4 ms·

In my experience, one of the easiest ways is to make the process enjoyable. Try and find some sort of exercise you enjoy, or let yourself listen to your favouri

by jsty 8y ago

In my experience, one of the easiest ways is to make the process enjoyable. Try and find some sort of exercise you enjoy, or let yourself listen to your favourite podcasts / music whilst you're exercising. At the end of the day, if you're hating every minute of it, there's very little likelihood you'll keep with your programme. So do whatever you need to do in order that you enjoy yourself whilst doing it, and results will follow :)

pottspotts 8y ago
I like this idea. I have also been bad about picking podcasts that I like, though. I think laziness and procrastination might be a huge factor for me. :-?
- masklinn 8y ago
  Note that TFA did not exercise (much), instead they used numbers tracking as motivators, think RPG min/maxing. It also works great with laziness and procrastination because all it requires is tracking and optimising a counter or two.
- jsty 8y ago
  If you're struggling to start, there's a couple of things that might help. 1 - Arrange a regular workout with friends / a personal trainer. Once you're in the habit of exercising regularly, it gets much easier. And putting it off becomes harder thanks to someone else expecting you to turn up. 2 - Take something you really like (food, movies, etc.) and commit to yourself that you'll only do that thing after you've exercised to make it more appealing.
- time0ut 8y ago
  My approach is that I can only watch an episode of a show if I spend the first 30 minutes of it on my stationary bike. (I am currently following Westworld Season 2 and The Expanse Season 3.) Tying my motivation to do cardio to my motivation to see what happens next has worked well for me. Getting motivated to lift 2x a week is another issue...
  - gavingmiller 8y ago
    > Getting motivated to lift 2x a week is another issue... Was in the same boat until I started doing group classes. Used that to build accountability, motivation, and a "vocabulary" of how the gym works. Now I could spend hours at the gym by myself and love it. Find what works for you, cuz lifting is a blast!
masklinn 8y ago
> In my experience, one of the easiest ways is to make the process enjoyable. Try and find some sort of exercise you enjoy, or let yourself listen to your favourite podcasts / music whilst you're exercising. TFA notes that they didn't exercise (that they tried but didn't stick). Ideally you'd combine exercise and calorie counting, but for nerds calorie-counting makes the diet into a numbers game which can be a great motivator on its own.
magic_beans 8y ago
Exercise is ideal, but most people* don't burn enough calories exercising to enter a calorie deficit. Worse still: appetite spikes after exercise make most people eat more. All that really matters is eating below your maintenance calories. Exercise is the cherry on top for making your body actually look good. *If you're weightlifting HEAVY 2-3 hours a day 6 days a week or running marathons every weekend, then you are burning enough calories to enter a deficit. Otherwise: your workout is burning fewer calories than there are in a banana.
- triviatise 8y ago
  for me exercise has to be fun. I can easily do a 2 hour mountain bike ride and just have fun. I can kitesurf for 3 hours and still want more. Same with ultimate frisbee and hockey. Cycling, running, weightlifting are mind numbing. The problem I have with exercising is that it makes me really hungry causing me to overeat. If Im exercising 4 days a week, it isnt a problem. But if Im only doing 2 times a week, it is better to not exercise at all. Skipping dinner works for me (I eat breakfast around 8, lunch at 2, and late snack around 6) except my family wont let me skip dinner. When I used to travel for business it worked and I was able to get down to 165. Ive been stuck at 175 (5' 9") for a long time, I just downloaded myfitnesspal and will try that. I do like low carb because it reduces the hunger I feel making it much easier to follow reduced calories.
rwhit85 8y ago
Beat Saber (Oculus Rift) + fitness watch (Vivosmart HR+) + My Fitness Pal is working great for me. I'd been counting calories for a couple months and dropped about 8 pounds (which is good), but slow. My self-control was 'meh'. Got Beat Saber two weeks ago. I love music, and apparently I love dancing. Kept tracking calories. Down another 8 pounds in those two weeks. I've been playing about 30-60 minutes a day, and with my average heart rate (at a safe level) and weight, I should be burning ~400-1000 calories in those sessions. I understand a lot of that is water weight from working out, but I'm also keeping my calories in check WAY more easily. My graph from those two months of calories consumed was spiky with missing days (out of shame, not willing to enter them in). After starting with Beat Saber, my graph is incredibly consistent within ~200 calories, and always at or below my goal. Having an understanding of what 500 calories actually means in terms of effort helps me mentally connect that with the value of eating that extra 500 calories. It's some kind of connection that doesn't exist when I'm not physically active and tracking calories. Side note, I only keep track of my calories "burned" out of curiosity. Fitness trackers are notoriously unreliable overall, but it's motivating. I do NOT eat more calories based on activity done, which is a recipe for disaster IMO.

