Thursday, May 16, 2019

10 Must-Follow Safety Rules for Walkers

A daily stroll is a simple way to turn up your metabolism and burn calories without going to a gym. A 30-minute walk at a modest 3.5 mph pace can work off up to 160 calories (for a 140-pound woman). If you don’t have a pedometer to help you determine if you’re at a going calorie-burning pace, just think about how fast you’d walk if you were late for appointment. Or try talking–you should be able to answer a question, but not hold a conversation.

Walking for exercise is just about as risk-free as you can get, but there are still a few safety precautions you can take. Remember these safety rules for walkers whenever you head out to hit the pavement:

1. Keep your head up. You need to be aware of obstacles in your path, but that doesn’t mean you should be looking at your feet. Instead, raise your chin up and look about 10 feet ahead of you. Your peripheral vision can still see the sidewalk, but you will be better able to anticipate and react to anything in your path. Plus, holding your head up makes breathing easier and helps you maintain good posture.

10 Reasons to Go For a Walk Today

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2. Be aware of pain. Walking should tire you out and maybe leave you a little sore when you start a regular program. But any kind of pain in your joints, chest, or head pain is a serious concern that should be shared with your family doctor as soon as possible.

3. Face the traffic. If your routes do not have sidewalks or other pathways separate from the road, walk so you can see vehicles coming at you, advises the Centers for Disease Control in its walking safety guidelines.

4. Dress to be seen. Wear reflective clothing or bright colors like shocking-pink or brilliant orange so that you will be noticed. Many brands of walking shoes have reflective material on them, but if yours doesn’t, you can put on a reflective belt or vest over your clothing. No reflective gear and your clothes are dark? Keep a white T-shirt handy, suggests the University of Illinois Wellness Center, and just slip on over your outfit while you walk.

5 Fitness Myths That Will Blow Your Mind

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5. Walk defensively. Pretend you are invisible and assume drivers don’t see you. Before you cross a street in front of a car, make eye contact with drivers in stopped vehicles to confirm that they’ve noticed you, recommends the AAA Auto Club.

6. Steer clear. Avoid potential problem areas where lots of traffic is coming and going and other distractions can keep drivers from noticing you. Entrances and exits of busy parking lots are particularly troublesome spots.

7. Listen for cues. Music and podcasts can help keep you moving, but they can also prevent you from hearing people, bikes, and vehicles approaching you, exposing you to last-minute collisions. If you really want to listen as you go, turn the volume down so you can hear your fingers snap or use only one earbud.

How to Train to Walk Your First 5K

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8. Carry ID. Bring along an expired driver’s license or some other form of identification so if you are injured or otherwise incapacitated, your emergency contacts can be reached. AAA also suggests setting up an ICE (“in case of emergency”) contact in your mobile phone, so your family can be reached quickly, if needed.

9. Prepare for self-defense. Of course, learning martial arts will help you feel safe, but carrying a noisemaker, such as a whistle or small air horn, can attract attention in a time of trouble and often will scare off potential assailants who prefer to work silently. If you want more direct protection, get a can of pepper spray and practice using it so you’ll be prepared if you need to spray it.

10. Bring a partner. Not only will you be safer with a companion, the miles will pass faster as you spend time with a friend or family member. If you don’t have a partner (or your companion is a dog), let someone know when and where you walk so you are missed if you don’t return promptly.

The post 10 Must-Follow Safety Rules for Walkers appeared first on The Leaf.



from The Leaf http://bit.ly/2WVcQSg

Five Million Steps!!

Hi all,

I began my weight loss journey in April of 2016 and the Lose It sub reddit played a central role in supporting me and my efforts!

By May of 2017, 13 months into my weightloss journey, I was ready to start walking. I was down nearly 200 lbs and weighed about 330 lbs at that time... the weightloss to that point was all about cutting my calorie intake!

Now I was mentally and physically ready to start walking every day... my original goal was one mile at one stretch!

It was an amazing feeling to accomplish that, when I started my journey I was barely mobile, and had difficulty just standing! Now I had walked a mile! Woohoo!

