EV Fitness Group

After receiving permission from sweet Losteh, I've been given the "okay" to go ahead and create the official EV Fitness Group!


Welcome to the Equiverse Fitness Group! This group is set up to share tips, celebrate successes, vent about setbacks, and to really discuss anything fitness related!

Rather you are trying to lose a few extra pounds, build muscle, or just stay in shape, you are welcome here.

Group Rules:
1. First and foremost, the EV Fitness Group is a JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE! Shaming/talking down on any player will not be tolerated.
2. Do not share medical advice. If you believe you need to see a doctor, do so. EV is not the place to ask/receive medical tips from.
3. Please keep things PG-13 rated. Remember, we do have younger players on EV and it's important to keep topics clean and safe.


For your first post, I encourage you to give a brief introduction as well as what your fitness goals are (Where you're at and where you ultimately want to be).

My little intro:
hiyaaaa. Well I'm Gaia. Obviously. My fitness background goes back all the way to 2nd grade. I was a competitive swimmer and horseback rider for 15 years. After I graduated high school back in 2009, I stopped competing in both sports.

Fast forward to a few years later, I started to notice my body changing. Cellulite started to appear, my gut started to poke out, and I wasn't happy with myself. I decided to start getting back into shape.

At first, I decided I was going to be a runner. That little dream was short lived. I HATED running. With a passion. Seriously, I couldn't stand it. But then I decided to lifting weights and bulking up.

That's where I am today. I go to the gym 4-5 days a week.

My ultimate goal is to get my NPC card and compete in NPC Bikini competitions. My passion for fitness and health has grown TREMENDOUSLY over the last year. That passion has since turned into a fitness blog as well as slowly working towards getting my Personal Trainer license (which I will do part-time).

My stats:
5'3" tall.
108.5lbs.
18.5% body fat.

My Goal:
115-120lbs.
14-15% body fat.

Is there an actual group page? Cause I can't find a link (maybe I'm dumb).

Anyway... you all know who I am. I was never active for the sake of fitness. Really, I just enjoyed going swimming, running, and riding horses. When I started college, everything just caught up with me and I got some pudge around my middle.

I am presently an inactive BeachBody fitness coach (not to be confused with something like a personal trainer or dietitian). Essentially I am the accountabilibuddy providing emotional support and dietary suggestions (which do come from actual dietitians). I'm the person who gives you the kick in the pants you need to do what you want to do, like go find your Gaia.

I work out every day at the gym. If there's a class going on in the spare room, I use the circuit provided in the facility. If the room is empty, I pop in my 21 Day Fix DVD and get to work for 30 minutes (2x a day on every third week). My weeks basically look like this (2nd workout for 3rd week in parenths):

Monday - Total Body Cardio (Pilates)
Tuesday - Upper Body (Cardio)
Wednesday - Lower Body (10 Minute Abs)
Thursday - Pilates (Total Body Cardio)
Friday - Cardio (Upper Body)
Saturday - Dirty 30 (Pilates)
Sunday - Yoga

My weight has been fluctuating since I'm gaining muscle as I lose the flabby fat, but I have been noticing an improvement. The belly has been going down and all of my muscles are starting to get more defined.

Current Stats:
Height 5'3"
Weight 121.4#
BMI 21.5

Goals:
Weight 105-110#
BMI 18.6-19.5

Nah. Just this :). Figured I'd keep things in the forum, but I can make one if needbe.

Brutal honesty time.

I'm 27. I've been large for most of my life, at least for as long as I can remember. Obesity is on both sides of my family, stemming from some medical issues and just a general lack of healthy eating and exercising habits.

A couple of years ago, at the heaviest I've ever been (365.2), I started noticing heart problems. I could actually feel my heart stop and then beat too hard to compensate. That scared the hell out of me. More than I can ever describe. That's when I said "Girl.. if you don't do something, you aren't going to make it to 30."

I started walking. That sucked. Royally. I was so out of shape that sometimes just getting my whale of a butt dressed wore me out. But I stuck with it and even changed my eating habits. Everything was going pretty well. I even managed to get down to 340.1. And then life decided to throw me a curve ball.

My gallbladder quit. Cue the nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, pain, and lack of desire to do anything; especially eat. At first we, doctor included, thought it was a stomach bug. Antibiotics, anti nausea medication and BRAT diet commenced. For months, I ate practically nothing but toast, mashed potatoes, pasta, basically anything carby and easily digestible. Hello weight gain.

I finally had my gallbladder taken out in an emergency surgery 3 months later. The morning after my surgery, the surgeon came in to check on me and said "If I had sent you home last night, like I wanted to, your gallbladder would have burst over night and you would have died before we could get anyone to you." -lives 45 minutes from nearest hospital- That was a scary thought.

