Ask HN: If you could spend $100k to get healthy and fit, how would you do it?

> Whenever I try and do these things myself it works for a few weeks, and then I go back to old habits. I’m done trying the same thing over and over, and then failing.

Every time I fail like this, it's because I tried to do too much too fast and it wasn't sustainable. If it's not sustainable, it's inevitable that you'll quit.

For me it's been a mistake to focus on the goal (i.e. don't focus on "lose 30 pounds"). Instead, establish exercise as a daily habit, regardless of the goal. Set aside the time to do it every day at the same time of day, a sustainable amount of time (not too much!). Ramp up slowly, don't injure yourself, don't get impatient, just do a little every day. Mentally commit to doing it for the rest of your life. Don't think of it as a thing you're doing for some other purpose, just think of it as part of your life that you must do every day.

It took a few years of weekend hikes before I was willing to make a commitment to walk a whole 1 hour every day -- and the only reason I did that was because I was going to do a multi-day high-altitude hike (EBC trek) and I knew from experience that if I didn't train for it then I'd probably not complete it. It was a decade before I moved on to other forms of exercise -- it's a very long process!

Someone else mentioned you should cook all your food. I agree, cooking your own meals is an amazing habit with some key benefits (not just nutrition). It provides instant gratification and also once it's established as a habit then you can use it as an exemplar for how to establish other daily habits.

Edit: By "exemplar" I mean that you need proof to yourself that a small gradual habit will eventually lead to the benefits you want from it. It's not easy to see the worth of delayed gratification that doesn't come to fruition within a few months. It requires "faith". Having gone through the process once will give you the proof you need to have faith that you can do it again.

A few thoughts:

* There are a lot of Wendler intro articles around. But his main book is a good buy — it’s affordable, funny, and written as a complete intro. You don’t need any of his other books.

You might need some form help but there are a million videos online about squat and deadlift and bench press form. Of course, if you want the Bible on those you can also purchase Starting Strength. There’s an 80 page chapter on just the form for squatting. If that doesn’t sound like a fun and energizing read, Wendler may not the right path. Learning good form for at least the three major lifts (and overhead press) kept me very invested. I enjoyed getting a bit obsessed with it. I love deadlifting especially.

* I’ve been using this site for programming for over a decade: https://blackironbeast.com/5/3/1/calculator

* The 5/3/1 refers to the goal of the last working set for each of the main lifts, each week. Wendler is a 3 week micro-progression, with a reload week, and then it repeats. The calculator is the best way to start. It makes it mindless and every rep and set is included in the output.

* The Wendler website isn’t the best place for programming, only because it’s all in the book or in that website link. I never liked using spreadsheets for this.

* Also also, if you think this is interesting and want to buy the book but it won’t arrive for a few days.. or you want a starter option before jumping into Wendler, the StrongLifts 5x5 app was basically conceived as a starter version of Wendler, to help get you accustomed to some of these patterns. The author says it’s good through intermediate level progress, but I think that’s underselling it.

But I’d recommend going to black iron beast, putting some nice low numbers for the Real Rep Maxes, switching the program to “Triumvirate (smart man’s program)” and then printing out weeks 1-4. After you do that, increase the rep maxes by 5-10 lbs (upper body versus lower body; Wendler covers this in the book) and repeat.

What I found helpful about this is: it’s programmatic, it follows a set pattern, and you don’t have to think about what to do in the gym. You can go by the program for many months, or even a year, before trying to alter or enhance it (don’t.. for a long time). You just do it and adjust if you can’t. The lack of uncertainty worked wonders for me.

Happy to answer any follow up questions.

Thanks! I'll check all this out. My goal is mainly to lose weight (about 30lbs) but I've been noticing little things like blood circulation isn't what it should be. I get tired quickly after a bit of exercise. Things like that. I'll check out the books. I always get confused over all the terms but haven't had the will yet to actually learn it.

And one easy way to give yourself time out is to go on a long adventure. Walk some ridiculously long track. Cycle North and/or South America. Motorcycle around Europe then to Asia. Spend a year in India. Live in a fishing cabin, or more remotely. The possibilities are endless and $100,000 gets a lot of travelling if you give yourself 12 months. (A lot longer than that even).

(Doesn't work so well if you have dependants of course)

TDCS is a form of neurostimulation that can be used to treat addiction, among other things. You can’t outrun a bad diet, and if you look at food as an addiction, then you can treat it that way. There’s even an ultrasound brain surgery they can do for addiction.

https://youtu.be/7BGtVJ3lBdE