[computerjunkie]

Eat well, sleep enough and walk plenty.

Sleep is something which is seriously overlooked in general. From personal experience, getting enough sleep and eating well are requirements that need to be met first before exercise.

There is nothing is worse than exercising whilst you are deprived of sleep and mal-nourished.

Speaking about exercise, don't get hung up on dogmas and "this is the only way" personality that is common in the fitness industry. Pick what works for you. Just make sure you are moving on a daily basis because sitting down 8 hours everyday is not healthy at all.

Go for long walks in the park with family or friends. As silly as it sounds, it works. Walking is not only good for you physically, but also psychologically [0]. Walking is a basic human movement pattern and is one of the first things we learn how to do early in our lives.

My grandfather passed away at 94 two years ago from old age. He never went to the gym, never participated in long marathons and he was a frequent beer drinker. But he did long walks everyday on the farm in the morning and evenings, he also ate well and by 10pm he was in bed.

Morale of the story is that, go back to the basics and stick to them. You won't go wrong.

Edit: Added a reference.

[0] http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/walking-vs-sitting-...

[jclos]

"There is nothing is worse than exercising whilst you are deprived of sleep and mal-nourished."

I agree, and so does science. Sleep deprivation will wreck your training efforts, make you weaker, more likely to store fat & break down muscle tissue while also making you hungrier.

http://www.strengtheory.com/sleep-pt-1/

http://www.strengtheory.com/poor-recovery-and-increased-musc...

[jcater]

The flip side of that for me, as a long-term (25+ yr) insomniac, is exercise is the only thing that has ever gotten my sleep issues under control.

So, yeah, I think it's not smart to deprive yourself of sleep and still exercise. But if you're cursed with sleep issues, consider getting started on an exercise routine even with little sleep.

You may find out in a few weeks time that the sleep issues go away.

[antisuji]

Yeah, some habits (like exercise and sleeping well) are mutually reinforcing and it can be hard to introduce either one in isolation.

Reminds me of this attempt[0] I recently ran across to identify the central nodes of a habit network. A neat idea, and one I hadn't seen before, despite a pretty good familiarity with the literature of habit formation.

[0] https://medium.com/forte-labs/mapping-the-habit-graph-13e851...

[themoonbus]

As someone who loves to walk, loves beer, and has been going to bed early, but doesn't necessarily make a point to exercise, your post is encouraging!

...but I really should also make a better effort to exercise.

[rdudek]

It really helps to do it in small steps. It is really hard to try to do everything at once.

My first step was to be more active. I take breaks at work and I spend my entire 1 hour lunch walking around outside. Lately, I've been doing speed-walking and a bit of running too now that weather is getting nicer.

Once I got into that habit of moving more, I started looking at my diet and changed a few things around. Started by making my meals smaller. Then I took off the extra calories in meals like cheeses and such.

Next step I hit the local rec center and be active there. Swimming is great workout and quite relaxing. They even have a small gym so I can hit the weights. Once I hit the weighs, it wasn't long until I started to see muscle composition change. At the gym, I completely ignore the cardio stuff. Cardio stuff I can do elsewhere. So I hit the machines and weights. Before hitting the gym though, I started taking pre-workout supplements like C4 Extreme, it really helps with the energy levels especially after work.

After about a year, this has grown up me in such a way that it's like a second nature to do these things and I feel weird if I do miss a day.

Your milage may vary and may not be recommended for everyone. But, the only way I was able to pull this off is by starting with small steps.

This goes for pretty much everything else in life :)

[themoonbus]

Well, there were times in my life where I was going to the gym 3x a day, biking and playing tennis and soccer on the weekends.

Now, life has gotten in the way a bit, but I try to make sure I'm still moving during the day, eating well, and getting enough sleep.

[rdudek]

Oh, I only go to gym about 3 or 4 times a week. Things somewhat change when kids come into play :)

[themoonbus]

Oops, I meant to say "a week", not "a day".

[computerjunkie]

I agree that its neccessary to make a better effort to execise, but I've seen the older you get, the more walking feels like a strenuous exercise. Especially if you don't walk plenty.

So don't sweat it. Keep on walking and enjoy life!

[sliverstorm]

There is nothing is worse than exercising whilst you are deprived of sleep and mal-nourished.

Which is my personal battle. I don't want to sleep the 9 hours I seem to need, and my eating habits are insufficient, to the tune of 1k+ cal on some days. (young male, active)

My latest revelation has been a good fitness tracker that estimates the caloric cost of my various activities, and is finally forcing me to get enough calories.

It's also throwing my poor sleep patterns in my face, so we'll get to those soon...

[fapjacks]

One saving grace is that the older you get, the less sleep you need (within reason). I slept 9-10 hours a day out of sheer need in my early 20s. Now more than a decade later, I am good with 7-8.

[dpweb]

Definately agree that walking can make a huge difference. I felt, better results than ADD meds. Of course YMMV but I was shocked the difference a 45-60 min. walk outside every day made.

I would add - eat less food. It's very easy to over eat. Your body is working hard to process all that food you eat and I like the occasional McDonalds - you can indulge more often and still maintain or lose weight so maybe think about not just what you eat but how much - especially those of us who don't like working out.

[octatoan]

Sleep enough and well. Sleep quality is really important, too.

[tux]

" From personal experience, getting enough sleep and eating well are requirements that need to be met first before exercise. "

I couldn't agree more! You must get enough sleep first, then try eat more properly. Then and only then you can start walking and excising. If those first 2 things are not done properly, exercise will actually make your health worse.