Problem after problem ... discouraged...

burntoutphilosopher
burntoutphilosopher Posts: 74 Member
in Motivation and Support
Okay ... I'm 34 so I'm not in my prime I'll accept that...

But I've been working out and eating less and losing weight... and I got a quality liquid multivitamin ... and I'm taking protein shakes ...

... and my health is the worst it's ever been. I took a sick day yesterday for the first time in 14 years. I never get sick! This year I have had a cold for like 2 weeks now ...

... and my shoulder is killing me... in 2005 it was crushed in an industrial accident so some pain is normal... but we're talking limited mobility... bad shooting pains.

I've taken up barefoot running as a fun body hardening excersize... sliced the snookey out of my foot and now my ankle is super sore from comphensating.

Jammed my thumb on a crowbar and gripping weights hurts...


I just ... feel like it's an endless string of problems... and am really discouraged.

Thanks for letting me vent

Replies

  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    Ouch- I am sorry you are going through all of that. Just remember to lose weight you just need to eat at a moderate deficit. You can still lose weight while you are recovering from injuries and/or illness.

    This all sounds stressful to me- and maybe that is why your health is not as good right now. Stress is really hard on your body, and you may be able to do something like yoga to help reduce stress and add a little low-impact activity during recovery. I sometime meditate, but I am very bad at it, so I don't always get a huge benefit from it, but some people do and it could be something to try.

    Let yourself recover from illness and injury, eat what you need to (depending on how sick you are, you might consider a few days at maintenance calories if you can), and when you are ready, get back at it. You will get through all of this- just stick with it. You got this.
  • burntoutphilosopher
    burntoutphilosopher Posts: 74 Member
    Thanks pent ...
    ... you make a good point ... I can still lose weight while recovering ... just eat even less.

    Also ... 1 week of maintenance is not going to throw off my life goals ... setbacks are expected.
  • Thedreaandrea
    Thedreaandrea Posts: 1 Member
    Have you ever tried yoga? To relieve some of the stress from everything thats going on?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I am in my mid-fifties and not anywhere near my prime either. Dad and I have a good time sharing ailments and treatments.

    Life is a long string of obstacles. It just is. There is a particular joy in overcoming those obstacles, though. One by one.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    barefoot running sounds dangerous for the problem you just had. I would think that you would need to build a calluses up before running where you can't pay attention to what you put your foot on.
  • MsMaeFlowers
    MsMaeFlowers Posts: 261 Member
    I was pretty healthy last year and still ended up with a pretty much nonstop string of colds from October to January. It happens to all of us. Just take a break and relax and let yourself heal before you go back to it.
  • EmPersson
    EmPersson Posts: 768 Member
    If you haven't done yoga before, know that it is important to finish your practice laying on your back, or sitting cross legged, taking quiet moments (5-10 minutes) just thinking about what you accomplished, and how your body reacted to each pose, and knowing that you did something kind to your body for the day.

    With that said, I recommend checking out Yoga Journal online - they have some great poses for when you're sick with congestion/common cold kinds of things. I use them sometimes when I'm congested with allergies, too.
  • burntoutphilosopher
    burntoutphilosopher Posts: 74 Member
    Treece... it was like something out of a comedy ... my friend and I are running and he's like "man running barefoot is dangerous" and I'm like "been doing it since 2012... never once hurt my foot" ... and like 5 minutes later I stepped on the remnants of bottle ... I live in a nice neighborhood... no idea where that glass would have come from.
    ... one big change is I am shadow boxing while I run now ... so I'm not looking at the ground like I always used to...

    Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement ... I'm going to look into yoga... I know literally zero about it.

    Also ... it helps just to have all of your positive feedback and support. Thanks again
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    Looking at your diary, most of your calories the past few weeks are coming from alcohol, Epic bars, and milk/chocolate milk, along with shrimp, cheese, and occasional meat. A lot of the rest is high carb, low fat, processed stuff. I know, I know, CICO and IIFYM and all that, but...two slices of bacon and a beer for dinner? A giant order of fries, cheese curds, three cups of chocolate milk, and five beers as your entire day's intake a couple of days later? Wild swings in calorie intake (1000 calories one day, 3500 another), missed meals...

    I don't think yoga is going to help without other changes. A multivitamin and protein powder can't fix consistently poor nutrition, and poor nutrition combined with stress can certainly leave you aching and prone to illness and injury.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,463 Member
    I'm 67. I turned around at 44. Keep going. Never quit.

    Injuries are a real problem, they get in your muscles, bones and joint. But the worst thing is when they get in your head.

