7 ms·

Bear with me. It may sounds little cliche, may be mildly cheesy. I had a self realization and received the advice from myself during one of my "zen state ponde

by sainib 4y ago

Bear with me. It may sounds little cliche, may be mildly cheesy. I had a self realization and received the advice from myself during one of my "zen state pondering" that - being in the best shape of my health with improve EVERYTHING by 10x in my life. A technologist for 24 years. Almost got my last product startup acquired in 2014 by a (back then) 500 million USD company. I have been obese for 15 years. I have lost 30 pounds in last 4 months and now lifting and working out 4 days a week(I try 5 days). I look forward to working out now. I feel so much more energetic and elevated state of awareness. Everything is already so much better.

VeninVidiaVicii 4y ago
It doesn’t sound as cliche as you think — in my opinion the problem is prioritizing yourself over your productivity. I’m a geneticist with a unique set of analytical skills that keeps me tied up in dozens of projects at a time, and my health is always the thing I let slide. Whenever I finally decide to workout, I tell myself, “I’ll never let that much time go by between workouts again.” Then invariably, I don’t have time. How did you overcome that?
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  You have a limit of X projects so let it be say 20 instead of 30. Being fit means you will perform better at work on those fewer projects. Drop to 10 and train other people? Other than that, I am trialing pen and paper for todos and exercise plans. I think this helps. Also see an exercise physiologist occasionally and that helps alot. A personal trainer you check in with every 4 weeks is similar. Finally just see it as essential. You will die if you don’t do it kind of thing.
- vl 4y ago
  Do a small workout every day and do it first thing in the morning. This way you know you have to do it every day and it takes priority above everything else - if you don’t have health, how are you going to do other stuff you want to do?
  - roflyear 4y ago
    Yeah not possible. Waking up to phone calls to fix things every day...
    - croo 4y ago
      I had the same problem and found that the extreme was the only thing that worked for me. What I mean is that for like 3 months make your first priority to work out. Not your second or your "one-of-the-important-ones" priority. Your first. Absolute first. After 3 months your body will adjust and you will carve workout and built a habit that is easier to follow.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - vl 4y ago
      There is no magic bullet, you don't have enough time to do everything and need to prioritize. To fit exercise in, you need to let something else go. Doing it first thing in the morning is a trick to simplify prioritization. Do not check your phone until you exercised. Obviously go to bed earlier to get better sleep.
- emadabdulrahim 4y ago
  They way I overcame that is by realizing that working out is essential to my mental health. I wanted to level up my baseline of overall well-being so that my worst days are not that bad. Which means I can bounce quickly from setbacks. Where in the past I'd have recurring periods where find myself spiraling downwards. Working out keeps me sharp at work which is cognitivly demanding and requires high levels of creativety and problem solving. From that angle, I take it seriously as core part of my day and my identity. Overtime I started to enjoy doing hard thing in and of itself. Which is changing my life beyond what I could imagine.
- sainib 4y ago
  Thanks for your comments. Over last 15 years, I have tried to loose weight and sooner or later I ran into - "I dont have time" or "this customer proposal is more important" syndrome. Derailed my effort. Before I knew I was back to or worse than where I started. I feel different this time. Its almost as important as eating everyday to stay alive. As important as having work to earn bread for family. Being analytical, I have tried hard to find whats different this time. I dont think I have exact understanding but here are some factors that I came up during my pondering . - Something just triggers this mindset where working out becomes a part of you. Almost a necessary activity like taking a bath. You can skip a day or two but it starts to smell and feel like you MUST do it. - I feel the trigger has one or more the following components : 1) WHO - You do it for someone. It could be you yourself, family, kids, grandkids, girlfriend. 