Staying Healthy While Gaming

[Found]

Welcome everyone, and first before we being. I'd like to credit this post for inspiring me to write a mini-guide on staying in decent shape and healthy while gaming hardcore. That said, let us begin!

I. Introduction
II. Foods
III. Beverages
IV. Exercise
V. Sleep
VI. Conclusion

I. Introduction:

Now, we're all aware of what the media projects us gamers to look like. To give you an idea, they depict us to look similar to this:

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As far as I'm concerned, this is not what ALL gamers look like, and certainly not myself, as well of many of my peers in not only the games I play, but the OwnedCore community as well! Basically what you're going to reading about in this post is some proven techniques and tips and tricks to staying healthy and in relatively decent shape while being a hard/soft core gamer, or what ever you chose to describe yourself as. In this guide you'll learn the proper way to eat, and drink as well as rest while you're doing your thing. Like I credited the post in the first line, the guide was about being the first level 90 character in mists of pandaria, which is a good guide, and I encourage each of you to check it out! That said, this was a post that included some information on proper diet as a gamer, and the proper ways to doing what we do. Gaming. Now, before you sit here and say, "oh, Found, why should we listen to you!? How are you so knowledgeable on this?" well, to answer this question, I am a med student, and ex military, with many courses taken in anatomy, physiology, psychology, and sociology. So I know a little bit about the way people work and so forth, and after all I am an avid gamer and this is a passion of mine, so I took a responsibility for my health knowing I wouldn't be AS physically active while around the computer, xbox, ps3 or what ever system. So to conclude this, I hope you find some insightful and important information in this thread! Thank you for reading!.

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II. Foods

Let's take a look at the food pyramid real quick!:



As you can see, the suggested servings of each category is this:

Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta: 6-11 Servings.
Vegetables: 3-5 Servings.
Fruits: 2-4 Servings.
Dairy: 2-3 Servings.
Meat, Poultry, Fish: 2-3 Servings.
Fats, Oils, Sweets: 0 Servings.

Of course we've all learned this basic information as children, or should have at least. Though, this is NOT what we'd be conisdering proper serving amounts when it comes to gamers who don't frequently leave their gaming machines. But the truth of the matter is, it should look like this.


Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta: 3-4 Servings.
Vegetables: 4-5 Servings.
Fruits: 6-8 Servings.
Dairy: 1-2 Servings.
Meat, Poultry, Fish: 2-3 Servings.
Fats, Oils, Sweets: 000000 Servings.

Now, most people always talk about food when they're in vent, or skype, or mumble or what ever it may be! The vast majority of these people are morons and are doing it wrong! Let me quote my post in a different thread!

Foods: Now this can be set into two categories. One if you do happen to preform mini workouts every time you leave the chair, and if you don't (which I don't recommend).

If you do - Eat foods with carbs, i.e., pastas, and so forth. Also, I'd recommend protein bars, as they can be potentially delicious and healthy as well.
If you don't - Eat foods with little to no carbs, and or calories as you'll get more from it. Choose items such as, celery, apples, carrots (notice: all of these foods make you burn calories as you eat them). Fruits, vegetables, and protein bars. Good choices.

Let's look at the bad choices:

Cheese its, cheetos, chips, candy, fried chicken, chili, pizza, anything with gravy (although it is delicious, get over it), and don't ever eat anything with a lot of sugar, which is a given.

When it comes to the dos and don'ts of eating, this is by far the best webpage I've ever seen, and it's important you know what is really good for you and what is really bad for you.

Top 5 foods to avoid while playing video games - Smooth Harold, The Blog of Blake Snow

Check that out, and if I may quote them:

5. Fried chicken
Unless you want to lose your game—or worse, your TV by a flying Wii remote—a firm grip on the controller is a must. That said, fried chicken, the greasiest of all finger foods, should be avoided at all times. As a Southerner, I like a delicious drumstick as much as the next guy. But you need professional help if you can’t stay away from the colonel’s original recipe for at least a couple of hours.



4. Glazed doughnuts
Mmmm. Doughnuts. Everybody loves doughnuts. Especially glazed ones. But not only will you sacrifice sure gaming footing while stuffing your face with the sticky goodness found on the latter, you’ll probably clog important bits and pieces on your controller with sugar syrup. Once that happens, kiss your controller goodbye, you slob.



3. Crab legs
The only thing worse than grease while playing video games is butter. And you can’t eat crab legs without liquefied butter, unless you happen to be a fish. Spilling a tiny cup of oiled fat on the sofa is bad enough. But a complete inability to clutch a controller due to buttery hands makes “the deadliest catch” a definite no-no while gaming. Plus, they’re too much work!



