What exercise should I do to help heal myself after not exercising for so long?

I'm about 25 pounds overweight due to my diet and the medications.  I haven't been to the gym in many years mainly because it seemed like I would get a cold after working out at the gym within a week or two and it would happen over and over again.  I have a feeling that if I do not exercise though, I will never overcome my insomnia and never be able to come off psych meds.  What would you recommend for someone who is very out of shape now but wants to get into decent enough shape to come off psych meds?

HI  I just started putting one foot in front of the other, outside in the sun. I made myself do it every day. I now hike 25 miles a week, give or take. It's the number one thing I do for my mental and physical health. Good luck! 

Well I personally hate gyms,and I'm not surprised you got sick going to them.

I also just don't like working out in front of people.

I have a recumbent bike that is great because it is comfortable enough to watch tv or even read while using it.

I also use some videos and a balance ball. If you do choose a video,my suggestion is to get one where people aren't going to be

yelling at you,lol. I like Denise Austin.

I consider myself in really good shape right now with a body percentage around 10 right now, so I know what I'm talking about. 

 

Losing weight is an all around process (diet, workout, sleep). 

 

The very first tool to buy before starting a diet is a good food scale.  Look at the reviews on Amazon before picking one. Weigh everything you eat, including recipes you make.  To weigh recipes, weigh each individual ingredient before cooking it, then weigh the done weight of the entire recipe.  Add up your total calories for all the ingredients then divide that number by the number of grams you weighed.  That will give you how many calories per gram in each recipe.  Focus on eating a variety of foods and not excluding anything from your diet (minus whatever you might be intolerant or allergic to). 

 

I'd also suggest buying a calories tracking device that will show you approximately how many calories you're burning everyday.  I have the bodymedia, as it's the most accurate, but JawBone is coming out with Up3 soon which will be just as good if not better.  Now once you know how many calories you're burning with a device, eat 700 calories below that 6 days a week.  On the 7th day of the week, eat at maintenance level which is the exact number you burned that day.  Then once a month on that 7th day, instead of eating maintenance, eat 700 calories above what you burned.  This should prevent your metabolism from dropping during your weight loss (also known as cheat days).

 

Diet and tracking is the most important aspect, as you can lose weight with just those however, putting on muscle mass will not only make you look much better, it will increase your calorie burning ability.  If you're really out of shape, I'd suggest starting with something simple like walking outside for 20 to 30 minutes every other day for the first week and some dumbell work.

 

Your first week could look something like this:

 

Monday - Walk for 20 minutes outside

Tuesday - Work chest and back muscles

Wednesday - Walk for 25 minutes outside

Thursday -  Work arms and shoulders muscle

Friday - Walk for 30 minutes outside

Saturday - Do Yoga

Sunday - Rest

 

Increase your minutes by 10 to 15 minutes every week and after week two, throw out the Wednesday walk and instead work the legs muscles with resistance exercises.

 

You could invest in an adjustable dumbell set which will allow you to use weights at home instead of a gym.  There's a really nice set on walmart's website for $299.  You could also invest in a pull up bar for your doorway like the Iron Gym.  I would normally suggest P90x for an at home program, as it works, it's what I use, but if you're really out of shape, it would probably be too hard for you.  You could set a goal to work up to it however.

 

Hope this helps a bit.  Remember to warm up for a few minutes before stretching, and remember to stretch the parts of the body you'll be working out before exercising those parts of your body.  I'd suggest weighing in once a week and also measuring your stomach to chart your progress or lack thereof.  I also use calipers and a bioimpedance monitor.  I'll measure my waist, my kneck, and use the online Army body fast calculator (google it) to get my bodyfat percentage that way, then I'll average the 3 measurements (calipers, bioimpedance, and tape) to get an accurate number and record that for bodyfat percentage.

 

Good luck 

 

And just a quick warning:  Something to be careful of in withdrawal is weight training.  In my case anyway, it revved up withdrawal symptoms and increased insomnia.  If you have trouble with weight training like me (increased symptoms) walking is relaxing on the system.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm about 25 pounds overweight due to my diet and the medications.  I haven't been to the gym in many years mainly because it seemed like I would get a cold after working out at the gym within a week or two and it would happen over and over again.  I have a feeling that if I do not exercise though, I will never overcome my insomnia and never be able to come off psych meds.  What would you recommend for someone who is very out of shape now but wants to get into decent enough shape to come off psych meds?

 

I would say, try and eat whole foods, no processed stuff. Buy fruit etc for snacks. I wash it when I come home and put it littlr containers right away so I can grab that when I had the munchies. Some pita chips or whatever when I didn't want anything sweet.

And drink enough water, too.

 

Then, I started walking. First just on my drive way ( that was when things were really rough) and then maybe halfway around the block. I just added some each time and now walk around the lake some days,mwhich is a lot for me.

 

Just take it easy on yourself. You'll get there again.  I don't know how " bad" it is but I started slow and feel like too much at once wojld rev me up. So that worked for me.

I don't even call it excercises at this point but it does help.

 

I also sometimes do an extra round of my stairs when I have to walk downstairs to do laundry in the garage. Just walking them twice. That's how I started.

 

Good luck. If it's been a while, just put one in front of the other, like Ingrid says... Once you start you'll get farther each time.

Hi Mr LifeinChaos,

 

25pounds overweight isnt realy bad at all . if you lived in texas , you would look anorexic since texas is the heavyest state in america  ! 

 

I started exercising with just walking back in 9/2014 when i was quitting xanax. i felt really depressed at the time even suicidal since feeling suicidal is what made me finally quit . back then i came to benzobuddies frequently i heard so much about exercise from folks here that it helped them so much so i had a treadmill that i didnt use and i started using it lightly . i remember i started by walking a half a mile i was like WOW i felt hours of relief from acute withdrawal . if you dont have a treadmill try wakling around the block 1 or 2 times ? or you can walk inside your home room to room for 10 minutes minimum . over time of exercising i was able to increase my speed and distance ,  now in the early eary mornings i run outside for 30 minutes i prefer running outside now since in the past i had anxiety being outside since i have a feud withe several neighbors .

i activate doing alot of physical chores . i like to wash dishes by hand that takes an hour or more . i feel like wow sometimes feling relief from just standing on my feet a long time . i clean my house often and handwash each of my family's and mine vehicles each week . you know that pysical work and exercising really is the key for me quitting xanax successfully so plesae try it you dont have to do no jack Lalane workout or anything just pace yourself i Promise that you'll feel like a million bucks after you exercise !

 

another tip Mr. LifeinChaos, i saw your signature about you want help to quit klonopin , i go to a state funded (free) mental health clinic called MHMR once a month. the only benzo that clinic has is clonzapam , generic klonopin . maybe if you go here they can help you taper more try this go on google type MHMR and your county name to get an address & phone # . if theres none in your state look at department of health & human services mental health . the psychiatrist i see at mhmr is quite good he has over 40 years expereince so even though theyre free clinics theyre still a good place to visit .

 

you can try talking to a pharmacist about tapering but um there might be an issue  in getting your benefits if you taper off klonopin if your getting SSI disability . you can just talk to a pharmasist that you dont buy your meds at for advice so none of that goes on your health record .

 

im sorry about this long letter . i feel good in giving advice to folks here i feel blessed that i found advice here in quitting xanax 8 1/2 months ago so i want to give back .

god bless you,

Katie (babyangel)

Restorative yoga and light walking.