by jsty 8y ago

pottspotts 8y ago

I like this idea. I have also been bad about picking podcasts that I like, though. I think laziness and procrastination might be a huge factor for me. :-?

masklinn 8y ago
Note that TFA did not exercise (much), instead they used numbers tracking as motivators, think RPG min/maxing. It also works great with laziness and procrastination because all it requires is tracking and optimising a counter or two.
jsty 8y ago
If you're struggling to start, there's a couple of things that might help. 1 - Arrange a regular workout with friends / a personal trainer. Once you're in the habit of exercising regularly, it gets much easier. And putting it off becomes harder thanks to someone else expecting you to turn up. 2 - Take something you really like (food, movies, etc.) and commit to yourself that you'll only do that thing after you've exercised to make it more appealing.
time0ut 8y ago
My approach is that I can only watch an episode of a show if I spend the first 30 minutes of it on my stationary bike. (I am currently following Westworld Season 2 and The Expanse Season 3.) Tying my motivation to do cardio to my motivation to see what happens next has worked well for me. Getting motivated to lift 2x a week is another issue...
- gavingmiller 8y ago
  > Getting motivated to lift 2x a week is another issue... Was in the same boat until I started doing group classes. Used that to build accountability, motivation, and a "vocabulary" of how the gym works. Now I could spend hours at the gym by myself and love it. Find what works for you, cuz lifting is a blast!

masklinn 8y ago

> In my experience, one of the easiest ways is to make the process enjoyable. Try and find some sort of exercise you enjoy, or let yourself listen to your favourite podcasts / music whilst you're exercising. TFA notes that they didn't exercise (that they tried but didn't stick). Ideally you'd combine exercise and calorie counting, but for nerds calorie-counting makes the diet into a numbers game which can be a great motivator on its own.

magic_beans 8y ago

Exercise is ideal, but most people* don't burn enough calories exercising to enter a calorie deficit. Worse still: appetite spikes after exercise make most people eat more. All that really matters is eating below your maintenance calories. Exercise is the cherry on top for making your body actually look good. *If you're weightlifting HEAVY 2-3 hours a day 6 days a week or running marathons every weekend, then you are burning enough calories to enter a deficit. Otherwise: your workout is burning fewer calories than there are in a banana.

triviatise 8y ago
for me exercise has to be fun. I can easily do a 2 hour mountain bike ride and just have fun. I can kitesurf for 3 hours and still want more. Same with ultimate frisbee and hockey. Cycling, running, weightlifting are mind numbing. The problem I have with exercising is that it makes me really hungry causing me to overeat. If Im exercising 4 days a week, it isnt a problem. But if Im only doing 2 times a week, it is better to not exercise at all. Skipping dinner works for me (I eat breakfast around 8, lunch at 2, and late snack around 6) except my family wont let me skip dinner. When I used to travel for business it worked and I was able to get down to 165. Ive been stuck at 175 (5' 9") for a long time, I just downloaded myfitnesspal and will try that. I do like low carb because it reduces the hunger I feel making it much easier to follow reduced calories.

rwhit85 8y ago

Beat Saber (Oculus Rift) + fitness watch (Vivosmart HR+) + My Fitness Pal is working great for me. I'd been counting calories for a couple months and dropped about 8 pounds (which is good), but slow. My self-control was 'meh'. Got Beat Saber two weeks ago. I love music, and apparently I love dancing. Kept tracking calories. Down another 8 pounds in those two weeks. I've been playing about 30-60 minutes a day, and with my average heart rate (at a safe level) and weight, I should be burning ~400-1000 calories in those sessions. I understand a lot of that is water weight from working out, but I'm also keeping my calories in check WAY more easily. My graph from those two months of calories consumed was spiky with missing days (out of shame, not willing to enter them in). After starting with Beat Saber, my graph is incredibly consistent within ~200 calories, and always at or below my goal. Having an understanding of what 500 calories actually means in terms of effort helps me mentally connect that with the value of eating that extra 500 calories. It's some kind of connection that doesn't exist when I'm not physically active and tracking calories. Side note, I only keep track of my calories "burned" out of curiosity. Fitness trackers are notoriously unreliable overall, but it's motivating. I do NOT eat more calories based on activity done, which is a recipe for disaster IMO.