Katawa Shoujo Forums

Hello Everyone!

I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to try to get myself in shape, which was actually just before starting KS. Initially I wanted to start exercise and diet, but the exercise part of it fell through at first. After I finished the Emi route I decided to start a morning workout routine. My first workout was Saturday to get started and today was the first of my early morning Monday/Wednesday/Friday workouts. Right now my entire body is sore, but for some reason I still feel great! I'd like to start running but right now there's a lot of snow/ice which makes it difficult, but I'm looking at nearby gyms or just starting up in the Spring. I started at around 315lbs and already down to ~309lbs with a goal of 200lbs.

I also wanted to say that it's really inspiring to see so many people trying to make positive change in their lives. And seeing this thread, along with picturing Emi yelling at me to keep pushing, has been motivating.

MadTeddyBear wrote:Hello Everyone!

I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to try to get myself in shape, which was actually just before starting KS. Initially I wanted to start exercise and diet, but the exercise part of it fell through at first. After I finished the Emi route I decided to start a morning workout routine. My first workout was Saturday to get started and today was the first of my early morning Monday/Wednesday/Friday workouts. Right now my entire body is sore, but for some reason I still feel great! I'd like to start running but right now there's a lot of snow/ice which makes it difficult, but I'm looking at nearby gyms or just starting up in the Spring. I started at around 315lbs and already down to ~309lbs with a goal of 200lbs.

I also wanted to say that it's really inspiring to see so many people trying to make positive change in their lives. And seeing this thread, along with picturing Emi yelling at me to keep pushing, has been motivating.

Excellent, Welcome.
This is going to seem very discouraging but in the end it could hopefully save you some demotivation later on. Don't focus on your all that much weight when it comes to fat loss.

Don't get me wrong, your weight is an important figure to track for managing your calorie intake but it is generally not a good progress tracker.
Why? Two reasons:
Most scales people are inaccurate, usually by around 2-3lb. Digital ones are also sensitive to heat.
Water balance can cause people to vary in weight by as much as 10lbs in a single day and salt intake can amplify this effect.
This is why many people get disappointed with their weight loss after the initial period, the first 7 or so pounds is simply water loss through increased sweating. (Also it worth noting such dehydration will harm fat loss).

Here's the bottom line: If you are burning more calories than you are consuming then you WILL lose fat, no exceptions.
If you want to see your progress look in the mirror, if you look thinner then you are thinner. If you struggle to see the difference then take a picture every week so you can compare.

Where weight does come in handy is in dietary adjustment, everytime you drop 5lbs you need to readjust your calorific intake down. The only way to asses accurately is to weigh yourself every morning as soon as you wake up, after the toilet but before breakfast. Put it in a spreadsheet, when looked at on a week by week basis this will give you a good idea of your actual weight difference as the inaccuracies should average out.

The good news is that that great feeling will always be there, that's the best motivation in my experience.

Joined the fitocracy group for this site and though its full of nothing but basketball and skating, I swear I'll throw some running too!

Question though:

My brother that runs 5ks and such says its better to run without music to listen to your breathing, much better than your mp3 player. Don't know if it is better to learn the breathing pace now and not rely on your music until you have a good grasp of it, or to just say fuck it and just jam some tunes. I don't know if running in silence would help me during the later progression weeks (where Emi is basically telling me to run straight without any breaks).

DownRUpLYBStart wrote:Joined the fitocracy group for this site and though its full of nothing but basketball and skating, I swear I'll throw some running too!

Question though:

My brother that runs 5ks and such says its better to run without music to listen to your breathing, much better than your mp3 player. Don't know if it is better to learn the breathing pace now and not rely on your music until you have a good grasp of it, or to just say fuck it and just jam some tunes. I don't know if running in silence would help me during the later progression weeks (where Emi is basically telling me to run straight without any breaks).

I just find it boring to run without music.

DownRUpLYBStart wrote: Question though:

My brother that runs 5ks and such says its better to run without music to listen to your breathing, much better than your mp3 player. Don't know if it is better to learn the breathing pace now and not rely on your music until you have a good grasp of it, or to just say fuck it and just jam some tunes. I don't know if running in silence would help me during the later progression weeks (where Emi is basically telling me to run straight without any breaks).

Just try both. If you find that running while listening to your breathing helps you get a better grasp of running, go ahead and do it. If you find that running while listening music gives you that push to run some extra minutes, then go ahead and do it. It's all about personal positives and negatives and which one outweighs the other.

