# Health wise: Do you take care of yourself?



## SublimeChange (Dec 9, 2012)

Or does anxiety and low self esteem make it difficult?

I've struggled with this and continue to struggle with it. There are things I can do to make myself feel better and look better physically, and yet, I never have the motivation to do so. I need to take vitamins to stop feeling tired, I needed to wear my retainer after getting braces taken off, if I used face wash and lotion, my skin would be better. Yet no matter how many times I'm told, even going so far as to start the habit itself, it never sticks. 

I don't take vitamins because I hate swallowing pills and hate how they upset my stomach. I didn't wear retainers because I was too lazy (now I have small gap in my teeth). I didn't use face wash because it was too tedious. I used to go to the gym, but over time I convinced myself I didn't have time. 

Things like this, that I know would be better for me, I either find an excuse to not do it, or give up on it before it's any benefit to me. 

Does anyone else go through this? How do you combat it?


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## Whatev (Feb 6, 2012)

I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.


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## SublimeChange (Dec 9, 2012)

Whatev said:


> I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.


You also a fan of Huey Lewis and the News? :rofl:rofl


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## CloudChaser (Nov 7, 2013)

I try to keep myself at a reasonable average weight. I shower daily and brush my teeth and all that. On the flipside though I do barely any exercise, smoke 20 a day, survive on energy drinks and 1-2 meals a day and get between 4-6 hours of broken sleep per night.

So...no?


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## scooby (Jun 24, 2009)

I work out. I don't really consider it looking after myself though, because I don't do it for reasons like I want to look better or have better health to extend my life expectancy. I do it because I find it fun and challenging myself and having goals related to building strength, which I guess still counts as health if I think about it. I don't eat healthy foods enough, or have a skin care routine or anything else that could count as taking care of myself. Besides therapy and medication, which is mental health.


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## firestar (Jun 27, 2009)

For a long time, I didn't really care. Food tastes good and I have no one to care how I look, anyway. 

I changed by changing my habits. I started eating better and exercising. Once I started to see results, I was motivated to continue. For me, the changes had to be small and gradual or else I knew they wouldn't stick. It took a long time but I got there eventually.


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## AffinityWing (Aug 11, 2013)

My hygiene is pretty bad, it could use alot of work. Yet at the same time I'm very self-conscious and feel a need to be very meticulous about it. Since my free days often consisted of skipping brushing my teeth, (for some reason I only ever stress brushing them on school mornings, I don't know why.) forgetting to comb my hair, laying in bed all day, only getting up to eat unhealthy things and to sleep, I've never really cared about anything else. The only improvements I've made lately, although they aren't even so much personal hygiene, have been in starting to make my bed every morning, combing my hair, cleaning my glasses, and actually getting changed. I think it has something to do with that my room has gotten completely remodeled and looks alot better now, whereas before it barely had anything and I only slept on a mattress. It must've been making me only further depressed and bothering even less with any sort of hygiene. 

Whenever I've had days where I've felt cleaner, I've definitely noticed my confidence, mood, and sense of attractiveness go up. Now I'm back to feeling completely disgusting again and only thinking about how unclean the house has gotten, which only makes me feel worse and further disgusting myself. 

My hair gets oily pretty fast, so I think those days must be some of where I feel the most that I look like ****. Also dirty/long nails, my increasing hairiness, sweating, etc. all make me feel terrible too, even when I don't do much about it.


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## Furiosa (Jun 2, 2015)

I like to take very good care of myself, I've always been one to highly enjoy pampering and grooming. When it comes to my "routine", I take a daily multi vitamin and cod liver oil, I've done this for years, I think it really helps me stay healthy as I rarely get ill, I can't even remember the last time I caught a cough or cold. As for diet, I generally always buy high quality food, especially when it comes to meat, this is one area where I don't mind splashing out, as good nutrition is essential for optimum health. Also throughout the day I'll always be drinking plenty of water as well as one or two teapots of green tea a day.

As for a skin care routine, I'll shower every day and condition my hair, I'll also exfoliate using a scrubbing mitt. I've always been a huge fan of skin products such as creams, serums, face masks, lip balms, eye cream etc, which I've used all throughout adulthood so far. And if I go on holiday somewhere hot I'll never sunbathe, if I do chill outside I stay under an umbrella wearing factor 50. I've never understood these people who enjoy laying out in the sun all day and practically roasting themselves, it's so bad for your skin to do that.

I also take good care of my nails, every month or so I'll do myself a manicure to keep them looking tip top.

Dental care as also always been of importance to me, I'll visit the dentist usually every two months or so for a scale and polish. I brush my teeth after almost every meal and am always using floss and chewing gum.

I think it's just one of those things in life tbh, some people aren't that bothered about doing it whereas for some people they love it. I think for me it's something I'll always take pride in.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Hygiene is important, so I try to handle that. Um eating right is tough, I do exercise though.


