Healthier Living Support Group <3

[Sweetintoxikation]

HELLO!

So, I'm just going to post this quick blurb here then grab a couple more posts. I'm making this chat thread for ANYONE in our community looking for connection and support in making healthy choices and changes in their lives.

It can be as vague as you wish or as detailed. This top post will be edited over time but feel free to jump in and post as you wish/see fit.

I hope this can help us all make those changes and prove to be helpful and a happy place.

RULES

ALL NORMAL FORUM RULES APPLY HERE. This are our forums and there are some common courtesy rules that apply to all boards/threads/posts. Please follow them, Thank you.

BIG NOTE HERE

DO NOT give out medical advice of ANY KIND to people. It is -always- recommended to speak to a doctor for the medical side of things. ALWAYS. We love you. We want you to be safe and healthy.

DO NOT guilt people for ANYTHING they do in here! This is a support group. Life is difficult, change is hard. Mistakes happen, people fail but this group is meant to be that place to chat, vent, and lift up those in the community who seek it. <3 Please keep all that in mind.

[Sweetintoxikation]

In case~!

[Sweetintoxikation]

I will share.. alot here about my own struggles. Please know this isn't me seeking sympathy this is me seeking people to hold me accountable and to help cheer me on when I start to slump. <3

[Mr. Pooka]

I am totally in. I can be all over the place with healthier choices, sometimes I seem to have an iron-will but it comes with a time limit and I find some sort of reason to give up... I also adore how you conceptualized your goals with such a great image and that really makes me want to do something like that too!

I'll have to add some more details about what we've been working on to be healthier in the Pooka household very soon. (I've been tracking my own weight, working on portion sizes and experimenting with macrobiotics for some other health reasons for example.)

Thanks for starting this Toxi! I look forward to participating and celebrating the achievements of everyone else who signs up!

[Siopilos]

I love this idea!

I too have been trying to figure out better ways to be healthy. My family has had a history of both mental and heart disease, as well as diabetes and blood pressure so I have to watch what I eat. Except... well, I tend to be an emotional eater and most of my food choices are most definitely not healthy (mayo? blue cheese on steak? bacon cheese burgers? buttercream cakes? fries? greasy indian butter chicken? sooo good!) And the fact I don't exercise enough (perhaps about 2 hours max a week) contributes to my weak joints and I don't bounce back quickly from all of my dance shows.

As far as mental health goes... well it's all over the place. I've been trying a lot of thinking exercises that my counselor recommended for a more positive outlook now that I'm graduating and joining the workforce... which is stressful and taxing; wrought with so many insecurities about myself and my abilities as a graphic designer.

So I very much look forward to this and hope to encourage others to meet their goes too ^_^

[Fanta]

*cheers everyone on* I want to lose some weight, mostly for health reasons as last time I got a check-up my bp was high. -_-;; So my plan is as soon as I'm back from vacation I'm gonna start swimming (my preferred method of exercise) at least 3 days a week. And then probably work my way up to 5. Already have a gym membership, gear, towel. Just... need to kick myself out of the house & not get comfortable as soon as I get home.

[Operetta]

I definitely want to be healthier just for myself. Heart problems run in my family, so I know I need to take better care of myself. My biggest issue is trying to balance health, time, and money. I generally find that healthier food options are more expensive, and since Rasa and I have different food tastes, buying fresh vegetables usually doesn't work for me as they almost always go bad before I can finish eating them. Then I get annoyed for throwing away food that I spent money on. Timewise... trying to fit any kind of exercise into my schedule is so difficult. Getting up early is not an option. I know myself well enough to know that I'm not a morning person and never will be. So, generally, if I exercise, I do it right after I get home from work while I'm still in my "do work" mode, but honestly, many days I'm simply exhausted by the time I get home from work. And, my work schedule isn't always constant. So, some days, especially during busy season, which is coming up, I work ten or eleven hour days and get home at seven o'clock at night. So, any sort of normal exercise time goes right out the window.

On a more positive note, I recently invested in a couple of DDR mats. Rasa and I have a functioning PS2, and many years ago, I LOVED doing DDR a lot and was pretty good at it, too! So, I thought it would be a good and fun way to get some exercise in. My first run through was so pathetic. I couldn't even get through three songs on any sort of decent level, and all I could think of was, "What happened to me? I used to be so good at this!" But, I'm not giving up on this one. I'll just have to go back to the WAY basic level and start from scratch.

[Moophles]

Oh I am SO in on this. I need to start working on getting myself healthier too and all of us working on supporting each other sounds like a great idea!

