Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?

[junto]

I guess this is aimed more at older devs and admins who have been sitting at their computers for the last 20 years like me.

I'm starting to feel my age. I get tired quicker. My health isn't what it used to be. I get the feeling that staring at a computer screen and sitting down all day in an office is not particularly healthy.

Has anyone got any tips how to improve mental and physical well-being?

[computerjunkie]

Eat well, sleep enough and walk plenty.

Sleep is something which is seriously overlooked in general. From personal experience, getting enough sleep and eating well are requirements that need to be met first before exercise.

There is nothing is worse than exercising whilst you are deprived of sleep and mal-nourished.

Speaking about exercise, don't get hung up on dogmas and "this is the only way" personality that is common in the fitness industry. Pick what works for you. Just make sure you are moving on a daily basis because sitting down 8 hours everyday is not healthy at all.

Go for long walks in the park with family or friends. As silly as it sounds, it works. Walking is not only good for you physically, but also psychologically [0]. Walking is a basic human movement pattern and is one of the first things we learn how to do early in our lives.

My grandfather passed away at 94 two years ago from old age. He never went to the gym, never participated in long marathons and he was a frequent beer drinker. But he did long walks everyday on the farm in the morning and evenings, he also ate well and by 10pm he was in bed.

Morale of the story is that, go back to the basics and stick to them. You won't go wrong.

Edit: Added a reference.

[0] http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/walking-vs-sitting-...

[jclos]

"There is nothing is worse than exercising whilst you are deprived of sleep and mal-nourished."

I agree, and so does science. Sleep deprivation will wreck your training efforts, make you weaker, more likely to store fat & break down muscle tissue while also making you hungrier.

http://www.strengtheory.com/sleep-pt-1/

http://www.strengtheory.com/poor-recovery-and-increased-musc...

[themoonbus]

As someone who loves to walk, loves beer, and has been going to bed early, but doesn't necessarily make a point to exercise, your post is encouraging!

...but I really should also make a better effort to exercise.

[sliverstorm]

There is nothing is worse than exercising whilst you are deprived of sleep and mal-nourished.

Which is my personal battle. I don't want to sleep the 9 hours I seem to need, and my eating habits are insufficient, to the tune of 1k+ cal on some days. (young male, active)

My latest revelation has been a good fitness tracker that estimates the caloric cost of my various activities, and is finally forcing me to get enough calories.

It's also throwing my poor sleep patterns in my face, so we'll get to those soon...

[dpweb]

Definately agree that walking can make a huge difference. I felt, better results than ADD meds. Of course YMMV but I was shocked the difference a 45-60 min. walk outside every day made.

I would add - eat less food. It's very easy to over eat. Your body is working hard to process all that food you eat and I like the occasional McDonalds - you can indulge more often and still maintain or lose weight so maybe think about not just what you eat but how much - especially those of us who don't like working out.

[octatoan]

Sleep enough and well. Sleep quality is really important, too.

[tux]

" From personal experience, getting enough sleep and eating well are requirements that need to be met first before exercise. "

I couldn't agree more! You must get enough sleep first, then try eat more properly. Then and only then you can start walking and excising. If those first 2 things are not done properly, exercise will actually make your health worse.

[wdewind]

Strength training 3x a week. Why strength? Strength is the most generalized adaptation there is. Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: strength (duh), power, agility, balance, flexibility, endurance (all 3 types) and coordination. I would also make the argument that in day to day life strength is the most important attribute of fitness for someone in the western world. The ability to carry a bunch of heavy bags of groceries, to rack a computer, help a loved one in an emergency etc., almost all depend primarily on strength. It's also the primary adaptation for injury prevention and rehab (knee and back especially).

People may have different fitness goals, but for someone who is untrained by far the best thing they can do is a strength program for 3-5 months before training more specifically for their goals. I'd recommend Starting Strength, which is a simple and popular program (popular is important, because like certain programming languages it has tons of community support behind it so it's easy to ask questions and get answers). http://www.startingstrength.com/

[dceddia]

I've been doing strength training as well. As a skinny kid during high school weighing ~116lbs or so, it was a shock when I turned 27 and was hit 150lbs. I was getting tired more easily, stairs were harder than they used to be... I decided then that it was time to do something about it.