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## Kovu (Jun 18, 2013)

I go to the gym 5 days a week. I've lost 17 pounds I think I'm 4 pounds under what I should be though. I bought proactive and it's working I think. And I try to have some kind of a diet now.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

So so. I'm too cheap to pay for health insurance and my previous company only paid 50% of the premium so I went without. They didn't pay for dental or vision insurance either. So I ordered my glasses from China and my contact lenses from Canada (using an out of date prescription). 

I'm lucky I haven't had any major health issues in the 20 years I have been without health insurance. Only had to go in a few times for birth control, out of control ear/vocal cords infection, UTI (twice), cosmetic surgery, and a couple other infections. I do have 7 bumps on my scalp that I would like to remove. When I get health insurance I'll try to get them removed. I hope the insurance company doesn't say it's cosmetic in order to not pay. 

In general I don't eat that healthy but I don't eat horridly either. Tend to not eat enough vegetables/fruit and I like candy and sweets. I like fattening stuff. I try to limit my fattiness by not drinking soda at home and drinking watered down fruit juice instead. If I go out to eat, I'll get diet coke. I buy candy/ice cream in small packages only. It annoys me to do that since I'm very stingy and it pains me not to save by buying in bulk. I have no self-control with sweets, so it has to be done. Rarely will I get something big, like a package of raw cookie dough or a full size package of oreos. 

Don't exercise much other than walking to the supermarket twice a week (3.2 miles round trip). When I was working, in spring and fall, I would walk home 3-4 times a week (2 miles) and do the supermarket walk 1 time a week.

I do take out my contact lenses before sleeping. Only for short naps will I leave them in. This is very important, otherwise you risk getting dangerous eye infections. Much of the time I'm too lazy to wash my makeup off my face before sleep. Not really sure if that is a health issue or not though.

I have not been to the dentist in 12 years. I brush twice a day and floss once a day. Don't think I have any new cavities. My gums bleed if I miss a day of flossing.


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## blue53669 (Sep 15, 2016)

I shower ever day because I feel like crap if I don't, and I can hardly wake myself up in the morning already. I brush my teeth morning and night, floss at night, wear deodorant, etc.... but otherwise I'm a lot like OP - the things I know I'm "supposed" to do I generally procrastinate or put off to the point of not doing. I do wonder if it's a self-sabotaging kind of component of depression. I take my meds every day because if I don't I tend to easily have meltdowns and nobody wants that. I have mild acne at 40 but most nights don't bother to wash off my makeup (although I don't wear that much in the first place). Trying to eat healthy is definitely my worst. It's like I think of the worst thing I could possibly eat and then crave it. I force (drag) myself to the gym but then eat crap food which negates my gym efforts ten-fold. I drink caffeine all day to make it through work and then sleep about 12 hours a day on Saturday & Sunday.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Yeh, I try now.

Personal hygiene, I am very thorough.

Health wise, I religiously track calories and weight (and a bunch of other stuff) and have lost 150lbs, I don't eat enough fruit and veg (working on that), I don't really exercise (neck problem, though I am able to do some light strength stuff now). 

Appearance, yeeah (*cough* metrosexual Bob).

Exfoliate
Use vitamin C / E serum
Use Retin A
Do self needling / dermastamp (for acne scarring, my skin is terrible)
Make sure my beardy is nicely maintained
Have even slightly whitened my teeth from traditional British orange, to a more Canadian white (not American blinding white though :no).
Minoxidil for slightly receding hair (not having much effect though, so will probably drop this soon, plus the stuff kinda freaks me out). 

Sounds a bit extreme tbh, but none of it takes much time. I have no problem doing anything that takes less than a minute each day. 

When my neck heals enough I will incorporate a 2 minute exercise bike sprint a couple of times a week for maximum roi re fitness (because **** cardio). I am not one personally for spending a lot of time doing self improvement stuff, but when it is a good roi I will stick it on my logging spreadsheet and try to make it a habit.

This almost feels like a confessional post


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## andy0128 (Dec 19, 2003)

I cannot tolerate alcohol very well these days so i usually only drink 1-2 glasses of wine a week.

I don't smoke anymore. It makes me feel sick and i have a bad cough.

When I'm healthy i try to do fitness activities 1-2 a week. I tend to do runs, exercises at the park or swimming. 

I am a lot more careful with my diet than i used to be. I try to limit sugar and caffeine. I no longer drink coffee. I try not to drink fizxy drinks much. I eat two portions of fruit a day. I try to vary what i eat in terms of vegetables, red meat, white meat, fish. 

I try to avoid medications unless i really feel bad. I take 4000ui vitamin d most days as i am insufficient. I take herbal captules to help with sleep but try not to use them too often.


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## Farideh (Nov 13, 2011)

I quit smoking realizing it's a stupid thing I'm doing to myself. I also quit drinking a year ago. I've been working out every day except on Sundays since I'm suppose to go to church. I like working out. It's a stress reliever especially after a ****ty day. The one thing I can't do is eat healthy. I can't. I love junk food. I live to eat.


