At 30 I feel my bad habits of being sedentary, pizza and energy drinks catching up, in what ways are you taking care of yourself and making health changes?

16 comments

1. Idk about you but I’m not gonna go to a gym regularly, if I’m being honest.

   I started going to the doc at 30 and started intermittent fasting. My job is sedentary and Ive been considering taking a pay cut for a physical job again for a few years. Only because that’s the only way I’ll get exercise.

2. Eating better is the biggest thing I did in my mid 30s.

   I trained myself to get used to salads for lunch after being a sandwich and coke guy. Make an effort to have veges in most dinners. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t cut myself off from burgers and chips and everything I love, but I balance better.

   Eating better led to more energy for exercise, better sleep etc.

3. move more eat less, try and eat/drink healthier

   That’s really all you can do. Don’t beat yourself up, the best you can do is postpone the cruel march of time ravaging your body.

4. Exercise doesn’t have to be a treadmill or a weight bench. It can be a basketball hoop or walking around a scenic pond or park. Exercise can be fun if you let it.

   Except for rare occasion, I would quit soda – to include energy drinks. Think of them like you would a fat slice of cake if it helps. Even if you go sugar-free, the carbonic acid will destroy your tooth enamel. I wish I could tell 30 year old Me that right about now. You may not believe this, but you might go through withdrawal. It’s okay to have one, it’s not okay to drink them with every meal or pound them all day.

   These are two things I feel like anyone can do to start improving their health.

5. Check for sleep apnea, if you’re tired.

   As someone a few more years down the line, start exercising now and don’t quit. You don’t even need to make it a goal to loose weight or whatever, but instead to get into the rhythm.

6. Two things which helped my family are:
   1. start small and be consistent. I found alternatives to the unhealthy stuff, which gave me what I needed but we’re healthier. For instance, try V8 energy – healthier but still tastes good. Carbonated flavored water instead of a second soda.
   2. still allow yourself to have your pizza and soda but less often, and make it a special treat. we set a schedule like most Fridays we’ll order pizza or make a frozen, but it’s a special week thing.

   Basically try to ween yourself down, but don’t need to cut anything out completely if it makes you happy and isn’t totally life threatening.

7. I started exercising more regularly at 35. I’d say that it shows, so it’s not too late for you either.

   Also I cleaned up my diet, tho there’s still a lot of garbage in there but it’s just carbs so it doesn’t matter that much. I burn it off. What matters is that I try to not eat junk meat, so mostly I use lean meats, fish regularly, olive oil and so on. No cheese either, and only limited alcohol (I don’t really like it much anyway so no big loss).

8. If you like sports, cycling, or some physical activity then start doing that weekly on some sort of recreation team. It’ll do wonders for your physical and mental health. If you’re in or near a city there are also social groups that will do all sorts of activities and play sports together.
   Make small diet changes. 1 at a time, reduce junky food, reduce alcohol, reduce sugar. Have a salad one or 2 times a week. Small changes can have a pretty positive impact over time. Don’t do anything drastic or expect massive changes quickly, you’ll just get discouraged and be miserable. Just small lifestyle changes.
   This is what I did, I’m not in tip top shape by any means but I’m staying in pretty reasonable shape, I don’t get winded going up stairs anymore, my knee doesn’t hurt anymore, aches and pains are gone, I feel great, mental clarity is excellent. Good luck.

9. 37M here. Finishing up a surgical residency, and put on a few lbs along the way. Wasn’t badly out of shape, but I’m down 25 lbs over the past 4 months.

   -diet is key. count/log calories. if your goal is fat loss you need to track calories. calorie bombs are hidden everywhere. learn how to cook healthy filling foods based around leafy greens, lean protein and limited whole grains. airfryer is the best. pork tenderloin is cheap as hell at Sams/Costco. Takes 24 mins in airfryer. Slice up, weigh, eat with a huge salad with limited dressing and brown rice.

   -find activity throughout the day. stairs always. find a time to workout that doesn’t get interrupted (i.e. i don’t own my afternoons, so i lift at 4am and do BJJ at 5 am 3 days a week and then on the weekends at a more normal time0

   -cut out alcohol. when you drink, drink in moderation and minimize mixers. i love margaritas, but they’re loaded with sugar. ranch water (tequila, lime, club soda, salt) is almost as good, if not better with good tequila

   -find hobbies with like-minded individuals

   -stretch a few times per week. there are a ton of free yoga routines on youtube. 10-15 mins is all you need to start making a change

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   it wont happen quickly. i didn’t notice anything for the first few weeks. i went from 215 to 190, I’ve got visible abs, amazing energy, flexibility is great, low back feels awesome

10. Healthy eating has never had better options in terms of affordability and taste. Start eating healthier. It’s not goodbye pizza and energy drinks forever, but they are now once a week treats instead of standard meals. Drink iced black coffee for your morning caffeine instead of an energy drink or sugar/ cream filled coffee.

    Hit the gym. Buy some pre workout, some post workout protein for recovery, and hit the gym. Learn the basics and start a routine. Go for about 2 hours 4-5 times a week. That’s 4-5 times, not 2-3.

    Go on hikes and get an outdoor hobby. Even something like flying a drone or driving an RC car, just something to get you outside. Doesn’t have to be like rock climbing or mountain biking. Those are good, I’m just saying do something you like to get you started so you enjoy yourself.

    The most important part is being consistent. I guarantee if you keep up the aforementioned lifestyle for 2 months without falling back on your bullshit for stretches of time, you’re going see results you’re proud of. That’s the hardest part, though, doing it every day. But future you will thank past you for not being a lazy ass. Just remember, relapse is part of recovery so don’t say, “Fuck it,” and quit trying to be better if you fuck up a few times.

    I’m speaking from experience. I was in a similar predicament as you and now I’m in the best shape of my life at 32. You’re not even in super terrible shape, but you’re getting there and will quickly get much worse if you don’t do something about it now. Point is, you’re catching this at the right time so don’t wait to start doing better.

11. Weight is controlled through diet. Learning this now will mean a much easier time as you get older. The wall most people hit at middle age isn’t age. It is the things we inflict on ourselves. So many people eat whatever they want, in whatever amounts they want, but their youth and exercise keeps them in decent shape. This is just not something you can do as you get older. So learning properly weight control through diet is the best thing you can do at this age. Then you use exercise to create the body you want.

12. Build exercise into your commute. Bicycle the whole thing if you can. Or transit part-way and brisk walk the rest. Or drive part-way and bike the rest.

13. I started jiu jitsu at 35. It’s hard enough to where I have to take care of myself or I’m going to get smashed into jelly on the mats. Also helpful to have a group of guys to hold me accountable

14. A lot of good advice here re: eating better and exercising. I will add to consider a personal trainer if your financial situation permits, if only for a few months. They will help create a plan for you based on your goals and the accountability and frequent intense sessions will give your progress an insane boost and help you get into the habit of working out to where you feel weird if you don’t.

    I also had back problems to accompany my sedentary lifestyle, so it was also important for me to have someone there to correct my form and give me the occasional spot. Worked wonders and now I literally feel like a different person: early 40s and in the best shape of my life.

15. Eating healthy and drinking lots of water do SO MUCH to improve your health. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and other legumes, lean meats like chicken breast. Really limit your intake of pizza, fast food, soda, etc. Throw in some regular moderate exercise (I personally prefer yoga) and you’ll feel like a different person.

16. Ya want kidney stones? Cause that’s how ya get kidney stones homie…