Help Being able to work out more often and get in shape

[SS100]

I've been trying to get into shape to help deal with my depression and sad thoughts. However what I've noticed is that if I try to work out four times a week I feel exhausted.

Like my body is pretty much screaming at me to stop. And that I should gorge on fast food due to the calorie deficit. I'm try to not be fat but my body is screaming at me, internally, to eat more. Like I ate fast food five times last week because instinctively I realized I couldn't get satisfaction eating "veggie, home made, or poor people's food". That's obviously not true but my body hates it.

I've been working out now two and a half hours a week and want to get to five times a week. But I'm really struggling.

Can anyone give me some advice?

 

[xCocacinax]

everything is done in stages. Gradually increase the intensity. You start slowly and with a normal meal. I never eat fast food. It is the worst thing you can do. (Google translator)

 

[Arc-on-Fire]

I've been trying to get into shape to help deal with my depression and sad thoughts. However what I've noticed is that if I try to work out four times a week I feel exhausted.

Like my body is pretty much screaming at me to stop. And that I should gorge on fast food due to the calorie deficit. I'm try to not be fat but my body is screaming at me, internally, to eat more. Like I ate fast food five times last week because instinctively I realized I couldn't get satisfaction eating "veggie, home made, or poor people's food". That's obviously not true but my body hates it.

I've been working out now two and a half hours a week and want to get to five times a week. But I'm really struggling.

Can anyone give me some advice?

Click to shrink...

First of all, read this —
https://liamrosen.com/fitness.html
Read all of it.

Now, if you have access to barbell weights then start off with the classic Stronglifts 5x5, a note: practice your exercise form with the barbell. I cannot stress how important proper form is for barbell training.

If you don't have access to barbell weights then just work on bodyweight calisthenics for your entire body.

If you wanna work cardio then HERE.

 

[JohnnyZ]

I would suggest trying to find exercises you enjoy. Things that you forward to during your workout. It could be the feeling of "lightness" during pull ups, "raw strength" during deadlifts or "pump" after bench press.
Put that exercise smack dab in the middle of your work out so that you are warmed up, ready and excited for it and the rest of the workout simply "surf the high" from them. If you have several, spread them out, enjoy them all without overcomitting.

If you find 4 times a week stressful, scale back a bit. Maybe 3 per week? If that's not enough add some other physical activity that doesn't necessarily put you under much stress. Things like swimming, jogging, rock climbing.

And about food. Do you need to lose weight or gain weight? If you are trying to lose weight but have hard time dieting, try to find out why. Is it the rigid structure of your diet that makes you feel under pressure? Because some ppl for example can't stand the counting of calories, timing their meals or not having spontaneity both in their meals and activities.

If it is the problem and you are not in dire need of losing weight then finding your own personal diet is an option. Find foods you like, search for the foods you might like, experiment a bit with you cooking. For example if you like spaghetti and meatballs, look for meatballs recipe that isn't as calorie dense but is still enjoyable. If you like mac and cheese then look for different cheeses you might like but happen to have less calories. Find snacks you might like. Find the ones you do and stock up.

Drinks, what kind of drink you like? How often do you drink soda? Is it a problem for you? If yes then try to find alternatives. Make your own syrup and add it to water and drink.

If soda and hydration is not a problem, try drinking water with lemon. It is quite good at staving of hunger.

If it your problems with dieting are specifically fast food, make your own burgers at home. Buy sauces from that fastfood place if homemades don't really scratch that itch, that should help.

If none of my dieting advice helps or not applicable try to figure out the reason why you love fast food. Is it a mental thing, a convenience thing or taste thing? Or maybe there is some social component to it as well? I can't guarantee that having those answers would help but it should give you a direction you would want to move on.

 

[Nicodemus]

First step, which is the safest one here:

Consult a certified Dietitian on a healthy diet and exercise for losing weight. They will provide the best roadmap for your body type and health concerns.

Ultimately it will come down to diet and exercise still, but now you at least have the answer.The only real answer is watching your calorie intake and exercise.

Now, what I am going to be typing is what I would do while trying to cut weight while in the Marines, to meet height/weight standards. This is what worked for me when my knees and shoulder weren't hurting.

It's unhealthy, and while there are some things in here that could help, ultimately could be dangerous. Do not attempt.

The first step is to take a bottle of Magnesium Citrate, and drink it. It is usually used in preparation for certain surgeries, to clear your system of waste / food. They usually mix itbwith a gallon of water... we aren't doing that here.

Drink one bottle of water and wait a few hours. You will live on the toilet for hours, hating life, the person who suggested it, and you will temporarily believe in a god if you don't already as you pray for it to end.