I use Mark Lauren's You Are Your Own Gym program (book + companion app), and it's been great. The program is 10 weeks long, it's all bodyweight exercises using stuff you have around the house. There are 4 difficulty settings, and program is 10 weeks long. The app is nice because it walks you through the exercises with videos and timers. I feel like I've got a ton more energy and I'm in a more positive mood more often.

Not having to go out to a gym is a huge plus for me. I don't like gyms much, always feel out of place and like I'm competing with other people there. Plus there's the hassle of having to drive there, shower, drive back... it just adds a lot of overhead to something that needs to be as easy as possible to ensure consistency.

[oh_sigh]

I agree with you completely, just adding my two cents: I've done strength training for 5 years and am just now getting into volume training(strength is basically moving high weights for low number of reptitions, volume is moving medium weights for a high number of repititions). If I could go back, I would do a mixed routine from the beginning. Strength gains are nice, but the aesthetic gains from a volume routine are amazing, and are a really nice motivating factor to keep it up.

[gt565k]

I think most people will find Strong Lifts 5x5 to be a better choice than Starting Strength, as it does not require power cleans, which are usually forbidden in most gyms. They are both more or less the same though, and focus on compound lifts.

[shamney]

strength training 3x a week will with no other exercise will leave the average person with extremely poor cardiovascular fitness. if you lack the strength to carry out household tasks you would be better off with basic bodyweight exercises. the average western person is sedentary and does not exercise enough, so it makes little sense to recommend 3 hours a week of training that consists of mainly of recovering between sets.

there is also no evidence for the preventative benefits of heavy lifting. for the average person who starts lifting to feel and look better, starting strength makes no sense: it is sub optimal for increasing mass, is hard and not that enjoyable compared to less intense weightlifting routines, increases the length of workouts, interferes with training for other sports, is incompatible with serious participation in sports (outside of powerlifting), requires rapid and unhealthy weight gain for progression for many trainees...

even if you don't agree with all my points, at least ask yourself if it makes sense to recommend a highly specific sports training routine to everyone looking for basic fitness advice.

[chuckcode]

Starting strength and similar routines are great but be very careful of starting light and maintaining proper technique as getting injured can really impact your health and happiness in a lot of ways especially as we get older.

It is very easy to get injured doing squats or power cleans with any kind of sizable weight. For example the injury rates in CrossFit are estimated to be between 20-75% [1,2] of participants which means you're more likely to get hurt than to get fit. Personally I don't think this is due to the exercises being more dangerous but rather that the excellent group motivation of CrossFit working a little too well and people overreaching in their lifts.

For people starting out I highly recommend taking it slow, being patient and giving your body time to adapt. Start with a basic fitness class or trainer and work your way up to more strenuous exercises.

The fitness subreddit getting started guide [3] and FAQ [4] have a lot of excellent information and links to other resources.

[1] http://ojs.sagepub.com/content/2/4/2325967114531177.full [2] http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/The_... [3] http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/getting_started [4] http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/faq

[jere]

I tried Starting Strength a few years ago. I was really pumped about the program, but I had a lot of trouble with it. I read the how-to sections multiple times, watched Rippetoe videos, and even sought out a trainer at one point. No matter what, the exercises always felt awkward and I never felt like I was doing them correctly.

I tried power cleaning a few times I simply didn't get it. It made me feel like a complete doofus.

When I deadlifted, I was able to lift less than a 12 year old girl.

Squat was the worst. I got up to about 235 (not counting the bar). I know this isn't a large amount, but it totally killed me. Just so brutally tough. I had some knee pain that flared up around that point and my elbows hurt all the time. Once after finishing a set, I was drenched in sweat and I felt nauseous for about 10 minutes. Another time, I felt the left side of my face go numb for a split second... I realized then that it wasn't for me.

[beachstartup]

i would also add that strength or at least the appearance of it is a deterrence against a lot of bad things that people do to each other, especially in dense cities which a lot of us live in.

it's the difference between being an easy mark and being someone bad people completely avoid.

