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How to balance health issues with being a founder?

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Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#21

Post by at-fates-hands »

antirez wrote: post #10

"Also I am have insane trouble controlling my weight, I am yet to find a safe place to exercise for free (I don't have money to pay a gym), and even with a carefully controlled diet my weight swings around madly (I managed to get 2kg lighter in 4 days, and then 4kg heavier in 2 days for example...) " I've good news about that. The +/- 4kg oscillations are just water, but you can fix the weight problem even without ex…

>>> just eat at a caloric deficit and you'll lose weight and the overall health may improve considerably.

This is completely true.

I was a D1 athlete through college. Once I graduated and stopped playing, my weight went through the roof. I went from 160lbs to almost 190lbs. I started having back problems and my doctor said I already had some arthritis in my back from both hockey and soccer. I was having a lot of back pain in the morning and during the day.

The doctor told straight up to lose some weight and change my diet. He said taking the additional weight off well help my back a lot; even a few pounds will make a huge difference.

I changed my diet, started doing yoga and stretching before and after my hockey games. Within a few weeks I could tell a huge difference, even though it took me a few more months to get back to around 170. The loss of the weight and stretching made a HUGE difference.

Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#23

Post by a8da6b0c91d »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #21
antirez wrote: post #10

"Also I am have insane trouble controlling my weight, I am yet to find a safe place to exercise for free (I don't have money to pay a gym), and even with a carefully controlled diet my weight swings around madly (I managed to get 2kg lighter in 4 days, and then 4kg heavier in 2 days for example...) " I've good news about that. The +/- 4kg oscillations are just water, but you can fix the weight problem even without ex…

>>> just eat at a caloric deficit and you'll lose weight and the overall health may improve considerably. This is completely true. I was a D1 athlete through college. Once I graduated and stopped playing, my weight went through the roof. I went from 160lbs to almost 190lbs. I started having back problems and my doctor said I already had some arthritis in my back from both hockey and soccer. I was having a lot of back…

If he's legit hypothyroid he's probably not even eating that much. Dropping calories under, say, 2500 will just make the problem worse.

Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#25

Post by dpeck »

Perhaps a little too much on the advice side for weight loss, but I suggest giving a ketogenic approach a shot.

I helped me drop quite a bit of weight, and after the initial hump of getting used to it didn't take too much effort to stay on track. Theres a lot of bad info about it, and it still breaks down to calories in vs calories out, but replacing the carbs in your meals with fat made me feel full/satisfied so much longer.

The keto subreddit is very good, and quite encouraging to read.

Also, a huge bonus that I never knew about, carbs make your body feel warmer, cutting out sugars and dropping some weight makes sleep in the summer months so much easier and more comfortable. That in itself can make a huge quality of life difference.

Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#26

Post by throwaway_xl5 »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #17
swombat wrote: post #6

May not be the advice you want to hear, but... you sound like you're in a country with a pretty terrible healthcare system (US? India? Ah, Brazil according to your bio on your site). The first thing I'd do in your position is move to a country with a proper public health care system - probably the UK. Do it via finding a job or any other method, but somehow do it. The startup itself doesn't matter. You write "I have…

Hormone treatment for hypothyroidism is provided free by the NHS in the UK [1]. I'm not sure about the conditions that migrants to the UK have to satisfy to qualify for non-emergency treatment though. (I am not a doctor, the following does no constitute medical advice, etc) Hypothyroidism is a life-long condition, so you need to get your medication sorted out asap. Someone close to me has this condition, so I know fr…

Entitlement to UK public healthcare is, essentially, that you are a current lawful resident. If you got a work visa (and are working - you can't be in breach of visa conditions) and moved here you'd be entitled.

Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#28

Post by r3dw00d »

I've been there, I spent years watching my health fail while I put my work, my startup(which eventually I left anyway) and finances ahead of taking care of myself.

The ultimate result: my life fell apart for about 8 months while I suffered through the culmination of the condition that caused my poor health. I couldn't work anymore, function like a normal human or take care of myself, basically I ended up housebound and bedridden. At that time I thought life was over for me, but, my family and friends rallied, took care of me, and helped me get through it. Now I am re-building my life. Instead of feeling bad that I "lost" so much time due to poor health, I feel that I have a new opportunity to live a different, better life.

After YEARS of saying, I'll deal with my health when I "fill in the blank", my body finally forced me to deal with it. I feel stupid for needing such a terrible thing to teach me a lesson, but now I can proceed in life a bit wiser and more ready to succeed.

Get healthy, you are not doing yourself, or ANYONE in your life service by "half living" while you struggle to find time to "deal with it". I don't know your particular situation, and it might be terribly difficult for you to take the time to heal, but you either deal with it now, or when things take a more serious turn, when it may be too late.

Hope you find the balance you need to get good an Healthy!

Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#29

Post by stronglikedan »

speeder wrote: post #13
meritt wrote: post #8

Drop the mobile games startup, it's not going anywhere. People will still play games a year from now. Find yourself a job. Get a gym membership. Change your diet. Get the medicine you need. Get glasses. Pay off your debt. Once you're situated, come back to your startup, and you'll find yourself 100% more effective.

I am in the startup because of the debt... where I live jobs that I could find don't pay enough to pay the debt. stupid, stupid, stupid decision to take that debt to do university, I should have started to work without a degree, I would be much, much better now...

> where I live

That's something that you may need to consider changing if the job situation is really that drastic.

You have nothing without your health.

Re: How to balance health issues with being a founder?

#30

Post by DanBC »

This is not medical advice: I have no qualifications nor registrations.

Hypothyroidism is full of some really fucking harmful quackery on the Internet. Please avoid those bad websites. You're right that it needs careful monitoring to get the dose right.

A general supplement of vitamins A,C, and D is probably not harmful. (Do not overdose on vitamins. They can be toxic and can kill.)

And now some other stuff:

Work towards getting better food and some exercise into your life. Set small, realistic, achievable goals. Give yourself credit when you meet those. Fresh fruit and veg are not too expensive and will make a difference. Good food will help you feel better. Exercise will help to reduce stress.

Investigate some course of CBT. This can be done by yourself from a book; or online; or you can get some guided course. In the UK it's available free (you ask your GP and say words like "CBT" and "IAPT" and "Primary care mental health services" until you get it; or you can sometimes self refer.) In other countries you'll want to find out who registers therapists and then search for a therapist with that registration.

It is surprising how much difference a short course and hard work can make - 8 weeks at 1 hour per week can really help a lot of people.

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