Self-Preservation Habits

[Phantom Shadow]

To all the types what health and fitness related measures do you employ to sustain yourself? I curious what the different types do, if anything, in this reguard.

I personally take a stack of supplements everyday to cover all the nutritional holes in the modern diet. Followed by a detailed diet plan, and exercise regiment. I'm trying to make sure I don't die prematurely or get crippled by age and health related issues. Setting good habits now before I get old and set in my ways.

Make sacrifices now to ensure the quality of life later.

[Amber]

- exercise at least 2 times per week --- but it can happen that I have a nasty deadline for a project/stuff and I skip 1-2 weeks.

- lots of walking around, just being outdoors, sometimes running

- strict healthy diet designed to secure the most important nutritional elements+intermittent fasting (see other threads). Right now I´m on my 3rd day of drinking lots of mineral water, green, ginger&lime, and rosemary tea, coffee yay (yeah, I wanna be a positivist)

- multi-vitamins or B-complex on a quite regular basis (with 2-4 months breaks ... since I kept hearing from my mom who´s into medicine that it´s not good for your nervous system to rely nonstop on them); anyway what I need most are the Bs, D, C, Magnesium, Calcium, Chrom, Selen, Iron, and Vitamin E.

[Amber]

I'm trying to make sure I don't die prematurily or get crippled by age and health related issues


oh I only scanned the OP. rofl.

[anndelise]

Eating habits: I try to stick to a diet of mainly vegetables, good protein, and healthy fats. But stress is my nemesis. When I am stressed out, over-tired, or feeling overwhelmed, I crave quick energy usually in the form of sweetened simple carbs, ugh. I don't like thinking about food, what to cook, when to start cooking, how to flavor it, etc, so most of my meals are the same things (large salad, scrambled egg&veg, etc), using simple methods. I also prefer to eat when I'm actually hungry, which unfortunately means 1-2 meals a day, which isn't so good for reducing weight. I'm regularly going over my diet and trying to refine things, however. Make it simpler, make it healthier, etc. for example, i recently learned of a way of cooking cabbage so that I like it, crave it, rather than avoiding it. And since i kept insisting we include fish into our diets, even though we don't care for fish, Richard finally learned how to make fish patties we could like, and now fish patties is a fairly regular thing we eat. I also try to eat more seasonally based, to ensure a good variety of foods. I go through cycles of insisting we take vitamins every morning to it being months before we've refilled our week's vitamin boxes.

Moving habits: I prefer functional fitness rather than going to the gym or exercising just to exercise. I also like adding playful elements into my life, such as dancing, hulahoop, jump rope, obstacle courses, balancing games, imagination, etc. and once in a while I play around with self-protective type movements.

Stress reduction: walking, lots of walking. I call it pacing, but it's pacing around a 1/4 mile block over and over and over again...when my back allows me to. I also incorporate deep breathing. Once in a while I use a heart rate monitor to guide my breathing. And lots of relaxation and recouperation time.

Pain reduction: i'm currently using massage balls to help reduce painful muscle tension. I'm also finally seeing a good physical and massage therapist. I don't immediately jump to taking meds, often forgetting that aspirin etc is even an option, preferring to listen to my body and make adjustments towards feeling better that way. I worry about side effects of medications. I also do joint mobility exercises, hot/cold packs, stretches, etc. I'm preparing to start a yoga program after most of the physical/massage therapy is done with, to help stretch and strengthen and prevent this painful muscle tension from reoccuring.

Dr visits: I don't immediately run to a dr when something goes wrong. I don't get my yearly exams anymore. I don't get flu vaccinations. And I don't run to the dentist except if the pain isn't going away. I try to listen to my body, give it what it needs, and research for better understanding. When that fails, THEN i go to the dr/dentist.


Edited to add: we are also learning how to forage for food, and exploring things like living with reduced electricity, storing water, food preservation, etc. We're not gungho on it all yet, just a little here and there. Like I'm finally analyzing my yard so I can design a permaculture based garden full of perrenial plants and reduced work needs. Richard does the research for the foraging and then brings home his findings to show me what to look for in a plant.

[strangeling]

Sometimes I'll take herbal supplements, if my sleep patterns become too erratic. Surprisingly, I have some teas with a little St Johns wort and it really helps me sleep restfully. Maybe I'm typically mildly depressed though, not sure.

If I end up not going out much or not getting exercise, I'll do something in nature, like run a hike or run on the beach.