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## SomeTosser (Oct 30, 2016)

For the most part I just let nature take its course and its been working for me so far. Except this one time in high school I had impetigo eating my face away so I missed the first 3 weeks of grade 9 while I took antibiotics. But that was like 8 years ago, and everything has been good since. Overall I have a poor attitude. My life sucks so **** it. If I catch something serious and my parents are already dead, I'm just gonna call it a life. Plus some of my co workers are like in their late 50s and chain smoke strong cigarettes and have a poor diet. If they can live that long without giving a **** then so can I.


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## regimes (Aug 24, 2011)

i try my hardest when it comes to my hygiene. i use face wash, lotion, and put on sunscreen when i go out because i now know how aging can affect your body. i'm so done with acne scars and random melanin dappling my skin. and of course i shower everyday and wash my hair every other day.

when it comes to eating though, i have a serious sugar addiction. and an aversion to vegetables. so, fml lol.


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## HenDoggy (Jul 26, 2014)

Nope I can't say that I give a crap aoubt my heath at this point and time 



Whatev said:


> I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.


Lmao, you seriously had me going there for a second... I wasn't going to say anything. Damn, if only I had the desipline to apply this to my morning routine, Ill look so hot.


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## Rains (Jan 20, 2016)

Sort of but I could do better. I feel like I do a good amount of exercise most days, but could probably do a bit more, and I need to do more when it comes to weight bearing exercises. 

Food wise, it's hit or miss. The western diet is atrocious and basically the worst thing that ever happened when it comes to human nutrition. I try to steer away from processed foods, but it's hard because if you want to be truly healthy you have to cook everything from scratch which is boring, inconvenient and time consuming. The alternative to cooking from scratch but still eating healthy is to basically eat tonnes of fruit and plain salads, but then it becomes challenging to eat enough food and not waste away. I don't have a sweet tooth but I love fattening and salty stuff. I buy supplements but don't consistently take them. I really think it's best to get your nutrition out of food rather than pills. 

Despite being very lazy and negligent with my teeth I've never had many teeth problems (only a couple of cavities, and tbh I think one of them wasn't a true cavity, I think my dentist was a sadist, and he could have done something more conservative, like just coated it). If I'd actually bothered to keep on top of my oral hygiene I'd probably have not got any cavities. I haven't been to a dentist in about 3 years. Last time I went he said everything looked okay. 

If I have other medical issues that crop up I usually go to a doctor promptly, but it depends. Sometimes I get avoidant and don't do something for years, especially if I think it's going to be a waste of time and money (like pap tests, eye checks, skin checks and dentists).


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## noydb (Jun 29, 2016)

Nope. 

I do walk a lot but I'd hardly consider that exercise. I keep meaning to join fitness classes at my local gym, but I'm too terrified to actually go through with it. My diet is shocking. I skip meals, I eat a lot of junk food, I don't drink much water, I eat waaaay too much sugar. I don't consume anywhere near enough fruit or vegetables, though lately I have been making healthy smoothies (but I'm pretty slack about that, tbh). I don't really drink alcohol (unless there is some in the house, but lately no one's bought any and I am too lazy to do that myself). I don't sleep the 'correct' amount. Takes me forever to fall asleep most days and then forever to wake up. Means I either sleep about 4 hours or 14. 

I do like to shower. I do the very basics when it comes to hygiene but I don't enjoy that at all. I only see the doctor or dentist if I believe there's a good reason (haven't been to the dentist in years). I don't really get haircuts because it's scary, I'm embarrassed about the state of my hair and it's super expensive for even the most basic trim. I kind of have a skin care routine going but I'm slack about that, too, and I can't really figure out whether or not it makes a difference. 

Actually, looking back on what I've written and comparing that to what most people here are posting, it looks like I may need to ... uh, adjust my lifestyle a little.


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## Skilana14 (Nov 2, 2016)

I think I do
but still feeling so tired in the whole day, specially in the evening; Im 26 years old only and feeling like I'm on 40th


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## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

I keep an eye on my calorie consumption and try to eat a fair amount of fruits and veggies. I started taking biotin supplements when I discovered that I have basically every single symptom of a deficiency. I'm also slowly teaching myself how to cook. (I have now mastered the art of opening bags of frozen vegetables and heating them.) I'm at a healthy BMI (seriously, my family keeps asking me if I have cancer) but I have to work on getting rid of my gut. Hard to do when your body's producing cortisol like a Chinese factory produces dangerous toxic airborne pollutants.

I brush twice a day with my electric toothbrush. (Best purchase I've ever made.) I floss once a day. I rinse with mouthwash once a day. I should probably brush more, since I can't afford to go to the dentist. I've also been wearing the same pair of glasses for ... 16 years. I should probably get my eyes checked and get new glasses (they're held together by tape) but I can't afford that either.

I'm allergic to exercise because I'm cursed with testosterone and my muscles are already too huge and hulking despite never having really exercised properly a day in my life. I wish there were a healthy way to shrink muscle mass. Except in my glutes. I have no a**. It's very depressing.

