# Take better care of myself



## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

I haven't been taking good care of myself. I'm fat(318.4 lbs as of starting this) and have other symptoms of poor health. I am very addicted to pop and regularly drink 6 or more cans a day. My house is also a disorganized mess and I've not been keeping good track of doing things like paying bills, etc. 

There are probably even more things I should do, but the daily list is already pretty long. Dream journal is on there just because I would like to improve my dream recall.

Daily I'm going to try to 
-Avoid or reduce pop intake
-Avoid fast food and carryout
-Eat fruits and vegetables
-Use my sleep apnea machine
-Take my medications
-Brush my teeth at least twice
-Shave
-Exercise
-Go outside
-Meditation
-Keep a dream journal
-Do chores, if any

Not sure if this is too long of a list to start. If I keep at it hopefully I'll start feeling better


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## hevydevy (Oct 27, 2015)

I wish you success. It's never too late and I hope you stay motivated.


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## MCHB (Jan 1, 2013)

I know you can do it, Sly!


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## Moment of Clarity (Nov 3, 2011)

slyfox said:


> I haven't been taking good care of myself. I'm fat(318.4 lbs as of starting this) and have other symptoms of poor health.


Good for you, for trying to improve your health.


> I am very addicted to pop and regularly drink 6 or more cans a day.


 I'd recommend replacing this habit with a healthier one like drinking tea.


> There are probably even more things I should do, but the daily list is already pretty long.


Prioritize.



> Daily I'm going to try to
> -Avoid or reduce pop intake
> -Avoid fast food and carryout
> -Eat fruits and vegetables
> ...


Looks good. If you keep at it, things will improve. The biggest part of the equation is your discipline. If you want to achieve your goals you'll need to work on that. Mark Divine has some excellent advise for this.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Thanks everyone!



Moment of Clarity said:


> I'd recommend replacing this habit with a healthier one like drinking tea.


Thanks actually I've been brewing a lot of tea today. The problem is I go through it really quick and I want to avoid canned tea.

1/9/2016
I hadn't planned to start today so I didn't do much. Thought I would get at least a small amount of walking i nthough

*-Avoid or reduce pop intake - *Drank mostly tea, but drank one caffeinated pop and one caffeine free pop
*-Avoid fast food and carryout -* Ate food from Subway. Hadn't planned to start these goals today.
*-Eat fruits and vegetables -* No
*-Use my sleep apnea machine -* No. I need to clean it since I haven't used it in awhile
*-Take my medications -* Yes
*-Brush my teeth at least twice* *-* Once
*-Shave - *Yes
*-Exercise -* Did 10 minutes of walking in the house
*-Go outside -* No
*-Meditation -* No
*-Keep a dream journal - *No
*-Do chores, if any -* Paid a bill and did a water change for an aquarium


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## Moment of Clarity (Nov 3, 2011)

slyfox said:


> The problem is I go through it really quick and I want to avoid canned tea.


 Well stock up. Drinking a lot of tea is much better than drinking a lot of pop.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Moment of Clarity said:


> Well stock up. Drinking a lot of tea is much better than drinking a lot of pop.


Thanks I'll try to keep stocked up. I made about a gallon today and have it cooling in the fridge at the moment. I'll just have to make sure I keep supply up and supplement with some regular water.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Great goals, good luck.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

Good job on drinking just two pops instead of 6 or more. Slyfox, did you know that a can of pop has 9 1/3 teaspoons of sugar? But you never see anyone dump that much in a cup of tea! Also, good job on taking your medication and shaving, and brushing your teeth once!

Can't you die if you don't use your sleep apnea machine?


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Thanks everyone!



Rufus said:


> Good job on drinking just two pops instead of 6 or more. Slyfox, did you know that a can of pop has 9 1/3 teaspoons of sugar? But you never see anyone dump that much in a cup of tea! Also, good job on taking your medication and shaving, and brushing your teeth once!
> 
> Can't you die if you don't use your sleep apnea machine?


Thanks, yeah that is a ton of sugar.

I'm not sure how likely it is I will die, but I'm it sure puts a ton of stress on my body. The problem is I can't sleep well with the machine. I'll try to use it today. I told myself that I'm not going back to sleep until I've cleaned it and have it ready to use. Hoping if I lose enough weight I won't need it anymore.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

I think it's a matter of getting used to having the mask on your face, and then being able to sleep better after that. What do you think?


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Rufus said:


> I think it's a matter of getting used to having the mask on your face, and then being able to sleep better after that. What do you think?


