Posts by kajikit

If you're feeling able to attempt it, go back to the gym but take it SLOWLY. Whatever you were doing before you got sick, you can probably only expect to be able to do half of it right now. Maybe even less. Pushing yourself too hard now will just set you back and make you get really sick again. But doing a little exercise every day is better than laying on the couch doing nothing at all. Thirty minutes of cardio is out of the question. But can you do five minutes and then rest for five and do it again? If you keep plugging away the fitness will come back a lot faster than it took to get there in the first place. A good rule of thumb for serious illness is a week of bedrest takes a MONTH to fully recover from.

(As somebody who seems to have a chronic illness instead of 'just' being unfit and overweight, you need to take it slowly... listen to your body and don't try to do too much at one time. But do what you can as often as you can...)

Last year I was very sick for the first half of the year, and not too long after I recovered from my respiratory problems, my back went out and I was dxed with fibromyalgia and arthritis. I have big problems with my left leg and use a cane and a knee brace, and I take multiple medications for asthma, high blood pressure and the fibro/arthritis. My physical activity is very limited, and it's still a shock to compare the 'me' from five years ago when I was in my intensive exercise and weightloss campaign with the 'me' now. I can't do a tenth of what I could then...

I started physical therapy in November, and I just finished last week and transferred to the hospital gym instead. My fitness evaluation at the gym put me in the fifth percentile for my age (ugh). I don't find out what my personalised exercise program is until Tuesday, but I definitely feel better when I exercise regularly, but it's very very light exercise. I plan to go to the gym to use the stair-stepper three times a week, and to go to a gentle exercise class. They're just starting Qi Gong this week so I'm going to try that and if I don't like that I'll do yoga. Yoga-type exercises are supposed to be really good for fibro because they're gentle stretching. When the weather gets a little warmer my therapist gave me a list of water exercises to do in our pool, but it's not heated so I can't start them yet.

PS. One thing I'm VERY proud of - I lost 25lbs during my illness but I managed not to gain them back, and I STILL haven't even after all that time of greatly reduced activity. The scale has not gone down this year, but the weight is redistributing as I build a bit more muscle and lose some fat. That means I have to have been doing SOMETHING right.

I couldn't afford a 'regular' gym, but the hospital fitness center is only $40 a month, and their classes are $5 each ($10 if you're not a member). At that price there isn't really any excuse NOT to exercise. I wish I'd found it years ago - then I might not be there now as a patient.

He's not worth it! Nobody that you feel you have to lie to about yourself is worth sleeping with... either he loves you and wants you for who you are (virgin and all) or you should tell him to get lost and find somebody who does. It's not worth giving away your virginity to somebody who 'doesn't want to have a relationship' anyway.

Kiddo, if you can use vocabulary like 'exemplifies' and know what it means, you are FAR from dumb. I know how it feels to feel like the 'ordinary' one in the family while others leave you in their shade without even trying, but the odds are that you're still smarter than 50% of the population.

BTW being forgetful about common little things like how to get the dog harnessed successfully doesn't mean you're stupid - most often it means you're extremely intelligent and your mind is focused elsewhere. Hey, I was standing in front of the Redbox terminal for 10 minutes today trying to figure out how to get DVDs from it, and then when it wanted me to confirm my postcodes I put in an entirely wrong number and wondered why it wouldn't work. If that's not ditzy, I don't know what is...

Pickles equal cucumbers plus vinegar plus salty water. The amount of calories in them is extremely negligable.

I wouldn't want anything to do with a guy with such a big hang-up on physical appearance. What if you had an accident or something, would he dump you like yesterday's news? He can go be shallow someplace else.

Being baptised and going to church every Sunday does not make you a Christian. Reading your bible every day does not make you a Christian. Pointing fingers at other people and saying 'tssk tssk, you're going to Hell' (for whatever reason) does not make you a Christian. You're a Christian if you want to be one, and if you are doing your best to follow the teachings of Christ.

I've been a Christian for 25 years, and I very rarely sit down and crack open a bible outside of the service. But I'm at church five days a week getting the work done, and I LOVE worship.

Do you not want to go to church because you're tired of the whole thing, or are you just tired of that particular church? I've had to miss a bunch of Sundays lately because I've been very sick and I feel like there's a big chunk of something missing from my life because of it. But at our old church, we went weeks at a time without going because we just weren't getting anything out of it. Not all churches are the same. You might find you get a whole new handle on your faith if you go to some different churches just to visit... but if you don't, that's okay too. Faith is something that we often walk away from for months or years at a time, and then when we least expect it, up it pops again and we think 'you know, I really WANT go back to Church!'

PS. Okay, I read some more of the thread and I see you stopped going to church because your parents got tired of taking you and you don't have another ride. Been there, done that! God is not going to disown you just because you are not easily able to get to His house every week. But if you talk to your pastor, I'm sure there will be some way to arrange for somebody who attends the church regularly to give you a ride. I don't drive, and there are MANY times when I have to depend on somebody else to get me to church. When I was a teenager, I went with my aunt for a few years, and when she wasn't able to take me any more I'd demonstrated enough commitment to it that my Dad was willing to take over ferrying me. He never attended a service, but he dropped me off and picked me up every Sunday. Nowadays I have four people who take it in turns to pick me up when I need it. And when we are both going to church, we're more than happy to drive somebody else who needs it.

Do you have a local library and a library card? Borrow some Christian books and bring them home and read them. There are tons of devotionals and studies and general books about Faith in libraries. You can get a bible from a second-hand bookstore for a few dollars. For that matter, if you are brave enough to talk to a pastor, they may have a bible to GIVE you.

Don't be embarassed about wanting to go to church and to learn more about God, even if your family thinks its silly. It's NOT. Faith is something that can be very important in your life, if you want it to be. Good luck! (hugs)

16 is still very young... you're a long way from being an old lady yet. Just call them a 'collection' and you can have them forever if you want.

What is it about your barbies that you enjoy the most? The mini accessories? Playing fashion designer? Or whatever... if it's the 'world in miniature' that interests you, look into Dolls Houses. They're fantastic! Not the Mattel kind, but the ones that people build for themselves... And if you like the fashion, learn to make your own Barbie clothes from scratch and you have a career ahead of you!

I used to play barbies with my younger cousins until I was about your age. But I kept all the dolls and outfits for years. I put them away in a box and occasionally pulled it out to look at the outfits that I'd made. I also had a gorgeous life-sized baby doll from the time I was 10... I sadly gave her away when I was 25 because she deserved to go to someone who'd love her and play with her every day, not leave her sitting in a crib gathering dust, but a part of me still regrets that I didn't have the room to keep her.

When you are sick your body is working overtime to try to heal itself. Your metabolism is running way higher than normal right now and you need the fuel! The extra energy has to come from somewhere and you don't have the fuel stored, so you need more from outside. So eat whatever seems appetising and know that your body is putting it to good use. (When people who are sick CAN'T eat, they tend to get very run-down, have trouble healing, and lose a lot of weight... you can't afford that.)