Breaking addictions
I am currently trying to cut back on gaming on Xbox 360,Ps 3 and PC and put health and fitness as my number one goal, Eating everything organic juicing ect and exercising for atleast 3hrs a day, I alway start of well for a couple of weeks and end up in a lot of pain, I know your ment to embrace the pain but I've always hated pain how do you overcome this.
3 hours a day is very excessive, you will do more harm than good and this isn't coming from a sedentary coach potato. I mainly run, never cared for lifting weights but its agreed that an hour, maybe 90 minutes (that's probably a bit much even) is the best amount of time. Its no wonder you're in pain, you're going way beyond the healthy norm. AND you're coming from a sedentary lifestyle too. Bad idea.
Take it easy, its great that you want to cut back on those habits (which aren't bad at all in moderation!) but there's no reason to torment yourself. What kind of exercise are you doing? The gym, running? Cardio? Regardless, an hour is the absolute max you should do. It doesn't have to be painful at all! You will ache a bit the first weeks and if you're lifting weights and adjusting your reps/weight as you improve then its probably good to feel sore to a degree (I can't relate much here, just did the required lifting in school). Also don't work out every single day, never work the same muscle twice etc. I'm telling you all this because you have very great intentions but you're making the same mistakes a lot of people do when they make a dramatic lifestyle change. They end up pulling a muscle, burning out, feeling weaker etc and think everything is futile and go back to their old ways. Do NOT punish yourself and make it into something that makes you feel agony every day. You should start feeling better, having more energy and other things. I know when I can't go jog I feel like crap.
Also make sure you're stretching or warming up. Drink LOTS of water, its great you're juicing, which I assume means you're using a juicer with raw fruits etc. Do NOT drink store brought juice or really anything, unless you make it. Despite what the labels say all those juices you see at the store are the worst, just like soda. Its natural you're going to want to replace lost electrolytes after a work out, which is why certain juices are appealing, but try to drink as much water as you can. You might want to look into omega-3 supplements too, they aren't steroids or anything, of the sort but the large majority of diets are very lacking in this and its easier to take a supplement for it, especially if you hate eating fish. Its easy enough to get omega-6 but balance between the two is very lacking for most people and this could help you with energy. Supplements come in the form of gel tablets or little packets you squirt out. Not terribly expensive for a 90 day supply. Again you don't NEED to do this, just recommending little things that might help your overall wellness.
No one says you have to embrace pain. You're not trying to be a professional boxer or anything are you? Being active should make you feel good, it shouldn't be a necessary evil you have to do. Maybe try taking some hobbies that take you outside, like gardening or maybe get into interior decorating. Something where you move around.
Best of luck to you!
_________________
Warning:This poster likes to make long-winded replies and go on off-topic tangents.
Focus on the change, focus on the results and tell yourself that you are making positive changes to yourself by doing this. 3 hours is far too long to be working out, you might want to check out a few off the articles on here.
http://www.rosstraining.com
You have to find something that's more fun than video games. For me, it was ice skating (I'm now into figure skating specifically, yay) and weightlifting. Not bodybuilding, just lifting for strength alone. I specifically really like Olympic style weightlifting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUl7UqbL3uc That's OL lifting. It's REALLY fun. I mean, skating is more fun, but it's much more fun than staring at yourself in the mirror doing bicep curls waiting to wake up in the morning with muscles. As far as it building muscle, yeah, it does, lots of leg muscle and back and core muscles are built doing those lifts and the assistance lifts (squats, deadlifts, overhead presses.) To me personally, it looks more natural than the bodybuilding ideal of physique. Anyway, my advertisement for OL lifting is done now.
Anyway, I think what I can recommend is again, something more fun than video games. You have to find a sport or activity you actually like doing, and then do it. If you like hiking, take up hiking. But the point is, the exercise you're doing you must actually like. Or you won't do it. Why won't you do it? Because you're already not doing it. Why aren't you not doing it? Because it doesn't help you do anything you're currently doing, which is, as you said, video games and PC. Like for me, I actually had about zero interest in weightlifting on the whole (partially due to confusing weightlifting and bodybuilding) but I started weightlifting to help skating, and it turned into it's own thing. For ice skating, though, I started it simply because it was fun. It was just one of those strange things where I said "Hey, let's try this out" (I had skated a bit as a kid, but not much) and I kept coming back.
I started at 215lbs, and with ice skating, and a bit of punching bag work on the side, and some dieting, I went from 215 to 180 in my first four months of doing it. It's all about finding something positive to replace things that are being negative in your life. For me personally, I still play video games occasionally, and I do go online (spend much too much time online,) but if I was offered the choice of "You can go ice skating, or you can play Fallout 3" I'd pick the ice skating every time. Just because I enjoy it that much. Pick any activity, no matter how absurd it seems. If people told me a year and a half ago I was gonna figure skate, I'd laugh at them. Wanna be like...a rock climber? Go for it. Look up what you need to get started, and just worry about getting started as cheaply and easily as possible, and go from there. But I'd say you do have to do a specific sport/activity. Vague goals lead to vague results.