Usually I fall asleep easily with it on but wake up an hour or so later. I always assumed it was the pressure increasing. It is setup to automatically increase as I sleep

1/10/16 
Have been feeling tired all day and having been sleeping a lot. Already getting sick of the dream journal because it can require a lot of writing if you have a bunch of dreams and write every detail that comes to mind. That's why I usually give up on keeping one. Maybe, unless the dream seems great, I'll just put some notes.

-Avoid or reduce pop intake - *One caffeinated pop*
-Avoid fast food and carryout - *Yes*
-Eat fruits and vegetables - *Had a roma tomato and a bell pepper*
-Use my sleep apnea machine - *yes*
-Take my medications - *Took morning and night pills*
-Brush my teeth at least twice - *Twice*
-Shave - *Yes*
-Exercise - *40 minutes walking in house*
-Go outside - *Shoveled snow a little*
-Meditation - *Did about 15 minutes worth*
-Keep a dream journal - *yes*
-Do chores, if any - *No*


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

slyfox said:


> Usually I fall asleep easily with it on but wake up an hour or so later. I always assumed it was the pressure increasing. It is setup to automatically increase as I sleep
> 
> 1/10/16
> Have been feeling tired all day and having been sleeping a lot. I'll update if I do more. Already getting sick of the dream journal because it can require a lot of writing if you have a bunch of dreams and write every detail that comes to mind. That's why I usually give up on keeping one. Maybe, unless the dream seems great, I'll just put some notes.
> ...


Hi Slyfox, thanks for being my friend. I don't know anything about c-pap machines other than my step father uses one. Why does the pressure increase? That appears to be a problem because it wakes you up. Good job on your achievements today. You got some extra exercise with the snow shoveling. Have you tried chant meditation? It's the best. I haven't done it in a long time. You chant a series of syllables over and over for eleven minutes. You can do three minute ones, or six minute ones, but no longer than eleven minutes or you'll go crazy. Eleven is optimal.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Rufus said:


> Hi Slyfox, thanks for being my friend. I don't know anything about c-pap machines other than my step father uses one. Why does the pressure increase? That appears to be a problem because it wakes you up. Good job on your achievements today. You got some extra exercise with the snow shoveling. Have you tried chant meditation? It's the best. I haven't done it in a long time. You chant a series of syllables over and over for eleven minutes. You can do three minute ones, or six minute ones, but no longer than eleven minutes or you'll go crazy. Eleven is optimal.


You're welcome, thanks for accepting. It starts out at a low pressure and gradually increases.

Haven't tried chant meditation. I might give it a try. I'm not sure what kind it is but I usually try the kind where you just try to not think or focus on thoughts that come into your head. Honestly my mind is super active and I'm usually horrible at it, so something like chant meditation might be better.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Reducing the amount of pop I drink is really driving me crazy. It's a major drop in the amount of quick calories I usually have.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

I get that when I quit eating as much sugar. Cutting back on caffeine + that opioid stuff in coffee was driving me crazy today. Then I took a bath and relaxed after a potato meal.

The other kind of meditation I know about is, and actually there are three types and the third I've forgotten, but it's focusing on a specific thing, like you heart, as someone on SAS a while back had suggested. Trying not to focus on a thing doesn't work.

I noticed you before but we hadn't really talked yet. It's cool how we're both foxes!


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Rufus said:


> I get that when I quit eating as much sugar. Cutting back on caffeine + that opioid stuff in coffee was driving me crazy today. Then I took a bath and relaxed after a potato meal.
> 
> The other kind of meditation I know about is, and actually there are three types and the third I've forgotten, but it's focusing on a specific thing, like you heart, as someone on SAS a while back had suggested. Trying not to focus on a thing doesn't work.
> 
> I noticed you before but we hadn't really talked yet. It's cool how we're both foxes!


I'll give it a try focusing on something while I meditate. I know some people recommend focusing on your breath too.

I've seen you around too. Nice to meet another fox :grin2:


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Hap a lot of slip ups. Used having a bad day too much as an excuse to drink pop or eat carryout.

Feeling frustrated about how long this is going to take to get myself down to a healthy weight, but I'll try to keep at it. I know the key is to make gradual lifestyle changes that I can stick with but I feel like I need to work harder to lose weight faster.

