Movement for my Mental Health

rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Hey everyone!
I decided to start a log to keep me motivated. I am a complete beginner and a fat person. I finished Foundations Light but it took me over 3 months because I was inconsistent. So I hope that the accountability of this thread helps me to be more consistent.
My main motivation is to help my anxiety and my mental health. My mental health is also my biggest challenge to moving regularly.

Here is what I did today:

Walking Challenge Day 1
Back & Core Day 1

I picked these two because I hoped it would help my back pain and help with my walking stamina. Unfortunately it was too difficult for me. I could barely finish the flutter kicks and my calves hurt already after 10 minutes of walking. So I have decided I will do another Level 1 programm, Baseline. Maybe I will also start with 5 Minute walks.

See you (hopefully) tomorrow!
 
beejubilee22

beejubilee22

Member
Valkyrie from Utah
Pronouns: She/Her
Posts: 10
Welcome!! As a fellow fat person fighting to improve my mental health, the things that keep me going is remembering the confidence I get from working out, and remembering that even if all I can do some days is something small like a few calf raises while I brush my teeth, it's still progress and better than if I did nothing that day. Good luck, you got this!
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Thank you everyone for your replies!
@beejubilee22 I checked out your log and felt inspired to also do Unbound as a cool down!

Today I did:

Baseline Day 1
5 minutes of walking outside
Unbound Day 1

Overall I think this is much more doable. Though I feel sillly putting on my shoes for just 5 minutes, I have to accept that this is what my calves can handle. Unbound Move 4 & 5 I also modified because my legs just wouldn't do those positions :D Mentally I felt really great today.

See you tomorrow!
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Completely forgot to post yesterday! I went swimming with my social activities group, so I counted that as my movement for the day. I think we were in the pool for an hour but took breaks, so I did maybe 40 min of swimming.

Today I did:

Universal Warm Up
Baseline Day 4
6 minutes walking outside
Unbound Day 4

Felt good! I increased the Walking minutes by one so I can walk around this one block that takes me pretty much exactly 6 minutes. Otherwise I am not really sure when and how much to increase my walking. In the past all the running/walking plans I tried increased times way too fast for me, so I only know to take it reeeaaally slow.

See you tomorrow!
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
So... the thing happened that always happens. I had a bad day and didn't do any movement. And then I wanted to fix it today but haven't. Now it's too late to do anything because I have to get up early tomorrow.
I am really sad and disappointed, but I knew that it would happen sooner or later. I can't expect a perfect streak from myself. My mood is to unstable for that. What I told myself I would do is to have compassion for myself and not beat myself up further when I am already down. To be honest, I am not doing a great job at that either.
But by writing here today, I am trying to show myself that I am allowed to post even when I didn't do any exercise. That I don't have to be ashamed for missing two days. Everyone has bad days. Tomorrow can be different.
Hope this kind of post is okay. I will try again tomorrow.
 
bloody dunmeri

bloody dunmeri

Well-known member
Spartan from Samara, Russia
Posts: 191
"Pick your guts from the floor (c) Goliath by Architects"
rumei said:
Tomorrow can be different
Click to expand...
tomorrow not only can be different, but it WILL BE different. ups and downs are okay and sometimes we do need a break.
i know how that "bad day + no workouts for x days after" work, too familiar with it myself. pick up where you finished last and go for it. one day at a time!
 
VacTom

VacTom

Well-known member
Barbarian from CZ
Posts: 194
Definitely dont be ashamed for missing a day or two. It happens and it may happen again, but it is perfectly normal. Think of this as tripping over an obstacle on your journey. Are you going to stop and go back because you tripped? No. You are going to get up and continue. You have the strength to do it. I believe in you :staystrong:
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Thank you all so much for your kind messages! This community is really nice and understanding. I wasn't sure whether I should post a "bad day" but it made me feel much better and even more welcome. I hope I can give back some support in the future.
And I did it, I got back to where I left off :)

Today I did:


Universal Warm Up
Baseline Day 6
6 minutes walking
Unbound Day 6 + extra calf stretches

Had no problems with the exercises today. My mood is still not back to how it was last week but I feel very accomplished for finishing the programs today.

See you tomorrow!
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Today went completely different than I planned because I got a phone call that I can be admitted to a partial hospitalization program next Monday. I've been on the waitlist for a while so I was very glad it's finally happening. But it's also a month earlier than I expected, so I spent most of my day canceling all my plans for the next two months, dealing with a bunch of bureaucracy and generally preparing. I completely forgot about getting my movement in until like 8 pm.

Today I did:

Universal Warm Up
Baseline Day 7
Unbound Day 7

It was too cold and snowy for me to get my butt out of the house for a walk. Also, the rep increase from 10 on day 1 to now 20 was a lot on my weak arms! But I got through it somehow.

I'll be pretty busy the next few days and starting next week I'll be doing therapy for like 8 hours a day. So I am not sure if and how I can keep this up, but I want to try at least. There will probably be a break next week as I adjust to partial hospitalization. Overall I think this will be great for my health though!
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Okay now here is the real post.

I have been in partial hospitalisation treatment for my mental health for 6 weeks now and I will be for two more weeks. Going there every weekday is a lot more activity in general than I had for almost a year. I improved a ton mentally, but keeping up exercise lost priority for me. To be fair, we did some group exercise and I took public transport everyday, so technically I walked for around 20 minutes (at least) every day, though not continously. My feet and calves got worse. I am pretty sure my achilles tendon is inflamed again. I have an appointment with an orthopedist in February to hopefully deal with that.