[rickdale]

Starting strength is OK, but I feel like the best start for strength training is to start by training your grip with http://www.ironmind.com/ .. And then I would get a kettlebell and do 1 handed swings, goblet squats, and turkish get ups. Specifically, do up to 5 sets of 5, with 5-10 minutes of active rest in between. Active rest meaning you can shake your muscles you just worked out in a relaxed way. I'll jump rope sometimes. Never push yourself to failure. Always leave something in the tank.

But I got all of that from Pavel Tsatsouline on a Tim Ferris podcast titled The Science of Strength. Been practicing that and so far I have had some good results. Grease the groove as Pavel says.. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/01/15/pavel-tsatsouline/

[nether]

> Why strength? Strength is the most generalized adaptation there is. Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: strength (duh), power, agility, balance, flexibility, endurance (all 3 types) and coordination

> People may have different fitness goals, but for someone who is untrained by far the best thing they can do is a strength program for 3-5 months before training more specifically for their goals

I mostly agree with this, though if endurance is your long term goal you'll need to train very differently after the 3-5 months base period. SS is high-intensity activity with eye-popping heart rates, for a few hours a week. Endurance is long hours of low-intensity activity, marathons and the like. I train for mountaineering/alpinism and the weightlifting component is very different: 7-10 reps per set at low weight and minimizing mass accumulation while maximizing recruitment of existing muscle. You can very well have too much mass while climbing.

[Kiro]

Since you didn't mention muscle size once... do you think I'm a loser for lifting weights primarily for hypertrophy?

[gadders]

This, except 4x a week and doing a modified 5/3/1 (but Starting Strength is better for a beginner).

[stinos]

Would you say strength in general would be a better (more healthy in the long term) goal than just endurance/condition?

Training to be strong improves every component of fitness: ... and coordination

Do you mean eye-hand type of coordination? Anyway it sounds a bit odd to me: training coordination (as in a basketball shot, a frisbee throw, a bunnyhop with a bike) to me always seemed to be pretty much seperate from training strength/muscle volume? Sure strength would allow you to throw a ball/disc further or make you jump higher, but not necessarily with better accuracy?

[makeset]

I started out this way, and eventually got into the sport of powerlifting, which is competition in the three main strength training movements (squat, bench press, deadlift).

I train 4x/week, 1.5-2 hours each. Being a weight class athlete keeps my diet in check, and I lean down to six-pack abs for the summer months when I compete.

Pushing eye-popping weights for maximal singles will get you injured (yes, even with perfect form), but I've found that's what it takes to get me off the couch.

[Eric_WVGG]

regarding older people and strength training, I know far more men in their 40’s—50’s who are physically fit than I do men in their 20’s.

I think Crossfit is the new mid-life buying-a-Porsche.

[paintnp]

I am 42 and the single best advice I can give you is to invest in a treadmill desk. This WILL change your life as a software developer. You'll start blessing the day you made this as a career choice because this is one of the only jobs that'll allow you to workout while working and end up being more productive than if were not doing so. Here are the readouts for the steps that I walked just on the treadmill (not counting whatever I do while not working on the treadmill desk) Current week (so far): 22 miles 58061 steps last week : 42.24 miles 105840 steps week before : 35.26 miles 93239 steps week before : 36.7 miles 94145 steps

etc..

I can easily hit an average of 5 miles per day of walking if I am not traveling. You'll sleep much better, have tons of energy and will be much more productive at work. And the best thing is, you use absolutely no extra time. I paid $1500 for the setup I have. I'd pay $5000 without blinking a bat after spending around 6 months with the machine.

[jeffwass]

I'm a bit curious about a treadmill desk.

How fast do you generally walk on the treadmill? You mention 5 miles easy in a day, which is 2.5 mph for 2 hrs. Do the treadmills auto-adjust speed as they detect you slowing or stopping? Do you walk much much slower for longer times, or walk at higher speed for only brief bursts?

On one hand I feel the walking would be a distraction, especially if I'd feel the need to occasionally stop and ponder over some details with more concentration.