1/11
-Avoid or reduce pop intake - *One caffeinated pop and 5 non caffeinated pops*
-Avoid fast food and carryout - *Got fast food twice*
-Eat fruits and vegetables - *Ate kumquats* 
-Use my sleep apnea machine - *(not sure)*
-Take my medications - *took morning*
-Brush my teeth at least twice - *No*
-Shave - *No*
-Exercise - *25 minutes walking in house*
-Go outside - *No*
-Meditation - *No*
-Keep a dream journal - *yes*
-Do chores, if any - *Made important calls*

1/12
-Avoid or reduce pop intake - *Two caffeinated pops*
-Avoid fast food and carryout - *Got carryout*
-Eat fruits and vegetables - *Ate strawberries, green beans, and apples *
-Use my sleep apnea machine - *Yes*
-Take my medications - *Took nighttime*
-Brush my teeth at least twice - *Twice*
-Shave - *Yes*
-Exercise - *1 hour walking. Mostly in house*
-Go outside - *Did part of my walking outside. Shoveled snow *
-Meditation - *Yes*
-Keep a dream journal - *yes*
-Do chores, if any -* Went to counselor and psychiatrist*

1/13
-Avoid or reduce pop intake - *Three caffeinated pops*
-Avoid fast food and carryout - *Had pizza*
-Eat fruits and vegetables - *Apple and strawberries *
-Use my sleep apnea machine -* yes*
-Take my medications - *Yes*
-Brush my teeth at least twice - *Once*
-Shave - *Yes*
-Exercise - *20 minutes walking in house*
-Go outside - *Shoveled snow*
-Meditation - *yes*
-Keep a dream journal - *yes*
-Do chores, if any - *Shoveled snow and took out garbage*


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

I'll give a summary of since I last posted

+Have been walking at least 20 minutes each day
+Have been eating fruit everyday
+Have been taking better care of my teeth
+Have been shaving more regularly
+Have been taking my medications more regularly
+Have been using my sleep apnea machine(cpap) more
+Did go outside more, but some was for shoveling snow
+Have been keeping a dream journal, but I've been forgetting most of my dreams
+Have tried to meditate some.

-Still drinking a ton of pop
-Still eating a ton of fast food and carryout
-Aside from eating the fruit I have been eating mostly bad foods
-Haven't been doing many chores and things I need to get gone. I did do some today

My weight actually went up, but overall I think I've been taking better care of myself. I'll have to step things up


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## someone123 (Jan 12, 2016)

I sit(lay) at home, with my laptop on my lap pretty much everyday, only getting up to eat, going to the bathroom or taking a smoke....I love french fries and pizza etc....

but guess what?

I'm underweight. Always have been. 

Think it has something to do with genetics.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

someone123 said:


> I sit(lay) at home, with my laptop on my lap pretty much everyday, only getting up to eat, going to the bathroom or taking a smoke....I love french fries and pizza etc....
> 
> but guess what?
> 
> ...


Yeah I'm sure genetics plays a part. My mom is very overweight and so was her mom. You should be careful though, because when you get older bad eating habits might start catching up to you.


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## someone123 (Jan 12, 2016)

slyfox said:


> Yeah I'm sure genetics plays a part. My mom is very overweight and so was her mom. You should be careful though, because when you get older bad eating habits might start catching up to you.


Everyone in my family is really thin. Even once they're older. Even my grandmothers look fit.

But honestly, I don't care that much. If anything, I'd actually like to gain some weight. I feel pretty week as I am right now.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Aside from walking at least 20 minutes each day in my house, I haven't been doing too great. I am proud that I'm sticking with the exercise though. For 13 days in a row I've exercised everyday. I've also done better than usual at not missing my medications. 

Tomorrow, I plan to get back to working harder on improving my health. I'll be focusing on the daily goals that are most important for me right now.

-Avoid pop - 
-Avoid fast food and carryout - 
-Eat fruits and vegetables - 
-Use sleep apnea machine -
-Take my medications -
-Brush my teeth - 
-Exercise - 
-Do chores, if any -


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## AlaskanParadise (Jul 15, 2012)

Hope you did good today. Since I committed social suicide I've decided to dedicate 2016 to myself as well. I haven't been able to put the exercise into my life yet (I'm suffering a bit of agoraphobia right now) but I've been doing good with the food. I'm going to check back in on you


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

AlaskanParadise said:


> Hope you did good today. Since I committed social suicide I've decided to dedicate 2016 to myself as well. I haven't been able to put the exercise into my life yet (I'm suffering a bit of agoraphobia right now) but I've been doing good with the food. I'm going to check back in on you


Thanks, and good luck with 2016 as well  I do most of my exercise inside because of social anxiety and the cold weather. It can get really boring though.