    Go back to the doc & gets some PT for your shoulder. Find some other cardio. Agree, branch out. I wish I had stuck with yoga when I started 40 years ago. It's a lot harder now.

    Become a germaphobe. Wash your hands a lot. Avoid sick people. Eat right. Keep going.
  • iwtbt170
    iwtbt170 Posts: 51 Member
    Are you working out in a gym? I only ask because just like any place that has people in and out of it all day...especially sweaty, hard breathing people, no matter how well they wipe the machines, germs are bound to hang on...just like putting little ones in day care or school...germs...everywhere!!
  • burntoutphilosopher
    burntoutphilosopher Posts: 74 Member
    castlerobber wrote: »
    Looking at your diary, most of your calories the past few weeks are coming from alcohol, Epic bars, and milk/chocolate milk, along with shrimp, cheese, and occasional meat. A lot of the rest is high carb, low fat, processed stuff. I know, I know, CICO and IIFYM and all that, but...two slices of bacon and a beer for dinner? A giant order of fries, cheese curds, three cups of chocolate milk, and five beers as your entire day's intake a couple of days later? Wild swings in calorie intake (1000 calories one day, 3500 another), missed meals...

    ....

    No excuses... but I was vigilant and hitting all my numbers including macro ratios until the long weekend ... my weight loss goal was 160 (started 188.6) ... when I hit it the Thursday before the long weekend I said "this weekend anything goes" ... thus cheese curds... bacon... beer ...
    ... but it's like it sent me into a spiral and then this week I never got back into diet mode.

    You think poor nutrition could be adding to the aches/pains ... and low energy ? ...its a very valid concept.

    I've been aiming, and generally hitting 90 grams of protein, under 100 grams of carbs, and remainder fat... till this big derailment in diet... I hadn't actually seen the correlation between the two until you mention it...
    iwtbt170 wrote: »
    Are you working out in a gym? Germs...everywhere!!

    No ... I never go to the gym... I have home equipment... but I work in the sewer industry and get exposed to a lot of incidental nastiness.

    .
    .
    Lastly...yes...the alcohol is a problem ... I'm working on it : /
    I'm down from 6 beer a night to usually 1 or 2. Long way to go yet, I know.
  • tabletop_joe
    tabletop_joe Posts: 455 Member
    34 is absolutely in the "prime" range. You can start feeling a lot better by eating better, drinking less and less often, and exercising using a regular routine that won't exacerbate you past injuries. Don't blame it on age because you're like at least 20 years to the age where you should start feeling run down! You can do this, it's within your control!
  • JJS1979
    JJS1979 Posts: 177 Member
    tabletop_joe wrote: »
    34 is absolutely in the "prime" range. You can start feeling a lot better by eating better, drinking less and less often, and exercising using a regular routine that won't exacerbate you past injuries. Don't blame it on age because you're like at least 20 years to the age where you should start feeling run down! You can do this, it's within your control!

    YES!!! I was 35 with low T due to some health problems and i just assumed that I was getting older and that was just it. Beginning of 2016 I decided I would do whatever I needed to in order to get back in shape. In the last 18 months have lost 35 lbs, did a pretty good recomp and doubled my T levels (without TRT). I am in the best shape of my life (better than when I was 25) and feel incredible. Sounds like you have some obstacles but keep pushing forward you are definitely not out of your prime yet and you can make more progress than you think. Goodluck!
  • brznhabits
    brznhabits Posts: 126 Member
    edited June 2017
    I see you've responded to some good feedback above. I'll add:
    • Less calories isn't always better. Several times I've tried the same calories (that work now) but with food that was too easy. Lots of packaged foods make my body sick. For me especially anything that's processed and high sodium. It gives me low grade flu like symptoms. You may have to do the work to eat a bit cleaner.
    • Additionally, any injury can exacerbate other parts of your body, especially existing weak points. Your shoulder could be stressed out due to your foot injury. Definitely heal.

  • burntoutphilosopher
    burntoutphilosopher Posts: 74 Member
    Thank you all so much for the feedback . ... even the feedback that is hard to hear is good ... i want to be solution focussed.

    I'm going to dive deeply into diet change options.

    I did want to ask ... I thought EPIC meat bars were the best of the best ... do they still count as "pre packaged" junk foods? ...honestly it's cheaper to grill filet mignon and cut it up if I'd take the time... I thought the epic bars were providing balance and variety.

    Is 90g protein 90g fat and remainder carbs (~100g) a good balance for recomp?

    Thank you for everyone's time and thoughtful review

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