I hit rock bottom, gave up drinking, went to therapy, found a new job that I don’t hate, gave up weed, found a partner, got asked if I wanted to go on a hiking holiday with her, said yes, panicked because I was totally out of shape, bought a bike, got in shape and enjoyed it, got married, have a kid on the way. Life’s good.

Quit reddit and twitter.

Just bought a new mattress so hopefully sleeping better soon

Lol.

Lmao, even.

Learned a lot about health and fitness in my early 30s, made it my hobby essentially. But things change so also learned that it’s not about what I did today or even this month, it’s about what I mostly do and getting back to it. Kids come along, house moves, job moves, disruption after disruption… Gotta lose the self blame and get back up every time. That is for sure an equally important thing to learn.

Took the leap and actually started paying a nutritional biologist (translating an Italian term) and lost 10 kgs without noticing.

All while keeping training at least 3 days a week and maintaining strength gains and sometimes even getting better.

I also started a book club focused on sci-fi and non-fiction about technology and digital rights, to force myself to start reading again, since I noticed a sharp degradation of my ability to express myself and to analyze discourse.

Finally, I am learning French as my fifth language.

I would love to say I am doing great for being 40+, but mental health and zero social life affect me more than I would like to admit.

I’m not 30 yet but I’m pretty dang close and most of my friends are either right there with me or pushing 40 at this point. I hear pretty often about how lucky I am that I can eat however I want and don’t have to work out and I’m still in great shape. I have a pretty obvious secret though. I mostly only eat healthy stuff that I cook at home, so when I go out I can eat the greasiest cheesesteak you can find it and not feel bad about it, and I do all my own home repairs and renovations. I don’t go to the gym, but this morning I hauled 20 6x6x12 beams and about 40 bags of 80 cement to the back field by myself in the blistering sun to build a play structure for my kid. If I don’t have anything to build I have a pallet of cinder blocks that don’t current have a purpose that I just move around a big field back and forth to keep my hands calloused.

I’m pretty salty about it because I just started with a new doctor, and when asked if I work out I told him such, and he said that doesn’t count and I should start going to the gym a few times a week to help my heart health. I think he was sponsored by planet fitness because he kept talking about it.

I am not smug about it but I’ve been taking better care of myself for around 10 years and it’s grrrreat.

The healthy people were right.

I saw some photos of myself dancing at a friends wedding and did NOT LIKE what I saw. Pure vanity.

I got a personal trainer and set some very silly stunt goals - I knew I didn’t want to focus on how I look, but focus on being the kind of person who could do interesting things and that would have a side effect that looked good. It worked! Plus I learned how to do cool things with my body.

Sometimes being hungover or eating huge meals interfered with my quest to do a pistol squat or a one arm push up or run a race. So I moderated that and hit my goals.

Now my baseline is fairly healthy. So when I go out until 4 with people my body is able to handle it better. I still pay, but I understand the trade off and it isn’t something that happens to me it’s something I chose.

Therapy came in when I was extremely stressed. I avoided it for so long and it was dumb. It’s good to talk to people about your life and challenges. Coaches help players.

My sleep used to be very bad. But I want to do a one arm pull up this year. My body needs rest to get strong enough. So I gotta plan to sleep! I have to give up some other choices to get what I want.

I stopped drinking alcohol.

I strongly reduced my consumption after my first kid was born and just drank less and less.

Initially I reduced my consumption because being hangover while taking care of a crying baby SUCKS! Then the less I drank the more I realized the impact of even a glass of wine to my mood and energy level.

im totally ripped and i jerk off 5 times a day

Got my food allergies tested. Avoiding those have really helped my mystery “ughh why do I hurt” days

No alcohol, mostly plant based diet, no fast food, no processed food, no intoxicants, no prescription drugs. Hiking and gravel riding.

I’m nearly 60.

Resistance training twice a week. Walks, swimming laps, short jogs, and cycling for the rest. I eat a mixed diet that leans plants, but I do eat some meat, eggs, and fish.

It comes and goes in waves kinda like New Year’s resolutions but in general the amount of kindness and care you invest in yourself and those around you increases.

Your body will punish you harder and harder for staying up late and drinking=> ok let’s do less of that. (I’m at a place now where that happens once every 3-4 months…and even then it’s just 2-3 beers and I’m done)

You notice your social circles becoming less dynamic. So you value those around you more and more.

You learn more empathy, so you take more care of people.

You learn the value of time and choose to spend it with your loved ones instead of insert meaningless time sink.

It’s not perfect, but it does increase.

At least that has been my experience so far.

I’ve been going to therapy. That’s about it.