-Avoid pop - Did good the first 14 hours but ended up drinking 4 pops later in the day
-Avoid fast food and carryout - no
-Eat fruits and vegetables - no
-Use sleep apnea machine - yes
-Take my medications - Yes
-Brush my teeth - Once
-Exercise - 32 minutes walking in house, 20 minutes walking outside
-Do chores, if any - No


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Aside from exercise have been slacking a bit. Have made sure to walk everyday. Have also done better at avoiding carryout


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## stewartmays1 (Dec 6, 2014)

i have just started to train again and change my diet so far so good tho i know trying to look after one self is no easy thing i say good luck to you for making the effort to change


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

stewartmays1 said:


> i have just started to train again and change my diet so far so good tho i know trying to look after one self is no easy thing i say good luck to you for making the effort to change


Thanks and good luck to you as well  Changing my diet is definitely the hardest


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Still walking everyday. A few days I didn't do much though. Like yesterday I only walked 5 minutes. It wasn't much but I forced myself to so I wouldn't gt nothing done. Also doing better avoiding carryout. I've been working harder on getting chores done as well.


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## TAruba (Dec 11, 2014)

slyfox;1084162017 I am very addicted to pop and regularly drink 6 or more cans a day.
Daily I'm going to try to
-Avoid or reduce pop intake
-Avoid fast food and carryout
-Eat fruits and vegetables
-Use my sleep apnea machine
-Take my medications
-Brush my teeth at least twice
-Shave
-Exercise
-Go outside
-Meditation
-Keep a dream journal
-Do chores said:


> I found an excellent substitute for soda, my Psychiatrist recommended it and surprisingly it helped a ton and it helps with a lot of the struggles you may be having. Try Water Kefir!
> 
> http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-frequently-asked-questions-faq
> 
> ...


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

TAruba said:


> I found an excellent substitute for soda, my Psychiatrist recommended it and surprisingly it helped a ton and it helps with a lot of the struggles you may be having. Try Water Kefir!
> 
> http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-frequently-asked-questions-faq
> 
> ...


Thanks, but I'll stick to trying with water for now. I'll check out your link though


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Still doing more chores, but I've slowed down some. Have been sticking to a food budget. Have been walking every day but there are some days where I barely got any in. Also have been trying to drink only one caffeinated pop a day. I was doing good on this, but the past two days I allowed myself to have some non caffeinated sodas in addition. 

I need to start taking things more seriously. I'm planning to start walking outside more especially when the weather warms up. It will help me get more walking in, because it is tedious in my house where I don't have much room.


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## Michonne (Feb 2, 2016)

Hi, I don't know you but I read your posts and saw your goals and the progress you've made. I have to say, I think you're doing great and I'm inspired to make a list of my own! Keep it up! Exercise and food/soda are hard to change but I think that you allowing yourself a break is good. I've been working out for about 6 months now, and not drinking soda was the hardest. I did the "drink only one a day" too. Now I have a craving every few weeks and I go ahead and get a soda. Good luck!!


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Michonne said:


> Hi, I don't know you but I read your posts and saw your goals and the progress you've made. I have to say, I think you're doing great and I'm inspired to make a list of my own! Keep it up! Exercise and food/soda are hard to change but I think that you allowing yourself a break is good. I've been working out for about 6 months now, and not drinking soda was the hardest. I did the "drink only one a day" too. Now I have a craving every few weeks and I go ahead and get a soda. Good luck!!


Thanks  You should make your own list. Good luck if you do. Yeah quitting soda is really hard. I'm so used to drinking it while I eat. Meals seem less enjoyable without it. Good job on reducing your soda intake! I'll keep trying myself.


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## AlaskanParadise (Jul 15, 2012)

How has it been going? Two weeks since you posted on this 

I need to do a daily walk outside too. Ugh. I did finally start reading a book. It used to be a daily pleasure of mine but I stopped for a few months because I lost the focus. My mind couldn't quiet enough to do it. So this is a good step.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

AlaskanParadise said:


> How has it been going? Two weeks since you posted on this
> 
> I need to do a daily walk outside too. Ugh. I did finally start reading a book. It used to be a daily pleasure of mine but I stopped for a few months because I lost the focus. My mind couldn't quiet enough to do it. So this is a good step.


My mom passed away about a week ago, so have been really off track. The stress and not eating much has helped me to lose weight though. Was 312 lbs when I weighed myself today. Plan to go walking more when it warms up with my dad and by myself. Tomorrow is supposed to be nearly 50 F so I'll probably take a walk with my dad.

Good luck with the daily walks  I really do need to get back on track myself.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Weighed 310.8 lbs when I weighed myself this morning. Going to try to get back on track of walking everyday. Walked 15 minutes outside today. Also going to try to quit drinking soda again. I was drinking a ton the past couple of weeks.

About to clean my cpap machine so I can try to use it again.


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