5 sets of FIFTY burpees? I don't know what would happen first for me, puking or breaking my wrists.
Lifestyle changes
- Thread starter TarHeelNation11
- Start date
Seriously considering giving up hard liquor for a little while. I constantly have "one too many" drinks at night and it wrecks my sleeping pattern and makes the next day at work tough.
Beer is just so dang caloric. I guess I'll actually have to get off my ass and work in cardio with my weight training to offset it.
Beer is just so dang caloric. I guess I'll actually have to get off my ass and work in cardio with my weight training to offset it.
The last thing on my mind when I was 26 years old was "caloric intake". Dude, you have plenty of time later in life to worry about that. Take advantage of the fact that caloric intake means very little to you.
You don't have to give up liquor. Just set a curfew for yourself and stick to it, e.g. no liquor after 9 pm and stop drinking an hour or two before going to bed. You're right that drinking too much will absolutely ruin your sleep because your body is working to metabolize all the sugars in the alcohol. Or something like that. Becoming a doctor is not one of my lifestyle changes.
Not necessarily worried about calories. More worried about my beer gut. And about how much stress heavy liquor consumption puts on my heart (family history of alcoholism and resulting heart failure).
I'm sorry to hear this. Or maybe I'm not. Maybe you're better off. I understand if you don't want to go into details, but it might be a lesson for others here. I'd be lying if I tried to claim my marriage was perfect. If you're open to answering some questions about this, I'd have a few.
Anyway, good luck to you.
You said it brother. The bane of my existence is "what are we doing for dinner tonight?" And that's how the fight started.
If you're looking to get back out there, I'd keep this to yourself. No one likes the crazy cat lady or in your case, the crazy dog man.
To smoke, or not to smoke,...that is the question. Tobacco = bad. Weed = not really. Although I would suggest edibles. It's just a cleaner way to enjoy it, you don't have any ill effects to breathing and frankly, the high is better. Or at least, that's what I've been told. If you want some recipes, I'll get you some from a friend of mine. Yeah, that's it,...I have a friend that could provide those to you.
Cigs on the other hand, yuck. I mean, I'll still smoke one every blue moon. But I hate myself after doing so. I can't believe I used to smoke as much as I did. I was never a pack a day kind of guy but in my 20s, I was one of those that said, "I only smoke when I'm drinking." Which is a terrible philosophy to subscribe to. Because all that does is make someone drink more just so they can smoke when they want to. And yeah, I can't wrap my brain around people that smoke in their homes. Stale, leftover smoke is about the grossest thing I can think of.
Cool idea. If I were to find myself in your situation, I would explore that option as well. Or, I'd like to think I would. I've always gotten the impression that you're a rambler so this comes as no surprise to me. The best part about this is that you'll have to get a new awesome truck to tow your mobile home. I picture you now as a Suburu Outback kind of guy. But that obviously won't cut it. You'll have to beef up your testosterone levels and go get yourself a beastly truck. What are you thinking?
And like gtee and Julez, you're always welcome up here at the base of the Blue Ridge Mts. You and I talked a while back about our canoeing exploits. I'm more river whereas you're more ocean and lakes. But we could find some common ground, er, water. Would love to have you up sometime so consider it.
THIS is what I struggle mightily with and always have -- a curfew. I cannot for the life of me make myself go to bed at a responsible time. To be honest, it's almost like a perverse "high" or addiction staying up later than I know I should. I spend all day tired as hell, longing for my bed. And then around 8:30 or 9, something clicks in my brain and I start feeling good and feeling wide the F awake. Next thing I know it's 11:45 and I'm nowhere close to even winding down.
To exacerbate matters, my roommate works weird hours and is up real late every night. Just makes me want to stay up and hang with him. Throw in the drinking and it all results in my work productivity being pretty lowwww from 8:30 to about 11 lol.
Yeah, it was crazy. I still have it on my phone. I may look later and post exactly what all it was. I'm too lazy to go get it right now, which obviously doesn't lend itself to doing 50 burpees, especially not the way they had me doing them. I did another one of the workouts (there are many different themes) first that had a three set combination of squats, situps, pushups, jumping jacks, and leg climbers. It wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed it actually and it progressively adds more. The issue was the second day it went up in reps tremendously. I'm in pretty good shape for my age and pretty fit overall but this thing was ridiculous.
Those workouts sound better.
But yeah burpees suck. Everyone has a certain exercise or two that they just can't do for whatever reason and burpees are it for me. I have recurring tendinitis in my wrists (which I developed because of floor wipers, if you know what that exercise is) and so I always have to be cautious of any workout that puts heavy strain on the wrists. So burpees are just a no for me. After about 20, my wrists feel like they're breaking.
And let me preemptively say this to anyone who makes a joke about me not being able to do wrist workouts: your mom takes care of that workout for me.
That is the way I am. I could fall asleep everyday at 5 but around 6 I'm up. I seldom go to bed before midnight.
