The 2016 Healthy Habits Thread

[Bush]

Habitica is down for me! How will I ever get anything done again without it?

Take the opportunity to just binge like you've never pinged before.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Downloaded strava on my phone to track my rides. Did about 7.8 miles in 29:30. 16.2mph again. Tomorrow is a recovery day!

 

[SD45T-2]

I want a good one with a heart rate monitor, probably a garmin. I actually have a cheap one on another bike and it was a pain in the ass to run. Yea I don't have to have one that expensive, but for what I'm trying to do training wise I would like to have the garmin. I'm a save up and buy the right thing once kinda guy but ymmv.

Tonight I was talking to my best friend (who has too many bikes) and he says his rule of thumb is don't buy any Garmin model that's brand new; go for something that's been out maybe 6 months to a year and has had the bugs worked out.

 

[kyuuei]

Stayed at the inn in habitica during my vacation to savannah Georgia! While my eating wasn't stellar I did bike all over the city. Really beautiful place, I look forward to returning to soon. I might even try to make it one of my first contracts for traveling.

I sort of just got home, slept a few hours, then went to work, so I'll click it back on in the morning when I get home.

 

[Ivy]

Update time!

• I didn't end up getting a Sonicare- I got some softer scrubby toothbrushes on Amazon and have been using those with the small round strokes the hygienist recommended, and I feel like it's doing the trick.
• We didn't end up dropping any of my BP meds since I'm not having symptoms of low BP, but it's still an option in case I develop any symptoms.
• I'm about 2/3 of the way through weaning myself off my antidepressant, and so far, so good. I haven't felt any side effects that I know of.
• I've been to the cardiologist. I'm wearing a Zio patch, a 2-week heart monitor, to check and see if my arrhythmia has changed or worsened at all. (Or gotten better!) I put a picture of the Zio patch at the bottom of this post, because it's pretty cool. Last time I had wires and leads and an old-school cell phone that I had to use to record events. This time I don't have to do anything, except press the Zio when I want to mark a time to make sure they look at it.
• I've also been to the neurologist, and she said I didn't need to repeat the sleep study- we could just pretend I didn't wait two years to follow up, and go ahead with the second study with CPAP to see if it improved things for me. That's scheduled for early May but I'm also on a waitlist for cancellations/no-shows. But I have to wait until my 2 weeks with the Zio patch is over since they'll have to attach a heart monitor to me during the sleep study, and one of the leads has to go where the Zio patch is now.

Another update on a few of these-

I'll be totally weaned off my antidepressant by Sunday. Still feel fine.

My Zio patch fell off last night in the shower and since it made it to 12 days, they said to go ahead and send it in, it's probably enough data to give a clear picture of how my heart is behaving over time. The echocardiogram was normal, so that's good. My follow-up appointment to find out what the Zio said is in a little over a week.

I didn't end up having to wait for my sleep study, they just modified where they put the leads. I used the CPAP in the sleep study and noticed a difference immediately. My follow-up appointment to probably get my CPAP prescription is also in a little over a week.

I got the Bellabeat Leaf, and I'm loving it so far. It's so pretty! Seems to track fairly accurately, and I like that I can set it to buzz at me every hour as if to say "get up and move around, fatass." The breathing exercises are okay, I will continue to do them, but I find that the knowledge that it's taking accuracy measurements gives me a little bit of performance tension, so it's hard to fully relax into it. The biggest drawback to the Leaf so far is that it's kind of hard to clip onto clothing, especially when I've bitten my nails down to the quick and can't use one to pry the clip up a bit. I'm not sure I'm ready to ask Habitica to help me with my nails yet.

 

[EJCC]

My LEAF came in the mail too! Wearing it now, as a bracelet. I feel like I can't judge it very well yet since 1) I have a lot to learn about how it works (other than it's not very intuitive) and 2) I should wait a week or two to analyze the data it's collecting about my lifestyle.

Main complaint so far is that I can't tell if it knows that I'm standing up or sitting down -- in a perfect world it would be able to track the calorie-burn difference between when I'm at my standing desk and when I'm not. I doubt that it tracks that, but at the same time, I don't know if any wearable wellness gadget (e.g. this, Fitbits, etc) does that.

Also, the vibrating alarm clock is wimpy and doesn't wake me up at all.

The breathing exercises are okay, I will continue to do them, but I find that the knowledge that it's taking accuracy measurements gives me a little bit of performance tension, so it's hard to fully relax into it.

Same here. Especially since at the beginning they're all like "Don't worry if you can't breathe at the exact same time as the person tells you to"... and then they grade you on it. WTF?

The biggest drawback to the Leaf so far is that it's kind of hard to clip onto clothing, especially when I've bitten my nails down to the quick and can't use one to pry the clip up a bit. I'm not sure I'm ready to ask Habitica to help me with my nails yet.

FWIW Habitica has helped me a LOT with my nail-biting. That along with nail polish.

 

[Ivy]

Yeah, I don't think any wearable fitness device would know the difference between standing and sitting, but you can enter those things manually, I think.

