Keep Fit - Diet - Staying In Shape?

[pete9012S]

How do you keep fit?

Walking, going to the gym, Karate, going shopping etc?
Have you given up on keeping fit?
Would you like to be more fit?

Diet?

What does your daily diet consist of?

I like to start the day with a large mug of camomile tea, some cottage cheese or tinned mackerel.
Lunch may be a burger with salad and evening meal may be a curry or pork chops with veg.
Snacks tend to be peanuts or cashew nuts.
I try to drink a few pints of bottled water each day.
I tend to have a large mug of coffee with cream around 4pm as that's when my energy seems to flag the most.

I try to avoid to much bread, chips etc, but I really like ice cream and trifle!!

Goals:
To walk more. Install my treadmill and stop late night snacking!

How about you??

1.How do you keep fit?

2.Diet?

3.Goals:

[Nick]

I like to hit the gym 3/4 times a week.

I do a strength and conditioning class on Tuesdays which usually consists of 20 minutes strength work, 20 minutes HIIT and 20 minutes stretching and then 2/3 weight lifting sessions at home. I like to push my self (or did as I'm currently awaiting surgery on an elbow injury from 2019) so lots of squats, deadllfting and bench pressing.

Diet wise, I've always eaten a clean diet. Lots of veg, fish, chicken, protein shakes and I also take a couple of supplements. Alpha Lipoic Acid in the morning and Zinc, Magnesium and B12 at night.

Goals are to get my surgery out the way (was suppressed to be this month but I tested positive for covid) and just keep plugging along.

[pete9012S]

A very good fitness and diet regime Nick.
Sorry to hear about your elbow injury and the timing of getting covid.

I hope you do get your elbow surgery soon.

Regards

Pete

[IceMaiden]

How do I keep fit: I don't like sports and don't bother with the gym. My work is pretty physically demanding, involving a lot of carrying, lifting, bending and walking about so I'm not going to pay to do the same in a gym! I also go cycling and do a lot of walking with my dog, which around here is always up some 1 in 3 hill at one point if not only because I live at the top of one on both sides!

Diet: Anything I want. I don't believe in depriving yourself of something you like, I think you should eat what you like but in moderation. A little bit of everything is good for you if you're sensible with it. Self-control is the key - two biscuits for a snack not two dozen. Smaller portions too, instead of leaving the chips off your plate completely (and making you want them even more) , just put less on it! I have a serious sweet tooth, I love chocolate, cake, biscuits and sweets, don't really like most vegetables and though I love fruit I can't eat too much at once as it makes me feel terrible, so strict control is a must .

I only drink three things, water because any fruit juice, squash or fizzy drinks give me horrendous pain, milkshake as a change from water constantly, and Clippers English Breakfast tea because for some I can't drink any other type of tea at all. In the Summer I do make homemade lemonade which is just lemons, sugar and water and in small amounts I'm OK with that, plus it makes a nice change! When I hear someone say "oh I don't like drinking water" I can't help but think what would they do if they could barely drink anything else .

Goals: stay exactly as I am.

[Bertie]

I'd like to be more fit: My weight fluctuates a lot rather than staying roughly the same. Currently more on the higher side, but I've started to do something about it again. I don't have high energy levels though - even when I'm at my ideal weight, I can't do much exercise at all before I'm just over tired and headachy - so it's mostly about dieting than exercising for me.

Diet: My daily diet has been a bit trickier in the last few years - combination of Covid / lockdowns, etc; looking after my elderly mum a lot more; and some digestive / health issues (I'm vegetarian, but struggle digesting Veg and, especially, Fruit; and have Gallstones so now have to watch out with Dairy, anything Spicy, etc). Which rules out plenty of options!
I'm Teetotal and mostly drink peppermint tea and water. With being vegetarian I eat a lot of Quorn variations instead of meat -and really enjoy most of them. Things like Pasta and Noodles are fine for my digestion, but not great for my weight I suppose.

Goals: Currently aiming to lose a bit of weight. I can't really up my exercise much, for the above reasons. So mostly just cutting down on the amount of food, and cutting out late night snacks.

[Boodi 2]

This thread is making me feel a bit guilty as I have just indulged in a bar of chocolate!

I am slightly overweight (although by no means obese) and have struggled to keep my weight under control for the last 30 years. I generally only have a cup or two of coffee for breakfast. When my husband is at home we have dinner in the middle of the day (when I am alone I just have a light snack). We are not vegetarian but have reduced our meat consumption in recent years and now eat a lot more vegetables and salads. However, we do enjoy ice cream and various puddings and custard!! Our evening meal generally consists of sandwiches (especially cheese, salad and tomato), homemade vegetable soup or poached eggs on toast. We don't drink any alcohol and although I am addicted to coffee in the last year I have been drinking a lot more tea since a friend gave us a present of a packet of "real" tea and we discovered that tea made from real tea leaves is far superior to the tea bags we had used for many years.

Now that I no longer have horses my main exercise consists of walking and I walk almost every day for at least an hour (sometimes for up to three hours). I also do most of our shopping on foot (my husband buys heavier items that I cannot carry on his way home from work with the car). I attend a Qi Gong course on Friday evenings, which I enjoy. I used to cycle almost every day (to and from the stables) but since my illness 12 years ago I have developed a fear or phobia about falling while cycling (I did have one or two accidents with the bike in earlier years due to my own carelessness), which is a great pity as my husband loves cycling and cycles almost every day when there is no snow and ice. He has now stopped encouraging me to join him as he feels that the fact I am so nervous is sure to lead to an accident (i.e. self-fulfilling prophecy!).