My stomach, still hating me, demanded still easily digestible foods that were carby. Every time I tried to eat more healthfully, I had severe nausea and stomach pains. Finally, everything settled down and it looked like I was going to be able to get back into trying to lose weight again.

And wouldn't you know, life is a jerk and decided I needed more crap to happen. In the last year: Aunt Bobby (my husband's aunt whom I grew very close to) died of cancer. I got bitten by a brown recluse spider on my inner thigh just to the side of my knee and spent 6 months with a very painful, ugly wound, that made it excruciating to walk for very long distances. And most recently, an internal cyst that also caused quite a bit of pain and made it hurt to walk for very long distances.

Not gonna lie. Through all of that, stress eating happened. Cheeseburgers, pizza, fried pickles, cream cheese jalapeno poppers.. all of it. Yes. I stress eat.

Everything has settled now and I'm finally getting back to dieting and exercising. I really don't want to. But I know I need to. Turns out I'm a Type 2 diabetic. My A1Cs started at 7.7% and I'm down to 7.1%. I'm getting there. Also turns out that I have hypothyroidism and I've been placed on medication for that as well. Not to mention my hormonal imbalance that may cause me to have a full hysterectomy if my Ob/Gyn and I can't get things straightened out.

So here goes, and here's hoping I have no more medical interruptions that make life a living nightmare.

Currently::
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 350.0

Goals::
Short-term: 340
Long-term: 299
Ultimate: 150

ETA:: PS - If anyone dying of curiosity wants to know more about that spider bite (you wouldn't believe how many people ask to see), you can message me. I'll give you the full story complete with pictures. It's gross, I promise.

Last edited on 2016-03-29 at 11:45:05 by Mouse

Mouse,

First of all, thank you for sharing your story!

It sounds like you've been through so much! I know how the gallbladder feels, as I was sick for 9 months before my doctor realized it was my gallbladder (only working 10%). They said had I waited much longer, it would've turned gang-green. My issue afterwards was dairy and anything greasy :/. It took me a good year before I could finally eat most foods. I still can't eat dairy though.

Brown recluse bites are a nightmare! We had a friend who was putting on his boots and there was one in there and it bit his foot twice. Ultimately, he ended up losing his food D: I'm hoping you've fully recovered from that though!!!

Take it one day at a time. Set small, but reachable goals for yourself. Treat each pound loss as a victory, because it is!

Hi all, I'm Losteh! (duh)

So I've always been chubby, but narrow, so looking in the mirror I can't see much difference between my heaviest and lightest. My pants let me know that the difference does exist, however. Almost 3 1/2 years ago, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) which was awful for me but great for my metabolism - I hit college food hard and it did not hit back. However I quickly discovered I was allergic to the medication needed to treat it and decided to get RAI and change to hypothyroidism. That's where my weight issues REALLY began.

In the few weeks between the treatment and being able to start medication, I gained over 60 pounds and 4-5 pants sizes (~160, size 13 -> ~220, size 18). A few months later I got a job at a gas station that doesn't do breaks, so I was working nearly full time and rarely eating while there, so I lost quite a bit of weight. At my smallest, I hit 11/12 in Maurices pants, but I've yo-yoed and been every size in between.

Fast forward to today, I'm back around 16-18 in pants and I'm not as comfortable with my body as I was. I'm really starting to notice where I'm getting bigger (tummy, thighs, booty. Not even good booty or thighs, flabby booty and thighs. Sad.) and I want to change it. My biggest motivation is getting back into all the pants that I already own so I don't have to buy an entirely new warddrobe yet again.

Currently I'm not as worried about the weight as I am the size, but if it goes away I won't say no. I'm definitely looking for a buddy so we can hold each other accountable so if anyone needs one I'm your gal.

Currently:
Height: 5'5"
Weight: ~205 (I don't have a very accurate scale at home)

Goals:
Weight: 150-160
Pants: My size large jeggings that are sitting in my closet, sadly unworn lol

Sidenote: I've also had my gallbladder removed (my dads did turn gangrene, nasty stuff). Should have motivated me to stay away from greasy foods but in college, when your only choices are a burger place, overpriced tasteless crap/baked good, and pizza, it's hard.

Alright. Got on my treadmill for a solid 8 minutes at 1.2mph. Yes. I am very out of shape. My hips and backside and legs and lungs and shoulders and back and everything... It hurts. That sucked. Gonna do it again later tonight anyway. -passes out on floor-

YAY mouse!!! Good job on the treadmill! :)


Anywhos....

I'm Kimtia. I'm a sweet addict. I love sugar! Cookies, Brownies, and Ice Cappichinos ( Tim Horton's Dx) Galore. I'm also slightly addicted to potato chips. You can never have just one! Dx

I've never been super fat, my highest was a few years back when I was 224 lbs. Knees were hurting, back were hurting, hips were hurting and riding wasn't all that easy. I decided to try and loose some weight to better my riding, and I got down to 185lbs. It was awesome. My knees/back/hips all stopped hurting, but then cue wedding and buying a house stress...