However, treatment will be done soon, and I definetly need to get back into some sort of ritual to move my body. I have decided to drastically lower my standards. I'll set aside an hour in my schedule. My goal for that time is: put on comfy clothes and move for 10 minutes. And if I want I can do more. I will choose what I do based on how I feel that day.

Here's a list of things I could do (in case future me gets overwhelmed):

- get on my exercise bike
- go for a walk
- do some dance videos/ dance without instructions
- Yoga/Stretching
- any Darebee workout
- go swimming

I'll check in regularly to see if this gets me moving again. And if it doesn't, it's ok. I'll try something else.
Thank you for reading my post.
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
I missed a couple of days again but I just did 15 minutes on my bike + some stretching. This week was very busy and difficult emotionally.
I talked to my therapist about my exercise plans today and we agreed that aiming for 3x a week rather than every day is more realistic for me. Also, I am planning in advance what I will do depending on the other stuff I have that day. I know it's not the Darebee way, but I can't manage every day at this point. And anything is better than nothing.
I am also looking into an exercise therapy program, but my insurance might not cover it. Will know more once they call back.

Overall, I am not sure if I should keep posting. It's helping me a bit with accountability and keeping track of my wins, so that's a plus. On the other hand I feel like it might be a bit depressing for others to read since I am currently struggling so much. I am not really on a "fitness journey", more on a "trying to take care of myself as best I can" journey.
 
Ereshkigal

Ereshkigal

Well-known member
Sorceress Posts: 55
rumei said:
I missed a couple of days again but I just did 15 minutes on my bike + some stretching. This week was very busy and difficult emotionally.
I talked to my therapist about my exercise plans today and we agreed that aiming for 3x a week rather than every day is more realistic for me. Also, I am planning in advance what I will do depending on the other stuff I have that day. I know it's not the Darebee way, but I can't manage every day at this point. And anything is better than nothing.
I am also looking into an exercise therapy program, but my insurance might not cover it. Will know more once they call back.

Overall, I am not sure if I should keep posting. It's helping me a bit with accountability and keeping track of my wins, so that's a plus. On the other hand I feel like it might be a bit depressing for others to read since I am currently struggling so much. I am not really on a "fitness journey", more on a "trying to take care of myself as best I can" journey.
Click to expand...
Hi rumei
Talking about a "fitness journey", I managed to hurt myself doing Day 2 of Foundation light... so you're not alone in the "trying to take care of myself as best I can" journey :friend:

Keep posting if it helps, if it makes you feel better, and keep in mind that reading you might make some of us feel less lonely as we can always relate to some of your struggles/wins etc. We're all in this together!
 
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rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Thank you for your replies! Definetly helped me to feel less insecure. I took a bit of time to think about it, and I will try to keep posting.
Even if it's just strangers on the internet, it's good for me to be a part of a community. Posting also is sort of an opportunity to work against my self-deprecating thoughts, because I am valuing my experience enough to tell someone about it. And I always need more accountability :D It's always harder to do something without it for me.

Speaking of wins, I went swimming on Friday :)

My plan for next week is:
- exercise bike on Wednesday
- dance videos on Friday
- walk/hike with lots of breaks in a nearby forest on Sunday

It is also my last week of treatment, and unfortunately I haven't found a therapist yet that I can see after. I might be able to join a therapy group and also do some career coaching, but there's still some hoops to jump through there. So I'll try to prepare as much as possible next week for coping just with support from my social worker for a bit.

As I was writing the last part I am realising how incredibly privileged I am to have so many different options for support that I can access (mostly) for free. I am very grateful for the social system in Germany, even though it has its flaws of course. I wish everyone could have that.
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
I actually have two days to report :worried:

Yesterday I did some very laid back strength training with 2x 20 wall push ups and 2x10 each side of some sort of knee-to-chest core thingy. I think they were supposed to be leg lifts with bent knees but they were too hard for me so I did them one leg at a time. I realised that I have very weak hip flexors, so I'll put some focus on them.

Today I did 5 short "light sweat" songs from The Fitness Marshall (so around 20 minutes of dancing) and it was a ton of fun! I love dancing but it tires out my feet a lot, so I had to take a break in between. Will definetly do more of it though!

It was also my last day of treatment. It was a sad and happy goodbye at the same time. It definetly helped me a lot. The real test will be getting up and leaving the house on Monday :D
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Mamatigerj said:
All the best on the next stage of your journey, Rumei. :flowers:
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Thank you!

Yesterday I was at a LARP event where I was on my feet for around 6 hours so I was very exhausted today. I thought that I would get to take a few more sitting breaks in between and didn't expect to be moving so much. So I just rested on the couch today instead of going for a hike. My feet are still sore but much better than yesterday.
 
rumei

rumei

Member
Druid from Germany
Posts: 22
Today I did 10 minutes on the bike and then some assisted deep squats, bridges and a few calf stretches. I was too distracted to keep track of reps but I decided that I want to document my bodyweight strength stuff better in the future. So that maybe I'll see some progress even while keeping it casual.
I also managed to stick my daily schedule and leave the house today :pose:
 
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