 

[Ivy]

So I guess standing desk is not on the list, but "cooking" is- would that offend your sensibilities to classify all standing work as cooking?

 

[EJCC]

So I guess standing desk is not on the list, but "cooking" is- would that offend your sensibilities to classify all standing work as cooking?

No objections whatsoever. You never know what I'll be cooking up at my standing desk.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I have a newfound hatred for humanity now that I know this "habitica" app exists. That is good, because hate motivates me almost as much as vanity.


----

So this is what's up for me...

I started going to one of those bootcamp places where they do a mix of strength training with weights and your own body weight as resistance, some isometrics and intermittent cardio, with more focus on strength training. I go about 3-4x/week and also do yoga here and there. I like it because they are small classes where instructors demo everything and correct your form as needed, so it's the next best thing to a personal trainer. The cons are that it is not a full gym (ie no showers, so best to do on the way home), and it is still pricey (but cheaper than a trainer).

I don't need to lose weight but am always trying to maintain "firmness" as I seem to lose muscle more easily than I gain weight. I am already thin, but also like being leaner because I find it better for clothes, and so I wouldn't mind taking an inch off the butt/hips, but I will take more firmness over decrease in size. A big round firm butt looks better than jigglier small one. I realize this is about fat loss and about diet, which I am not thrilled about, not because I eat a lot, but because I already eat very little and so it means I simply have to make better choices.

I also want to eat less sugar, more for anti-aging than weight. I would like to get down to minimal natural sweeteners (ie honey) and only refined sugar for occasional treats.

I also want to eat even more veggies and get less of my protein from meat (ie do more lentils and beans instead). I have no interest in cutting out dairy or grain, which I digest perfectly fine. I seek out bread with only a few ingredients. I like this whole wheat tuscan pane bread from Trader Joe's: whole wheat flour, water, sea salt, yeast. That's it. I do pasta too. No intention of cutting that out.

I think my ideal diet is the oft-touted Mediterranean diet, mainly because it doesn't cut anything out totally, but the focus is on fresh veggies. Like most Americans, the issue is the demands of our culture to work so much and having to commute everywhere, but still finding time to prepare fresh food and eat it without rush. Eating itself can feel like a chore to me, but maybe I wouldn't feel that way if it were not treated like some task that there is 30 min or less allotted for.

I would like a less hectic life, but I already feel like there is more I want to do and not enough time.

 

[EJCC]

Here's How To Actually Stop Eating So Much Sugar - BuzzFeed Life

Posting this because it is applicable to anything you consume in excess. Why do you consume it too much? What need does it fill? What other things could you do to fill that need?

Also, I am deeply satisfied by how this article is structured -- whoever wrote it writes the way I think. Te Seal of Approval.

 

[kyuuei]

Brutal leg work out is brutal. I did two videos because I was on fire last night. I'll feel it tonight after I've slept.

Finishing up work, then..... time.. for bacon, eggs, tortillas, cilantro, onion, valentina, and spinach.

 

[EJCC]

Words of caution, wellness-oriented friends:

When Wellness Makes You Unwell | Adios Barbie

In both the eating disorder AND in recovery, we focus on food. Food becomes the most important thing in our lives. It is our obsession, our hobby, our moral compass, our record of whether we did ‘well’ that day (in the disorder, it’s the restriction or the purging or whatever; in recovery, it’s meeting our calorie goals for the day, etc.).

And when we get out into the ‘real’ world post-recovery, we realize that we don’t really know how to relate to anyone about anything besides food, fitness, or our bodies. We many have wasted months or years of our lives focusing on food as a hobby, and so when we’re faced with the prospect of facing ourselves, we find that it’s just easier to do the thing we’ve always excelled in, even if it’s just a modified version of our old behaviors.

 

[Yama]

*cries*

*drinks my tears*

 

[kyuuei]

^ I'd feel that way if it was a soda. I used to suffer through coke products as a kid sometimes to pretend I was cool. Jokes on me! Water is the cool thing now!

As for me! Today I'm wandering around in my heated hoodie, enjoying a brie-avocado-spinach.. uhh.. panini? I used those sandwich makers.. Doing some beginner's yoga after an amazing arm work out yesterday, and generally trying to level up some of those damn pets in habitica.

 

[violet_crown]

I came across this article last week on Medium. It's called How to Invest in Yourself. It's a short and pretty inspiring read about how to structure your life to achieve more of your dreams and personal aspirations.

How to Invest in Yourself

Definitely worth checking out!

 

[EJCC]

I came across this article last week on Medium. It's called How to Invest in Yourself. It's a short and pretty inspiring read about how to structure your life to achieve more of your dreams and personal aspirations.

How to Invest in Yourself

Definitely worth checking out!

This is amazing. I'm starting step 1 tomorrow!

 

[rmrf]

One month smoke-free and sober. Clarity feels good!

 

[violet_crown]

This is amazing. I'm starting step 1 tomorrow!

Woohoo! Let's do cool things!!

 

[EJCC]

Woohoo! Let's do cool things!!