I will say this: most people will find running with music to be more enjoyable and more rewarding in the long run. If you're just beginning with running, maybe it's a good idea to focus on your breathing and trying to steady it.

Reksho wrote:If you're just beginning with running, maybe it's a good idea to focus on your breathing and trying to steady it.

I would hope that someone is capable of regulating their breathing while listening to music as well... unless we're dealing with a blonde, I suppose...

Personally, I hate running without music. Music gives me a pace to run to, and something to focus on besides how much my shins hurt. D:

komkommer wrote:Started running last week after finishing the game. Went surprisingly well seeing i have been pretty inactive over the last year. However i think i might have pulled a muscle today at the start of week two, happened pretty early in the workout, so my guess is i need a better warm up. Anyone have any ideas for a good quick warm up? Perhaps i should walk a bit more before starting to run? Currently i walk a few hundred meters and stretch before i start to run, but that doesn't really get the blood flowing and i still feel cold when i actually start running.

Don't stretch too much beforehand. Stretching makes the muscle weaker for the actual running. Stretch after.

Day 5 of my workout.

Worked my hardest today, incredibly tired. Lost only 170 Calories though, which is a tad bit disapointing, considering I normally lose 230 when going easier.

Feeling good, albiet tired. Next Workout is on Wednesday.

DownRUpLYBStart wrote: My brother that runs 5ks and such says its better to run without music to listen to your breathing, much better than your mp3 player. Don't know if it is better to learn the breathing pace now and not rely on your music until you have a good grasp of it, or to just say fuck it and just jam some tunes. I don't know if running in silence would help me during the later progression weeks (where Emi is basically telling me to run straight without any breaks).

I just find it to boring to go very long with out something to listen to or read. Personally I always listen to audio books when I run.

HurricaneHarvey wrote:

DownRUpLYBStart wrote: My brother that runs 5ks and such says its better to run without music to listen to your breathing, much better than your mp3 player. Don't know if it is better to learn the breathing pace now and not rely on your music until you have a good grasp of it, or to just say fuck it and just jam some tunes. I don't know if running in silence would help me during the later progression weeks (where Emi is basically telling me to run straight without any breaks).

I just find it to boring to go very long with out something to listen to or read. Personally I always listen to audio books when I run.

Very true. While I don't listen to Audiobooks, I do love listening to bands like Dream Theater who have stories within their songs. For example: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence which follows six people with various psychological disorders including Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Post-Partem Depression, Multiple-Personality Disorder (Don't know the actual name), etc. It also goes through many different "genre's" of music including folk, speed-metal, classic rock. Personally I just love the song and its meaning behind all of it. I highly suggest people to listen to the entire song, although a quick warning: It is 43 minutes long XD

CaptPonyholder wrote:It is 43 minutes long XD

Welcome to Dream Theater.

Gandara wrote:

Reksho wrote:If you're just beginning with running, maybe it's a good idea to focus on your breathing and trying to steady it.

I would hope that someone is capable of regulating their breathing while listening to music as well... unless we're dealing with a blonde, I suppose...

Personally, I hate running without music. Music gives me a pace to run to, and something to focus on besides how much my shins hurt. D:

Maybe it's exactly BECAUSE you're following the pace of the music which causes your shins to hurt. Don't sweat it, music can be motivating but it can also push you too hard. All about balance.

Reksho wrote:Maybe it's exactly BECAUSE you're following the pace of the music which causes your shins to hurt.

I'm more inclined to blame the fact that I'm 100+ lbs. overweight.

Just finished Week 4 day 2 (Started on week 3)
My legs are unusually sore this time.
I think I was running faster too, I completed about 3/4 of a lap in 5 minutes.
I'm not sure how long my 'lap' is, I estimate maybe 600m.
I have a feeling that that's too low an estimate though, I'm sure I can run 400m in about 1-2 minutes.

Xanatos wrote:

CaptPonyholder wrote:It is 43 minutes long XD

Welcome to Dream Theater.

I didn't know that we have Dream Theater fans here (my favorite band [super secret avatar]). I haven't downloaded any running mixes, because I rather do my own playlist for the running and it has worked pretty well. I was thinking that those long DT songs would definitely be the right music for longer runs. I have stopped running now for a while, because of work and snow + ice, but I will get back to it.

Actually Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is 42 minutes long and it's one of my favorites from them.