[Cameron]

This will definitely be helpful for me on my journey! So, thank you Toxi for starting this! I think it's important to not only have support, but also be able to express a similar type of support to others going through the same thing. I think it helps keep you in check with your own goals... (Heh, Psych-nut here! XD)

I'm from and currently living in a state that is currently on the top 5 list of "healthiest states in the USA". In fact, the state that I am currently residing in has been on the top 10 list since the rankings began! This alone makes me often times extremely conscious of myself. However, the communities that I experience bring me a positive energy to assist me in the decisions I do make regarding my health. To say that I'm health conscious would not always be accurate though. When I was in grade school (5th-8th gradeish) I weighed about 160lbs and I was just about 5ft tall. I was sorely inactive despite being a kid and had no concept of what being healthy was. My biggest complaint now is that proper nutrition is not taught in schools. Nutrition I've found is so important. Though I also find it very difficult to stick to healthy choices. There's just so much darn temptation everywhere!

It took me many years to get down to a "proper" BMI. However, I am still not 100% comfortable in my own skin some days. There's so much pressure to look a certain way, and often times this perceived "ideal" also smashes into my mental health issues. Towards the end of high school and the beginning of college I did struggle greatly with an eating disorder. I don't know that it was a clinically significant struggle. However it did affect the way I thought about eating and shaped what I did and did not choose to do regarding my health. I also struggled and still do struggle with SAD (seasonal affective disorder). It's kind of like a seasonal depression and will take me down during the winter months and even when the weather is crummy. (I can literally feel my mood flip a switch on cruddy days!!).

I've spent a lot of time working on my personal commitment to my spirit and my body. Some days its more of a challenge than others. BUT I've been improving day by day. I actually started somewhat of a "new year's resolution" this year (I don't really like referring to is as a resolution, but hey! ^^). I decided that I was going to be more thankful, and make an effort to express my appreciation and gratitude for the positive forces in my life. This included the biggest positive driving force in my life; Myself. I started by making a commitment to setting up a makeshift gym in the basement of my rental home. I committed to doing further research on body weight and weight lifting exercises and decided to try and dedicate at least 20-30 minutes of every day to some type of exercise. I do have to admit I haven't been completely strict and despite doing so well in January and February with my commitment I faltered a little towards the end of March and then through April! I'm still trying to get back on track, and my diet has been completely out of control since March. I still strive to make changes and am setting small goals to achieve at this point.

I know that life is a journey, and numerous trainers that I follow on some form of social media admit to not always being strict and it taking time to come full stride into their method of health. I think that my journey to health is still unfolding and despite the struggle I do face from time to time. I know that I can persevere. I hope that others can gain further confidence in their journey through this sharing thread! If anyone needs advice or feels the need to vent this definitely could be a positive format! However, like Toxi cited for pertinent health questions it may be best to follow up with a physician... If you believe in that sort of thing.

[emerlee]

I need this in my life!! ~Thank you for starting this Toxi!! <3

[Mr. Pooka]

*refuses to let this page fall to the second page and thinks about it almost every day*

[Moophles]

Right on Mr. Pooka! you reminded me about this page by posting it!

[Sweetintoxikation]

*peeks* I think about this thread everyday. I FULLY intend to get to weekly or twice weekly postings here myself. Thank you for poking it and me! <3

I hope everyone who's posted some sort of goal on here already is doing alright.

I.. am not. I have to restart my goals. I'll be honest. I've not been watching my food or sugars. Which is awful. And I feel the difference. u.u

[Mr. Pooka]

*bumps thread up again, it will NOT go away if I have anything to do about it!*

Pooka and I have dedicated ourselves to trying a fairly serious (and seriously hard) diet atm... but being that its difficult I don't want to add to many details before I see if we can stick with it, (-8 (though I'm super optimistic!) If things work out, I'll put up some more details in a couple of weeks.

[Sweetintoxikation]

Hey,

How's that going Mr. Pooka? I know Pooka mentioned changing her diet from the one you'd both started. But how've you been feeling on it? It is helping?

I fully admit I've not been doing anything I SHOULD. I need a kick in the pants. u.u I just don't know what it's going to be/take.

I spent a few hours in sleepy-sinus-y not fun non-sleeping the other night to search through Pintrest for some menu ideas. SO MANY good ideas. All with fresh foods and things I would LOVE to make. But.. I don't understand why I'm struggling so much to make that switch from fast/easy to healthy again. u.u

Anyone with advice, I'd love to hear it. Even if it's just, "JUST DO IT TOXI". Maybe if enough people poke me I'll get back on track.

And to anyone else reading these, I hope anyone who has been struggling to make changes, successfully made changes, or need some help making them stops in too. <3

Together we can make changes. I'm certain of it.