Totally know this feeling. I can hardly pull myself out of bed in the mornings and all day I'm thinking about how I'd love a nap. But yeah, once the kids are in bed (roughly 9:00 pm), I feel like a new man. On average, I get to bed around midnight every night and usually lay there for almost an hour before I finally fall asleep. Get up around 6:30-7:00 am.
That would send me to bed sooner. I have a wife that I'm obligated to spend some time with in the evenings. But many of those nights, I'm looking for the fastest way to my leather chair in the basement where no one is going to want to talk to me and I can enjoy my thoughts and silence. The last thing I'm looking for is someone to hang out with at the end of my day.
It's hard to say whether I'm better off. In many ways yes, in some ways no. It all depends on what's important to you. For example, I've almost certainly missed my window for having a family (but that wasn't going to happen while married anyway). On the other hand, every relationship is compromise, so I reaped immediate benefits from the split.
The good news is that this has happened at a time when I'm asking existential questions about my life and trying to figure out what truly matters (mid-life crisis). I've already bored several people with this info, but my previous job with a home health/hospice consultant led me to a hospice nurse's account of the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. Simple, somewhat obvious, but profound. It has made me try to consider my life from the perspective of my 80-year old self.
I'm open to questions. I just decline to answer the ones I don't like.
I'm not looking, but see the link above. If it's who I am, and it makes me happy, I'm going to do it anyway.
Thanks, but I really am going to quit.
Exactly. I used to work at a framing shop in college, and when a smoker brought in a work to be re-framed you could always tell. You'd go to clean the glass and it would be covered in a layer of black soot. Just nasty.
Haha. I have a 2003 Nissan Xterra and a 2015 Lexus NX Sport. But I'm going to buy a class A RV and tow a vehicle behind when I hit the road.
My first forays are going to be local trips, so you guys had better be careful what you offer. I'll probably take you up on it. Or, you guys can meet me in Chapel Hill to tailgate at my RV and catch a game. That's one part of my lifestyle that I'm absolutely going to continue.
I totally get this. I'm the same way because there's always something else I want to do instead of sleep. Thanks a lot, television and internet. Again, breaking this habit comes down to self-discipline. I have a lamp in my living room that's on a timer. It turns off at 11:06 pm every night. That's my cue to go to bed, and some nights I'll even get in bed earlier. Of course once you're there you still have to resist the urge to stay up watching TV, perusing Twitter, etc.....
I haven't had a TV in my bedroom for about 15 years. So when I go to bed, I'm going to at least try to go to sleep.
burpees are for real...i incorporate those and hate thinking about it.
THN11, becoming proactive and more responsible at a younger age is serving you well. Thinking "I'm too young to worry about not eating that, or not drinking this, or not smoking some of that" can be punching a card for a miserable middle-age and early death.
It's all about moderation. It's also a lot do to with genetics. You know what that is better than anyone. Play to it's strengths and you'll have a healthy life. I know too many people who were neglectful and regretful. Especially with what we know now, there's no excuse for not living a more healthy life. The saying "as long as you have your health" cannot be overstated. Thinking "I've got plenty of time to worry about that and change it" is a slippery slope, especially if the genetics are stacked against you.
I'm thankful every second of every day for having taken care of my body and continuing to do so.
It's all about moderation. It's also a lot do to with genetics. You know what that is better than anyone. Play to it's strengths and you'll have a healthy life. I know too many people who were neglectful and regretful. Especially with what we know now, there's no excuse for not living a more healthy life. The saying "as long as you have your health" cannot be overstated. Thinking "I've got plenty of time to worry about that and change it" is a slippery slope, especially if the genetics are stacked against you.
I'm thankful every second of every day for having taken care of my body and continuing to do so.
Meh. I mean, sure, I want to be healthy and I never went overboard with anything. But I also want to enjoy my life. Would you rather live 100 boring years or 70 exciting ones? I'm not saying don't take measures to be healthy. But your 20s are the time in your life that one shouldn't be preoccupied with that.
Pictured, from left to right: GSD, THN11, strum
Or as Chris Stapleton would sing when he was with the SteelDrivers:
There's two angels sittin' on my shoulder.
All they ever do is disagree!
One sits on the side of rhyme and reason,
The other on the reckless side of me.
Or as Chris Stapleton would sing when he was with the SteelDrivers:
There's two angels sittin' on my shoulder.
All they ever do is disagree!
One sits on the side of rhyme and reason,
The other on the reckless side of me.
Believe it or not, living healthy is hardly boring. It's all about your perception. Indulging in things that are doing damage to your body is not really exciting to me. I've seen too many peers (from being in musician circles in my 20's) just ruin themselves.
When my Dad died, I was a smoker. I was 25. After he died, I couldn't finish a cigarette. I literally felt like each one was making me sick inside, killing me... which they were. He had smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish, especially in his youth. He also had been exposed to Agent Orange. But, when I saw that, it made me realize "I don't want this at all." I'd already quit drinking (heavily) before I was even of legal age to drink. I, like him, drank to get drunk. I never even knew his father! He died indirectly from alcohol before I was born. I dunno how much they "enjoyed life" but it was gone before they ever saw their grandchildren, or- my Dad- even his youngest son graduate high school. My circumstance, from those experiences, is somewhat unique and affects my choice to live more healthy.
