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Comment by GekkePrutser | Hacker News Reader

True I can see that in myself too but I'm not going to change...

I'm working on losing some weight by dieting but I just don't like sports. And my health isn't that important to me. I just don't care enough to do it just for that reason. And I never will. Any campaigns to encourage it will be lost on me. I have to die of something eventually :) It's important to enjoy life too. Most sports enthusiasts actually like what they're doing so it's easy for them.

I do go for hikes but not really for the exercise, more for the peace of mind of being in nature than the workout. I also walk a lot just for transportation because I don't own a car. But I live in a small city so distances aren't enough to class as real exercise.

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> my health isn't that important to me.

I'm curious how old you are? Because this sounds like the hot take of a young guy ;-). Take it from someone deep into middle age -- being healthy isn't about living a long time, it's about how much you hurt on the way.

> And my health isn't that important to me.

In the US, if you have kids, especially while in your 30s like many people do nowadays, staying healthy through 60s can provide an immeasurable boost to your kids’ probabilities of achieving/maintaining security. Through 70s and being able to take care of grandkids is an even bigger boost considering daycare prices.

Getting to 65 without needing hospital care is a big benefit too, since 65 is when you qualify for taxpayer funded hospital care. I assume it will be more than 65 when I am older, or it will be means tested.

No kids here and I'm not in the US :)

I mean I do care some about my health but not so much that I'll spend 6 hours a week on a mind numbing treadmill. And I absolutely hate team sports(the commitment and rules etc). There is just no sport I like.

The recommendation is "150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week", 6 hours of treadmill isn't required and it would probably make it more palatable without thinking like that. I'm not a team sports person at all, but I've found I enjoy the gym and jogging, those both can be solitary activities where you throw music or an audio-book on and just go.

I like racquetball. No team required, very, very few rules. Decent amount of movement, and minimal chances of injury depending on how you play.

Swimming is the ideal cardio, I think. No impact on joints, and almost zero chance of injury.

Racquetball is so great for the winter months if you live somewhere it's regularly below freezing. Really easy to pickup and play, hard to master.

It's really not about liking or not , most things are just habits. It's isn't necessarily a healthy state to like inactivity either. Humans aren't built to live in small square rooms , it's an acquired taste that most people have because they grew up in cities.

I think the treadmill sounds terrible as well, but maybe be open to the possibility that you would enjoy some if fitter and thinner. I’ve been strong and fit and I’ve been pretty overweight. The state affects what you perceive as enjoyable.

Try riding, maybe with an e-bike. Gets you out there in a similar way to hiking. Do it with friends or not. If you get vaguely hooked it gives you a new way to explore areas. Even if not that, please don’t give up on the idea that maybe you’d enjoy a sport if it didn’t suck. It’ll suck a lot less when you’re 10kg lighter. Two weeks of changed patterns and I’d guess you might feel differently.

I’m currently overweight and just took up a new sport to make exercise more fun. I ride and sometimes run, but no upper body. So started BJJ to get some form, suppleness, technique, social fun with friends. I’m not there yet but I can’t wait to feel a bit stronger again.

Have you ever been fit/strong? Friends who haven’t often just hit that initial annoyance or pain and quit. I have been fit so I know that feeling is just temporary and it doesn’t take long to fix.

You don’t need to. Just go for a 20 min walk every day and change your diet to be more healthy. Read “How Not To Die” to learn the food skills you need.

> I'm working on losing some weight by dieting but I just don't like sports.

What have you tried?

I discovered relatively late in life that I really like lifting weights. I'm really happy in my own zone with some music in my ears just pumping iron. Picking up heavy things and putting them down again, getting stronger.

I never even considered trying for so long because I was so burned by the whole "sports"-thing which just isn't my jam at all. Competition does absolutely nothing for me, but struggling against something difficult and overcoming is different. It's a problem to solve, a skill to hone; not a competition to win.

I am in the same flabby boat really. I don't really need a lot of health to keep my life where it is now. Can I walk? Can I talk? Can I go up two flights of stairs? Can I carry a piece of luggage to the car to go to an airport?

Beyond that, I have no real physical needs living the stereotypical software dev life behind a computer.

100% I feel this.

I love good food, and hate sports of all kinds. I am in the 'nearly overweight' sort of body size. The only reason I haven't gone all in on the fat life is because we live where there are woods and outdoors areas. I don't want to be winded when I'm just walking around looking at things.

You most certainly will the moment your body starts failing you and you have to live with pain every day. But at that point in time it will be too late. Health is not about not dying. It is about quality of life and long term happiness.

Just gonna add to the chorus of "this is really easy to say when you're still in good health." You'll care when it goes bad. I had ten screws put in my spine and two discs removed a few years back, which has the unfortunate side effect of putting more strain on my hips and making them very stiff. I got lazy midway through the pandemic and totally stopped lifting for 15 months. I got a little fat, but only a little, and that wasn't really a big deal. But it destroyed my hips. They got unbelievably stiff, almost nonstop daily pain, at one point I could barely even keep having sex with my wife because the positions hurt so much.

As soon as I started squatting again, all that hip pain was instantly gone, literally the next day. I'm not even talking extreme effort here. Two days a week, nowhere near a heavy weight. Just squatting at all, and so much of a quality of life boost I was missing out on for no reason, just sheer laziness and apathy.

Sometimes it's worth it to do something you don't enjoy at least a few hours a week, to make all of the rest of your life more enjoyable in return.

Get two dumbbells and do a 10-minute dumbbell workout off youtube. Better than going on blood pressure pills or whatever is coming down the line for ya.

Going on a hike is definitely exercise and walking can be depending on your pace.

> [...] I just don't like sports [...] Most sports enthusiasts actually like what they're doing so it's easy for them.

That's true, but some people worked to find a sport they like. Personally, I like trying new things, which is how I found a few sports that I like (mostly weightlifting).

I think it's worth trying to find something you like, especially if you enjoy new experiences. If you find a sport you like, then it's a new hobby you can enjoy, and getting healthier is just a nice side benefit but not the main thing IMO.

> It's important to enjoy life too.

Just fyi, being healthier usually means you enjoy life more. I mean, depending on how unhealthy you are. Though to be fair, just dieting to lose weight is in most cases going to improve both health, and how you feel on a daily basis, quite dramatically.

> my health isn't that important to me

There's a saying: "health has many wishes, illness only one". You will miss your health when it's gone.

The simplest thing you can do to lose weight reduce the amount of sugar that consume, eat some vegetables. and reduce your feeding window. I highly recommend just eating once a meal day. Try it for a week. I guarantee you feel better by the end of it. If not I'll give you your money back ;).

> I do go for hikes but not really for the exercise,

I doubt that outside of 10% of fitness fanatics the rest don't have similar motivations as to yours. Just having a work out is seldom a goal for anyone. :)

If you're walking for transportation and hiking, then you're likely getting well above the level of physical activity the CDC is discussing.

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