But on the other hand I often find I 'pace' when on the phone at home (not at work where I'm more confined). And I feel that I have good conversations when walking with people, and it seems to make sense when I've heard of the walking meetings that Zuckerberg or Jobs like to do.

But I've never thought about trying to code and walk at the same time, for some reason it feels like I'd find it too distracting. Did you have that same trepidation before getting your desk?

[Todd]

I got the same desk about a month ago. Software development is one of those jobs that require you to sit for long stretches of time. The recent studies that link sitting with decreased life expectancy are what pushed me to action. Going to the gym three times per week doesn't help much in that regard. It's the sitting that's the problem. As you get older, things like DVTs become a real concern.

I love writing code. I hope I can continue to do it for the rest of my life. These studies really had me bumming for a while. The treadmill desk completely solved it for me. I don't expect to get a great cardio workout or lose weight. I just want to be healthy doing the thing I love.

Two nits for the LifeSpan (which I think is great). The first is: they have a decent warranty but it's non-transferable. The second: the Bluetooth interface doesn't work well, at least on my unit (though I've seen others complain). I have to manually track my stats.

[Nelkins]

Can you provide some details about your setup? Also, do you work remotely or onsite?

[chuckcode]

Treadmill desks look like a great idea all the way around. I just wish there was a model that would convert back and forth between sitting and walking easily. There are certainly times when I don't want to be walking...

[sharkweek]

Bike commute to and from work. It is the best "energy creator" at the beginning of the day and the best "unwinder" at the end. I get home and am in such a better mood when I walk in the door (albeit perhaps a bit stinky).

I'm pretty sure I solve some of my biggest problems while I let my mind wander on my ride home. It can be intimidating at first so I don't recommend immediately hopping on a bike and riding in traffic, but take a few weekends to get a feel for the bike of your choosing (lots of great commuter bikes out there) and then slowly get used to riding with cars zooming by you.

I've been doing this for a few years now and have never had more energy at work.

[Eric_WVGG]

As a fellow bike commuter, it blows my mind that other people pay money (in the form of fuel+payments+insurance) to get in worse shape, while we get healthier for effectively “free”.

[Jacqued]

I second this greatly. I have only taken it up recently and am left wondering why I did not do it MUCH earlier.

The most astonishing thing for me was the amount of energy I got from it. I used to be quite apathetic during the day, with intense sleepiness in the early afternoons, and now I feel awake during the day. I cannot overstate how beneficial this is

[millermp12]

Seconding this since it's getting short shrift here among all the talk about Rippentoe and Getting Big.

Took a substantial pay cut in large part to avoid the soul killing commute and to be able to bicycle to work (~9 mi one way). Probably the single biggest life event in the last five years (after having kids). Used to do it daily but recently stopped after having to sort out logistics with school drop-offs, so I'm shopping for an ExtraCycle to address that, then back on the wagon!

[thorin]

I've started noticing this since having kids. Not got a concrete answer but try some of the following:

* Drink as much water as you can and try and eat a mixture of freshly prepared food when you can.

* Work out and pick something you enjoy - currently I go kayaking, go to the gym and do yoga during the week and try to get out at the weekend into the countryside.

* Walk when you can, get outside and breathe fresh air

* Try to sleep (or at least be in bed) for around 8 hours a day

* Try to relax doing something not involving computers or tv each day

I was starting to wonder that my parents in their 70s seemed to have more energy than me but sleep deprivation can get you down after a while. Be positive and do what you can - it can be a downward spiral otherwise!

[danthewireman]

I'm 45 and have tried a number of different things. Here's what's made the most difference for me:

- Sitting desk but use TimeOut to remind myself to stand every 30 minutes. I tried standing and treadmill desks but they didn't work for me.

- Paleo/keto diet. I have much more energy and my bloodwork's improved.

- 5x5 Strong Lifts

- 16/8 intermittent fasting

- Get enough sleep. This and diet are ridiculously important.

- Fun hobby! I get up at 4:30am to write and I love it (most mornings).

Try things and see what works for you. Experiment. It always sucks in the beginning, but it's hugely worth the effort.