Once your anus has recovered, take it easy for the day. Only drink water and pomegranate juice, and very lightly, do not fill yourself on them.

Will be fasting for one day. Stay near the toilet.

From here on out, you will not be drinking water or any liquids.

Buy a sauna suit that is two sizes larger than you. Buy cloth gym shorts you are ok with having thrown away. Buy a cotton shirt you are ok with having thrown away.

Buy a cotton sweatshirt and pants, matching.

Buy a weighted vest, they sell them at walmart.

Buy thermogetics supplements, the most basic stuff. It increases your body temperature to make you sweat more.

Take the thermogetics pills recommended dose (usually 2 pills) with a sip of water, 30 mins before workout (Read bottle, some have different times to take before a workout.)

Put on the gym shorts and shirt.

Stretch for a solid 20 minutes, focusing on legs and abdomen. This is far more serious than you may think.

Put on the sauna suit.

Put on the sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Find yourself a Stairmaster, and stay on it for as long as you can go. Listen to music, and focus on just one step at a time.

This looks like you are sheding water weight, and that is exactly what we are doing. The purpose of this is to get your body to minimize water weight while working out in the next step, to force your body to work harder to keep your body temperature cool.

It's a fucking torture, and I've been to SERE school. I'd rather go back and get waterboarded and beaten again.

Go to the showers, but do not shower. Take off your clothes and towel off, put on spare cloths. You will will be shocked by the amount of liquid that came off.

Go home, wipe yourself off woth baby wipes, and wipe yourself with a towel again. Hate yourself, and let the spite flow through you.

Meals, you will take 20-30 minutes to eat over everything. You absolutely can not rush the meal.

Breakfast:

White Egg Yoke, one slice of bacon or one piece of sausage, one piece of fruit. A few sips of water.

Lunch and Dinner:

One Skinless Chicken Breast, very light or no seasoning, as much vegetables as you want but recommend only as much as you can extend the 20-30 minutes.

You may substitute the Chicken for Turkey, since Turkey is higher in protein and more filling.

For lunch you may have One protein drink, but be careful, you want low sugar and more protein. We will revisit protein later.

Absolutely no energy drinks or cretin, they can make your heart pop, literally, with this sort of workout.

Back to the workouts.

You want to have a Exercise Roller. You will continue the Stair Master torture with the Sauna Suit and thermogetics.

Before and after each workout, Stretch for 20 minutes, and after the workout use the Exercise Roller. There are various ways to use it, but you want to put pressure on your muscles, it helps prevent physical pain from the workouts.

You may sleep better by stretching in the mornings and before going to bed, but it is your choice.

After one week of this, it will be time to move up. You can now take proper showers instead of wiping yourself off.

For meals, you may add an additional side that is NOT bread. Like a scoop of rice for instance, no butter or sauces. Avoid Bread, bread is the devil. Especially white bread.

You will be consuming 100 grams of Protein a day now, so calculate it as needed. Do not consume all at once. Chances are you do not have the freak of nature body like Arnold, you will shit excess protein out as waste.

Ending the day with a protein drink can help curb hunger. No late night snacks.

You may now have a healthy snack between lunch and dinner, or while trying to stay awake. No fruit or dairy before a workout.

Pineapple and fruit in general is useful for immediate energy, the sugars in fruits do not convert to fat as easily as man made sugars. This is rather generalized, but it has to do with the sugar molecules and how they are broken down by the body. Not all sugars are the same on the molecular level.

You can say goodbye to the sauna suit, and you can drink water regularly again, DO NOT FILL YOURSELF WITH IT.

Workouts:

For every single workout, you will do four things:

Stretch for 20 mins.

Walk on treadmill for 40 minutes.

Workout for 40 minutes

Cool down workout for 20 minutes (so lighter weights, lower effort)

Walk on treadmill for 30 minutes.

Stretch for 20 minutes.

Use Exercise Roller for 10 minutes.

Yes, that is 3 hours of gym time.

Get a general feel for the gym on your first day, learn the machines. Do not be scared to ask an employee how to use one, they will be happy to show you for several reasons.

It makes their job easier, and you safer.

You will have five focuses:

Monday: Leg Day (strength)

Tuesday: Abdominal

Wednesday: General

Thursday: Upper Body

Friday: Cardio

Saturday: Stretch and do something fun like play a VR game, somthing active but not a workout. Maybe go for a swim?

Sunday: Day of Rest, but still Stretch so you don't get stiff.

Choose your workouts for the given days, working out your body in general will help lose weight in general everywhere and build up that sexy looking muscle.