I try to sleep, but I have chronic insomnia (over 20 years and counting) and I have nightmares fairly often, so I get maybe a few hours on a good night and spend most of my life in a half-awake zombie torpor drinking coffee to try to remain functional so I can work. Which ofc contributes to cortisol production and disgusting belly fat.

I should do all sorts of things to my skin, but I have no money, so I don't do anything at all.

So: yes and no. I'd do tons of things if I could afford to.


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## SilentLyric (Aug 20, 2012)

im learning how to cook with my girlfriend and I'm also working on drinking more in moderation. my biggest issue is I am extremely picky and it's hard for me to try new foods.


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## f1ora (Jan 5, 2016)

i eat a lot of berries and fruit nowadays..cutting down on the sweets despite how much they comfort me lol
I try to only drink water, and it's going great.
i used to run every day but that's cuz i had a lot of freetime in high school.. I'm trying to fit more jogging into my schedule now
i try to take care of my skin the best i can; exfoliating often and using amazing stuff from Japan and Thailand. Clear, smooth and glowing skin is important, and it is the first and foremost factor of health and beauty in east and southeast Asia, so they have great products. 
Of course the water and berry consumption takes a huge role in skincare also. I love it


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## catcharay (Sep 15, 2011)

I try to take care of myself as I get older as a preventative means to ward off the pain and money involved with illness ( by eating well, supplements, yoga, exercise, meditation-sort of). When I get health insurance I'll take full usage of dental care. God knows when you get into teeth trouble you can't eat food properly.


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## Wanderlust26 (Oct 26, 2016)

It's only when I'm really depressed that I'll slip back into bad habits, but I try to take care of myself for the most part. When I eat healthy I feel good inside and out and that feeling becomes addicting, so that usually helps me stay committed to caring for myself.


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## RenegadeReloaded (Mar 12, 2011)

Stress wreaks havoc through my body. And I fear some of it it's irreversible. If I get to a place where I can control my depression, the damage to my body has already been done.

Other than that, my tested serotonin deficiency and presumed dopamine deficiency makes every effort to stay healthy seem like a marathon. It just increases the difficulty a lot, like switching from 'moderate' to 'insane' difficulty in a video game, that's how it feels like. I had times of extreme depression when nothing made sense, not even talking care of my physical health. Still do have moments like that from time to time.

About nutrition, supplements and sport, I think I'm from the very few in which doing those things makes no difference to my mental state, at all. Feel like my body is alien, immune to those, to those and 99,9% of pills and supplements, and I've tried a s*it load.


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## d0rado (Aug 27, 2015)

It's difficult. I've been kind of falling off lately too :S

The hardest things for me to do is shower, wash my face, and wash my hair.

I've actually been good about going to the gym because it's something I look forward to doing. I've also been good about brushing my teeth and taking my vitamins, although I don't enjoy swallowing them. But I realize if I don't take them I'd be lethargic and my levels would be off and I'd probably hate life even more.

My diet is terrible though. It always has been, mainly because I'm a picky eater.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

From my earlier post, I now indeed do the exercise bike sprints, and have greatly increased my intake of fruits (not vegetables though, they are still poisonous). Also have been able to lift weights fairly cautiously.


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## chefdave (Dec 16, 2013)

i'm addicted to crack.


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## SparklingWater (Jan 16, 2013)

Eh it's intermittent but getting better. Hygiene is always big to me, but eating well, exercise and mindfulness not so great. Working on it! I count working on my SA a huge part of self care too


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## flyingMint (Aug 31, 2015)

I TRY to exercise but for some reason something always stops me from maintaining a regular schedule. For example I threw out my rib twice, and recently got hives that flare up with any damn movement I make. 
On the other hand,

I cut my nails regularly. 
I wash my face and moisturize as well. 
I try to eat well but sometimes I can go overboard with sweets. 
I like to cut my hair but I get anxious and I can't do it as regularly as I wish but hopefully that changes. It has to!


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

There's a lot I can do to improve including cooking/preparing more of my own food, increased fruit/veggie intake(I've been having more fruit recently)consistent vitamin intake, more exercise(though I've began doing more recently), building/improving my wardrobe, seeing various types of docs(dermatologist, dentist, & GP for annual physical), etc.

I'm making an effort to improve this year but it's hard work to get it going and maintain it(expensive too)


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## gunner21 (Aug 4, 2012)

I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.


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## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

In most ways I do yes. My working out borders on obsession, which in some ways isn't healthy, I suppose. I push myself to the limits in the pursuit of strength. In some ways it's probably not good for me, but I need to be healthy to be at my best. This keeps me trying to get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, eat a balanced diet and not use drugs or alcohol. Basically not doing anything that hinders performance. I take a lot of heart health supplements because heart problems run in my family as well. I slack on cardio at times, which I need to be better about doing. Like I said I'm obsessed and this has kept me very consistent with exercise and diet for years now. To get where I want to be there's no room for being lazy.