2. Rack of ribs
And you thought glazed doughnuts were bad. Although succulent, barbecue ribs are so messy, there should be warning labels on both game cases and take-out boxes not to mix the two. Your fatty self might be able to sneak by with a dry rub, but wet ribs should definitely be verboten in gaming rooms everywhere—by law if necessary.



1. Cheetos
After asking friends and fellow critics to name the No. 1 food to avoid while gaming, the overwhelming majority said Cheetos. Doritos are bad, but Cheetos are worse, because layers of cheese pile on fingers coat over coat, getting progressively gunkier the longer you eat. They’re certainly tasty, but Cheetos muck up controllers like nobody’s business. The worst gaming food of all time.

You don't often see websites that promote good foods to eat, and that's why I can only suggest you eat things that ARE NOT like the previously mentioned.


INPUT FROM LordJungyup:

In my opinion using the traditional food pyramid is so archaic and takes a much too broad approach on diet. First off I'd argue that consuming all the recommended servings is too much (and how big is a serving?). I'd personally recommend a more simple strategy. Eat 3-5 meals a day spread evenly throughout the day, each meal made up of plenty of vegetables, a lean protein source, and some carb (potatoes, tubers, quinoa, brown rice, etc). Assuming you are living an average gamer diet you'll want to cook the vegetables and you may feel sick until your gut readjusts to real food. Also I recommend getting your fat from good sources like fish, nuts, or flax. Of course the drink of choice should be water and teas/herbal teas. Save the coffee for your workouts

I think it's important to be mindful when eating. Your body should indicate to you when you are full. Before meals the people of the Okinawa Prefecture say "Hara hachi bu" which roughly translates to "eat until 80% full". It's something I recommend most people subscribing too (unless you are an athlete of course... then it may not be possible to just be 80% full ). Ideally everyone would have access to something like calorie king where they could work out a meal plan but it's not really realistic and calories are only part of the equation. On that note do you plan on adding a section for meal plan design and strategy?

Another important aspect would be trying to eat, exercise, and sleep at the same time. Our bodies rely on consistency so try and go to bed, wake up, eat, and exercise at the same times every day.

I'd say that most importantly gamers need to have some balance. Sitting and playing games 10 hours straight a day is not healthy regardless of if you exercise and carry on a healthy diet.

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III. Beverages:



If there is one thing I can say that you should take away from this post is DRINK LOTS OF WATER!

Let me quote this source (Teens and Video Games: How Much Is Too Much? | LiveScience)

The gamer community had a near-miss this week in Ohio, when a 15-year-old boy collapsed after playing "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" for up to five days straight.

The Columbus teen was rushed to the hospital with severe dehydration, where he recovered, according to a report from TV station WCMH on Aug. 7.

Players who delve too deeply into their electronic worlds can face various health risks, ranging from deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots, to severe dehydration.

This kid, must not have known jack shit about staying healthy. Not drinking water can cause several health issues, and in quoting my own post again:

Beverages: Herbal teas (decaffeinated), water. That's it.. Statistically speaking, if you're tired, you're more than likely dehydrated, and the best way to stay hydrated is to drink water. General rule of thumb is: If you're thirsty, you're already in the early stages of dehydration. Which is not only bad for your health, but also bad for your gaming. If you get tired, you're dehydrated, as Par said, don't drink coffee or energy drinks or anything, as it'll make you more tired and cause you to have to use the bathroom more frequently.

I failed to mention, caffeine is without a doubt the one thing you want to avoid. One of them is what we all consider death in a bottle. Energy drinks:

Energy drinks are formulated to deliver caffeine and other stimulants, such as guarana or ginseng, to give the drinker a rush of energy. They are not designed to replace lost fluids during exercise. Some come in small cans that deliver a large amount of caffeine in a small amount of fluid. Many are carbonated, which can lead exercisers to experience burping, nausea and a bloated feeling.

Source (Energy Drink Safety - Dangers of Energy Drinks).


Now, not only do they cause those symptoms, energy drinks also lead to dehydration, and that is the biggest worry in a gamers health. Other than sex deprivation of course. However, the general rule of thumb is this: If you're thirsty, you're already in the early stages of dehydration. So do yourselves a favor, and buy water, not only is it cheaper than everything else, it's far more healthy!

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IV. Exercise:

Now, I'm not going to get in to this very much, BUT this video is exactly what I would have told you anyways, and he explains it much better.



