The 2016 Healthy Habits Thread

[kyuuei]

2015 started to see some new members in it But I think instead of a challenge set this year, 2016 we focus on creating healthy habits and sticking to them. Make it more of a community discussion and reflection rather than an obligation for perceived success. Fitness is a life long thing, after all.

I've been chugging along so far with my work outs, but I still need to muster the motivation to stretch--something I frequently WANT to do but never DO do.

Meals I've cooked lately:
- Sweet potatoes stuffed with a shredded broccoli, onion, leek, mushroom mix
- Pumpkin oatmeal
- Mini quiches
- Several vegetable soups since it's winter and COLD here!
- Pho The kitchn has a pretty decent recipe for the broth.

 

[tinker683]

I've decided I'm going to significantly cut down on my sugar intake. This is partially because I generally feel better when I keep to a low sugar diet but also because my body seems to having a more and more difficult time with it and I'm getting gastro related problems because of it. Blah.

So, that's my first habit!

 

[kyuuei]

I've decided I'm going to significantly cut down on my sugar intake. This is partially because I generally feel better when I keep to a low sugar diet but also because my body seems to having a more and more difficult time with it and I'm getting gastro related problems because of it. Blah.

So, that's my first habit!

I've been watching my dad struggle with DM2 and it's not an easy task, and one that seems to be overall fairly rewarding whether you have health issues or not to take in a bit less sugar.

This year, I hope to re-calibrate my cooking style so that I'm eating home cooked meals for every single meal besides 1/2 of my breakfasts (cereal) + 1 night and 1 cheap day out to eat a week.

I'd like to aim for lower sodium intakes and sugar intakes as well, but I think focusing more on fruits and veggies are the way to go for me overall. I sort of re-vamped my spice rack to have sodium-free low-sugar seasonings.

As far as excerise.. I want to change it up, do 3x a week of 1-hour to 1 1/2 hour long sessions, followed by 2x a week of 20-30 minute sessions + stretching for 30 minutes, and 1x a week of 10-15 minute work outs plus a 40+ min stretching work out, with a day off to wiggle around. I really need to focus on my flexibility.. and while I think I need to improve on my running and cardio, I don't think I'm really going to start on that until it's warmer out. Definitely not in Jan/Feb when it's miserably cold out. So, for now, I need to really focus on my hips and back and legs.

 

[Null]

For me it's:

- Less industrial sugar, preferably none. Very ambitious and I won't be able to do this completely, but I'll try.
- Include more green vegetables into my daily meals, so broccoli, peas, etc.
- More water! I drink about 1 1/2 liters per day, but I can feel that it's not enough. At least 2 liters.
- More fresh air!! I hate cold temperatures, as soon as they start rising again I'll try to go outside for at least 2 hours every day.

 

[wolfnara]

Last year I decided my new years resolution was to start going to the gym. So there's that
Also going to start using floss, exfoliate my skin, and try talking to more people.

 

[tinker683]

I've been watching my dad struggle with DM2 and it's not an easy task, and one that seems to be overall fairly rewarding whether you have health issues or not to take in a bit less sugar.

This year, I hope to re-calibrate my cooking style so that I'm eating home cooked meals for every single meal besides 1/2 of my breakfasts (cereal) + 1 night and 1 cheap day out to eat a week.

I'd like to aim for lower sodium intakes and sugar intakes as well, but I think focusing more on fruits and veggies are the way to go for me overall. I sort of re-vamped my spice rack to have sodium-free low-sugar seasonings.

As far as excerise.. I want to change it up, do 3x a week of 1-hour to 1 1/2 hour long sessions, followed by 2x a week of 20-30 minute sessions + stretching for 30 minutes, and 1x a week of 10-15 minute work outs plus a 40+ min stretching work out, with a day off to wiggle around. I really need to focus on my flexibility.. and while I think I need to improve on my running and cardio, I don't think I'm really going to start on that until it's warmer out. Definitely not in Jan/Feb when it's miserably cold out. So, for now, I need to really focus on my hips and back and legs.

Sounds like a good plan, one I think I shall adopt as well. I'm about to move into a new house and I've already got a paved out section of yard reserved as a training area!! My goal is have a flat stomach by the end of the year

 

[Smilephantomhive]

I'll try and eat less meat. I mean I won't refuse it if someone gives it to me, but I won't seek it out.

 

[Tellenbach]

I'm going to start using the slow cooker; low temperature cooking is supposed to be a relatively healthier way to cook meats. You don't get the glycotoxins (which are suspected to cause Type 2 Diabetes) from frying and grilling.