When your body is younger, you guard it and nourish it well, just like you would any other time. I wasn't as resolved, or preoccupied and serious as I am now, when I was in my 20's. When I turned 31, I got much more attentive. I looked at my genetics and decided I wasn't going to suffer from any of them by contributing to them before they had a chance to take hold. I like being close to 48 and having the same abilities, physically, that I had at 28. I'm actually more active now. I absolutely ENJOY that.
I too have alcoholism fairly rampant in my family, and have seen the effect it has had on them. My dad is 60, and currently on the donor list for a new liver, due to the damage he's done to his own over the years. The best thing about those donor lists is they force you to quit drinking - you have to go in something like once every two weeks for blood work, and if they catch even a trace of alcohol in your system, you're permanently kicked out of the program - which essentially means you have to live with your diseased liver until it kills you.
I feel like I've done a pretty good job of not following down that path. I mean sure, I drank to excess in college - but that is fairly normal, and also before I found out about the above. I don't drink on weekdays for the most part, and really only drink if there's occasion to do so (don't get me wrong, I find plenty of reasons to do so on the weekends, but never just start slamming drinks by myself for no good reason). Every once in awhile I'll go a little (read: a lot) too hard and that gets me all depressed the next day - which is a good deterrent as well. It's all about making progress, even if its slowly but surely.
I feel like I've done a pretty good job of not following down that path. I mean sure, I drank to excess in college - but that is fairly normal, and also before I found out about the above. I don't drink on weekdays for the most part, and really only drink if there's occasion to do so (don't get me wrong, I find plenty of reasons to do so on the weekends, but never just start slamming drinks by myself for no good reason). Every once in awhile I'll go a little (read: a lot) too hard and that gets me all depressed the next day - which is a good deterrent as well. It's all about making progress, even if its slowly but surely.
And, just to clarify, everyone has their own unique biology. I'm not trying to tell anyone to not indulge in whatever makes them feel good. I'd only suggest finding a balance.
Other than being he greatest OOTB poster of all time (and yes, @UNC71-00, it is poster, not poaster), I don't really have anything other than cleaning up my diet and being a bit more active. My diet has gotten better since college, but not quite as good as I want it to be. I eat more lean meats, fruits and veggies than I did, but lunch still kills me since I have a tendency to run through a drive-thru and order take-out more often than not.
I used to be in pretty decent shape in college. Walking multiple miles to and from class everyday in Boone will make you feel pretty good. I ran every now and then too. I basically lived off of fast food though. I'm talking every single f'ing meal. I like to think I could get away with it in my late teens and twenties, but I'd like to cut it completely 100% out. Getting on here and seeing THN talk about Jersey Mike's, QT and some chicken sandwich from Wendy's doesn't do many favors though (thanks, man).
Since I graduated and got a desk job, now it's just sit, sit, sit, sit and more sit. I don't usually get home until between 7 or 8, and by then, I don't want to do anything. By the time I eat dinner, clean up and stuff, it's time for bed. It's starting to drive me mad. I don't consider myself really overweight or anything (I'm 6'0", 165 lbs), but I just don't feel as good as was when I was more active. I need to get that back.
I've never drank a single drop of alcohol or smoked anything in my life, so I'm pretty boring in that regard.
I used to be in pretty decent shape in college. Walking multiple miles to and from class everyday in Boone will make you feel pretty good. I ran every now and then too. I basically lived off of fast food though. I'm talking every single f'ing meal. I like to think I could get away with it in my late teens and twenties, but I'd like to cut it completely 100% out. Getting on here and seeing THN talk about Jersey Mike's, QT and some chicken sandwich from Wendy's doesn't do many favors though (thanks, man).
Since I graduated and got a desk job, now it's just sit, sit, sit, sit and more sit. I don't usually get home until between 7 or 8, and by then, I don't want to do anything. By the time I eat dinner, clean up and stuff, it's time for bed. It's starting to drive me mad. I don't consider myself really overweight or anything (I'm 6'0", 165 lbs), but I just don't feel as good as was when I was more active. I need to get that back.
I've never drank a single drop of alcohol or smoked anything in my life, so I'm pretty boring in that regard.
LOL well played, well played.
It just seemed like 2015 was a bad year for me. My body fell apart last year. 2016 will be better *thumbs up emoji*
By the way, reading about all this liver damage and such really makes me need a beer to take the edge off.
Just make sure you don't stop at 1. You're 26 years old. You can have 12 beers a day if you like. C'mon man...do it. All the cool kids are doing it.
Try a stand-up desk. I got an adjustable one about a year ago and now I stand about 75% of the workday.
Dude at work got one of these. His wife happens to be a massage therapist. Gotta say, I'm thinking you two are onto something.
Says the guy who can't go to bed on time.
Easy to say, very hard to do when you're engrossed in something and feeling productive.Similar threads
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