I'm at about 210-215 lbs atm and want to loose it again. I have stop riding due to finances, so that cuts out a huge weekly calorie burn. :( I bought a pair of roller blades about 2 years ago, and I absolutely love them. It's not as bad for my knees/back as running is, but I still get the runners high. But it's harder to do with the weather (ie. no snow/rain).

I've started dragging my mother on weekly Sunday walks. Every Sunday at 8am we go for a walk. Sometimes with the dogs, sometimes without. Okay.. it was only once without the dogs and that was because the park didn't allow dogs, but the park has REALLLLLY cool boardwalks through the woods... xD In a weird round about way we're "training" for a 5k run/walk (The bubble run).


So... Right now...

I'm 5'9" and weighing 215lbs.

The goals....

~ Run/jog a mile straight without stopping
~ "Run" a 5k in less then an hour
~ Loose about 40-50lbs
~ Bulk up in muscle if not weight loss
~ Get the joints to stop hurting :'(
~ MORE WATERRRRRRR ♥


What am I doing to achieve the goals?
About a month ago I started dragging my mother on weekly Sunday walks. Two days ago I started tracking my food intake. Not necessarily to cut calories, more of a diary of intake, although it IS set for me to have a calorie deficient. (myfitnesspal) I also wear a fitbit Charge HR that I love to pieces. I bought it because a regular cheap podometer kept resetting when I'm at work and I was interested in how many steps I put on. I was also interested in seeing how my HR changes throughout a day.

What do I still need to add?
I still need to decrease the amount of refined sugar I eat, possibly even break my Ice Capp addiction. I need to eat more veggies and more fruit, as well as less meat and snacks. I also need to start exercising more then just my weekly walk and work, because work shouldn't count! lol

Last edited on 2016-03-29 at 15:54:03 by kimtia

Way to go, Mouse!!! That's the way to do it. Anything is better than nothing!

Lol thanks, guys.

Omg, Kimtia. I'm the same way. I love carbs. Pasta, bread, hot rolls, biscuits, garlic bread, pancakes, french toast, crepes, brownies, cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, waffles, donuts, fritters, Tiramisu, Cannolis, funnel cake, corn bread, hush puppies, bread pudding, cheesecakes, Baklava... yeah. All of that. None of which I should be eating except for occasionally and in small amounts. Doesn't stop me from wanting it though.

Anyway, good luck with cutting those things down/out!

Find a fruit you like and stock up! My mom decided to "eat healthy" (aka she bought healthy food that no one eats) but she got green apples so I decided to slice them and dip them in peanut butter, and that alone has helped me feel like I don't NEED as much processed sugar..I will still eat it when I want, but the craving is for green apples and pb instead of junk.

I also quit pop (I'm working on cutting it completely out, but I don't crave it anymore) and have replaced it with more sports drinks, juices (I'm not a big juice fan, so some of that's forced) and sweet tea. I drink so much sweet tea I can't believe I don't bleed tea. My recommendation for drinking less of whatever is find something you like a lot and a few things that you like fine that are better than whatever you're quitting and have them around. Whenever you feel a craving for the thing you're quitting just tell yourself no and drink something similar if you have too..I liked the bubbly taste of pop, so I bought grape juice because it's kind of sharp on the palette too. There are also tons of juices from companies like V8 that will get any flavor you want.

After a while the craving will go away, trust me. I spent the first few days nearly crying and saying how much I missed pop, but now some of my old faves don't even really appeal to me anymore. I'm working on cutting it out completely but I'm way better than I was.

Next is drinking more water..I had an app called Water Drink Reminder but I was just "snoozing" the notifications when it asked if I'd drank any. I'm hoping to drink more though, so I might start leaving bottles in the fridge. If it's easily accessible, I think you're a lot more likely to drink it than if you have to prepare a glass.

Good luck everyone!!

Cast's Intro!

I am 25 years old and up until high school, I was tiny... then I moved to Georgia and if anyone knows the south they know they cook very good, very fattening meals (we'r talking dollops of mayonnaise in the mashed taters lol)and it is rude not to have AT LEAST to plates of food... "Can't have anyone thinking you didn't like it now can we, sugar?" LOL
Anyways.. that went on for about 2 years until I moved back to California to live with my mom... who cooks chicken and fish and rice type stuff... salad with every meal.. that sort of thing. While in Georgia, I became the heaviest I have ever been... Almost 200 pounds. With my mom helping, we cut back on how much I ate and I began dancing again, an hour, five days a week. By the time I graduated high school I was down to 140 pounds.. though looking back, I still thought i was fat...

