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Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

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Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#101
post #30
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll warn that that advice is like "get a therapist". They're weakly regulated/certified titles, and there are many people calling themselves as such offering terrible advice and plans. I don't think they're worthless by any means, good ones are great. However, you need to carefully vet them rather than trusting their advice by default to the degree you might (or should be able) to trust a doctor or the like.

The primary function of a personal trainer / nutritionist is not the advice they give, but that they force you to show up at the gym and keep track of what you're eating. It's 90% outsourcing of willpower and 10% knowledge.

If you're treating that as their primary function, you're just throwing away money, tons of money.

If you decide you want to work out and eat right, take responsibility for it and truly make the personal choice. Or buy a couple of self-help books to learn some techniques. E.g. The Power of Habit. It'll be orders of magnitude cheaper.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#102
post #92

If there is one universal truth of human biology, it is that exercise is good. It is good if you do a bit or a lot, if you are young, old, male, female, trans, pregnant, trying to get pregnant, single, married, divorced, depressed, a smoker, have cancer, have heart disease, have dementia, an astronaut, a pure mathematician, a plumber, tall, short, liberal, conservative etc etc. There isn't anyone that doesn't benefit…

I worry about my health and often I have a really good try and making a habit. But crap is it hard. It's not the money or the time. There's something else about willpower and boredom. I wish I could get on an exercise bike, stare at a brainwashing device, and "wake up" an hour later having remembered none of it.

I do nearly exactly that on my phone playing Predynastic Egypt, but on the elliptical instead of on a bike. Sometimes my legs start to hurt after 90 minutes, but I want to play just... one... more... turn.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#103
post #89

> It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. My #1 priority is to achieve my goals and have fun. If that means I die earlier so be it. I do exercise in ways I find fun, but I will not go to a gym and lift weights just because it increases my chances of living long enough to enjoy my pension. The real challenge in life is not to live the…

Why, and what does that mean? Rampant hedonism? Human intellect fails miserably at justifying existence at any level. If we look at what people have valued historically, health does seem important.

I think the point being stated is that exercising shouldn't be seen as a means to an end for living-the-longest-life.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worry about my health and often I have a really good try and making a habit. But crap is it hard. It's not the money or the time. There's something else about willpower and boredom. I wish I could get on an exercise bike, stare at a brainwashing device, and "wake up" an hour later having remembered none of it.

I do nearly exactly that on my phone playing Predynastic Egypt, but on the elliptical instead of on a bike. Sometimes my legs start to hurt after 90 minutes, but I want to play just... one... more... turn.

Yeah finding something you enjoy is key.

I hate running. I hate cycling. I hate cardio-class-type motions.

But damn do I love me some Dance Dance Revolution. And let me tell you, once you get good at it and start doing the hardest songs on the hardest setting, it will kick the living shit out of you. The first time I passed Max 300 on heavy I thought I was dying. But it was so worth it.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible." Living as well and as beneficently as possible might be higher priorities. The older folks with the desk jobs are often quite literally sacrificing their own well-being for their family's, "deprioritizing their health" for another priority. "You could not do more with your money than get professional help in steering your body" You could donate…

This is very misguided. If you get old with no exercise and deteriorating health, it's gonna fall upon your family to take care and worry a lot about you. It's immediatist if not selfish (by not wanting to face the different kind of discomfort) to do as you say. Being strong helps everyone around you passively and actively, with stronger effects as the decades pass by, and remember from other research that a strong b…

>If you get old with no exercise and deteriorating health, it's gonna fall upon your family to take care and worry a lot about you.

No it isn't, just off yourself when you feel like the time is right. I don't get why everyone wants to stretch these years out until the bitter end and would rather end up in a home than just taking a nice walk one day and not coming back.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#106
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do nearly exactly that on my phone playing Predynastic Egypt, but on the elliptical instead of on a bike. Sometimes my legs start to hurt after 90 minutes, but I want to play just... one... more... turn.

Yeah finding something you enjoy is key. I hate running. I hate cycling. I hate cardio-class-type motions. But damn do I love me some Dance Dance Revolution. And let me tell you, once you get good at it and start doing the hardest songs on the hardest setting, it will kick the living shit out of you. The first time I passed Max 300 on heavy I thought I was dying. But it was so worth it.

This is the best comment I have seen on HN all year.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#107
post #92

If there is one universal truth of human biology, it is that exercise is good. It is good if you do a bit or a lot, if you are young, old, male, female, trans, pregnant, trying to get pregnant, single, married, divorced, depressed, a smoker, have cancer, have heart disease, have dementia, an astronaut, a pure mathematician, a plumber, tall, short, liberal, conservative etc etc. There isn't anyone that doesn't benefit…

I personally think the research done on HIIT/HIIE-style[0] exercise has been pretty revolutionary.

Sure the status quo remains: exercise=good, non-exercise=bad, but reality is more nuanced than that and something like HIIT helps people who feel they lack the time for "full" exercise to justify a minimal time commitment with proven and significant health benefits.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_traini...

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#108
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP: article linking a study suggesting a strong correlation between exercise and mortality Top reply: I really really like to go to the gym, and I fast because I think it's really, really good. Get a personal trainer

You forgot "and therefore everyone else should too."

Yes, you should! Take care of your body!

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#109
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible.” Why? I personally don’t want to live as long as possible, definitely not if I develop some kind of neurodegerative disorder. I’d honestly be happy with 65. I don’t see too many people over the age 65 who I envy. Diet and exercise are big contributors to preventing heart disease, but when it comes to things like the vast array of cancers it’s…

That's a very shortsighted statement, but I can see where you're coming from. I thought the same way when I was in my late teens/early twenties. Was a way for me to justify unhealthy food, smoking and alcohol. Now I'm 30 and slowly realized it's not true. Living healthy when you're young doesn't have short-term reward. But I'm pretty sure when you're 50+ you'll be happy that you ate healthy, exercised and had a way t…

I’m older than you. When I was younger I thought you had more control over your health. Now I realize the amount of control you really have is minimal. It seems like a crapshoot. I see older people who did nothing to take care of themselves doing just fine, and plenty of fit people whose health is surprisingly bad.

I see some people over 65 who can do what they once did, but they are the exceptions.

I see how diet and excise impact heart disease. That’s obvious, particularly in the extremes. Other than that… it seems like the genetic lottery determines the majority of outcomes.

Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was with you up until "donating to the poor". Does that include feeding those who dont want to work but could and should? Unless we're talking about donating time to guide and counsel, to awaken them, and if they're on the right track, supporting them. How does donating encourage justice? What is the definition of justice? It's the light which reveals 'what is' in a society. That is not accomplished by donation alo…

You could, for example, donate to an organization fighting for justice like the ACLU or SPLC. It'd be just great if you gave some of your self-care time to guide and counsel.

People try in their own ways. So there are some organizations who do good. But they cannot revive justice after it has gone to sleep, in these circumstances. Would you play a game someone has rigged against you? Are those organizations capable of undoing what has been set in motion and of redesigning the game at this stage?

Secondly, what self-care time? lol

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