[agumonkey]

Going meta from your conclusion, cultivate the desire for new.

I'll second feeling the benefits of physical activity. The 7 minute workout is a great things to try for people that were never into sport. I was a runner for long time and never tried upper body / core training[1], and it's incredibly valuable. I really popped out of bed after that.

[1] crunches, dips, pushups, eagle, squats. Slowly but surely, especially the last two ones because they strengthened and opened hips and shoulders, and for a reason you just feel better after that.

[tomhoward]

I've tried a lot of stuff over the years, particularly focused on the physical: strength training, running, nutrition, paleo dieting, gut biology support.

Any benefits were short-lived until I started focusing on mental/emotional wellbeing, particularly relating to the subconscious mind.

I've learned that our propensity for fatigue, burnout and physical decline is heavily influenced by our subconscious perceptions of outer-world stimuli.

Two people can experience the same thing but have completely different reactions, which manifest physically as different levels of cortisol release, metabolic function, sleep quality, etc, all of which has a big impact on long-term health.

I've wound up using a few different techniques to clear unhealthy subconscious beliefs and behavioral patterns, and have seen a consistent improvement in my mental and physical wellbeing.

I still pay attention to fitness, nutrition, etc, but the payoff seems much bigger when accompanied by the emotional work.

[reflect]

I follow a morning routine regularly which includes:

-10 Minute Meditation

-10 Minute Writing/Journal - business quotes, ideas, etc.

-10 Minute Drawing (I'm not good, but the repetition has helped. I bought a book called "642 things to draw" which makes it very easy.)

-10 Minute Reading

-10 Minute Exercise (simple do it at home exercises)

This type of routine is discussed in books like The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and Level Up Your Day by S.J. Scott and Rebecca Livermore.

Once you get into the swing of things it keeps you on a good schedule for sleeping and waking up early. This gives me a lot more energy each day and stimulates my creative side.

[jpalmer]

Just turned 40 this year and certainly had been feeling the effects of neglecting my physical well being. I knew I couldn't undertake any drastic changes as they probably wouldn't last so I decided on a couple small things that were attainable.

1) Decided to pay attention to what I ate. Not necessarily to change what I was eating but just be aware and recognize I need to eat a little less. This has meant not getting the second round at dinner and cutting out most of the snacks at night.

2) Wanted to exercise. Again going from zero I knew I had to keep the bar low, so I decided on walking 25-30 minutes 3 times a week. Also to tone my upper body I also began 5 sets of 20 push-ups twice a week. These are mostly still on my knees but I'm getting better.

The result after 3 months have been great. I've lost 18 pounds and have a much improved mental outlook.

Importantly I wanted to keep the expectations and changes small. I can always ramp up later but going from zero I needed to make it easy to be successful. Also I track all of the above in a spreadsheet which is a major motivator to get the X's all filled out for walking and push-ups.

I wish I would have done this sooner.

[err4nt]

Wow! I dont know you, but hearing his even I am proud of the progress you've made! Keep it up :)

[c_prompt]

I built a "desk" on my treadmill. I walk 3+ hours @ 2.5 MPH pace @ 10% incline/grade 4-5 times/week while working. (I've increased the incline as it got less difficult.) To walk any faster makes it difficult to work on a computer. For the other 2-3 times/week (and over the course of 5-6 hours throughout the day), I do strength-training while working, all with "at-home" products (pull-up/chin-up bar, Perfect Pushup stands, dumbbells, ab exercise). The ab exercise I use is https://valme.io/c/health/fitness/t0qqs/my-abs-arent-steel-j..., and it still kicks my butt after almost 2 years. P90X rocks.

As to diet (which you MUST not ignore), I eat a lot of protein during the day (protein bars, protein shakes), in addition to vegetables and fruits, and try to limit myself to under 50g of sugar (only 25g daily from desserts). I also fast a few times each month for never less than 24 hours (sometimes I make it to 40). Gave up soda decades ago (which used to be the only way I could keep coding for so long). It wasn't until I started paying attention to diet that I saw enormous improvements in my abs.