Goals: Continue to keep my weight under control. I would like to cycle again, but as to whether that is a realistic goal I cannot say. I would also like to become involved in sport, but due to my disability my options are extremely limited. One possibility might be golf, but the nearest golf course is quite a distance away and it is also fairly expensive. Sometimes I am tempted to disregard medical advice and start riding again, but I know my husband would be furious and when I finally stopped riding after the death of my last horse he told me that while he applauded my desire to remain active he always worried when I was out riding and sighed with relief when I returned home in one piece.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

My main motivation for not putting on any more weight is that I'd go up a dress size and would need a whole new wardrobe. That sounds expensive.

Weight training by the kg is for wimps. We bell-ringers do it by the hundred-weight Add in climbing spiral staircases and clambering over bell-frames, it comes in as good exercise. Take off it is very sociable, involving a lot of eating of cake, then it sort of balances (over-balances?) out.

Conservation volunteers is exercise with a purpose. Chucking scrub onto bonfires in winter is great fun. and we also have a splendid muddy pond coming up. But - it is also sociable, with cake hazard as above.

Viv

[Courtenay]

My main motivation for not putting on any more weight is that I'd go up a dress size and would need a whole new wardrobe. That sounds expensive.

That's my main motivation too!! I have put on a bit of weight in the last few years (possibly boredom-eating during the lockdowns had something to do with it), and while I still fit into all my clothes except for a few items that were already almost too tight for me anyway, I definitely don't want to be getting any bigger than I am now...

I can't be bothered with dieting in any form — just getting myself back into my former habits of eating sensible portions and not too many snacks (all of which saves money, too, which is another important goal at the moment). As for exercise, I've started doing more walking lately than I have for a while, and am planning another trip to the Lake District for some fell walking (and peak bagging), so that's something...

[IceMaiden]

possibly boredom-eating during the lockdowns had something to do with it

I've never understood boredom eating. Surely if you're sat around doing nothing you're less likely to want to eat not more as you aren't burning any energy.

[Bertie]

I've never understood boredom eating. Surely if you're sat around doing nothing you're less likely to want to eat not more as you aren't burning any energy.

I'd say there's no 'surely' about it, and that every person / scenario is different.
From my own situation, I fully understand the idea that when you're just sat around, you're more likely to notice, and act, on the feelings of hunger and so keep snacking on food; whereas when you're busy doing something, you don't have the time to act on the hunger by keep snacking - or don't notice it as much in the first place because your mind / body is occupied on something else.

[pete9012S]

Viv:
Conservation last week

[Katharine]

My main motivation for not putting on any more weight is that I'd go up a dress size and would need a whole new wardrobe. That sounds expensive.

Ha ha - that's as good an incentive as any - I have a wardrobe full of clothes I hope to shrink into again one day.

I've tried various methods and ideas over the years with varying degrees of success. However I usually slip back into old (bad) habits and any progress is usually short lived.

I've finally managed to get into myself into a 'better' place though, all thanks to Covid! When the pandemic first hit these shores, there was some evidence to suggest that those over a certain BMI were at higher risk of hospitalisation. I knew the scales had been slowly creeping up in recent years, but it was a shock when I checked the NHS/BMI calculator and realised just what my reading was. So the fear of being seriously ill with Covid, coupled with losing my job, so no spare money for all those 'treats' at lunch time helped the pounds drop off me, and 2 and a half years later, I've still managed to keep the weight off.

I also discovered a few years ago that I have a gall stone, and as I wish to avoid surgery, I've also been more careful with what I eat, which has again helped with keeping the weight off.

Ideally I'd like to tone up a bit, and have several DVDs which I've used over the years, but found the long spell of hot weather too much to contemplate jumping about in. I have a fairly physical job though, so hopefully that's helped with my muscle tone a bit.

I try to keep processed foods to a minimum, but don't stress about it too much - moderation in all things.

I've recently been away for a few days, and two mornings I had large cooked breakfasts, and a couple of times we bought convenience foods/ate out - amazingly when I got back I found I'd lost about 3 or 4 pounds in weight (which I've now put back on). Obviously all the walking I did while away burned off more calories that I was consuming.

[Wolfgang]

Have you drunk the same amount of water etc. while you're away as you do when you're at home? You might have lost quite some of it, and when you're back to normal the reserves are refilled.

[Katharine]

Have you drunk the same amount of water etc. while you're away as you do when you're at home? You might have lost quite some of it, and when you're back to normal the reserves are refilled.

Good point, not I probably didn't drink as much, or at least I certainly didn't have time for my usual mid-morning cup of tea/coffee.

That could explain why I've put the few pounds I lost back on so quickly, or maybe it's because the weather has turned colder and I'm just wearing thicker jumpers the last few days.

[Courtenay]

I've never understood boredom eating. Surely if you're sat around doing nothing you're less likely to want to eat not more as you aren't burning any energy.

I'd say there's no 'surely' about it, and that every person / scenario is different.
From my own situation, I fully understand the idea that when you're just sat around, you're more likely to notice, and act, on the feelings of hunger and so keep snacking on food; whereas when you're busy doing something, you don't have the time to act on the hunger by keep snacking - or don't notice it as much in the first place because your mind / body is occupied on something else.

Yes, we're all different. In my case, it's eating not out of hunger / burning energy, but out of sheer not having anything to do, so a bit more chocolate would be nice, and now did I have any cheese left in the fridge...? It's not a habit I used to have when I was a university student in Melbourne and didn't have much money to throw around, so food was not so easily expendable!!