Getting Back In The Pool
I'm taking the summer off and needed something to do along with the driving lessons I'll be taking, so last Wednesday I decided to try a free workout at the kickboxing inspired 9-Round Gym just down the block from me. By the end of the 9 'rounds' I was hurting quite a bit and was ready to vomit. Reminded me of wrestling season my sophomore year in high school, actually. I spent a year and a half with Tae Kwon-do (reached a purple belt) during junior and senior year before the twin towers went down but couldn't go any further because I couldn't afford the classes after that.
With that, I figured getting back in the pool would be better. I still have my pool weights and it doesn't impact my body or my breathing nearly as much so it works a lot better with my mobility and strength issues being what they are.
It helps that there are many videos on workouts and exercises:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v88XbXpnGM]
Another thing I've always had trouble with is engaging the core. Up until a couple of years ago I never even knew what that meant.
I'm also doing some diet changes, as I pointed out in yesterday's open thread. It's a process, but hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be in better shape and I won't hurt quite as much.
I doubt I'll reach this level but it's something to strive for.
Comments
Good luck
with all the work you're putting in.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
I think my biggest challenge will be giving up soda.
That stuff contributes more to my current weight than anything else.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Soda is designed to keep you wanting more
Funny how that works.
I used to drink a lot of soda, but gave it up because I just didn't need the calories. My brother's family drinks a ton of diet soda, but I can't abide it. Apparently some people can taste the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners, others don't. It tastes foul to me so I can't drink it.
I finally settled on lots of plain water (distilled water, or as a chemist would say "water"). Put that together with one or two cups of black coffee and I'm good.
Lately I've been treating myself to juices, but they have as many calories as soda. I'm thinking I might cut them with some club soda, not sure if that is any better.
Start by substituting the soda for something else to disrupt the first habit, then stay hydrated with water and switch over to something less harmful, like coffee or tea when you need a treat.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
If you still need the sugar fix...
Gatorade's decent. At least you lose the acid and the carbonation, which doesn't do your teeth any favors.
(I must say though, good clean water after a HARD workout is a great taste, IMHO. I'm learning to really cherish those thirty second drinks.
)
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Hmmm...
If Aspie's goal is to get healthier, the 36 grams of sugar in a 20-once serving of Gatorade might not be the optimal choice as a substitute for his soda drinking.
For a sugar fix, he could try a pineapple and mango smoothie with coconut milk and a few drops of liquid stevia.
Or a quick snack of bananas or apples with some natural peanut butter.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Gatorade only tastes good if you NEED it
otherwise it's disgusting. That's on purpose so you won't swill it like soda.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
There are still plenty of Gatorade drinkers out there
who are not active and who don't need to replenish their body with glucose and electrolytes. So, I guess it's not that disgusting to everyone.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Try Seltzer Water. No sugar, no sweetners.
Being carbonated, it gives you the same satisfied "filled" feeling as soda, but without all the fattening fructose or nasty chemicals. Refreshing, but not bad for you.
@leveymg
Seltzer water with a touch of frozen apple or orange juice is my jam, (besides beer lol).
Ah, Ice Cold Beer . . .
The original health drink - much safer than the water.
I find that sparkling waters
Have much less sodium than Seltzers. Which doesnt really matter if you drink them occasionally. But if you're drinking them everyday, you might find the Sparkling water a better alternative.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
By Seltzer, I meant flavored sparkling water.
Forgive me, I'm old-school in some ways.
Ah, ok.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
While you won't get the sweetness
You will still get the carbonation in flavored sparkling waters. It might help the easing out period.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
And the yin to that yang:
While you won't get the carbonation, you will get the sweetness with coconut water. That's now my go-to alternative for when I'm bored with regular water ... aside from wine, that is.
You still have to pay some attention to calories, but you can get decent refreshment (325 ml) for about 50 calories. One a day might be a nice treat as you ditch the soda habit.
I gave up diet sodas
Over 15 years ago. Then I gave up fruit juices for actual fruit about 5 years ago, and fairly recently eliminated drinking water during my meal after I learned that it hinders digestion.
I still like to drink iced coffee/ tea once in awhile, and sometimes I like a sparkling water on a hot summer day, but my main hydration comes from filtered water.
Except for the occasional glass of wine, or a cocktail, my drinking habits are pretty boring. The coconut water does sounds like a refreshing addition. Thanks for the idea!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Fruit juices were a difficult realization for me.
I used to be a cran-raspberry junkie until I forced myself to acknowledge that it's anything but a juice! I did try pure cranberry juice once and had to dump the bottle down the drain. Holy hell it was awful!
I do allow myself the occasional fresh-squeezed juice when visiting a place where the fruit is in season, but that's about it.
There are cranberry combos that *are* real juices
but you have to read the label very carefully and make sure there's no added sugar (or worse).
