Thanks for the memories.
I think one of the bad things about getting older that people don't seem to discuss is the increase in death of both those you know or those you know of.
I think one of the bad things about getting older that people don't seem to discuss is the increase in death of both those you know or those you know of.
Need to halve my mass by the time I hit 30. Never had a healthy relationship with food. Parents were always stuck on yoyo diets :(. They're still here, thankfully.
I just, you know, don't want to die before them. My siblings would kill me. I'd also love to fit on rollercoasters again.
I started over 10 years after you so you’re good still :)
If you’ve got a smart phone get a calorie tracker app like Nutracheck and use it. Job done.
If you can lose 10 lbs (4.5 kg), that’s like setting down a bowling ball you are carrying all the time. You will definitely experience a quality of life improvement when you do that. Good luck. Then, do it again.
I’m much older but try to stay active (bike commuting, regular exercise, yoga, better diet) although not at my ideal weight it’s helped.
I have a coworker who lists exercise as a required “hobby”. I never thought about it like that, but it what helps her keep it up.
At the end of the day, it's all "calories in / calories out", but the real trick is figuring out how to change your calorie balance in a way that works for you, long term.
Some people do really well on some sort of rigid "I will eat an exact, precise amount of food each day", be it something like Nutrisystem or Soylent or just very carefully counting calories each day; other people can't stick with it. Some people do better just adding a solid, regular block of exercise each day, be it the gym or just walking; other people have trouble carving out the regular time. Intermittent fasting, eating windows, changing the composition of your diet, eliminating snacks or liquid calories, taking up a sport, becoming a gym rat ... there are a lot of reasonable ways to change how many calories you're consuming or how many you're burning.
The hard part -- besides actually doing it, because that's rarely easy -- is finding one that you can commit to forever, so you aren't, as you say, just trying out yo-yo diets.
If I don't pay attention to what I eat, and am fairly inactive, I tend to eat about 50-100 calories more per day than I burn, amounting to a 5-10 lb/year gain.
That is enough of a gain that it really adds up over time, and once it has added up it is quite daunting to deal with, but as far as maintaining goes, it's very reasonable to just add a small amount of light exercise on a daily basis.
Brings to mind how (the late) Captain Sir Tom Moore started his famous walk(s).
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-5232405...
If you don't really believe that, man, it's super fucking hard and the first step has to be a psychological shift. I would wholeheartedly recommend a professional, if that is in the books for you.
If you do however believe that exercise will eventually improve your life, then make it harder to say no: Join a club, any club, that involves moving your body. Hire somebody, depending on where you live maybe insurance coverage will get you going for cheap/free.
The gains in the beginning are hard but boy do they come quick.
But for your more garden variety “I am tired and my joints hurt” then exercise tends to be a virtuous circle. You push yourself to do a little, and it is rough, but it improves the body’s capacity. Then you feel a bit better later and can do more.
Being unhealthy is an equilibrium, and you can push yourself into a better equilibrium with exercise, food and sleep.
For 90% of people reading this what I wrote will be true. But you may be in the 10% where you have an underlying issue to fix first, so check with a physio and a doctor.
Exercising sucks.
Eventually you get good enough at it that you start to enjoy it-- I LOVE running now--but it's not without a fairly long period of pain and discomfort.
It's EXPONENTIALLY easier to gain the weight than it is to lose it. You can lose the weight through diet alone but that's itself incredibly difficult especially with a life of bad habits.
Running sucks, rowing a little as well. Lifting weights, swimming, walking are all great almost from the get go.
Lifting weights is by far the best. You can keep a leisurely pace, have plenty of time to talk to people, listen to a podcast, or just fiddle with your phone between sets, so it's psychologically easier. You become stronger so you feel the benefits all the time. And you gain muscle which means your base metabolic rate goes up, you have much more latitude in your diet and room for lapses.
Most importantly (yes), you look better in the mirror. Both instantly thanks to the pump and in the long term. Which is by far the best motivation to show up again.
Rowing requires you to focus on form as well. If you can get the form down (legs, hips, arms, reverse) the motion becomes very smooth and the pain that remains isn't pain, just soreness and discomfort from the effort. It's still damned exhausting, but it's a great cardio and full body workout. Back pain is still possible, I have sciatica and it's occasionally triggered/made worse by my rowing, but on days when I let my form slack or when I've upped the difficulty for myself (changed resistance, added time, added intensity). But the strengthening of core muscles has overall reduced the frequency of my sciatica problems. Like with lifting (which I need to get back into) it builds up a good bit of muscle and helps raise the base metabolic rate, though not as dramatically. I also don't think I've ever had a more significant improvement in my cardio endurance than when using rowing as a frequent/key part of my routine (other than swimming, but shoulder issues have forced me to avoid that as a regular exercise, I can go 1-2 times a week for moderate distance and pace with breaks, but not the 3+ times of continuous swimming for 30-45 minutes I used to do; take care of your shoulders people).
You didn't mention cycling, but it's another good exercise that's very unlikely to cause issues for most people. Also nice if you can find a good cycling route/trail near your home or office, or find a cycling group in your area. Riding as a pack can help with safety and discovering routes (this is my plan for the spring this year, once I get my bike tuned up, since I'm still new-ish to this area). Cost is an issue, but there are a lot of people that buy nice bikes that never get ridden and sell them a couple years later. Clean it, tune it, and you've got a great bike at a discount. Keep it clean and tuned and it'll last you years. A good indoor trainer isn't expensive (though not cheap either) and can turn it into a nice year piece of exercise equipment (if you live in an area where winter riding is untenable for you, or with frequent summer rains).
I hate swimming more than running.
I love lifting weights but hated it for the first long while.
Walking, sure but I never considered that exercise, again depends on the person.
- walking
- eating well
- sleeping regularly
- fun and non toxic people
The top 5 futuristic health tricks from the 4000BC era
He was very active, though. So mind you, eating well is also a key to go along with exercise!
They coped with it well, but it must be so weird.
Still, lots of other things to keep you occupied even at that age.
Mexico/good portion of the East seem to do things much better regarding it. (These are just the places I'm personally familiar with. Sure there's many others that approach death much differently than the U.S. does as well.)