2) You have a strong realization that LIFE is finite & You want to have a better and longer life. 3) You are FED UP with something. - Goal setting & how your mind processes goals - In past, my goals had a finish line. Like - "I want to loose weight" or "I want to run a half marathon". I was able to achieve those goals and almost soon after that my mind was like: "That's it man. We are done. Lets go back to default mode" (busy work, less active life style). This time my goal is - I WILL LIVE REST OF MY LIFE IN A HEALTHY MANNER. There is no end date or finish line. The results do not matter. I dont have goals to loose 2 pounds every week. I just do what I need to do to live healthy. - There is also realization that EVERYONE must go through pain and pay with money and time, for your health. You do it in Gym or Doctor's office. You chose. - Accountability was a big factor for me. In past, I would start but drop off at some point. This time I hired a gym-owner fitness trainer (awesome guy). My net investment is less than 3K a year. I go to him 2 days a week. Just that will easily help me live at least a year longer (keeping all other factors same). Whats the value of one year of time for me? Priceless. 3K is dirt cheap. I can go on. I have been taking notes in a google doc with a hope to covert that into a eBook someday. I have thoughts from so many different perspectives, that I feel can help others too.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
vl 4y ago
I’ll add to this advice: work out every day. It’s way easier to do it this way. If you go for few large workouts, it’s easy to skip and easy to slip. With small workout every day you know you have to do it and it can’t be pushed out from the schedule. Corollary to this, remove friction for starting a workout. I.e. get equipment to your abode/office so you can start working out in 2 minutes. And also: there are a lot of great work out sessions on YouTube. Dumbbells, yoga, stretching, etc. And also also: if you don’t know where to start, just pay for personal trainer.
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  YMMV: For me the physical relocation and access to lots of equipment is important. Twice a week weights suits me fine. Not saying I am right but saying there is no one way
- heresjohnny 4y ago
  While solid advice, working out everyday can lead to overtraining. Happened to me and it’s not fun. Doing some yoga every day: yes. Heavy squats: no, please no.
  - vl 4y ago
    My strategy is to go for variety. I do weights one day, cardio other day.
  - robcohen 4y ago
    Overtraining is a concern, but I’ve previously done 7x per week heavy weightlifting and it’s fine so long as you cycle through different body parts and listen to your body. In the Marine Corps I’d usually work out 3x a day 5 days a week and 1x per day on the weekends. Granted I was in my 20s then, but I think what matters more than “preemptively not overtraining” is just listening to your body. Most people go way too heavy for their goals. I’ve found that’s really unnecessary and counterproductive, but exercising often is fine.
    - nextlevelwizard 4y ago
mattfields 4y ago
congrats. That's a brave admission, and it took some hard work. Thanks for sharing :-)
rammy1234 4y ago
Awesome and is there anything particular you took to reduce weight ? Or was it a whole lifestyle change ?
- miketery 4y ago
  Not OP. But I recently started calorie counting (I'm using MyFitnessPal, and decided to even pay the yearly sub). Its been immensely helpful in understanding the impact of various food on my daily calorie count, and showing me I wasn't getting enough protein (I now start my day with a scoop of whey protein).
kamaal 4y ago
>>I had a self realization and received the advice from myself during one of my "zen state pondering" that - being in the best shape of my health with improve EVERYTHING by 10x in my life. This doesn't even have to be a theory. Being top physical shape today is a minimum requirement for top notch intellectual performance. Read: https://www.espn.in/espn/story/_/id/27593253/why-grandmasters-magnus-carlsen-fabiano-caruana-lose-weight-playing-chess https://www.espn.in/espn/story/_/id/27593253/why-grandmaster... They jog up and down the hills around the farmland, At 5-foot-6, Caruana has a lean frame, his legs angular and toned. He also has a packed schedule for the day: a 5-mile run, an hour of tennis, half an hour of basketball and at least an hour of swimming. "Physical fitness and brain performance are tied together, and it shouldn't be a surprise that grandmasters are out there trying to look like soccer players," Ashley says. Viswanathan Anand, does two hours of cardio each night to tire himself out so he doesn't dream about chess; Chirila does at least an hour of cardio and an hour of weights to build muscle mass before tournaments. The next generation of rich, successful, with super careers and affluence will be people with Christiano Ronaldo like physique.

