dsolhip

[dsolhip]

5 simple exercises to awaken dormant muscles

{source}

[dsolhip]

It Starts

So it begins. I'll give you some background for this blog. It's a Journal I'm going to be keeping on trying to improve my health through several means. From modifying my diet to introducing an exercise plan and anything in between, I hope to get back some energy. I want to be able to walk to the store and back without feeling like I ran a mile. I'd also like to fit in more places. I hope to one day be small enough that I can ride roller coaster again. I haven't done that since middle school at Busch Gardens. So how will I accomplish this?

Alter my diet

I've been doing this for a couple of years in small increments. Before the pandemic I was Reducing the number of unhealthy / junk food items. Biggest example of this is soda. I used to drink soda like water. During the pandemic my usage jumped right back up as I just stopped caring. These days I've gotten it back to where I Drink mostly water with some coffee and flavored sparkling water. The only time I drink soda is when I go out to eat.

Over these last couple of years I've mostly stopped cooking. Issues range from I got tired of cooking all the time to I just don't have time for it. At one point my dinning out / ordering out costs were stupidly expensive. I started doing Freshly and then Factor 75. They was cheaper than takeout especially these days with how prices have gone up. I plan on going back to cooking for myself as I want to try to more closely control the food I normally eat. The plan here is to have a more structured diet on the day-to-day and allow myself to eat out with friends or go to events and not worry about it. In essence, allowing my day to day diet to make up for any "cheat days".

The current plan is to focus on a diet with the following factors.

Overall calorie consumption below 2500

My goal weight is going to be 250 pounds and 10 calories per pound leads me to this number.

High protein

Protein helps you feel full of longer. I think it's something around 1 gram of protein per pound recommended for high protein so I'll stick with that.

High fiber

Fiber has been documented to have several health benefit. The key one I'll focus on here is that when soluble fibers are digested in the large intestine it releases a chemical that's similar to the synthetic drug Ozempic. The major difference being that the chemical produced only lasts for around an hour while Ozempic lasts for several. NPR had an Article outlining this. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/10/30/1208883691/diet-ozempic-wegovy-weight-loss-fiber-glp-1-diabetes-barley

Everything else

The plan is not to worry much about carbs or fats. If I keep up the protein and I go for high fiber, Whatever's left over can be distributed however it falls. With protein being 4 calories per gram, That means 1000 of the 2500 calories is accounted for. That might mean I might do 100 grams of fat and 150 grams of carbs. Might be different. This means less to track overall.

Reintroducing physical activity

I work a sedentary job in front of a desk. I let myself get to over 450 lbs. I barely do anything physical. I've been thinking about this and from what I understand the best option is to start with a small light routine of physical activity. I'm thinking for a month starting with the following:

A quarter mile walk

Three sets of ten wall pushups

Three sets of 10 squats

I want to add jumping jacks; however, When I attempt them, My stomach flops up and down and it hurts quite a bit. I'll start these for now and I'll Look into next steps.

Seek professional assistance

Did you know the last time I've seen a doctor, outside of an ER, was when I was getting my hepatitis shots for 6th grade? I'm currently 32. In that My father has had three heart attacks with the final one being fatal. My brother having passed away due to an undiagnosed birth defect in his heart. My mother has been diagnosed and beat cancer. I need to get a primary care physician, And start having them check for anything that can go wrong.