I'm probably in the best shape of my life and thinner/more muscular than I was in undergrad. The hardest part was getting the routine started. Once I saw improvements after a few months, the rest was "easy."

[finkin1]

I'm 26. I've been sitting at my computer most of the day since I was about age 10 (Ultima Online, EverQuest, etc.) and it's been my job since about age 17. Just in the last year have I really started to think about my health and have attempted to create some good habits so that it's easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle as I get older. Here's what I've been doing:

1) Going to the gym. I've been doing a 4-day split each week (Legs + Abs/Shoulders/Back + Biceps/Triceps + Chest). I recently added 15 minutes of HIIT on a bike before starting my workout.

2) Going outside. I recently moved to Boulder so this has been an easy one. Being out in the sun regularly has made me feel a lot more happy and energetic.

3) Drinking water. I try to drink 2.5-3 liters of water a day. I track it using the FitBit app. It's harder than you think - I basically have to chug a liter when I wake up if I want to succeed for the day. I haven't noticed feeling much different, but I've gotten sick less in the last year than previous years.

4) Using a standing desk. I alternate between sitting and standing. Right now I'm standing ~25% of the time, and I'd like to increase that to 50% by the end of this year.

5) Investigating hobbies. I'm learning how to fly fish. Also working on designing and building a small aquaponic system.

6) Sleeping more. I've been trying to get ~8 hours of sleep each night.

[jimmydddd]

2) above is the best advice in this thread (IMHO). Move to Boulder, and everything else will fall into place. :-)

[startupfounder]

Increasing physical health significantly increases mental health in my experience.

Biking + Water = joy!

Fitness: Ride a bike! See the world! As you are already indoors most of the day staring at your computer screen (as I am) I highly recommend taking up an "out-the-front-door" outdoor physical activity that you can do for the rest of your life.

Biking is low impact on your body and you can get an incredible amount of fitness in a very little amount of time while taking in fresh air and sunshine. I have burned over 1,000 calories in one hour and over 10,000 calories in a day while traveling over 150 miles on a bike. It doesn't get easier, you just get faster.

As a side note: fat leaves the body through CO2 on your outbreath! WOW mind blown!

Fuel: WATER!!! Drink water & eat real whole foods. You should always have clear urine so drink water first thing in the AM and all day long, drink enough to take a piss break every hour to get you up and out of your work chair. This alone will make you feel 10x better.

Healthy fueling happens in the grocery store. Shop the edges of the store (not the aisles) and buy things that contain lots of water and are a single ingredient: vegetables, fruits, bananas, apples, carrots, dates, watermelon, etc. not items that are processed. I have a sweet tooth and after eating fresh bananas and dates I don't even touch/want the ice cream in the freezer. I swear, dates are the most amazing food on earth! Take them on your bike rides instead of processed bars. Eat as much fresh raw food as you want, your body processes it quickly and you won't feel bogged down like when you are digesting meat.

[equalarrow]

I'm in my mid-40's. I have two kids (both still under 4) and things are a lot harder all around. Wouldn't change it for the world, of course, but this was the year I stopped neglecting my health.

1. Got back on my bike. I try to do about 40-60 mi a week. Of course, I am already seeing results after 4 weeks of doing this.

2. This was unexpected, but I started using Rise.us and got a great registered dietician. My wife's been using the app since last year and has lost 40lbs. It was interesting always seeing her taking pictures of food everywhere we were. At first I didn't really get it, but now, I'm doing the same thing. It's really good for me having someone who can help me make better decisions about what I'm eating. Lots of veggies, moderate portions of meat, little fats. It's working well for me.

3. Cut out booze. Having young kids and non-stop days with something always going on; it's very easy to have a few glassed of wine a night. Now I'll maybe have two glasses a week. This helps with just feeling better all together.

4. Stand & sit at work. I try to stand 1/2 the time at work.

5. Water. I'm pretty strict about having enough water throughout the day. For my brain to work, it needs to stay hydrated.

All in all, I'm happy with where I'm going. I'm down about 5 lbs from when I started 4 weeks ago (started at 193) and my goal is 180. Maybe 175. I can't just do it biking and eating crazy and I see my Rise coach being a huge part of this.

