My quest for a healthier life

[Weasel]

Man, it was hard to find a good, non-cringe title for this. So most people here have known me for a long while or even met me in real life. If there's one thing that's for sure, is that I ruined my body for years with unhealthy practices. I've did attempts in the past to get ahead of it, but never was able to fully commit to it and actually go for something. The past few years I've been working really hard on improving myself. Dealing with my mental issues, issues from the past, and my self-image. There's much more to that, but I've elaborated on that in previous posts on this forum. However, with my mental health improving, it created room in my head to tackle other issues. The most major one of these is my physical health. I've been overweight (personally I'd even call it fat) for the majority of my life, something that disgusted me for years. Besides that, I've been diagnosed with diabetes type 2 when I was just 18. At the start of 2021, it became so bad, I actually had to start taking insulin. Even with insulin, my blood sugars still spikes regularly.

On the 6th of June this year, the switch clicked in my head, and I am full, 100% committed to change this. Since that date, I stopped taking all my medicine and injections. I threw out all the unhealthy food. I started going almost daily to the gym (currently, I've been to the gym 43 days out of the 50 days). I measure the number of calories I take a day, to make sure I don't take too much. In this time, I've lost over 5kgs (currently it's about 0.5kg a week, +/-). I don't need any medicine anymore for my diabetes to be under control.

The impact this has had in my life, is unbelievable. I started to become less restless, have way more energy, boosting my self-image and self-confidence. I'm happier, more energetic, and it's also boosting my progress in working on my mental health. It's crazy to think about what we, as humans, are able to achieve once we get in the right mindset. It also shows the importance of mental health, and how it makes you interact with others, and the general impact on the quality of your life.

I'm still far from my goal, at this moment I weigh around 98.5kg, which is a huge improvement from the max of 105kg I had before. The first milestone was hitting the point of getting under 100kg. My next milestone is set at 90kg, at which I also will get a new tattoo. It'd be the first time in +/- 10 years I'd be at that weight. My final goal is getting between 69-86kg, which would be the weight I'd need to be at for a healthy BMI. Of course, there are some liberties in that, because I've also been doing a lot of muscle-building - muscles weigh more than fat, so otherwise, the 86kg would end me up almost anorexic. But that depends on my muscle percentage.

If you guys have any questions about my "quest", previous/current health (mental/physical), feel free to ask. If you're going through the same or want to get there, also, feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to answer anything or help someone out in any way possible. Got your own awesome achievements around this subject? Also, please share with us!

 

[TesoMayn]

I like that you talk about your mental health as well, with the stigma around mental health issues most people won't.

It's important to set goals and monitor changes, people that don't usually give up.

I used to run 5K and work out almost daily, been thinking about getting back into it.

Best of luck my friend.

 

[Weasel]

I like that you talk about your mental health as well, with the stigma around mental health issues most people won't.

It's important to set goals and monitor changes, people that don't usually give up.

I used to run 5K and work out almost daily, been thinking about getting back into it.

Best of luck my friend.

Thanks, man. Yeah, it's really sad this stigma exists. I've always tried to break it, and I've opened up about it through the years a few times. Personally, I experience it as very relieving to do sometimes. Besides that, it also gives a bit of insight to other people and sometimes can explain where certain behavior comes from.

And setting goals is so important. A few things that have helped me is set a certain minimum amount of days that I need to go to the gym for myself, and also on which day I can have a "breakout"-day, on which I don't have to diet. I also monitor my steps and have set a goal that I need to achieve. I also use

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, provided by work, which sets goals for you and gives certain rewards in return. So besides going to the gym, I make sure I get my steps in every day. I also treated myself on the Galaxy Watch3 smartwatch as a bonus for doing well, which also helps with monitoring my steps, vitals, and all that stuff. It's really neat.

What's stopping you from going on a run again? Is there something certain blocking you?

Thanks for the wishes, Teso! I hope you'll find the energy to go on runs again, too.

PS. @RastaLulz, @Sledmore, @Kaz, @Legion, @Benden, @Brad - sorry for all the snaps <3

 

[Liam]

I've always liked to see these types of threads from you, as most people won't talk about such things. It's a good read.

I started going for runs and working out last year, but I guess I lost motivation. I always think about getting back into it. Making the first step when it comes to anything new, or different, always seems like a struggle, especially if the previous attempt felt like a failure/waste of time.

What I haven't mentioned yet is that, yes, I did enjoy it! Having it in my schedule for a short time improved a lot of things, such as when I ate or slept.

As of recent, I'm only just starting to prioritise myself and put me first, before others. However, it still doesn't feel like enough.

