Comment by rzimmerman | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rzimmerman | Hacker News Reader

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I think phrasing it as “30 minutes of light runnning” is a great way to explain it. A lot of people get turned off by “3 miles” or “5km” and it doesn’t account for slower paces.

A great way to start is to commit to 15 minutes of run/walk time 3-4x a week. When I decided to start, I did one long block where I’d run one way and walk back for 20 minutes. A few weeks later I’d run 7 minutes out (with occasional breaks at first) and 8 minutes back.

The goal is to feel good afterwards - not like crap. It’s better to do a workout at 80% of your capacity and want more than to go 105% and feel like butt. You want to develop a positive association in your brain so that you crave a run.

So number one piece of advice - go slow! If it helps, get a watch with a heart rate monitor and keep it below your 80% level. Worry about your times after the first 5k.

I think the problem with anything we do like weight loss strategies or healthy diet or exercise is adherence.

Long time ago, when I would start something I would try all the way. Loose all crappy food or not at all. The problem is that these would only last as long as my enthusiasm.

This is a disaster, because it means I just spent a bunch of effort on a project that brings no long term results.

So nowadays I always think how I can bring most results with as little resources (resources being my effort/focus) and then how I can get as much bang for the buck long term.

Running must be sustainable. That's why I run easy, every day. I could run every other day but there is something magical in building strong habits. In my case I no longer think about it -- I get up, I empty myself, I weigh myself, I head out the door for a run, I come back, take a shower, drink coffee. This is my morning routine and the only decision I make is what to put on based on the weather.

And it can't feel hard. And you need to have good shoes and clothes for any weather.

All nutrition advice in the world will not help if you will not stick to it. So I resolved to not start punishing myself by removing foods that I like, but rather I started by learning new foods that I can like but are also healthy. Over time, with more and more healthy foods I know I started pushing out the unhealthy ones.

This is my advice for lasting lifestyle changes.

Yes, the best exercise is whatever you will choose to do instead of sitting down.

Like body-weight and light 10lb dumb bell strength exercises while watching soccer on TV.

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