

How To Not Get Fat At A Web Startup - shanedanger
http://www.televisionsky.org/2010/05/3-ways-to-not-get-fat-at-a-startup/
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...
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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 ;-)

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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.

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claytantor
One word. Salads.

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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.

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petercooper
Nice, unexpected HN reference in there :-)

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

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invisible
... Unless you sneeze? :)

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sliverstorm
Step one: Don't eat