As I persisted and pushed myself, I walked every day, and little more each week. I walked longer routes finding places I could rest as needed.

I found a great 3 mile route with several benches and bus stops along the way.

I set a goal to walk the entire 3 miles without resting. I would do a mile, rest, repeat... when I was comfortable I would push that first mile more and more until I would walk with just one break! PROGRESS!!!

I was on my way to my goal to walk the entire 3 miles without a break. I pushed myself more and more, walking further and further before taking that break...

I walked everyday, I kept losing weight and by the end of the summer I was walking my 3 mile route without a break and more, I was pushing myself. I added more distance and walk now walking 4 miles. Persistence and Consistency were paying off!

A few times, near the end of summer, people at the grocery store or in the neighborhood would mention they had seen me out several times and I was looking good! That was amazing...

Five Million Steps! That is what I took in the last year, from May 2018 through April 2019...

In May 2017 I started from zero, and one year later walking every day, 6 miles or more, some days 8 or 10 or 12 miles.

Today, to celebrate my Five Million Steps I am participating in an American Heart Association walk after work!

Life is Beautiful and this community is awesome!

Thanks for reading and being here!

#KeepGoing

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/30mUmwj

Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Thursday, 16 May 2019? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

Welcome to r/Loseit!

So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

Why you’re overweight

Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

Before You Start

The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

Tracking

Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

Creating Your Deficit

How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

Exercise

Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

Crawl, Walk, Run

It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

Acceptance

You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

Additional resources

Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2VHGU7C

Disabled, need advice to lose a few

Hi all. So I'll try to make this short. I'm 35 and I have about 30 lbs to lose. I can move my entire body still, but some days are rough. Before getting sick, I used to run a few miles each day and one of my proudest achievements in anything physical was running a full marathon. Running used to be my escape. Now, just walking a few blocks will leave me breathless. My doc has authorized me to do light cardio. Sitting down most of the time and not doing anything will make you put on the pounds, no matter what. I have been stable at this weight for years now because my diet doesn't change much. I'm vegan and try to eat healthy, but these days, there is no patience for cooking and well...Oreos are vegan,. So are French fries. So... You get it. Vegan doesn't mean healthy. The microwave is my new bestie. I'm also gluten intolerant (no more Oreos boo).

I'm wondering if any of you shared a similar experience. I know that with extra weight put on, it's extra for my already frail body to carry. It can only cause more issues than anything else now that I've stopped the massive weight loss that first hit me when I first got sick (85 lbs in less than 3 months). Again, I have been stable at 5'7 and 200 for a few years, so my doc isn't too worried about me losing weight. He is worried that I will do what I often do which is to push myself over my limits and to hurt myself.

I was thinking that since I spend most of my days at the PC, it might be a good idea for an exercise that I can do from my chair or from something like a bike with a back that I can lean into and listen to some mucic or watch a movie and exercise for one minute, take a break....do some more.

A nutritionist, going to a gym and getting a trainer are out of the question. I live in the boonies and those are not available around here.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2W4ouxb

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

[Daily Directory] Find your quests for the day here! - Thursday, 16 May 2019

Welcome adventurer! Whether you're new on this quest or are towards the end of your journey there should be something below for you.

Daily journal.

Interested in some side quests?

Community bulletin board!

If you are new to the sub, click here for our posting guidelines


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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Hm0ltC

Feeling proud of myself!

Sorry if this is not allowed here, please delete if its not.

Background: I'm a bigger guy (222.6lb, 5'8) and I've always wanted to loss all the extra fat. A few years ago, I did a diet over the summer that lost me around 10 pounds and people were complimenting me on my changes. Ever since then, I got lazy and slipped back. Since that weight loss, I've been attempting to start a diet, but it's always cut short because I live with my family and there is always temptations that I fall to.

Why I'm proud of myself: I started my diet on Monday (Yes, I know it's short and not impressive), and on back-to-back days, I've been caught with two of my favorite foods. On Monday night, there was a cake and chocolate milk, I was so close to breaking the diet and I enjoying the sweet duo, but I stood tall and refused.