4 Easy quick tips to getting a six pack this summer | The Healthy Gamer
10 Minute Workout For Men At Home | Simple Circuit Routine | The Healthy Gamer
101 Pushups in One Set | Secret to doing a hundred pushups | The Healthy Gamer

^--- those are phenomenal links to help provide some information and tips on staying fit while gaming! Credit to: TheHealthyGamer.

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V. Sleep:

SLEEP: Do yourself a favor and sleep, and do it properly. Don't stay awake until 5 am, and sleep til 5 pm. That's so unhealthy it isn't even funny. Know when you have to be up, and plan accordingly. If you have to be up at, say 8:30. You'll want to sleep at 2:30 as to provide yourself 2 complete sleep cycles, waking up between them causes fatigue and groginess. Make sure you're sleeping properly and everything should be fine. If you happen to have more questions ask me! or Parrky as he seems to know what he's talking about as well.

This was a quote from my original post.. there is a lot to know about sleeping and proper sleeping and what not, here is a bit of information on it. http://www.ownedcore.com/forums/news...ter-sleep.html -- credits to: Maisteri for this excellent post! Please give him some rep for that!

Lets review some myths about sleep:

Myth 1: Getting just 1 hour less sleep per night won’t affect your daytime functioning. You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day. But even slightly less sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly, and compromise your cardiovascular health, energy balance, and ability to fight infections.
Myth 2: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules. Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues—and even then, by 1–2 hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift.
Myth 3: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue. Not only is the quantity of sleep important but also the quality of sleep. Some people sleep 8 or 9 hours a night but don’t feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor.
Myth 4: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your sleep-wake cycle so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings.

How Much Sleep Do You Need? Sleep Cycles, Stages, & Lack of Sleep -- this page contains all the required information when it comes to sleeping and properly at that.


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VI. Conclusion:

Staying healthy is of utmost importance when it comes to gamers, and hopefully these bits of information may have helped. If you have any questions, or anything to add and or would like to claim credit for something stated in this post, please post a reply!

Credit to all of the people who have contributed to this as well as have quotes and or guides in this thread, hopefully you'll all enjoy and I wish you the best in staying healthy!

-Found

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[LordJungyup]

Nice guide. It would be nice if you added some recommended foods to eat.

In my opinion using the traditional food pyramid is so archaic and takes a much too broad approach on diet. First off I'd argue that consuming all the recommended servings is too much (and how big is a serving?). I'd personally recommend a more simple strategy. Eat 3-5 meals a day spread evenly throughout the day, each meal made up of plenty of vegetables, a lean protein source, and some carb (potatoes, tubers, quinoa, brown rice, etc). Assuming you are living an average gamer diet you'll want to cook the vegetables and you may feel sick until your gut readjusts to real food. Also I recommend getting your fat from good sources like fish, nuts, or flax. Of course the drink of choice should be water and teas/herbal teas. Save the coffee for your workouts

I think it's important to be mindful when eating. Your body should indicate to you when you are full. Before meals the people of the Okinawa Prefecture say "Hara hachi bu" which roughly translates to "eat until 80% full". It's something I recommend most people subscribing too (unless you are an athlete of course... then it may not be possible to just be 80% full ). Ideally everyone would have access to something like calorie king where they could work out a meal plan but it's not really realistic and calories are only part of the equation. On that note do you plan on adding a section for meal plan design and strategy?

Another important aspect would be trying to eat, exercise, and sleep at the same time. Our bodies rely on consistency so try and go to bed, wake up, eat, and exercise at the same times every day.

I'd say that most importantly gamers need to have some balance. Sitting and playing games 10 hours straight a day is not healthy regardless of if you exercise and carry on a healthy diet.

I hope you don't mind my input and if its ok with you I'd like to contribute more to this thread at a later time. Cheers

[Found]

Added, thanks for the input!

[Mengspace]

Great guide, I am going to look over this and try to fit a few of these things in my day
+Rep

[Dante]

woo i wont be fat anymore! jk, im not fat. just a little.. D:

[Falkeid]

Great guide Found, allways cool to see your health posts Have a cookie! Carrot*

[Found]

Added some more misc additions to the post.

[Duenaslinc]

That's just awesome thanks for your effort. I believe you will have a positive impact on many gamers' lifes.

[marreked]

Keeping ourself healthy and fit is really a big deal.I just want to say thanks for such a useful post and nice sharing.

[Shykon]

Great guide. Definitely made me think about my health a bit more while gaming.

Skipping is also a nice, quick and easy home workout. 10-15mins skipping can do wonders.

[Marcus006]

It's very informative article that provides good guidelines for staying healthy while gaming.
Diet and and exercise is very important in this regard, we must do some regular exercise and take right diet at right time for the better health.

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