NOTE: Unreviewed AI slop!!

I've been thinking about the gap between knowing what's good for me and actually doing it consistently. Running has become my case study in sustainable habit formation—not because I love running, but because I'm fascinated by the mechanics of turning intention into routine.

The Paradox of Post-Exercise Fatigue

Here's something I didn't expect: the period right after exercise when your body goes into this depleted, low-energy state. You finish a run, and instead of feeling energized, you end up spending an hour grazing on snacks, scrolling your phone, and generally existing in a haze.

Turns out this is completely normal, especially when you're cutting calories. Your body is legitimately depleted and trying to recover. But recognizing it as a predictable phase rather than a personal failing changes everything. Now I plan for it—have a specific post-workout snack ready, set a timer for the recovery window, sometimes take a quick shower to shift out of that depleted feeling.

Starting Stupidly Small

The best advice I got was to make it stupid-easy to start. Not "easy," but "stupid-easy." Lay out running clothes the night before. Commit to just getting outside for 10 minutes—you can always come back, but you rarely will.

I'm running 3x per week, 20 minutes each time, same route along the river. It's deliberately boring. The goal isn't to have interesting runs—it's to build the neural pathway of "I'm a person who runs" before worrying about performance or variety.

The Meta-Game of Habit Formation

What's fascinating is how much of habit formation is about designing the right system rather than relying on motivation. I'm not trying to feel like running—I'm trying to make running feel inevitable.

Schedule specific days rather than hoping to fit it in. Lock in two days as non-negotiable, keep one as a floater. Dress like it's 15-20°F warmer than it actually is (you'll feel cold for 5 minutes, then perfect). Find routes that start from your door so there's no commute to the "starting line."

Appetite, Deficits, and Fighting Your Body

Running while cutting calories has taught me about the relationship between physical and mental energy. Your body knows when it's on a deficit and fights back—not just with hunger, but with decision fatigue, irritability, and the constant mental negotiation of "what if I eat a little more."

The honest answer is that cutting is hard because your body is designed to defend against energy deficits. Some strategies help—protein and fiber are more satiating per calorie, eating at consistent times regulates hunger hormones, adequate sleep matters more than people think—but the fundamental challenge remains.

I'm learning to accept that some hunger is normal while cutting, rather than treating it as a problem to solve. It's data, not an emergency.

The Long View

What strikes me most is how habit formation operates on a different timeline than our immediate feedback loops suggest. The first few runs feel effortful and unremarkable. The benefits are invisible. Progress is measured in showing up, not in performance.

But somewhere around week 6-8, it stops feeling like a decision and starts feeling like something you do. Like brushing your teeth. The habit has compound returns, but they take time to materialize.

This applies beyond exercise. Any sustainable change requires designing systems that work when motivation is low, when the weather is bad, when life gets complicated. The goal isn't to love every moment—it's to make the good choice feel automatic.