 

[jcloudz]

Meditation is my new habit, walking and hiking. Meditation is centered around preserving equinimity

 

[kyuuei]

Weekly(ish) update!:

Going pretty strong on this 3-2-1 exercise plan of mine. Fitness blender is a god send. Still really want some good stretching videos though. For now I keep sticking to 30 days of Yoga + fitness blender because, honestly, the rest are preaching shit that makes me groan and roll my eyes.

Home cooked beef and veggie stir fry tonight courtesy of my boyfriend! What a swell guy. Gumbo for tomorrow, and I had a pita wrap sandwich for breakfast. I'm eating down the stuff we have in the house.. far toooo much food reserves in the pantry.

I've been drinking a pretty fair amount of water, increasing my intake. I used to drink like a fish out of water, but when I shifted to night shift + colder weather here in a new state, I never feel thirsty. That mechanism is starting to kick back in now that I've been spacing out my intake over the day/night. My biggest ally? A small, tiny water bottle. Just an 8 oz bottle. People are touting around giant canisters of stuff thinking they have to drink all of it.. for me? I chug the 8 oz, fill it up again, and set it near my charting station. I seem to remember it more and the baby steps of "oh that was easy" are far more suited for me.

Mental sanity: I'm setting my dates and requesting them off for Japan! I'm still talking to my manager about how to balance Japan + Montreal, then I'm putting the dates in. It'll be perfect: it's not summer, not on the holidays I opted to work, warm enough here that we won't miss spring coming or worry about freezing pipes, cool enough that my boyfriend won't die in Japan during the summer time, and although I am a little sad it won't quite by cherry blossom season starting, it'll still be around, and the major festivals are all around it vs on it so the travel won't be so bad either. I also finished my stupid defensive driving course and I am sending it off to the courts in Texas and I will finally be free of that awful moment in time.

Home health: This month I am cleaning up my email box, and my pictures on my phone. Digital stuff I can do quietly at night on my nights off while my BF sleeps. If I can get done with all of that in time, I'll scan some documents in that can be digital + burned after. I also started my budget this year of saving for my new home. Laid it all out, and turns out I think I can make it work if I work weekends + pick up an occasional over time shift when the opportunity arises.

Career health: I think I am going to try the sepsis training classes and attempt to be a better expert in sepsis recognition and reaction. It seems like something that, if you practice enough, it could really influence care no matter where you go or what floor you're on. And, like strokes, it has a set parameter of "if this, do this" that, once you get down, is almost muscle memory. Right up my alley of wanting to be a know-it-all + needing strict "there's only this option" in emergency situations.

 

[highlander]

I'm eating a lot of vegetables and fruit with very little processed foods or things that are high in saturated fats. I'm also working out three or four times a week.

 

[kyuuei]

I'm eating a lot of vegetables and fruit with very little processed foods or things that are high in saturated fats. I'm also working out three or four times a week.

I was reading this in the middle of eating 3 pieces of Lindt chocolate candies sent to me from France. They were delicious btw.

Srsly, though, pretty awesome goal. The saturated fats thing is a hard one for me.

 

[highlander]

I was reading this in the middle of eating 3 pieces of Lindt chocolate candies sent to me from France. They were delicious btw.

Srsly, though, pretty awesome goal. The saturated fats thing is a hard one for me.

I'm reading this eating three truffells from Belgium . Got to have a little bit of fun.

 

[EJCC]

General resolutions for this year (including some of my New Year's Resolutions):

- Upping my weekly exercise from 1-2x per week to 3-4x per week
- Eating more veggies and fruit relative to grains/protein (I still eat too much rice and pasta)
- Turning desserts into a special-occasion thing
- Finding another kind of exercise I enjoy other than running and doing yoga -- something that balances those out and is an effective form of cross-training

 

[Luke O]

A few days ago I decided to give up alcohol. I don't drink much anyway but it's not doing great things to my digestive system.

 

[EJCC]

General resolutions for this year (including some of my New Year's Resolutions):

- Upping my weekly exercise from 1-2x per week to 3-4x per week
- Eating more veggies and fruit relative to grains/protein (I still eat too much rice and pasta)
- Turning desserts into a special-occasion thing
- Finding another kind of exercise I enjoy other than running and doing yoga -- something that balances those out and is an effective form of cross-training

Question for folks who do a lot of that kind of training -- type 1 muscles, I think? -- what do you all do to balance that out? Probably weight-lifting? I've tried weight-lifting and general bodyweight stuff, but find it both overwhelming and boring. At least with running, I just get going (slowly, then faster, then slower again to cool down, then stretching), and with yoga I just show up to class, or do one of the classes on my app. My other options all seem more high-maintenance and less accommodating to the uninitiated.

Edit: [MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION] and [MENTION=9811]Coriolis[/MENTION] what are the exercise videos you like, and are they on YouTube? If this is too much of a derail, feel free to VM or PM me.

