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

You should read the book The healthy programmer by Joe Kutner. There are a lot of resources and tips for living a much better healthy. https://pragprog.com/titles/jkthp/the-healthy-programmer/

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.

Start where you are. Start small: take walking breaks during the work day. This may even make you more productive. :) Not enough time for a walk? Do some push-ups, or planks. Jumping jacks and squats can also be done anytime, anywhere.

When you’re ready, I’d recommend checking out some fitness classes on the weekends or evenings, like yoga, Pilates, HIIT, strengthening, etc.

Try Stretching.

Running clubs and activity groups make things a lot more sticky. You're meeting Dolores at 6pm to jog the track- can't back out now!

Check if there's a running club near you or a triathlon club, they're generally cool and supportive peeps, meet before/after work hours, and for me the accountability of having the team support/dynamic makes it a lasting lifestyle change.

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.

Podcasts are a great way to make boring exercises interesting. Walking or biking instead of driving is an easy way to get some exercise in. Bouldering is really fun & social.

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.

Maybe look into "Coach to 5k" running program if running is what you are looking for.

My own recipe for success was just doing very standard 5x5 StrongLifts weight training routine first thing in the morning 3 times per week. I just rolled out of bed, put on my gym gear and went to the gym. It took 45-60min to complete my sets then as a reward I took ~10min Sauna, then showered and went to the Office.

Endurance comes with practice. The trick with exercise and eating is figuring out what you need mentally in order to do it every day. And not “will power”! That’s how to fail. Pick positive things that keep you coming back. There are a million ways to exercise and eat, so explore. I’ll share some of mine only as examples, but seek out and experiment what things work on yourself. Do you want company, or prefer to exercise alone? Many people love classes, CrossFit, spinning, etc.

For running, I personally like pace music - a set of songs with the same BPM that I can run to. Or sometimes podcasts, audiobooks, or language lessons. I prefer to run outside when I can and take different routes every day. Smart small and don’t go too big too fast, increase your time no more than 10% per week. Biking is a way to explore the city. Sports like tennis or ultimate frisbee are a way to run while playing games. There are lots of meetup groups for hiking.

Changing eating habits is very hard. I started by tracking what I ate without trying to change it. Just monitoring by writing it down, looking up macros and calories, can help you see your inputs more clearly. If I count calories, it helps me mentally to save room for a treat at the end of the day. Counting calories did help me make better choices too; suddenly carrots and pickles seem like a way to cheat and eat something bulky and filling without blowing my budget, chips and cookies become easier to avoid because of how fast they use up my budget.

I’d do “couch to 5k” (assumes your a couch potato, let’s you run 5km), it’s great program.

Start slow but stay consistent. Dedicate some time each day. Do it every day you can. Push yourself a little more each week.

Look into cycling, you have a big range of efforts you can do from barely anything to full out and you will any ways put some km's behind you. Its less impactful on the knees and joints in general, running is relatively hard on your joints especially if its on asphalt or hard surfaces. I also sit at a desk (not all day but any way a good part of it) and my go-to is cycling (road, gravel & mountain XC). Starting is easy, find a bike and start pedalling. When you get tired pedal less hard and go home. If you feel like you can do more do a harder effort or sprint, then bring it back to a slower speed, etc. Lots of videos available on youtube.

I would encourage a combination of fartlek and slow running.

One day just go for a 20 minute "jog". Try and run as slow as possible with the goal of running for 10 minutes out and then just getting home. It's OK if you walk and do so when you need to!

The next day slowly jog for 5 minutes, then do 1 minute at a high pace, and jog/walk for 2 minutes. Try and repeat that 5 times. Turn around after 3, and then walk/jog home when you've done all 5.

If you do that a few times you can increase the numbers, but the difference between fast and slow running really helps!

This is what worked for me: I didn't start exercising until my late 40s. I picked a gym that offered classes, and made it the first thing I did at the beginning of the day. After that I'm ready to work.