As far as hygiene I take a shower every day and brush my teeth at least twice a day. I shave every day, break out the beard trimmer about once a week and cut my own hair about every two weeks. I've got body spray and cologne as well. I'm not big on lotions and exfoliating and all that. I'm poor, so I can't afford much outside the essentials at the moment. I don't leave the house without being cleaned up and dressed decent though.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Pretty jolly yarr. I went fer me NHS health check 'n since losin' weight me cholesterol 'n blood pressure 'n BMI be all lovely 'n out 'o th' red. I wish I could fix me neck, but maybe in the hour.

Holy ****, old sober Bob posted the full damn vanity regime. Sober Bob, wtf man?


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

I don't know. I work out as much as anybody and most of the time I am in good shape. I do a lot of active things along with the various exercise things I do. Diet could be better, because it comes and goes how dedicated I am. The things I am bad at are sleeping, and I am rarely content with where I am at in anything in life (It helps to motivate but I could be happier more often than I seem to be.)


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## HenDoggy (Jul 26, 2014)

chefdave said:


> i'm addicted to crack.


:haha



Canadian Brotha said:


> There's a lot I can do to improve including cooking/preparing more of my own food, increased fruit/veggie intake(I've been having more fruit recently)consistent vitamin intake, more exercise(though I've began doing more recently), building/improving my wardrobe, seeing various types of docs(dermatologist, dentist, & GP for annual physical), etc.
> 
> I'm making an effort to improve this year but it's hard work to get it going and maintain it(expensive too)


Nice, I wish I had the drive to take care of myself better. That depression can really kick my butt somtimes 



gunner21 said:


> I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.


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## LonelyLurker (Sep 24, 2016)

I take pretty good care of myself but It's entirely pragmatic, not a reflection of self love or anything like that (although if I'm not taking care of myself that's a sign that things are going badly for me).

I started to get in shape because I needed a distraction, I learned to cook because I needed to control my diet in order to get into shape and then I learnt to cook well so that I could still enjoy my food.

Once I was in shape I noticed that my body language was very different and I felt much less self conscious in the company of others which affected how others responded to me. So as long as I have the mental energy to do it (which I usually do) I try to stay in decent shape (nothing too extreme, as long as I can look good in clothes that's good enough) so that I'm more likely to go outside and not be so avoidant, the more likely I am to go outside the more likely I am to take care of myself in terms of grooming, hygiene etc. These things all lead into each other in my experience.

Now that I know that I can be in shape if I make an effort, whenever I see myself out of shape I associate it with self neglect as that's the only time that I'm out of shape. I'm only speaking for myself though, I know there are people who make an equal effort to me but don't get the same results.

Anyway, I'm going for a run now.


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

HenDoggy said:


> Nice, I wish I had the drive to take care of myself better. That depression can really kick my butt somtimes


That list is a work in progress man but I'm trying. Knowing what you need and doing it are two different things, & yes, depression is a *****...for some reason I married her though, I can't recall why but 'till death due us part', lol


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## Red October (Aug 1, 2016)

In some ways, I take good care of things like hygiene and grooming, but I don't really excercise much, drink moderately, and use a number of drugs (medically, to compensate for bad lifestyle, and sometimes for recreation)



splendidbob said:


> Health wise, I religiously track calories and weight (and a bunch of other stuff) and have lost 150lbs.


Congrats, that's very impressive 

My weight tends to fluctuate a lot, and I gained a fair bit recently when I was on antidepressants, though I've started losing it again.

I can only really manage to lose weight on a low-carbohydrate diet, it works pretty much the same as any other calorie restriction diet AFAIK, but eating low carb is the only way I can cut calories a lot (on about 1300 per day now) without feeling hungry all the time, and actually keep the willpower to continue with it.

Not sure how good it is for my health overall though...


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## HenDoggy (Jul 26, 2014)

Canadian Brotha said:


> That list is a work in progress man but I'm trying. Knowing what you need and doing it are two different things, & yes, depression is a *****...for some reason I married her though, I can't recall why but 'till death due us part', lol


Oh I misread that lol i agree, I know what I should be doing to improve my situation. But actually getting off my butt and start doing is another story :frown2:


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## Blue Dino (Aug 17, 2013)

I try to do cardio exercises most days. And minimize eating fatty foods and junk food as much as possible. But I really need to cut back on the nightly wine and snacking before bed. But I guess I don't eat out as much as your typical average person that is around my age group. And I don't smoke or binge drink.


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## forever in flux (Nov 26, 2016)

splendidbob said:


> From my earlier post, I now indeed do the exercise bike sprints


Do you warm up and down for these bike sprints? If so, how long please?

Any idea where I can find guidance on this?

I'm concerned about injuring myself if I go from sedentary and unfit to sprinting.


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## probably offline (Oct 8, 2012)

I eat a lot of candy to keep myself in shape.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

gunner21 said:


> I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.