 

[Ivy]

Just found this thread- as usual you're awesome at this kind of positive motivational crap kyuuei! Love the idea to make it about positive habits. Short term challenges and very prescriptive methods do less and less for me as time goes by.

My first goal for the new year was to update all my doctor visits and such.

• Got a teeth cleaning and was told to buy a Sonicare (anybody tried it? not sure I want to pay that much for a toothbrush.)
• Went to the doctor to get my annual bloodwork done and I am once again grateful for relative good health.
  • My cholesterol levels are all at the "optimal/ideal" range again, and certainly not because I avoid eating cholesterol. Probably not because of anything else I did either so I'm not bragging, but I was pleased.
  • BP was 116/65, and we talked about taking me off one of my BP meds if I lose any more weight. (Most likely the Prinzide- the other one is a beta blocker that is also for my arrythmia so I may be on that one long-term.)
  • We also talked about weaning off my antidepressant, which I'm going to do a trial of. She said exercise would help make the difference so I'm adding a day to my routine to try to head off any side effects and offset the lack of an SSRI, which has been immensely helpful but I don't want to be on it forever. (It'll always be in my back pocket as a tool I can use, though.)
• Made an appointment with the cardiologist to check up on my arrhythmia. Will update when I've been.
• Made an appointment with the neurologist to repeat my sleep study to see if I need a CPAP. I went two years ago and found out I had mild apnea, then lost my insurance so I wasn't able to follow up. I hoped losing weight would do the trick but according to people who sleep near me, it hasn't. Will update when I've been to that, too.

I had been vaguely aiming for "enough protein" and "enough fruits and veggies" but I was getting stuck on what's enough. So I used the USDA's Healthy Eating Index to figure out what good levels of those things would be for me at my calorie goals.

What to try to get:

• Fruit- at least 2 cups a day, at least 1 cup of which is whole fruit, not juice (not hard for me since I don't drink juice)
• Vegetables- at least 2.5 cups a day, 1/2 cup of which is greens/beans/peas
• Whole grains- 3 oz a day (I don't sweat this, I just choose whole grains whenever I feel like it when I do eat grains, which I don't much, since I like other foods more)
• Dairy- 3 servings a day (typically I do gravitate towards having 1 serving each of yogurt, milk, and cheese)
• Protein- at least 5 oz a day, 2 oz of which is seafood or plant protein (plus the protein in the dairy, turns out to meet my needs pretty well)
• Fatty Acids- (PUFA + MUFA)/SFA greater than or equal to 2.5 (going to have to work on how to figure this a bit, or decide to buy healthy oils and let the levels wash out on their own)

What to eat in moderation:

• Refined grains- under 3 oz a day
• Sodium- under 2.5 g a day
• Empty Calories (solid fats, alcohol, added sugars)- under 20% total diet
• Alcohol- under 26 g a day

Again, these are not hard & fast rules, I just used the tool to measure how well I was doing naturally by eating what I feel like eating (pretty well, actually) and to figure out what to aim for in terms of what TO eat, and beyond that I don't worry too much about what NOT TO eat.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/healthy_eating_index/CNPPFactSheetNo2.pdf

 

[Ivy]

Oh, on the exercise front- I joined a different, cheaper gym (Planet Fitness). Unfortunately it's further away, but actually quite close to my weekly therapy/dietician appointments, so I can get there pretty easily. And they have these awesome water massage tables, so I tell myself if I get myself in the door I can sign up for a turn on one of those both before and after I do something active. Typically I do 2 hours of slow-paced walking while I work on my laptop, or cycling and working if my foot is giving me trouble which it has been doing lately, not sure what that's about. I've been doing that twice a week, but I want to add another day to help with the weaning off my antidepressant.

 

[Ivy]

Question for folks who do a lot of that kind of training -- type 1 muscles, I think? -- what do you all do to balance that out? Probably weight-lifting? I've tried weight-lifting and general bodyweight stuff, but find it both overwhelming and boring. At least with running, I just get going (slowly, then faster, then slower again to cool down, then stretching), and with yoga I just show up to class, or do one of the classes on my app. My other options all seem more high-maintenance and less accommodating to the uninitiated.

Edit: [MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION] and [MENTION=9811]Coriolis[/MENTION] what are the exercise videos you like, and are they on YouTube? If this is too much of a derail, feel free to VM or PM me.

[MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION] introduced me to the Fitness Blender site and it's really great. I used to like bodyrock.tv but there was some weird drama with the original girl being kicked off the site when her husband remarried another trainer, so it makes me feel weird to go there now.

 

[Bush]

- Getting to the point where fast food just tastes disgusting to me. It's a natural consequence of pretty much never eating it for a while. I've been there before and should get there again.