by sainib 4y ago

VeninVidiaVicii 4y ago

It doesn’t sound as cliche as you think — in my opinion the problem is prioritizing yourself over your productivity. I’m a geneticist with a unique set of analytical skills that keeps me tied up in dozens of projects at a time, and my health is always the thing I let slide. Whenever I finally decide to workout, I tell myself, “I’ll never let that much time go by between workouts again.” Then invariably, I don’t have time. How did you overcome that?

quickthrower2 4y ago
You have a limit of X projects so let it be say 20 instead of 30. Being fit means you will perform better at work on those fewer projects. Drop to 10 and train other people? Other than that, I am trialing pen and paper for todos and exercise plans. I think this helps. Also see an exercise physiologist occasionally and that helps alot. A personal trainer you check in with every 4 weeks is similar. Finally just see it as essential. You will die if you don’t do it kind of thing.
vl 4y ago
Do a small workout every day and do it first thing in the morning. This way you know you have to do it every day and it takes priority above everything else - if you don’t have health, how are you going to do other stuff you want to do?
- roflyear 4y ago
  Yeah not possible. Waking up to phone calls to fix things every day...
  - croo 4y ago
    I had the same problem and found that the extreme was the only thing that worked for me. What I mean is that for like 3 months make your first priority to work out. Not your second or your "one-of-the-important-ones" priority. Your first. Absolute first. After 3 months your body will adjust and you will carve workout and built a habit that is easier to follow.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - vl 4y ago
    There is no magic bullet, you don't have enough time to do everything and need to prioritize. To fit exercise in, you need to let something else go. Doing it first thing in the morning is a trick to simplify prioritization. Do not check your phone until you exercised. Obviously go to bed earlier to get better sleep.
emadabdulrahim 4y ago
They way I overcame that is by realizing that working out is essential to my mental health. I wanted to level up my baseline of overall well-being so that my worst days are not that bad. Which means I can bounce quickly from setbacks. Where in the past I'd have recurring periods where find myself spiraling downwards. Working out keeps me sharp at work which is cognitivly demanding and requires high levels of creativety and problem solving. From that angle, I take it seriously as core part of my day and my identity. Overtime I started to enjoy doing hard thing in and of itself. Which is changing my life beyond what I could imagine.
sainib 4y ago
Thanks for your comments. Over last 15 years, I have tried to loose weight and sooner or later I ran into - "I dont have time" or "this customer proposal is more important" syndrome. Derailed my effort. Before I knew I was back to or worse than where I started. I feel different this time. Its almost as important as eating everyday to stay alive. As important as having work to earn bread for family. Being analytical, I have tried hard to find whats different this time. I dont think I have exact understanding but here are some factors that I came up during my pondering . - Something just triggers this mindset where working out becomes a part of you. Almost a necessary activity like taking a bath. You can skip a day or two but it starts to smell and feel like you MUST do it. - I feel the trigger has one or more the following components : 1) WHO - You do it for someone. It could be you yourself, family, kids, grandkids, girlfriend. 2) You have a strong realization that LIFE is finite & You want to have a better and longer life. 3) You are FED UP with something. - Goal setting & how your mind processes goals - In past, my goals had a finish line. Like - "I want to loose weight" or "I want to run a half marathon". I was able to achieve those goals and almost soon after that my mind was like: "That's it man. We are done. Lets go back to default mode" (busy work, less active life style). This time my goal is - I WILL LIVE REST OF MY LIFE IN A HEALTHY MANNER. There is no end date or finish line. The results do not matter. I dont have goals to loose 2 pounds every week. I just do what I need to do to live healthy. - There is also realization that EVERYONE must go through pain and pay with money and time, for your health. You do it in Gym or Doctor's office. You chose. - Accountability was a big factor for me. In past, I would start but drop off at some point. This time I hired a gym-owner fitness trainer (awesome guy). My net investment is less than 3K a year. I go to him 2 days a week. Just that will easily help me live at least a year longer (keeping all other factors same). Whats the value of one year of time for me? Priceless. 3K is dirt cheap. I can go on. I have been taking notes in a google doc with a hope to covert that into a eBook someday. I have thoughts from so many different perspectives, that I feel can help others too.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

vl 4y ago

I’ll add to this advice: work out every day. It’s way easier to do it this way. If you go for few large workouts, it’s easy to skip and easy to slip. With small workout every day you know you have to do it and it can’t be pushed out from the schedule. Corollary to this, remove friction for starting a workout. I.e. get equipment to your abode/office so you can start working out in 2 minutes. And also: there are a lot of great work out sessions on YouTube. Dumbbells, yoga, stretching, etc. And also also: if you don’t know where to start, just pay for personal trainer.

quickthrower2 4y ago
YMMV: For me the physical relocation and access to lots of equipment is important. Twice a week weights suits me fine. Not saying I am right but saying there is no one way
heresjohnny 4y ago
While solid advice, working out everyday can lead to overtraining. Happened to me and it’s not fun. Doing some yoga every day: yes. Heavy squats: no, please no.
- vl 4y ago
  My strategy is to go for variety. I do weights one day, cardio other day.
- robcohen 4y ago
  Overtraining is a concern, but I’ve previously done 7x per week heavy weightlifting and it’s fine so long as you cycle through different body parts and listen to your body. In the Marine Corps I’d usually work out 3x a day 5 days a week and 1x per day on the weekends. Granted I was in my 20s then, but I think what matters more than “preemptively not overtraining” is just listening to your body. Most people go way too heavy for their goals. I’ve found that’s really unnecessary and counterproductive, but exercising often is fine.
  - nextlevelwizard 4y ago

mattfields 4y ago

congrats. That's a brave admission, and it took some hard work. Thanks for sharing :-)

rammy1234 4y ago

Awesome and is there anything particular you took to reduce weight ? Or was it a whole lifestyle change ?

miketery 4y ago
Not OP. But I recently started calorie counting (I'm using MyFitnessPal, and decided to even pay the yearly sub). Its been immensely helpful in understanding the impact of various food on my daily calorie count, and showing me I wasn't getting enough protein (I now start my day with a scoop of whey protein).

kamaal 4y ago

>>I had a self realization and received the advice from myself during one of my "zen state pondering" that - being in the best shape of my health with improve EVERYTHING by 10x in my life. This doesn't even have to be a theory. Being top physical shape today is a minimum requirement for top notch intellectual performance. Read: https://www.espn.in/espn/story/_/id/27593253/why-grandmasters-magnus-carlsen-fabiano-caruana-lose-weight-playing-chess https://www.espn.in/espn/story/_/id/27593253/why-grandmaster... They jog up and down the hills around the farmland, At 5-foot-6, Caruana has a lean frame, his legs angular and toned. He also has a packed schedule for the day: a 5-mile run, an hour of tennis, half an hour of basketball and at least an hour of swimming. "Physical fitness and brain performance are tied together, and it shouldn't be a surprise that grandmasters are out there trying to look like soccer players," Ashley says. Viswanathan Anand, does two hours of cardio each night to tire himself out so he doesn't dream about chess; Chirila does at least an hour of cardio and an hour of weights to build muscle mass before tournaments. The next generation of rich, successful, with super careers and affluence will be people with Christiano Ronaldo like physique.