I see what you did there.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Barry bin Laden said:


> Do you warm up and down for these bike sprints? If so, how long please?
> 
> Any idea where I can find guidance on this?
> 
> I'm concerned about injuring myself if I go from sedentary and unfit to sprinting.


Unfortunately I am unable to do them atm because of my neck (yeh, even going on an exercise bike makes it worse).

It was some research done a while back, basically a tiny amount of maximum intensity sprinting per week is surprisingly good for cardio health.

When I did this, I did a modified version of tabata sprints: https://www.msn.com/en-ph/health/workout/strength/tabata-sprints/ss-BBtO4kD

I think I just did 4 x20 second sprints, with 10s rest on an exercise bike. I don't think you need to worry too much about how much or how long, just doing all out brief sprints a few times with a bit of rest a few times a week is the plan 

As with this stuff, long term is the goal though, so better to do too little and keep it up for a very long period of time, than too much and keep it up for a few weeks.

Oh, re warm up I just did a minute or so fairly gentle cycling. It doesn't have to be insane super max 100% sprinting either I suspect, and you can ease into it over time.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Red October said:


> In some ways, I take good care of things like hygiene and grooming, but I don't really excercise much, drink moderately, and use a number of drugs (medically, to compensate for bad lifestyle, and sometimes for recreation)
> 
> Congrats, that's very impressive
> 
> ...


Thanks 

Re low carb, from what I understand it's fine. I guess there is the stuff about red meat / processed meat, but

1. I remain unconvinced those studies managed to rule out confounding variables. I can see it re processed meat, but red meat, hmm.. not quite buying that tbh (we know the saturated fat thing is bs now). Maybe I am wrong though.

2. You would have to offset any such health risk from a low carb diet against its efficacy for you in controlling weight. Obviously getting weight down to a healthy level has significant benefits for health (my recent health check showed my cholesterol etc were all nice and perfect now, where they had been borderline before), so it would be highly surprising if periodically doing a low carb diet could possibly be worse than gaining a lot of weight. When you gain weight too it's very difficult to lose (physiological changes etc), so if you have a safe way to keep it under control I reckon that is by far the better course of action.

Yeh, for sure though some people are way less hungry on lower carbs (especially women with PCOS). Personally I do best on a moderate carb diet (150-250g), but high carb will have me bingeing like a deranged lunatic 

So yeh, its calories in calories out, but for sure what you eat can affect hunger (and its the same with exercise, which is why I don't incorporate it into weight loss, because the hunger it induces in me makes it counterproductive).


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## Kandice (Jan 26, 2017)

SublimeChange said:


> Or does anxiety and low self esteem make it difficult?
> 
> I've struggled with this and continue to struggle with it. There are things I can do to make myself feel better and look better physically, and yet, I never have the motivation to do so. *I need to take vitamins to stop feeling tired, I needed to wear my retainer after getting braces taken off, if I used face wash and lotion, my skin would be better. Yet no matter how many times I'm told, even going so far as to start the habit itself, it never sticks.*
> 
> ...


I have felt that way before and I still do a bit when it comes to exercising. I feel like the problem here is that you are trying to do these things because you are told to, instead of deciding for yourself what you want to do. When it comes to losing weight for example, one cannot just start losing weight for health purposes simply because they are told to by their doctor, but they have to come to that conclusion by themselves. This is what I believe.

_I need to take vitamins to stop feeling tired. I don't take vitamins because I hate swallowing pills and hate how they upset my stomach._
Do YOU want to stop feeling tired? If so why? How will you benefit from it? What's the outcome? 
On another note, do you really need to take vitamins? If you are eating a complete diet, taking vitamins won't be helping much because vitamins are used as a supplement for things you aren't getting through your diet. Also, upset stomach is a common side effect of taking vitamins because you're putting a lot on your stomach. Try taking it after a meal with a full glass of room temperature water.

_I needed to wear my retainer after getting braces taken off. I didn't wear retainers because I was too lazy (now I have small gap in my teeth)._
Why did you get braces if you didn't want to wear retainers? Don't you want perfect teeth or do you not care either way?

_if I used face wash and lotion, my skin would be better. I didn't use face wash because it was too tedious._
What are the pros and cons of using face wash and lotion? Does it make a difference to your skin? Do you really feel like your skin would be better if you used face wash and lotion or were you just told that? What would you gain from using face wash and lotion and do you want to have a certain outcome from it?

_
I used to go to the gym, but over time I convinced myself I didn't have time._
Again, do you want to gain anything from going to the gym? Also, what if you really don't have time to go to the gym? You can do workouts from home using youtube videos (search "FitnessBlender" on youtube, they have great 30 min workouts that will make you sweat). You can spare 30 minutes of your time for a workout video from youtube.

Bottom line, you have to do things because you want to. That's what helped me.


