Sobriety... 1 month and 2 days so far
Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
251–260 of 478 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#252This will sound a little boring to you but the following 5 habits made me stronger after only 2 weeks. I suffer from general fatigue (I did a million check up with specialist and nothing came out). I've tried so many different things to boost my level of energy naturally, that's the result of a long study and experiment:
- Cutting caffeine to only one coffee on the morning and taking that coffee at least one hour after waking up, always at the same time. If I switch that habit of about an hour I get tired and get a slight headache, it would take me at least 2 days to get back on track. It took me a while to figure out how to optimize the intake of caffeine to avoid any side effects.
- Restricting time eating (intermittent fasting?). I leave myself a window of 10 hours, sometimes 9 when I can to get all my meals. Outside of that window it's only water. Our liver works efficiently for about 10-12h per day. Thanks to that I do have more energy in general.
- No more pasta and sugary products (besides fruits) inspired from the keto diet. Though, I do not get most of my calories from fats as suggested by the keto diet.
- I eat a handful of berries every single day all at once. It boosts my digestive system and fibers are essential.
- I try to run once a week for at least 30 minutes and at least 3 miles at once. This improve my general breathing and body strength.
That's it! Again, if I stick to these 5 habits, I win every day.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#253Switched to a ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting 5 months ago. My sleep quality, mental clarity, ability to focus for long periods of time and mood swings have all improved dramatically. I am also shredding fat at a pretty good pace and apparently also gaining muscle (I lift every single day if I can).
I've been trying the opposite lately -- a high carb diet. I've mostly been modeling my eating style after Dr. McDougall's "Starch Solution" plan. He basically believes that humans are designed to eat starchy foods (potatoes, whole grains, etc), and that fats are bad (healthy fats -- like from avocados -- aren't necessarily unhealthy, but aren't great if you are trying to lose weight). So one of the core tenets of thi…
I hope you'll update this post in a few weeks / months. It sounds very counter-intuitive based on prevailing wisdom.
It might also be a good idea to have your physician check your blood glucose levels, other markers of pre-diabetes, and liver-function enzymes.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#254Just eating less carbs has made me feel a lot better. I'm not too intense about it, but just being mindful of it makes me a lot less tired after meals.
I did 3 weeks of steak and eggs and it was amazing. It's easy. You eat only 2 things: steak and eggs. Your grocery list is short. Only 2 things. In the beginning is hard, but you see you loosing weight fast and your hunger will go away, but after sometime you need to go back and it other things. It's the perfect diet for me.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#255In November, I wrote a personal update later and found some people that I hadn't talked to in over 5 years. I sent 10 people that letter and said if more than 5 reach out, I am going to do this monthly. 8 of them reached back out! I felt honored that people still remembered me and wanted to keep up. I've been doing as vulnerable a letter as I can every month. And people I know from all sorts of relationships are read…
That is really fascinating. Since its been a few months, have you noticed stronger relationships with the 8 people who replied back to you originally?
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#256Learned how to cook easy dishes for my family. My wife and I for years went all out on cooking stovetop dishes that take an hour or more of chopping and other kitchen labor before the meal and another 30-45 minutes of cleanup afterwards. Exposure to Spanish dining habits on a vacation, use of time-saving tools such as an electronic pressure cooker and rice cooker, and learning how to use an oven for simple dishes rea…
are you following a book or a website for the recipes? I would love to cook more at home but it takes time to find good recipes.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#257Replacing alcohol with water, except for occasional social events. Too many times I’d come home dead tired mentally and reach for a cold one, which inevitably led to…another cold one haha. Replace with water (bonus if you add a little apple cider vinegar to it!), you’ll feel better and your body will thank you. No non-social drinking allowed!
+1 to adding a splash of apple cider vinegar! I was wondering if I was the only one the door that since my SO looks at me like I am crazy.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#258Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a question regarding that. I'm not particularly fat (185cm / 6'0'' tall and weighing 85kg / 187lb), but I'm quite unfit (you wouldn't be able to see any muscles on my body). When I try to do something like a 7-minute or 9-minute workout, I'm usually unable to continue after 3 minutes because of sheer exhaustion, and I'll have aching muscles for the next few days after that. Any recommendations how to overcome…
Cardiovascular exercises: use a heartbeat monitor and check that the frequency is within a certain range during the exercise (you can look up how to find the range on the internet). This way, you will not be pushing yourself over your limit. Weight lifting exercises: choose a weight such that you can do the exercise 12 times (reps) correctly without getting exhausted/fatigued. Then correctly do 4-5 sets of that exerc…
My personal cardio "training" routine was to "run three times", which means, I would run as long as I could (which may not be very long at all!), then walk until I was recovered, and then run again, until I'd run three times. If I'm running outside, I'll run "out" in one direction until my three times are up, and then make my way back at whatever pace I can. When I'm running on a treadmill, I'll usually stop after my third recovery period, but I'll increase my speed throughout the run.
I don't over do it with this routine. If I'm out of breath or something starts to hurt I just stop running and walk for a bit, but it helped me work up to a reasonable amount of cardiovascular stamina the couple of times I've fallen completely out of shape. I usually abandon it once I have enough stamina that I become time-constrained on how long I can run rather than physically.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#259Reducing my portions for food, even if it's healthy stuff. I've found that it's helped me drop a considerable amount of weight yet still be able to have things I want to have, even if they're unhealthy. I started playing around with it towards the end of college and its helped me reduce food spending, intake, overall weight, and I've been shrinking dishes so the dishes I do have to do are smaller. In the vein of redu…
I've had issues with sticking with exercise all my life and at some point I figured out that it has to be really fun for me to want to do it. When I lived in Sydney close to the beach I was always itching to go to play beach volleyball and I still miss it. Here in London I decided to go to Krav Maga and it has the quadruple benefit of being fun, learning a really useful skill, building confidence in not being afraid…
+10 to Krav Maga. From a second person perspective:
My partner has been doing KM for 2-3 times a week for over a year now and since then I see clearer thinking, responding instead of reacting, better sleep quality, losing weight as her gains. I am inspired, while I play badminton 3-4 times a week for 3/4 to an hour to stay sane, needless to say she finds time to play with me!
@jnsaff, I would say stick to KM and kudos for cultivating such a habit.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#260I've started keeping a spreadsheet of things that slow me down or waste time at work. Each time I sense I've wasted time I add an entry describing what the time-suck was and how much time it cost me.
It's been very eye-opening, and a good source of guidance for corrective action.