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Thread: Exercise and anxiety

  1. #11
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Quote Originally Posted by fishman65 View Post
    The big challenge is keeping to this when life gets rough and with a wife who has so many ailments
    Just focus on getting your exercise in. Diets and change in food habbits are hard. A lot of people slip up and think "omg I failed there's no point in doing this". That's just perspective. In reality exercising daily, and eating what you want is better than failing and giving up on exercise.

    Give yourself 30 minutes a day, you deserve that even if you have other issues in life to attend to.

    There's no need to start again. You're on the journey. Sometimes you fall over. Sometimes you think you've fell over even when you haven't. Keep the focus on the exercise and less on the food (unless medical advice differs). My brother has done keto so many times I've lost count. He'll then quickly slip backwards and give up on the gym. It's a constant cycle for him and I've tried with all my might to give him the advice I learned in prison.

    You know, in prison they have a football team (and a rugby team in another). The players are offered no special treatment for playing in the team except they get to train. No special food, or no extra food. You're limited to prison garbage (and it really was that; except on Saturdays we had a fried breakfast which was amazing. If you smoked you got to trade a cigarette for an entire breakfast).

    But, these folks who played on the pitch against real outside teams were fit. Their endurance was that of Sunday league players. Pretty fit. A handful were lifers been in jail a very long time. Their physique and endurance was peak. And that taught me one thing ... the majority of it is in your brain. Locked in a tiny cell for 23 hours a day with limited (if any) gym access. You make do with what you have and most of it is body weight.

    Tuna, sardines and noodles were available on the cantine. We'd mix them together and get them down. They provided protein and calories.

    I have zero focus on food anymore. I let the science keep talking; but what I've seen with my own eyes contradicts science.

    Rambling on now sorry. Just keep going.
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  2. #12
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    It doesn't have to be complicated, Fishman. Just 30 mins of exercise a day as Wired says..Brisk walking will do it.

    You've done really well.

  3. #13
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Quote Originally Posted by fishman65 View Post
    OK Joe, porridge I have for breakfast, 100 grams with milk, no sugar. That's normally 8 or so in the morning. The lunch is, well lunchtime? Dinner is 6ish and any calories I have left over I can use up or let go. But I've cut out all food in between, that's where I was going wrong. Today we had a Chinese takeaway that has blown the calories into orbit so will start again tomorrow.

    The big challenge is keeping to this when life gets rough and with a wife who has so many ailments, the rough outweighs the smooth. Wired, you've done brilliantly, well done on sticking with it. I do agree that exercise has a limited benefit as regards mental health. If there is some, its directly after vigorous exercise with me, but temporary. If there is some external factor causing anxiety then that hasn't magically vanished because I've worked out.

    Don't underestimate just how stressful it is living with somebody who's not well. My partner also has significant health issues (mental health) and the stress is unreal sometimes. Pulisa gets this too. Exercise is going to be benefiting you both physically and mentally, but it's not a magic bullet to negate long term, low level stress. It's just one ingredient.

    In terms of eating, my observation is that you're eating very high carb all day long. Losing weight is as much about reducing insulin as it is sticking to calorie levels. The key for you is probably reducing your eating window. For example I (and others here) will often fast for 16-18 hours per day, meaning that you are operating in an almost zero insulin state. There is plenty of information on the internet about this, but as long as insulin is present in your system, your body won't let go of fat. The flip side of this is that if you're consuming carbs all day (cereal, porridge, toast, fruit etc) you're triggering insulin all day and therefore your body takes energy directly from the food you're eating rather than your stored energy (fat).

    It's not that you're doing anything wrong, it's just that we have been given the 'eat little and often' mantra for decades, and it's not actually very good for us. It's a marketing line, not a health tip.

    I would suggest trying to skip breakfast and just eat lunch and dinner for a week and see what happens. Keep your eating window to 8 hours a day, and try and lower the amount of carbs you're eating. Despite having health benefits, fruit triggers insulin a lot. Replace it with protein and/or fat where you can. For example, start your day with scrambled egg, avocado and a couple of bits of bacon.