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## Red October (Aug 1, 2016)

splendidbob said:


> Thanks
> 
> Re low carb, from what I understand it's fine. I guess there is the stuff about red meat / processed meat, but
> 
> 1. I remain unconvinced those studies managed to rule out confounding variables. I can see it re processed meat, but red meat, hmm.. not quite buying that tbh (we know the saturated fat thing is bs now). Maybe I am wrong though.


I've seen a lot of conflicting things about red meat and health too, including recently hearing about Neu5Gc, a sugar that most red meat animals produce, but humans don't, and can have an immune response to eating it, possibly leading to inflammation and other health problems (article about it) But I'm not sure how big of an effect it has really.

Still, my diet isn't exactly all-meat, by percentage of calories per source it's:

38.1% red meat (sometimes replaced with chicken or salmon) 
24.8% cream, cheese, and other dairy 
15.4% bread/other carbs 
13.3% eggs 
8.4% nuts

plus minute amounts from non starchy vegetables like spinach, cucumber, etc.



splendidbob said:


> 2. You would have to offset any such health risk from a low carb diet against its efficacy for you in controlling weight. Obviously getting weight down to a healthy level has significant benefits for health (my recent health check showed my cholesterol etc were all nice and perfect now, where they had been borderline before), so it would be highly surprising if periodically doing a low carb diet could possibly be worse than gaining a lot of weight. When you gain weight too it's very difficult to lose (physiological changes etc), so if you have a safe way to keep it under control I reckon that is by far the better course of action.


Not sure about cholesterol, but I know my blood pressure varies from normal to slightly low. And yeah, I know all about weight sticking around once you get it, damn antidepressants ^^;



splendidbob said:


> Yeh, for sure though some people are way less hungry on lower carbs (especially women with PCOS). Personally I do best on a moderate carb diet (150-250g), but high carb will have me bingeing like a deranged lunatic


It's a shame so much good stuff is basically nothing but carbs 

I don't think I'm quite on the super-low 'atkins-ish' level of carb restriction, but I try to keep between 30-40g most days



splendidbob said:


> So yeh, its calories in calories out, but for sure what you eat can affect hunger (and its the same with exercise, which is why I don't incorporate it into weight loss, because the hunger it induces in me makes it counterproductive).


Mm, plus when I did some research on how much energy you burn during exercise (surprisingly little) I realised that it was never going to come close to what you can manage via diet. I just do a little bit of quite low intensity stuff, just to hopefully minimise the amount of lean body mass I'm losing while on the diet

12 days in, 3.3kg down so far


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## LonelyLurker (Sep 24, 2016)

Red October said:


> Mm, plus when I did some research on how much energy you burn during exercise (surprisingly little) I realised that it was never going to come close to what you can manage via diet. I just do a little bit of quite low intensity stuff, just to hopefully minimise the amount of lean body mass I'm losing while on the diet
> 
> 12 days in, 3.3kg down so far


I know it's become trendy for people to state that exercise has very little effect on weight loss (not pointing any fingers at you, I've seen a few reports to this effect on TV) but that definitely wasn't my personal experience. If you do a lot of activity it will definitely make it easier and if you build muscle it will also raise your BMR. That's why many athletes or people who used to work out a lot become fat when they stop, because they're no longer able to burn off their calorie intake and don't adjust accordingly. Some people will say things like "the muscle turned to fat" which isn't physically possible but that's what they're really referring to.

You can lose weight with diet alone of course but it will be easier if you do both, plus you're less likely to enter "starvation mode" and plateau.

Congrats on the success so far, keep up the good work.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Red October said:


> I've seen a lot of conflicting things about red meat and health too, including recently hearing about Neu5Gc, a sugar that most red meat animals produce, but humans don't, and can have an immune response to eating it, possibly leading to inflammation and other health problems (article about it) But I'm not sure how big of an effect it has really.
> 
> Still, my diet isn't exactly all-meat, by percentage of calories per source it's:
> 
> ...


What are you using for logging btw, for that kind of breakdown? I like the looks of that lol.

Yeh antidepressant and psych meds are a pita. When I started on them doctors told me they caused weight loss, it was impossible the SSRI's could be causing weight gain I was just "eating more because I felt better" grr.

Damn, full keto (sub 50g). Its weird with me, I can totally binge on meat and fat :b. I sometimes try keto for a bit just to break things up a little, maybe I will give it a go again at some point.

For fun, this is the list of my popular foods on MFP (frequency eaten not total calories):

Single cream
Lighter mature cheese
Beef biltong (lol)
Frozen raspberries
Frozen blueberries
Frozen blackberries
Frozen cherries
Home made white bread
White potatoes
Butter
Melon
Skimmed milk
Crinkle cut chips
Porridge.

Cream is the greatest food.

Yeh, you know your **** though, obviously  - you should post in the weight loss thread, keep that ticking over (there are only two people still doing it I think, or maybe just me heh).