(As far as equipment, definitely go used on most things, the price savings are remarkable. My newest pair of skates was $150 used, but they're $700+ brand new. Used equipment for sports usually isn't that expensive, and then as far as pricing, it's probably about the same money as you're spending on video games. )
And like video games, it never all just comes. Everything takes time. Sports are good in that they provide you "levels" of sorts to reach. You set reasonable goals, and try to attain them. You just gotta keep doing it until you reach your goals, and then after you break one goal, you aim for another, and you do this pretty much regardless of the amount of time it takes. Like video games, you'll get stuck, things will be hard, but you'll get through it eventually if you keep trying. BTW, part of the reason I like weightlifting is it's very easy to quantify your progress, either you've lifted the weight or you haven't, and adding extra weight is sorta like the next level, if you would.
But yeah, for any addiction, basically the easiest way to fight them is to fill the void with something good instead of the negative thing that was there before. Like all things in life, there's gonna be times you gotta do other things, and there's gonna be times where you'll gonna flat out fail, and even times you'll be burnt out, but for that, the answer is, if you want it, you get back on the horse. For me personally, 3 weeks of vacation with my family eating fast food made me miserable and I put on like 10lbs. Things like that'll happen, and there's not much you can do about it as it's happening, but you just have to not give up.
That's about all my advice though, good luck.
http://www.rosstraining.com
Thanks Wolfheart , You alway's give great advice, We all appreciate it mate.
Anyway, I think what I can recommend is again, something more fun than video games. You have to find a sport or activity you actually like doing, and then do it. If you like hiking, take up hiking. But the point is, the exercise you're doing you must actually like. Or you won't do it. Why won't you do it? Because you're already not doing it. Why aren't you not doing it? Because it doesn't help you do anything you're currently doing, which is, as you said, video games and PC. Like for me, I actually had about zero interest in weightlifting on the whole (partially due to confusing weightlifting and bodybuilding) but I started weightlifting to help skating, and it turned into it's own thing. For ice skating, though, I started it simply because it was fun. It was just one of those strange things where I said "Hey, let's try this out" (I had skated a bit as a kid, but not much) and I kept coming back.
I started at 215lbs, and with ice skating, and a bit of punching bag work on the side, and some dieting, I went from 215 to 180 in my first four months of doing it. It's all about finding something positive to replace things that are being negative in your life. For me personally, I still play video games occasionally, and I do go online (spend much too much time online,) but if I was offered the choice of "You can go ice skating, or you can play Fallout 3" I'd pick the ice skating every time. Just because I enjoy it that much. Pick any activity, no matter how absurd it seems. If people told me a year and a half ago I was gonna figure skate, I'd laugh at them. Wanna be like...a rock climber? Go for it. Look up what you need to get started, and just worry about getting started as cheaply and easily as possible, and go from there. But I'd say you do have to do a specific sport/activity. Vague goals lead to vague results.
(As far as equipment, definitely go used on most things, the price savings are remarkable. My newest pair of skates was $150 used, but they're $700+ brand new. Used equipment for sports usually isn't that expensive, and then as far as pricing, it's probably about the same money as you're spending on video games. )
And like video games, it never all just comes. Everything takes time. Sports are good in that they provide you "levels" of sorts to reach. You set reasonable goals, and try to attain them. You just gotta keep doing it until you reach your goals, and then after you break one goal, you aim for another, and you do this pretty much regardless of the amount of time it takes. Like video games, you'll get stuck, things will be hard, but you'll get through it eventually if you keep trying. BTW, part of the reason I like weightlifting is it's very easy to quantify your progress, either you've lifted the weight or you haven't, and adding extra weight is sorta like the next level, if you would.
But yeah, for any addiction, basically the easiest way to fight them is to fill the void with something good instead of the negative thing that was there before. Like all things in life, there's gonna be times you gotta do other things, and there's gonna be times where you'll gonna flat out fail, and even times you'll be burnt out, but for that, the answer is, if you want it, you get back on the horse. For me personally, 3 weeks of vacation with my family eating fast food made me miserable and I put on like 10lbs. Things like that'll happen, and there's not much you can do about it as it's happening, but you just have to not give up.
That's about all my advice though, good luck.
I do love travelling,camping,fishing,kayaking,4wding and boating so I go on my madventures



Just an FYI, I am no expert but have read books. If you want good abs you should work on your diet, don't just go do a bunch of abdominal exercises. In some cases if you do this it will cause the abs underneath your stomach fat to grow out and make you think your waist is getting bigger. Also I hear crunches/situps are bad in the longrun for your back but anything is good. If abs are your concern I would just focus on eating very healthy and being healthy in general. A very raw diet is excellent and countless books about gaining abs preach this over and over.
Don't bother with 'roids unless you're trying to compete in some contest or are obsessed with getting "swole" as some males call it. I think its gross looking myself.
No reason to ever go beyond this either. If it gets too easy pump up the intensity, weight, reps etc.
Knifes post is fully of great insight too. I think it really helps that games are getting worse now and I feel like I've played everything worth while already. I do gardening, jog, paint and most of my gaming interest nowadays manifests itself in pen and paper or tabletop. If you can ever get really obsessed with a hobby that gets you outside and having fun then you'll live a long good life. My grandfather gardened every day until his death, he was in great health for his age and looked good too.
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