How To Not Get Fat At A Web Startup

[shanedanger]

Working on the web all day long is a recipe for fatness. Not metaphorically, I mean literally. You’re sitting on your butt all day. And especially when you’re working at a startup and putting in 16 hour days, it’s hard to find time to take care of yourself...

[gruseom]

I'm surprised he didn't mention sleep. There is a well- established correlation between sleep deprivation and weight gain. Not that I am acting on this knowledge, particularly. But someone could!

[scottshapiro]

Super simple: eat to keep insulin and cortisol levels low.

Avoid sugar (including artificial sweetners), juice, grain, starch and sweet fruit (berries are fine). eat enough fat and protein to feel full. get plenty of sleep (8+ hours / night).

Exercise will improve strength, muscle tone and metabolic conditioning, but diet is far more relevant to body composition.

As Gary Taubes taught us in "Good Calories Bad Calories" this is a hormonal issue, not a thermodynamic one.

[asnyder]

Interesting, working has the opposite effect on me. This past week I barely ate. I usually get so caught up working that I'll only stop to grab a bite to eat when my stomach won't allow me to continue. I'm curious to see what the distribution is for HNers.

[jac_no_k]

I used to be really skinny because I too would not eat for extended periods because of the distractions that the computer offered. Then when I hit 25 years old, I started to gain a lot of belly fat. Eventually your metabolism adapts to being in starvation mode and then it becomes very difficult to convince your body that this is not the case. Eat normal, do something aerobic. I think that this will let one not get "fat".

[jkincaid]

I'm the same way; if I am busy I put off eating for hours longer than I should. Unfortunately I find that if I don't eat anything for a long time, I get progressively dumber. I read something that said there's a strong correlation between blood sugar and brain activity, but have no idea if it was scientifically sound. In any case, it seems true for me.

Sidenote: my best pick-me-up when I haven't eaten for too long are Triscuits, with a few glasses of water.

[pyre]

Isn't that bad for your metabolism though? I thought that that best way to eat was to constantly be eating small amounts of food because that keeps your metabolism up. [Note: snacking on an entire bag of chips over the course of two hours doesn't really qualify because I'm sure the content of the chips out-weighs the benefits of higher metabolism.]

[Evgeny]

Isn't that bad for your metabolism though? I thought that that best way to eat was to constantly be eating small amounts of food because that keeps your metabolism up.

There are also 'non-conventional' views on the aspect:

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/grazing-is-for-cat...

Also, a decent article on the subject here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-freque...

[tjr]

I've I'm working on something sufficiently interesting to get into "hack mode", then yeah, I can work for hours on end without even thinking about food. If I'm working on something boring (but has to be done...), then I'm much more likely to find myself fighting the boredom with an occasional snack.

[rwhitman]

Yea ditto here. I have a lunch at 1 and then work to 10PM without eating.

Such a bad habit, plus I'm so late getting out that I just hit up fast food and eating after 10 is terrible for your metabolism..

[Scriptor]

Eating late at night can be okay, as long as you don't eat within 3 hours of going to sleep. Maybe take a late-night walk as well to help the food digest?

[noarchy]

Bike to work, if it is possible. For me it is actually faster than using public transport, and it does wonders for my health, since I am not physically active at most other times (especially when working).

[billpaetzke]

I bike to work, too, and it does wonders for my sense of health. I'm also looking into getting a standing desk.

[mshafrir]

How good of an exercise is biking compared to running and walking?

[starkfist]

Biking is good exercise but is quite efficient so you have to do a lot of it to get the same effect as running or even walking. For instance, it takes me about 1.5 hours to walk to work and I burn about 600 calories. The same distance on a bike, even going pretty fast, I only burn about 350 calories. And that's going flat out the whole way... in reality there are many opportunities to coast.

I've found that walking is underrated as an exercise. If you live in a suitable area (like NYC) it's easy to walk 2 hours a day, and you can also use the time to talk on the phone, listen to podcasts or books on tape, or just be outdoors.

[potatolicious]

> "and you can also use the time to talk on the phone, listen to podcasts or books on tape"

Agreed on the walking, disagreed on the disconnection. Personally I feel like people have gotten disconnected from the world at large and each other for little more than a few tunes and podcasts.

I see everyone everywhere with earbuds stuffed into their ears - drowning out the activity and life all around them, absorbed into tunes that they've heard a million times already before.

I am often tempted to do the same - but over the last month I've made a concerted effort to eliminate headphone use while out and about (including commuting), and I think I'm a lot better off for it. I've had many an interesting conversation, have been more aware of my surroundings, and generally noticed and appreciated a lot of the things around me in the city that I used to just walk past without the slightest awareness.

I highly recommend this to anyone.

[starkfist]

I sort of agree with you but I walk to work at 5:30 in the morning. Nobody else is there. Also NYC has the opposite problem of most places in the USA. You're bombarded with so much "activity and life" that you tend to grab any amount of personal time you can get.

[brc]

I don't have the stats, but it's an excellent alternative to running because it is lower impact but requires just as much or more cardivascular work (depending on how fast you go)

Plus it's a viable alternative to getting somewhere, you can't walk to work unless it's within 2 miles, otherwise you're going to spend all day walking. Running to work is OK but it's hard to carry things with you.

[billpaetzke]

I wouldn't run to work. You'll get sweaty and smelly and always have to take a shower before work.

With biking, the constant air flow keeps you cool, so you won't have to shower at work unless it's really hot out. That's assuming your work has a shower (which mine doesn't).

[brc]

Eat less than you feel like and get 30 minutes- 1 hour of exercise per day.

The health and productivity benefits will outweight the lost time in food preparation and exercise.

[patrickk]

The second "proposal" reminded me of the South Park World of Warcrack episode, where Cartman....you know. Let's just say he didn't need to get up to fulfill basic bodily functions.

Anything can be taken to the extreme, even productivity ;-)

[wyclif]

Another thing that helps is a stand-up desk (this has been discussed on HN a few times). It won't reduce calorie intake, and by itself will not prevent you from gaining weight. But I believe it does encourage movement and improve posture.

[claytantor]

One word. Salads.

[redcap]

Man cannot live by salads alone.

But from a diet point of view, a lot of people aren't eating enough fruit and veg. Salads > junk food.

[petercooper]

Nice, unexpected HN reference in there :-)

[pyre]

At least with a USB port to the brain, you don't have to worry about accidentally up/down-voting something. ;-)

[invisible]

... Unless you sneeze? :)

[sliverstorm]

Step one: Don't eat