Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?

Looking for tips to live a healthier lifestyle. I am a software engineer that spends pretty much all day at my desk.

While I have normal weight, I have literally no stamina or endurance to exercise. I have tried both cardio and weights, but nothing ever seems to stick. I am battling burnout so that makes this even tougher

I mainly want become fit enough to run 5ks / half marathons by the end of this year and just feel healthy and fit in general for being able to do more outdoor stuff like hiking. (If it matters I gender identify as female.)

Also looking for tips on good diet plans or other tips for living a much healthier lifestyle.

I think Dr. Greger - pretty much all his stuff, including all the free youtubes - are the bee's knees.

in short, that's vegan, low/no-added sugar, low-fat, lots of exercise, supplements, etc.

regarding exercise, i'm worried about it now that i saw a UK info-sheet that directly linked sitting with cholesterol. not a US-centric you risk being suspected of being at risk if you sit a lot-type argument, but a _direct_ argument.

and that latest study that said, every thirty minutes, get up and walk around for at least 3 minutes, and that will help keep your blood sugar in check.

and, thankfully, it and various other sources i trust (like Greger) said, even if you don't hit the ideal diet/exercise/whatever -- doing something, _anything_, is better than nothing, possibly a lot better than nothing.

so that's cool.

fortunately, i think there is a positive feedback loop. prob is starting. :)

if you're normal weight and adult, you're a 1%er - the 1% of americans (if you're us-american) - that are not overweight+++, so, good for you.

Try Stretching.

A lot of programmers get bored with normal exercises, but a lot of us seem to have affinity for both dance (especially swing) and rock-climbing. The correlation is uncanny, in my experience. Both of these are more mentally stimulating than most exercises, so it makes a certain amount of sense, though dance might be difficult right now with covid.

Personally I also enjoy just taking walks. I can daydream the whole time and it breaks up the work day. It may not seem like much, but if you walk for 30 minutes a few days a week it adds up.

If you're already battling burnout, don't turn exercise into another source of pressure. Just see if you can find something physical that you enjoy for its own sake, and then roll with it.

The way you do it is by making it stick. Stop giving up. Accept the pain, learn to love it, and then you will gain. You know your gender doesn't matter for this goal. All that matters is eating healthy and moving. It doesn't matter what your job is either.

Fwiw, I think diet plans are bunk. Change your lifestyle now and eat healthy today. Don't plan a fantasy.