Its no piece of cake.

Ahhh!! thank you!!! I knew there was an important word I was forgetting but I kept brainfarting. -_-

Ahh the dreaded side stitch. The intensity of this side ache varies for all runners and there’s controversy as to it’s origin. No one is actually 100% sure why runners get this. The overwhelming belief of researchers is that it’s stress due to the up and down motion of the body (particularly the diaphragm) and can be more or less intense for various reasons. One of which has been noted to be food - whether you ate too much or too soon before a run or didn’t eat at all. The cause I agree with most is the diaphragm going up and down… not just because it’s what everyone is saying but mainly because adapting a new breathing technique worked for me. Become a belly breather - deep concentrated breaths that cause your belly to expand a bit. If you’re a top breather, your diaphragm can lift and spasm during a run, this tugs on the tendons that attach to the internal organs and muscles around your abdomen. Along with belly breathing, other ways to prevent side stitch is to slow down, grunt when you exhale (forces diaphragm into proper exhale position), wait at least one hour after you eat before running, do intervals to practice faster running instead of a long fast run.

I will admit my wording was a bit confusing in fact I think the name of it is a bit confusing on it’s own… body mass index is simply based on an individual’s height and weight. So in that sense it’s your overall weight compared to how tall you are. However, it doesn’t take into account the mass ratio of fat to muscle. As everyone knows “muscle weighs more than fat” when it comes to comparable mass. A slender person with a lot of muscle and a larger person with more fat can weigh the exact same and both be considered “overweight” according to BMI. This is why I don’t like it. I also don’t like using weight in general as a basis for whether or not you are a healthy weight. That number on the scale doesn’t mean shit when it comes to your health.

I have school from the exact same time as well as work. Just workout afterwards or get up really early in the morning. However, if you’re a night owl like me, trying to get yourself up early in the morning is just setting yourself up for failure hahaha. No way you’re getting my butt up to be energetic. As for your family… how are they embarrassing? If they try to embarrass you for working out then ignore them. They’re just jealous you’re getting all fit and healthy and they’re sitting on the couch :) They should be supporting you in your quest for health. A good workout would be cardio 5-6 days a week and strength training 2-3 days a week. I still need to update my FAQ, but the section on types of strength training for different goals is still accurate. As for the thigh gap and tummy… for one a thigh gap has more to do with your body structure than body fat/mass. I will never have a thigh gap because I’m simply not built for one (unless I am sickly thin). I would not make “thigh gap” a goal to strive for. Make health and happiness your goals. Once you make positive changes in your lifestyle you’ll start feeling better about yourself and happier. :D And where weight around your tummy is concerned… this also goes along with thigh gap to an extent…. the thought of losing fat from a specific area is called spot reduction and it’s a myth. You can’t pick and choose where you lose fat, your body does that for you and everyone’s does it differently. Just stick to eating healthy and exercising and health, fitness and happiness will all fall into place <3