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## Red October (Aug 1, 2016)

splendidbob said:


> What are you using for logging btw, for that kind of breakdown? I like the looks of that lol.


notepad & calculator 

I made a sort of 'template' daily diet that keeps within a low carb (35-40g), low calorie (~1300), but still filling (3 meals, 3 snacks) limit.

when I substitute something on the list, I swap it with something simmilar. eg. the template calls for 375g of lean red meat (~450 calories) per day, but I sometimes swap that out for 450 calories of other meats like chicken or salmon



splendidbob said:


> Yeh antidepressant and psych meds are a pita. When I started on them doctors told me they caused weight loss, it was impossible the SSRI's could be causing weight gain I was just "eating more because I felt better" grr.


I didn't gain much weight when I was on an SNRI... but I also didn't really get any effects at all from it

SSRI's though...



splendidbob said:


> Damn, full keto (sub 50g). Its weird with me, I can totally binge on meat and fat :b. I sometimes try keto for a bit just to break things up a little, maybe I will give it a go again at some point.


The first week or so is the hardest, after that you start to feel a lot less hungry & tired.

It can be a bit of a barrier to getting started, but I prefer it to other diets which leave me feeling hungry for the whole time I'm on them



splendidbob said:


> For fun, this is the list of my popular foods on MFP (frequency eaten not total calories):
> 
> Single cream
> Lighter mature cheese
> ...


Home made bready foods were the hardest to give up for me

I used to sometimes make zeppoles, basically deep fried pizza dough, salted & served with garlic aioli. They're amazing, and so cheap (since the main ingredient is just flour)... But not exactly a diet food :lol

And ofc homemade pizza is great too, I liked to mix chilli flakes, crushed garlic, cumin, and italian herbs through the dough 



splendidbob said:


> Cream is the greatest food.


It's great, I usually have it with a stevia based sweetener, some vanilla extract, and sugarfree jelly :clap



splendidbob said:


> Yeh, you know your **** though, obviously  - you should post in the weight loss thread, keep that ticking over (there are only two people still doing it I think, or maybe just me heh).


hm, I might do that


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## TuxedoChief (Jan 11, 2015)

Hit or miss.


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

I have a strict set of rules that I abide by, every day. I have yet to meet someone who's as disciplined as me in this area. Social anxiety is no excuse for not taking care of your health/lifestyle.

-intermittent fasting (fasting 16 hours a day)
-nothing but whole foods that I cook myself. Green veggies and fruits with every meal. Rotate fish and meat, to diversify protein and fat source. No processed stuff.
-I track everything I eat in an excel spreadsheet
-cold showers every day.
-7h30 of sleep per night; the equivalent of 5 sleep cycles
-workout 3 times a week
-no alcohol or cigarettes under any circumstance
-10 minutes of meditation daily, to ease stress

Generally speaking, I also minimize sources of instant gratification like TV/gaming. They turn me into a lazy zombie, and make me undisciplined.



Rains said:


> Food wise, it's hit or miss. The western diet is atrocious and basically the worst thing that ever happened when it comes to human nutrition. I try to steer away from processed foods, but it's hard because if you want to be truly healthy you have to cook everything from scratch which is boring, inconvenient and time consuming. The alternative to cooking from scratch but still eating healthy is to basically eat tonnes of fruit and plain salads, but then it becomes challenging to eat enough food and not waste away. I don't have a sweet tooth but I love fattening and salty stuff.


It's not as time-consuming as you think it is. Especially if you multitask and do something else while the food's being heated.

For instance, I do the following every morning...

I throw my rice in boiling water, my frozen spinach in the microwave and my steaks on a pan. I'll then go and take a shower. After I come out, I flip my steaks on the frying pan, to grill the other side. I have just enough time to dress up, cut my nails, and fumble around to find my keys before all 3 are ready. Next I put them in a tupperware. And out the door I go to work, with my meal prepared.

I'm all about efficiency baby!

You could also cook stuff in bulk, in advance.

Now, I'm not gonna lie, my food is boring. But I want it to be this way. These days, everyone's trying to avoid boredom by stimulating themselves one way or another. Smartphones & PS4s to entertain their brain; muffins and Lays to please their taste buds. Screw that. I'm doing things the old-fashioned, boring, disciplined way.


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## Rains (Jan 20, 2016)

Mr Bacon said:


> -intermittent fasting (fasting 16 hours a day)


How often do you do this?


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

Rains said:


> How often do you do this?


Every day. It's the equivalent of skipping breakfast.

It gives me more mental clarity, and makes me more productive. Plus it takes my mind off food for half the day, and builds discipline.


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## feels (Jun 18, 2010)

I've been working on my health significantly since March. I started going to the gym 4x a week and I drink about 80 oz of water a day. It's a big leap from no exercise/no water like before and it's definitely made me feel better. My diet is where I struggle the most. It's not terrible but I could really step up my veggies and cut out more sweets. I definitely wanna get more strict with it but baby-steps lol. I could really develop better sleeping patterns too.


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## catcharay (Sep 15, 2011)

My intake is generally healthy, but I really love pastas and pizza. It fuels my acne so I've stepped back my indulgences.


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