The past 3-4 years of my life have been rocky, and I feel like I've changed as a person for the better the past few months. I'd love to do so much more though.

Do you have any advice?

Spoiler

Best of luck to you, keep up the excellent progress. Feel free to add leumz on snap, I'd love to see the progress of your journey too.

 

[Weasel]

I've always liked to see these types of threads from you, as most people won't talk about such things. It's a good read.

I started going for runs and working out last year, but I guess I lost motivation. I always think about getting back into it. Making the first step when it comes to anything new, or different, always seems like a struggle, especially if the previous attempt felt like a failure/waste of time.

What I haven't mentioned yet is that, yes, I did enjoy it! Having it in my schedule for a short time improved a lot of things, such as when I ate or slept.

As of recent, I'm only just starting to prioritise myself and put me first, before others. However, it still doesn't feel like enough.

The past 3-4 years of my life have been rocky, and I feel like I've changed as a person for the better the past few months. I'd love to do so much more though.

Do you have any advice?

Spoiler

Best of luck to you, keep up the excellent progress. Feel free to add leumz on snap, I'd love to see the progress of your journey too.

Very glad to hear man! Thanks for the compliment. It would be great if more people would open up. It can help so much with processing your stuff.

I'll try to give you some advice based on what you said because a lot of it sounds really relatable. To start off, the previous attempts. For me, this also wasn't the first attempt. Since I was 18 I attempted this multiple times but failed every single time. Past failures say nothing about the present. If anything, it's how we learn as humans. It actually helps with your next attempts to make it work. It's really all in the mind - the only reason you fail is that your head isn't in the right space, or you don't really commit to it. It really has to come from the inside.

I would really like to advise you to read up on

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, who used to weigh around 300 pounds (+/1 136kg) and ended up as a freakin' beast. He does some motivational speaking, and for me personally, it really opened up my eyes. As he'll explain too, it's all in your mind. Once you get the right mindset, the rest will come. And that's something I've experienced myself too.

And especially because you enjoyed doing it, what's stopping you from going for it? Try to figure that out for yourself It's important that you enjoy what you're doing. Set goals, but don't set them too high. Eventually, you can add bigger goals, and grow into them. What are some others things you want to do, as you said you want to do more?

I'll add you on Snapchat btw!

 

[Joe]

I’m so proud of you.

 

[Weasel]

Got the new measurements in today, which show the progress over the last month. Very glad about the results until now, really motivates me to go on. I also was a little bit worried about maybe losing muscle (as the first month, it stayed exactly the same), but I've been able to adjust to it and actually start gaining muscle too. My posture has been improving too, and I keep how I sit/walk/stand in check. I also keep on seeing improvements around my mental health, I've been becoming happier, and more stress-resistant.

6th of July
Weight: 100,4kg
Fat % : 28,9
Muscle %: 34,4
Visceral fat: 11

4th of Augustus (today)
Fat: 96,3 kg (-4,1kg)
Fat %: 24,5 (-4,4%)
Muscle %: 36,8 (+2.4%)
Visceral fat: 9 (-2)

 

[Donkjam]

As you know I drink alcohol a few times a week maybe do the odd drug. Sometimes I have issues thinking people don’t like me etc. I mention this to some real life friends etc but only a select few

I don’t drink as much as people think but I’ll have a bottle of wine in house once a week by self (like tonight)

however I do get paranoid sometimes thinking people talk about me and like I said that people don’t like me. This isn’t alcohol etc related cause can go ages without it and still thing it. But I get by. I know it’s not true but still tbink it

 

[Weasel]

As you know I drink alcohol a few times a week maybe do the odd drug. Sometimes I have issues thinking people don’t like me etc. I mention this to some real life friends etc but only a select few

I don’t drink as much as people think but I’ll have a bottle of wine in house once a week by self (like tonight)

however I do get paranoid sometimes thinking people talk about me and like I said that people don’t like me. This isn’t alcohol etc related cause can go ages without it and still thing it. But I get by. I know it’s not true but still tbink it

The issues you are mentioning are probably not caused by alcohol, but they might significantly impact it and prevent them from being solved. It's known that, especially in males, the consumption of alcohol actually worsens the mental state. This gets even worse when you drink more often (so, instead of just the weekend, also through the week/when alone). The fact you have these thoughts is a warning sign, which you should take seriously. The fact you automatically couple this to alcohol, also shows you unconsciously know it's somewhat related to each other.

I've battled with these feelings before. If you ever want someone to talk to about it, you know where to find me!