Sex is better than masterbating for weight loss, so if you have a partner it's preferable.

Use the weighted vest during your treadmill walks if they are too easy.

Once you reach your target weight, you can start eatting normally again... but avoid soda and bread when you can, it's just not good for you.

Alcohol and smoking / vaping / chewing tobacco are no-no's too.

Now, keep in mind that this is NOT for everyone, this is what I did to myself with guidance. It fucking sucks, do not recommend.

There is some general advice in here like the stretching and walking combo is vital, it will help put your body into position to burn fat without wearing you down, and will help prevent muscle soreness.

The 100 grams of Protein is real, as well as the logic behind thermogetics, but consult a Dietitian before attempting.

Again, consult a professional before even attempting. I wasn't exaggerating when I said I would rather be waterboarded than do that all again.

 

[fluxoid]

I've been working out now two and a half hours a week and want to get to five times a week. But I'm really struggling.

Can anyone give me some advice?

Click to shrink...

In my experience, the biggest problem with this question is that it engenders numerous well-meaning responses from people who are in good shape because they enjoy exercise for its own sake. As such they will tend to provide advice that's good for physical health (if you're under 50) and terrible for mental health (there is literally no upside to feeling like a failure because you skipped a workout that you didn't want to do).

If you like counting while you repeat the same slightly-difficult motion again-and-again then their advice is great, but you probably don't need it: You already do sit-ups for fun.

If, on the other hand, you're less of a fitness-nut and of a normal human, you probably regard exercise as work. Specifically as dull, tiring and occasionally painful work that you do (sometimes) because you think you ought to, even though you definitely don't want to.

In that case, my advice is simple: Forget about the gym and indoor solo equipment, they're not for you. Instead, I suggest applying the following simple algorithm:

1. Identify a physical activity (or sport) that you think might be fun. A bigger budget will increase your options, but there are millions of things that can be done for virtually no money if that's an issue (urban exploring, outdoor swimming, nude yoga, kite fighting, tai chi, fencing, Aussie rules football, etc.).

2. Find at least one other person willing to do that activity with you on a regular basis. Do not skip this step. Yes, it really is that important.
Ideally, you want someone at a similar or slightly-greater level of physical fitness, but the most important thing is that you've got a partner or group.

3. Do the activity ~3x weekly for at least 30 minutes at a time.

4. If you enjoy it, gradually ramp up the duration/intensity. Alternately, if you find yourself not wanting to go do whatever you chose, return to step 1 (also feel free to do so if you just want a wider variety of activities). It's also good to develop alternatives you can fall back on in case of foul weather or if some of your activities are seasonal.

5. Expect your activity list to evolve considerably over your lifetime: Just about anything you pick, you will eventually have to give up, but that's all the more reason to enjoy it while you can.

Once you've found a few things you genuinely enjoy that require physical effort, a respectable level of physical fitness will happen naturally.

n.b. If you have both manic and depressive periods, you probably won't feel like doing much of anything while depressed. In that case, if it's something you normally enjoy, you need to try to get up and do it anyway. Especially if it's an outdoor activity, it should help reduce your depression once you're actually doing it.

 

[SS100]

At the moment I'm working out more. I went to the gym six times this week and my four week average is 3.95 hours a week.

I've noticed, as long as I get adequate sleep I.e. 8 hours a night, I can work out four days in a row alternating between different types of exercises. Then on the fifth day I just rest.

Still it's tough especially with my sleep cycle.

 

[SS100]

Good news everyone. My four week average is now 4.3 times a week and my twelve week work out average is 2.56 times a week. Hurray.

Bad news. I'm still fat.

 

[f0Ri5]

Keto works for me. I can eat a ton (like 12 eggs per day), so I stay satiated and still lose weight.

Body weight exercises at home is a low effort way to get some exercise. Going to the gym is just a massive pain in the ass. I think a workout every other day is fine. Had a bad experience a while back where I was super motivated, worked out a ton, but got insanely sick within a short time period. Still convinced I was going too hard with my workouts.

 

[Graeme404]

If you are NOT looking for official advice I can at least tell you what I did to lose 80lbs.

To summerize: cycling every day & (more importantly) only have Keto but if you MUST have carbs make sure they are complex carbs that take a while to digest (brown rice) and ONLY eat them immediately after working out.

That's it. Nothing complex, keep to it daily and never give yourself a cheat day. Sugar is the little death that leads to total oblivion.

If you hit a period where you aren't loosing more weight, get MORE sleep.

I lost 10lbs a month. That was 4 years ago.

Cheers!