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

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

#91

Post by bequanna »

Diet -Cook most of my meals -No soda, little dairy -More Greens -Fewer carbs, more fat, more protein

Exercise -Strength Training 5x/ week -Walk ~2 miles/day

Notes on the above:

Try to make little changes in your diet vs. large ones. Pick out one or two things you would like to eat less of and actively try to reduce.

Cooking your own meals gives you a huge amount of control over what you eat (the individual ingredients) and how it tastes. I never thought I would enjoy cooking as much as I do.

If you've never done strength training before, don't be afraid to pick something that looks interesting to you and jump in. Crossfit, 5x5 lifts, whatever. Just get to a gym and start consistently doing something.

Mental well-being is still something I should work on. When I take the time to meditate, it is worth it.

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

#92

Post by 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'. :)

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

#93

Post by 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.

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

#94

Post by ghrifter »

Kiro wrote: post #57

So everyone is talking about weight training for strength only. I've done StrongLifts and Starting Strength and while it's probably effective for building strength it is also really boring in my opinion. Nothing beats the pump you get from doing some isolated biceps exercises. It's really addictive and makes you hunger for the gym. I would also argue that you release more endorphins when doing hypertrophy training (n…

> I don't understand why wanting to look good has almost become taboo.

Says who?

Also interested in your hypertrophy training. Any books/reading material you recommend?

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

#97

Post by oafitupa »

danthewireman wrote: post #84

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.…

What's 16/8?

And how can you get up at 4:30 and also "get enough sleep"?

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

#98

Post by janpieterz »

kleer001 wrote: post #72

Skipping breakfast. Intermittent Fasting, start eating at 12 noon, stop eating at 8pm.

Interesting, I already notice that I'm way more alert and active when I don't eat late in the night and go to bed a little bit hungry. Could you go into a bit more depth? I know that your metabolism changes quite a lot with eating a breakfast or not but was always under the assumption it kinda kickstarted it.

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

#99

Post by oafitupa »

Kiro wrote: post #41
wdewind wrote: post #9

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 bunc…

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

Why would you ask such a question? If anything made you a loser, it would be worrying about whether others think you are a loser.

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

#100

Post by methehack »

smiksarky wrote: post #92

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 h…

OMG I just did the same thing! In my mid-40s. I thought it was just me that was crazy. Got my 12 yr old a skateboard for christmas and we're both crazy for it. Of course, he can already Ollie and I'm mostly happy not to fall off (again) but it's been truly fantastic. Great to know there's another out there!
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