And I do like Vodka, club soda, and lime with some nice ice cubes to relax sometimes. Best drink ever. no sugar needed.

[summerprincess]

Well I'm kind of obsessed with dieting so I'm always dieting so that's why I'm pretty slim ... but exercising can trigger migraines for me so I rarely exercise because I get scared to, unfortunately. I do walk a lot though. As for the rest of my health I don't get sick that much nor do I drink or do drugs much but I pretty much eat whatever I like, which ends up being mostly sandwiches, sautéed veggies with pasta, fruit in the summer, coffee, bread and tons of cheese. A big reason I think that I don't gain much weight even when I binge eat is because I rarely eat meat.

[lemontrees]

have been trying to work on this...

-go to gym once a week. this feels like enough for me to stay fit. otherwise i do feel weird.
-very small intake of caffeine or alcohol (b/c my body reacts weirdly to... *everything*)
-try to get enough rest to sustain all the work i want to get done... always keeping tabs on my energy level
-fruits

but honestly i have no routines :/ i feel like health can be more instinctive, and that maybe a person can take care of it without making a supplement schedule. at least I hope.

ps i think self-pres last for me manifests as thinking of self-pres as "too indulgent." but i can't tell how much of that is self-pres last, and how much is my five wing. like i want comfort but i still don't want to be tied down to my physical needs. feels like once you "start letting yourself spend more" it will snowball and disaster can happen.

[Pink]

I am possibly so/sx but I am OBSESSED when it comes to my health. During a depressed period in my life I kind of let it slip, but now I'm back in the game
I go to the gym around 5-6 days a week, usually spend an hour to two hours each visit. I try not to call it a "diet," but I do try my best to eat as healthy as
possible, indulging in some fatty/rich foods every now and then, or as a snack.

My life is very routine ATM and it keeps me going and energized. During my depressed state, all I ever did was lay in bed and barely ate. I've gained more
weight (muscle tone) but I've never felt so energized, mentally alert + present, happy, and confident. This I feel is "me," in my truest form.

[Beautiful sky]

I don't eat well. I don't eat enough meals. Somehow I'm great at getting by. I go through phases though. Sometimes I'll eat wr) ell, be very concerned for my health other times take it easy. I know what people should eat to stay healthy and read health related stuff pretty frequently and keep a journal of health related things like what medications or combination of things help alleviate colds and flu symptoms. I'm very diligent about stuff like that. People often come to me for advice. Of course if they start naming strange or unfamiliar symptoms like sudden weight loss with heart palpitations I tell them that they have to go to the doctor yesterday

[The Ineffable]

I've been into a lot of sports when I was under 20. Then, I haven't practiced anything regularly for about... 15 years. Job, computer, different interests, whatever. All this time I was a heavy tobacco smoker - and still am. I had a few attempts at taking up badminton and swimming, but for different reasons I could not follow through. Anway, swimming, and moreso running, is not for me - booooring! I need something fun, competitive or with any concrete, immediate goal.

Diet: anything not too heavy or intense (salty, spicy).
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However, now:
- intense aerobic sport 2x a week at the gym (kickboxing) for like 9-10 months.
- heavy barbell lifting at home 2x / week: for a few weeks now (just for adding some strength and reach a certain weight I have in mind)

My diet is not really elaborate, and hand't change much. I don't believe it matters *that* much and I change anything only in case I encounter issues:
- anything with meat, including MacDonalds, burgers, pizza and whatnot junk food. Generally, all-rounded ready-made meals at lunch at work, which include vegetables. Otherwise, at home, just simple foods with no vegetables: saussages, diary, bread, salmon, bananas.. I'd like to include more vegetables and fresh fruits but well, I'm single.
- boxed fruit juices, coffe and Coke. I love Coca-Cola!
- diverse supplements: shit for joints, which I had problems with - not that much lately, but still. Vitamins and minerals to avoid kinks due to heavy perspirating.
- some concentrated proteins + hot chocolate: compensation for my insufficient eating. Apparently, I cannot gain more weigth without this, and it makes sense.

Overall, not really interested in health care apart for sport and anything that sustains it. I have this believe that most health issues come from inactivity (including that of the mind). I became this resolute about taking sports up once I realize I feel like I am breaking down: back pains, high heart rate, low blood pressure, and so on. Now I am a zealot.
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One thing to remember: it is never too late to begin exercising. Never. The Internet offers you countless examples. Don't know where to start? We are here to help.