Straight cranberry is an acquired taste - that I never acquired.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
The cranberry juice cocktail
That my Mothers generation of women used to drink because advertisers sold it as a healthy drink was loaded with sugars. And I mean loaded. Like an 8oz serving of cranberry juice cocktail has 33g of sugar. Compare that to 20 oz can of Pepsi at 42g of sugar. But guess what? That was before food and beverage products had labels telling us that so people just kept drinking it.
Imagine that. We had to force companies to tell us what were in their products. Which may have begun with the baby food and children's cereal industry when parents wanted to know what they were feeding their children. I guess "Trust Us" just wasn't cutting it anymore.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I like La Croix carbonated water....
...works as a good beer substitute for me. I bet it would satisfy a soda craving too.
Getting off sugar (and carbs) is the healthiest choice I've ever made...all types of unforeseen benefits.
I love swimming too. We have the river on the mountain. When it is flowing strong it is like a swimming tread mill swimming upstream in the current. Love your Fla Springs too!
Wishing you a great summer...
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Just gotta take it one day at a time.
Looking back at where I was a year ago, and where I am now... really glad I stuck with the Judo and Blacksmithing. Good luck to you on your journey wherever it takes you. Just have to remember that there will be days where you want to quit... and some days when you will. As long as you do better the next day, you'll get where you want to be eventually.
(Feeling pretty good myself. Learned a new move a couple days ago that's really natural for me. Thanks to folks on the board for mentioning it, BTW. Works really well and my Sensei was more than willing to teach me it. Really glad I worked on those one legged squats now.)
Just gotta stay positive IMHO and find something you can geek out over a bit. That's how I managed to really enjoy getting physical again. (Plus it's just fun to play this theme in your head a bit when working out...)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p44G0U4sLCE]
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I missed your original comment on your resolutions ...
So I apologize if any of this had already been covered (and if I've missed the intention of your goal-setting).
Have you heard of, or tried, the Whole30?
It's not for everyone, but I personally found it VERY effective in helping me kick my own sugar habit. I did it in order to figure out if I had other food sensitivities, and the very happy side effect is that I no longer crave soda, don't put sugar in my coffee, and am relentless about reading labels for added sugar. I still allow myself some here and there -- no use taking all the joy out of life! -- but I'm now hyper aware of what I feel is worth it versus not.
It also really does force you to eat healthy for 30 days straight. You have to go cold turkey on a lot of things, which may or may not work -- and they rely heavily on animal protein, which can be an issue -- but I thought I'd mention it if you're curious to learn more.
Re: engaging the core
Nothing has raised my own awareness of this -- and taught me how to do it more consistently -- more than yoga.
I used to be intimidated by yoga, but have found a few awesome instructors who make classes comfortable for those of us who aren't Instagramming our handstands on top of mountaintops. I'm so inflexible and lacking in upper body strength that most days, I'm lucky to master shivasana.
Good luck, Aspie.
Tenacity is the key to success.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
A couple of thoughts
People like to drink soda for various reasons clarifying your reasons(s) will help figure out which methods to stop will help.
1) Provide sugar rush or constant energy source. Work on encouraging the body to provide its own energy by directly using stored energy, initiate the body chemical pathways to create energy from storage and quite over storing sugar at the cellular level. Effective methods include minifast of 12 to 18 hours a day without consuming calories in food or beverage.
2) Like the sweet taste. Desire for sweet and salt is related for many individuals. Try consuming less salt in your daily diet. Salt is very good at making food from poor and mediocre sources taste better. If cooking from scratch learn to identify quality ingredients and drop or reduce salt from recipes. Exceptions cooking dried beans and baked goods that will be stored 48 hours or longer.
Switching to non-sugar sweeteners is an option. Depending on our choice there may be additional chemicals for your body to process from the sweetener or the extenders added to make it have the volume of sugar. Also, might be one of the few who experience an aftertaste. Honey is a natural sweeter that requires no chemical processing./em>
3) Fizz. Substitute sparkling waters, vary by adding small amounts of fruit juice or teas (1-2 Tablespoon/8 oz water). In the 90's used a product similar to SodaStream to wean several people off sodas.
4) Experience some type of withdrawal symptoms or craving when not drinking at standard daily consumption. An example is the classic caffeine headache Four choice and needs to be individualized. A) Taper off to adjust slowly to change. B) Stop all consumption and deal with symptoms. C) Substitute with another source, example coffee for caffeine. D)Make no changes.
Different flour choices. Been using non-wheat sources for decades. The easiest to substitute is 50% rice flour and 50% rye. Use same quantity to other ingredients as wheat flour for quick breads products will be denser and less moist. Best when eaten fresh and can add fruit pulp or honey to increase ability to hold moisture. Could PM with specific questions there are many flours to explore.
To explore uses of different flours look at ethnic foods where different grins were grown as the primary food source.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.