  4. #14
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Exercise outdoors helps my anxiety but for a strange reason it doesn't help when I exercise inside. A strange one.

  5. #15
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Quote Originally Posted by RainbowGirl View Post
    Exercise outdoors helps my anxiety but for a strange reason it doesn't help when I exercise inside. A strange one.
    Daylight, probably.

  6. #16
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Exercise has the potential to be addictive too..Best to aim for the take it or leave it approach.

  7. #17
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Wired - thanks buddy for your input. Strangely enough I've lost 2.25lbs since Wednesday and that's after expecting to have put some on, especially after last night's Chinese meal.

    Pulisa - thank you, I've kept up the brisk walking while supplementing with the exercise bike.

    Joe - yes I remember you saying before about your partner, I'm very sorry to hear it causes you anxiety too. Yep I know a fair bit about Pulisa's situation, she's a fighter for sure despite her challenging circumstances. But Joe, please don't take my porridge away from me. It's one of the very few pleasures life has left for me. I just love it, made with milk so its sloppy, nothing else added. Could I skip lunch instead?

    Seriously though (well I AM serious about the porridge), shouldn't we have fibre in our diet? I get a lot of fibre particularly eating those mixed bags of rocket, spinach and watercress. Also kiwi fruits with the skin still on. Eggs I can eat for sure, maybe replace the beans on toast with them? But thank you for your advice, it is appreciated.

    RainbowGirl - I've realised that walking around town is better for me in a social anxiety sense than doing intense cardio on the exercise bike here at home. It's the simple things like holding a conversation with an acquaintance or nipping into a shop. What is the saying about the loneliness of the long distance runner? I should find someone to walk with but my friends are all long gone, marriage can do that.
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  8. #18
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Porridge is an excellent food source-great for cholesterol too and very filling. It will cut all the urges for mid morning snacks and fill you up.

    Kiwis are great for vitamin C-I have 2 a day and I consider them my weapon against Corona! Fibre is good for you and protects against BC. The lower sugar baked beans are a good choice.

    Do you like fish? I eat a lot of canned sardines-cheap and cheerful! Blueberries are meant to be a superfood so I eat a lot of these too.

    I'd find doing intense cardio on a bike extremely boring and would far rather walk for exercise but that's just me...I think you're doing very well with your current regime.

  9. #19
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    Quote Originally Posted by fishman65 View Post
    Joe - yes I remember you saying before about your partner, I'm very sorry to hear it causes you anxiety too. Yep I know a fair bit about Pulisa's situation, she's a fighter for sure despite her challenging circumstances. But Joe, please don't take my porridge away from me. It's one of the very few pleasures life has left for me. I just love it, made with milk so its sloppy, nothing else added. Could I skip lunch instead?

    I'm not suggesting you stop eating porridge or carbs all together. I'm just pointing out that it looks like you're eating carbs all day long, which will make it incredibly difficult to keep losing weight. This is a specific tip for the plateau you've reached.

    It's no good skipping lunch because as soon as you eat, insulin is spiked. The idea is to be in a 'fasted' state for as long as possible.

    A good compromise for now might be to eat breakfast an hour later (if you can) and then have an evening meal consisting only of protein and fat, with as little carbs as possible (side salads and non root vegetables are fine though). Some people are better at fasting later in the day, some earlier in the day. Personally I'm fine not eating until 3pm most days, but you might find it easier to still have breakfast and stop eating earlier in the evening. It's really up to you.

  10. #20
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    Re: Exercise and anxiety

    OK I thought I might return to this thread as my weight is now 16st 7.25lbs. The diet app is still proving useful but I feel the exercise bike is maxed out. The highest setting has become much easier to the point where its become my default, though am doing short sprints on lower setting too. The bike is quite old now, we had it second hand about 10 years ago. Its a BC1510 'Body Sculpture' if that means anything. Any advice on a good exercise bike? Many thanks in advance.

    Oh yes, biceps. I'm lifting large plastic bottles of water weighing 12lbs each, 20 times on each arm. Have been looking at dumbbells online. Are they worth it?
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