Getting fit & healthy in this situation!

gemmajenkins0208

Ok so, going to jump right in:

I live at home with my parents, always have done. There are 6 of us here in total - Me, my bf, my mum and dad, my brother and his gf - all adults.

We are in a bit of a financial crisis that we're working our way out of(won't go into detail here, but more info can be found on other threads I've written), but I want to start eating healthier and maybe incorporating exercise around the 3(hopefully moving up to 5 at the end of May) days that I work. On the days I do work, walking between my house to public transport, public transport to work, around work and back home again I've estimated that I probably make a good 2 mile(at least) round trip, I take a 500ml bottle of plain ol' water with me to drink while working and I try to finish it before I leave work.

I think to be honest I'm at my healthiest on days when I work - walking around a lot, the water, I take a basic homemade sandwich for lunch. The only problems are I like a can of Monster energy drink on the public transport to work(I know this needs to stop and I'm working on it) and when I get home and have dinner it's whatever mum has prepared. Also once I'm home the drinks go from water to fizzy pop, squash, coffees etc.

Which leads me to the next problem - mum firmly believes healthier food is "too expensive"... The amount of times I've tried telling her this is not the case, advising her of the Aldi super six etc. etc. but she's not having any of it. It's getting to the point where I'm wondering if I should just buy my own healthy food once my finances are fully on track(nearly there with this one) but then mum will just be like "oh that's not fair, you could have done a proper shop to feed everyone blah blah blah..."

I can't afford a gym membership, nor any home exercise equipment, as I say I walk quite a lot and hoping for this to become more frequent by the end of May but I don't think walking is cutting it really. Maybe it will when I start doing it 5 times a week, I don't know. I actually was working - thus walking - 5 days a week for 2 months leading up to Christmas as work needed staff more often but I wasn't really keeping track of anything as I was too busy.

So I need serious advice. And probably a massive kick up the rear.

UKTigerlily

Hey! All I can say is yes, buy your own food & if she says about buying for everybody, point out that you can't afford to & that you're buying healthy food which they clearly don't want! Even getting some would help

Apart from walking, you could try You Tube fitness videos (Zumba/Aerobics/Yoga/Dancing etc) if those are your thing. Also, what about some bodyweight exercises? So things like press ups, chin ups (if male, didn't check! tho these can be hard for males too), tricep dips, lunges, squats, calf raises etc

You could do some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), so maybe 15-20 seconds as fast/hard at it as you can, then 30 seconds rest. This can be anything at all, and after about 10 or 12 minutes you'll probably be about dead

Others will be along with some good ideas! Well done for thinking about it all tho, that's the first step!

elsien

What sort of meals Is mum cooking?

gemmajenkins0208

It's always frozen microwave meals such as fish pies, curries etc or something else from the freezer that only requires 20 minutes in the oven - pizza and chips, sausages and chips, chicken nuggets and chips, stuff like that

barbarawright

Sounds like running would be ideal. Google Couch25k for a plan to gradual upgrade from walking to running in easy stages. You need a reasonable pair of trainers but they don't need to be expensive or fancy and some leggings or shorts or track suit bottoms and a t-shirt (whatever you feel comfortable with).

gemmajenkins0208

Yeah i was thinking about that barbarawright, there is a decent "track" around the block where i live with good uphills and downhills.

I think i might wait to see what shift pattern i get put on at the end of May(if they change it at all) as if i get put on mornings then i can run in the evenings or if i get put on afternoons then i can run in the mornings(personally a middle of the day or afternoon shift pattern would suit me better really but i don't want to push my luck too much! I should be grateful if they change it at all! :rotfl: )

barbarawright

gemmajenkins0208 wrote: »

Yeah i was thinking about that barbarawright, there is a decent "track" around the block where i live with good uphills and downhills.

I think i might wait to see what shift pattern i get put on at the end of May(if they change it at all) as if i get put on mornings then i can run in the evenings or if i get put on afternoons then i can run in the mornings(personally a middle of the day or afternoon shift pattern would suit me better really but i don't want to push my luck too much! I should be grateful if they change it at all! :rotfl: )

Sounds great. It will give you a chance to see which suits you. In lots of ways, morning is easiest - you just get up and go and then come back and shower and eat. Evenings, I'm hungry when I get home and once I've eaten I can't run for a couple of hours. You shouldn't be doing more than three times a week at first

Gloomendoom

UKTigerlily wrote: »

Also, what about some bodyweight exercises? So things like press ups, chin ups (if male, didn't check! tho these can be hard for males too), tricep dips, lunges, squats, calf raises etc

Bodyweight exercises are good as you can do them anywhere, even at work. You can get various phone apps that can help with motivation too. 100 push-up challenge etc.

Incidentally, chin ups are not just for males.

gemmajenkins0208

Very interesting Glomendoom...

I tried doing a chin up once when I was about 12 and I was just dangling there from the bar :rotfl:

DigForVictory

One thing about couch to 5K is that having a buddy makes a serious positive difference, as time off resting injuries does set you back & can do nasty things to good intentions.

Also, talk to folk who run about where to get running shoes. Better to get last years style/colour that work with your feet than the cheapest of the latest which doesn't. Lidl doing some running togs (incl bras) last/this week - may sort you a top & trous at definitely more affordable prices?
All the best!

gemmajenkins0208

Thank you for the advice DigForVictory - I work in Primark and we have a big range in at the moment called "workout" - sports bras, trainers, leggings, lightweight coats and hoodies - everything! So when I get paid in 2 weeks I'll go in work and see what I can get

I'll most definitely get the clothes from work but the shoes I would probably be better getting from sports world or as you suggested Lidl