Definitely getting old...

[denny]

...I'm going to join a gym this evening. It's a sad day when you have to acknowledge that your body is going to fall apart rapidly unless you do some maintenance work.

Virgin Active have opened a place within a few hundred yards of my flat, which is close enough that even I can't claim it's not convenient... and I'm starting to think that I could see quite an appreciable improvement in my leg if I did some regular exercise with it. On NYE at TG I noticed that my ability to dance is still slowly coming back, and as dancing is the only exercise it gets at present, I can only presume that a bit more exercise might well help it recover more quickly. It'd be really nice to be able to dance all night again...

Anyway, membership is going to cost me 65 quid a month, so I guess I'd better take it seriously. Anyone want to offer any advice? I'm already aware that I'm going to have to eat more, but help yourselves to any more detailed digs at my diet, I know you want to :) I'm sure there must be other things I haven't even thought of as well.

Oh, and obviously I'll be going over things quite carefully with both the personal trainer they assign me, and the physiotherapist I've been seeing, to try to make sure that I don't do myself an injury with this.

Comments

[belaroo.livejournal.com]

Frozen mixed veggies can be useful. They are nutritionally best cos they are frozen while fresh and with some pasta and a jar of pasta sauce and a bit of chicken or tuna you have a 10 minute fresh home cooked meal with real food.
I know this is morbid; I lost two (one very skinny) fussy eaters who lived on weed, beer and takeaways in Holland both around 40 years old in the last 5 years. Both were down to diet and lifestyle. It does matter and it can be quickly put right.
I wish you all the strength of your new plans to eat and exercise.
How about get a couple of cookbooks - ones with at least a few recipes you don't need to substitute stuff. I hate following recipes, I'm very much a 'bit of this and that cook' but you can't beat them for new ideas.
Real food is just stuff you bring home and cook yourself, it doesn't have to be fancy, and it’s always better than processed stuff. So long as when you read the ingredients they don't take up more than a couple of cm you are more often than not (OK not a bag of sugar) feeding yourself stuff your body will benefit from.
Also avoid hydrogenated fat - it’s a killer, worse than lard or butter, it's in loads of stuff so if you can avoid it, what is left will probably be more healthy. Do you read labels?
Also good for gym goers, especially busy, lazy/tired ones is a trustworthy protein shake. If you get one from a health food shop, like Solgar or livewell (I think) you will find one you can mix with a bit of water and say apple or grape juice. It has vits and minerals plus fibre. A pint of shake when you get home from the gym might just be the thing for you if you are inclined to skip meals. Also you are a bloke, sweating, using muscles and energy, you will need to re-build what you have lost so, if you can stomach a shake or sports drink, they do work. I tend to avoid the ones they market at gyms though; they are high profit, low value.
I've done the London Gym scene as a spin instructor 2001-2003 and have had my own food fitness and nutrition journey. I tend to believe that realistically, if you aren't naturally inclined to a balanced diet and lifestyle, if you want to get into good habits, keep them simple and easy if you want them to last.
Oh yeah, and if you aren't pooing at least once a day, you need to eat more veg and fibre. It's a sluggish digestion that ends up getting alot of people.
That’s my two penneth...
All the best.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Thank you, very helpful indeed.