[tzamora]

Low carb HIGH FAT. Eating a lot of animal fat (with average portions of lean meat) and almost zero carbs has helped me a lot.

Nevertheless I touched a plateau so I went to exercise, just a little, and then I became much more lean.

[sunsu]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It's the best full body, strength and cardio workout I've ever experienced on a regular basis. It's also very fun and mentally challenging. I've done many other martial arts over the years, and in terms of a "work out", none can compare.

Most schools are filled with very encouraging and friendly people. If you find one where that is not the case, leave and join another.

[smiksarky]

Recently picked up skateboarding because of the mental/physical challenge is unlike any sport or hobby. Even though I'll never be as good as the twenty-something year olds at the park, it's exciting when I am able to do something I've never done before. Sure I fall on my ass, but I also get myself back up & to try "riding that ramp" one more time. This may seem far fetched for someone in their late 40's, but if you have a kid or a friend who is up for something on the opposite spectrum of your day to day life, I find this new hobby of mine to keep my sanity while maintain what I can consider less of a 'regular life'. :)

[gwbas1c]

This is what I do:

- Try not to use an alarm clock - Get 8 hours of sleep a night. (I find that sometimes I need to take melatonin to avoid insomnia.) - Walk the dog every day at lunch time for about half an hour - Try to eat vegan most of the time - Limit myself to 1-2 beers / glasses of wine a day - Don't smoke tobacco

If you research what we really know about living healthy, it comes down to two things: 45 minutes of walking per day is what most people need for exercise; and modern Americans eat significantly more animal products than what our ancestors ate.

Thus, it's not very hard to stay healthy, as long as you can get over not eating a T-bone for dinner every day and aren't an alcoholic.

[melindajb]

1. Sleep a minimum of 7-8 hours a night, and go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time.

2. Screens off after 8:30pm.

3. Stop work at 6pm and spend time with family or doing things I find fun, stimulating. After about 40 hours of work the brain isn't any more effective. This forces me to ignore social media and get stuff done during the day.

4. Exercise: run 3x per week and one additional strength training session as well as a walk etc on another day.

5. Eat sugar, bread, alcohol and pasta in very small moderate amounts.

6. Use my time thoughtfully. say no a lot. get clear on my priorities and ruthlessly get rid of things not moving me forward.

7. Go outside after lunch for at least 15 mins, ideally 30. I walk my dog but you can just go outside.

[dmuth]

I walk 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) a day. If you have an iPhone, you can track your progress in the Health application, but I use a third party app called Pedometer.

In order to reach this goal, I take public transit to work, I walk for about 30 minutes during lunch, and I walk for 20-30 minutes in the evenings. It takes a bit of time out of your day, but the benefits are worth it.

I also cut out meat, chicken, and other processed foods from my diet (sweets) because of calorie concerns. This lets me load up with things like raw vegetables which don't have many calories but will make you feel full. If you're not thrilled with cutting those things out of your diet, then maybe see a dietician. Your health insurance may cover the visit.

I also make it a point to do daily weighins each morning, speak my weight into my iPhone (since I'm half asleep at the time), and periodically enter all of that data into a spreadsheet. This lets me track my weight and see how dietary or lifestyle changes I've made affect my overall weight.

[joelaaronseely]

I started doing P90X about 3.5 years ago. It's been a lifestyle change where I've made a commitment that I will work out 5 days a week (rest on the weekends) and I don't let anything else get in the way of this. I'm flexible as to when this happens - but I WILL work out for 1 hour every day!

Also I started Testosterone Replacement Therapy. This has been amazing! Whereas I had no energy after work and no interest in sex, it changed within a week after my testosterone went from 311 ng/dl to 1100 ng/dl. (And my wife was thrilled!) Furthermore because of the workout routine, I have gained 10 pounds of muscle and lost 5 pounds of fat - and have the DEXA scans to prove it. (This is after the first 3 years of P90X and having lost 45 pounds, so these gains in muscle and loss of fat was a bit of a pleasant surprise.) My strength is greater than it was in highschool. My energy level is higher, but not at the highschool level - but close.