping I don't feel as good for the rest of the day.  The challenge is usually figuring out where to draw the line - as there's a tendency to overdo things and injury has to be managed when you're pushing your personal limits.

Whenever I've coached and trained athletes, my goal is always first to get them moving . . . but then to try to teach them ways to enjoy hard workouts more than easy ones.  There are exceptions, but the majority of them seem to find hard exercise a more fulfilling and rewarding experience that light.

Sure, I'm talking about mostly totally out of shape or sick/injured people, people who often do absolutely no exercise and feel totally discouraged because they've been conditioned to think that if it isn't a balls out HIIT session, they're being lazy and not getting any benefit.

If someone gets to the point that light-moderate exercise is easy and they *want* to push themselves and do so sustainably, that's great. I have a DH who is a friggin' machine, and he loves it. But the majority of people out there aren't getting *any* exercise, and they could really benefit from messaging that it's perfectly fine to stick to easy exercise.

[Weisass]

DH and I do a lot of Pilates at home. I find it really great exercise to start with when you're feeling weak because it focuses on your core muscles, and once those are built up, all other exercise becomes much easier.

As someone with a lot of joint pain and weakness, it's actually prescribed that I do Pilates.

Whenever I'm helping someone modify their exercise levels, I always advise that they start with something extremely easy. Getting into the routine is more important than getting in any particular intensity of workout.

I used to do those Winsor workouts. They always humbled me!

Also, I constantly challenge the weird exercise-industry belief that exercise needs to be hard or a certain duration to have a benefit, that's just ridiculous.

It's an old one, but I've gotten a lot of people into a regular exercise routine with Mari Winsor's 20 minute Pilates video. It's short and quite easy, but will definitely give you results in terms of core strength and posture if you are feeling weak.

It's my go to for anyone who has been off exercise for an extended period.

I'm going to try the Mari Winsor workout.  What I really need is a good core workout video that is standing or sitting. If anyone has any recommendations, please share!

Getting up and down from the floor is hard on my knees.  It also hurts my back when I lay on a hard surface.  Both are getting better with the personal training, but I've got far to go.

[Metalcat]

DH and I do a lot of Pilates at home. I find it really great exercise to start with when you're feeling weak because it focuses on your core muscles, and once those are built up, all other exercise becomes much easier.

As someone with a lot of joint pain and weakness, it's actually prescribed that I do Pilates.

Whenever I'm helping someone modify their exercise levels, I always advise that they start with something extremely easy. Getting into the routine is more important than getting in any particular intensity of workout.

Also, I constantly challenge the weird exercise-industry belief that exercise needs to be hard or a certain duration to have a benefit, that's just ridiculous.

It's an old one, but I've gotten a lot of people into a regular exercise routine with Mari Winsor's 20 minute Pilates video. It's short and quite easy, but will definitely give you results in terms of core strength and posture if you are feeling weak.

It's my go to for anyone who has been off exercise for an extended period.

I'm going to try the Mari Winsor workout.  What I really need is a good core workout video that is standing or sitting. If anyone has any recommendations, please share!

Getting up and down from the floor is hard on my knees.  It also hurts my back when I lay on a hard surface.  Both are getting better with the personal training, but I've got far to go.

If you are very delicate, then try doing pilates in bed. The extra squish of the mattress makes the exercises much easier as you get stronger.

I also have very thick 3" professional gym mats for floor exercises, which takes care of the pain of lying on the ground.

[Serendip]

Am tossing in another element--will participate in Sober October with a few friends (or at least 85% sober since I'm going to be flexible for Thanksgiving,etc). So roughly 26 days without booze (I tend to have a daily drink or two and have been experimenting with reducing this in the last few weeks with some success-- and a few over-indulgences). Looking forward to better sleep and stabilizing energy levels :)

[GuitarStv]

Am tossing in another element--will participate in Sober October with a few friends (or at least 85% sober since I'm going to be flexible for Thanksgiving,etc). So roughly 26 days without booze (I tend to have a daily drink or two and have been experimenting with reducing this in the last few weeks with some success-- and a few over-indulgences). Looking forward to better sleep and stabilizing energy levels :)

Remember to cut caffeine out of your life at the same time.  Learning to live without dependency on this (probably the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world) significantly changed the way I view drugs and intoxicants.

[Metalcat]

Am tossing in another element--will participate in Sober October with a few friends (or at least 85% sober since I'm going to be flexible for Thanksgiving,etc). So roughly 26 days without booze (I tend to have a daily drink or two and have been experimenting with reducing this in the last few weeks with some success-- and a few over-indulgences). Looking forward to better sleep and stabilizing energy levels :)

Remember to cut caffeine out of your life at the same time.  Learning to live without dependency on this (probably the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world) significantly changed the way I view drugs and intoxicants.

Oof, I quit both alcohol and coffee in 2020, but would have never done them both at the same time.

Quitting coffee made my alcohol cravings go through the roof. I'm very happy I separated quitting the two by several months.

That said, I quit coffee because I had to in order to manage my very high heart rate. I would have no problem going back to being a 1 coffee a day drinker if I was medically allowed to. Quitting alcohol was life changing, but quitting coffee has been kind like, m'eh, whatever. I could take it or leave it.