I now have a personal trainer once a week who makes sure I am doing the work correctly, and gives me a variety of challenges. Your body is programmed to change in response to exercise stimulus, and you will see a difference in a matter of months.

I set up a stand up desk at work, and I regularly walk away from the desk to take breaks. After a little adjustment, I practically stand for 6-7 hours a day.

I have the same/similar patterns in my life. What I do is: I use kettlebells as my main and mostly only exercise tool. I occasionally run and cycle to work although last two are least options in my routine. Kettlebell is like 99% what I use. They are a great tool to build up stamina and strength with muscles[0]. I recommend to check Pavel Tsatsuline[1] “Enter the Kettlebell”[2]. Regarding the diet/eating I do daily fasting[4] and can recommend this for sure although it expects some planning with nutrition in your meals. Now regarding food if you wanna eat healthy stop buying/eating processed foods or reduce as much as possible, reduce sugar consumption overall especially artificial one, try to make your meals from raw foods as often as you can, I for example make meals for whole week over the weekend, it saves a lot of time.

[0]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21107513/

[1]https://www.strongfirst.com/about/pavel-tsatsouline/

[3]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enter-Kettlebell-Strength-Secret-Su...

[4]https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-preventi...

Just get disciplined about doing some physical activity every day without exception.

This is the epitome of one of those 90% of the results are attained just by consistently showing up type things.

Working out is just plain boring. Start a sport such as basketball or softball or start a martial like taekwondo. Taekwondo is heavily structured, is a total body workout that builds strength and flexibility, and is quite heavy on cardio at times.

I normally don't shill anything but I think it's worth it since it's free and there are no ads. Just Run. It's a couch to 5k app that starts from a minute or so of running (really jogging) to running a full 30 minutes. The amount of exertion at each step is manageable. All you need after the first couple of weeks is an audio book to go with it and you're golden.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jupli.run&...

Disregard if you like, but it's the first app that had any sort of schedule that I've completed. Good luck.

Cultivate consistency as a habit first before trying to optimize your workout routines

More veggies and meat in diet

Get enough sleep

Consume minimal junk food and sweets

Keep it simple, keep it lindy

Discipline is one way.

Interest is the other. I find bouldering is a full body exercise and involves implicit strength training while being extremely mentally engaging.

Mix running in with your walking. Go for a walk. Jog part of the way. At first maybe it's just for 20-30 seconds at a time. That's ok. Steadily increase until you're running most or all of the way. (aka "wind sprints" aka fartlek)

Running shoes make a difference. They don't need to be fancy, they just need to fit! Pay attention to the wear patterns on the bottom. If the inside of the soles wear out faster than the outside or vice versa you have pronation/supination issues. Not the end of the world but it will affect your choice of shoes.

Running shoes wear out pretty fast; depending on your weight and usage they lose their cushioning after just a few hundred miles or less. My personal opinion is that folks would be generally be better off with two pairs of $50USD shoes per year vs. one pair of $100USD shoes per year -- better to have fresh cushioning than the marginal advantages of the higher end shoe. But, I am not an expert by far.

Ultimately of course, finding something fun is the key to sticking with exercise. For me it was tennis. I love playing it and it spurs me to make better health choices elsewhere in life. Though I am very much a work in progress.

Most people who consistently exercise don't do it via amazing willpower, but because they enjoy the exercise they do. If you enjoy hiking or marathon running, exercise by doing those. Otherwise, use the responses here and search through the active activities state-space for things that catch your fancy. I enjoy tennis, so I do that, but if I tried to exercise by running I'd quit by day 3.

>I have literally no stamina or endurance to exercise

When I started bicycling, I felt the same way.

The only way is to struggle through it. Get tired, recover, repeat.

What makes a huge difference for me is having a progression plan and tracking my progress. With both running and lifting, it’s easy to set short term and long term goals and see yourself reach them week after week. That helps with building the habit, and the habit is all you need.