Just a few moments ago, I walked into the kitchen and saw another meal that I would usually break my diet for. It was some fresh soft and crunch buns and spaghetti (My favorite is eating the Sauce and Bread alone, I know it's weird but I love it). I pulled out a plate, poured some tasty savoury spaghetti sauce and was pulling out some fresh buns from the oven, when I had a fight with myself and forced myself to return everything.

I know it's small steps and most of you don't care, but I'm feeling very proud of myself. I haven't really told anyone of my diet, because I usually perform better when people are unaware. Just wanted to share my experience.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2LHoYFl

I've lost 205 pounds, gained 35 and now lost the 6 most satisfying pounds in a long time

Now I have been a regular on loseit it for a couple years now. I help mod the sub and I've help run countless challenges over my time. I've been able to take a ton of weight off and been very fortunate to help hundreds along the way via this reddit. I consider myself a very lucky person for all I have been able to do. But for the first time in a year I am able to admit I've sucked and back tracked.

Its a tough thing to be honest with yourself as I am sure we all already know. I hit my lowest weight and was on top of the world. Then slowly bit by bit for the past year and a bit I began to gain. My life changed a lot. I moved in with my girlfriend to our first home. We have a fairly high household income so we've been able to enjoy life. Travel a bit. Eat out. Cocktails on the deck and plenty of bbqs with friends. We also have recently found out we are expecting a child. So a lot of good has come into my life thanks to my girlfriend. But as we got comfortable and as we enjoyed life the health aspect of my life took a backseat.

Now this was not a complete fucking off of everything. We were still making great choices 75% of the time but the rest was horrible. Tasty, but horrible. I always brushed it off as we went as not a big thing and always thought meh its ok just a few pounds. Though I hit a low of 275 I levelled out around 290 for a bit. Which I was happy and content with. A period of maintenance after 2 years of rigid health felt great. Everything the scale went up a bit I would know that tomorrow was a new day and I would be fine.

Yet as time went on the day never really came and I eventually found myself back up to 325. The awakening came as the pants I was once so proud to purchase were on the verge of needing an upgrade... instead of a downgrade. A very shitty feeling that we all can relate to I am sure.

After a weekend getaway for myself to Toronto recently and attempting to drink the city dry I returned home and finally was ready to get back to work. I have the knowledge and experience to do it so I just had to knuckle down and do it and re commit to the lifestyle I worked so hard for before. I've been rewarded with a nice 6 pound lost as I get to experience the initial woosh once again for the first time in a long time.

I've always maintained that no matter how long you do a weight loss journey you should never stop learning how to do it. Every stage of what I do or you do is a blank canvas and it takes a lot of tinkering to figure it out. My first go round with this was a low carb option which was not keto but close. This worked great for me for 2 years. These past few months I tried the same and it just was not working like before which led to the last few pounds gained. Then it hit me. ThatCanadianGuy88 try something different! So I began to incorporate a bit more carbs into my eating. Staying withing my calorie goal still but just eating new foods. It worked. 6 pounds gone is a small bit in the grand scheme of things but they have been the most satisfying 6 I have lost since the first 6. The struggle of saying no to crappy food and such has gone down dramatically and I am finding my groove once again.

So why am I even writing this? Well I have been used as a beacon that people look to for inspiration. I've got countless messages asking for help or saying thank you for being my inspiration etc over my time. And what I really want everyone to know is no matter who you are and how much you try it is ok to struggle and have hiccups in this journey. That's what this all is at the end of the day. A journey and one that never really ends. We just find new paths in this journey. So if you're out there struggling after X amount of time of success or X amount of pounds lost just know that its normal and its ok. You're not alone. And even those you think crushed it and made it look easy have felt or feel the same way you do.

Don't let those plateaus get you down. Don't let those spells of "off the rails" get you down. Just always remember what you have done so far and remember what you're capable of. We all have it in us to accomplish what needs to be done. We just need to find the best way to do it.

Lastly, remember "You don't have to be good everyday, you just need more good days than bad days."

Heres to the next chapter in my journey and to all of yours.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Ed2FRO