Wouldn't it be nice if we could be as "fat" as we were when we "thought" we were fat??

All was well until I received the Implanon... an implanted hormone bc. Man oh man.. I gained 30-40 pounds in less than 3 months. I was devastated. I had worked so hard and then, out of the blue I was back to where I started... I had changed nothing and still gained weight AND IT WOULDN'T COME OFF!

Its been about 7 years since I had the implant removed and here I am. Sick and tired of looking at myself in the mirror and not liking what I see.
I suffered a bad fall from my draft horse two years ago and am just now going to the doctors to get my back and shoulders looked at. I am in Physical Therapy for that and my awful knees currently.. I just want to not feel broken LOL

Currently:
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 176 pounds

Goals:
Weight: 150
I want to feel healthy and be proud of myself and my body when I look in the mirror. I want to be able to do whatever I want without being winded within the first 5 minutes.

**Also, my Husband and I are talking kids in the next year or two... I want my body to be in much better shape so it can handle the pregnancy safely.**

Heyo everybody I'm Riverrrrr. I never was involved in sports as a child, but I spent a lot of time running around outside at our family's cottage (climbing the ravine there, going up in trees, and messing around on the beach and all that) so I was relatively active. We never had videogames and such so my amusement came from things like that, in part. I was always skinny just because . . . I always had been. At one time I was super into archery too and I even beat my brother arm wrestling.

Anyway, around middle school or so I stopped doing those running around playing outdoors child things, and I remained small but I wasn't particularly fit. I could do gym class things but running the mile was a challenge. Anyhow after that I got into high school and after my first year of hating gym class (that swim unit was eww) I had the option to complete gym online during the summer instead, to fulfill the requirement before the school year. It sounds strange, but basically it consisted of initial fitness testing on site, then online courses about fitness overall, then recording of physical activity (heart rate etc) every week, then a final fitness testing at the end of the course.

I did that for two summers, to cover the two years I had a gym class requirement. Doing that course actually gave me some useful knowledge that I can still apply now, but I don't think I realized then.

Then after that, college. Focusing on academics entirely, I didn't do fitness stuff at all. I didn't play sports (never have) or anything. I walked places for transportation but that was about it. I was thin but not in shape. Then in fall of my senior year I studied abroad in London. I had to walk EVERYWHERE basically just to get groceries and get to class and get to the underground station and all that, and I began to see some benefits from it. I came back from London feeling I should do something else. I had little time but I decided to take up regular stretching. It helped me relax and that was cool but it wasn't helping tons.

So forward some more. I started doing freelance web and graphic design after graduating college (among other things like applying for jobs, online learning, etc . . . Eugh), and I realized I was very, very sedentary. I hated it and how it made me feel. Sometimes I was super stressed from work so I needed an outlet to relieve that too. I was a HUGE Tom Hiddleston fan and still am, and he is very into running, so I got inspired by his enthusiasm for it to take it up. I wasn't super good but I started and got better.

I liked it but I couldn't run every day especially in winter with ice, and in spring/summer sometimes allergies bring on some subtle asthma, so I looked around for something else I could also do and settled upon yoga. I downloaded an app and started using it and LOVED it. I felt so great and less stressed and not physically so tight in the muscles from all that sitting. After a while I noticed some definite muscle gain too, and some nice toning.

Overall I just want to continue to increase my fitness and really make being healthy something that I take time for. I don't want to be simply thin - I want to be stronger and more capable and have more endurance and speed when I run, and more staying power and flexibility in my yoga practice. I am keeping up with running and yoga and do some free weight lifting when those bore me, but I want to increase what I am capable of doing.

Currently . . .
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 117
BMI: 18.9
Running a mile in: 9 minutes
Best yoga level: intermediate

Hopefully . . .
Maintain weight (or gain from muscle)
Run a mile in: 5 minutes
Best yoga level: expert

TL;DR I wanna be more fit. XD

Cool idea!

Intro:
Hey Sasan here. :) I grew up on a 100 acre farm so I was super active and fit as a kid. I was quite successful at cross country running in middle school as well setting a few sprinting records at my school. I never watched what I ate I just exercised a lot. However as I grew up exercise kind of became a chore for various reasons. I won't go into my whole story to keep things kid friendly but I don't have the greatest track record with dieting or exercise.
I thought I might try out a mild exercise program this summer though.. I've recently gotten back into riding again and I could use some core strength to sustain a sitting trot! :)
I thought keeping up everyone's progress might help keep me at a realistic goal. I used to run, hike and do cardio so I'd like to ease back into that.

Stats:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 188
Goal Weight: 165

I hope this thread (and all of us! :) ) stays active!
I'll be using this image of one of my favorite hikes to inspire me:

I hope to make it up there again without over exerting myself!