Walking. Daily. That, and purchasing good shoes. It changed my life.
At first, I was in such a poor shape (physical and mental) I was barely able to walk more than a few steps, I was also severely ill and was expected to die quickly in not the most tranquil manner. Nowadays, I’m not dead :p, and I walk miles every day and I will do my best to go everywhere I can, walking. I’m still ill (it’s not curable) but it’s stabilized and I feel so much better.
I’m still not an athlete and I’m old enough to realize I’ll never be one but I don’t care: I’m in such a better shape! Both physically and mentally (I feel so much better in my head), my endurance is skyrocketing, and I’ve also lost so much weight I don’t need to wear ‘plus-sized’ clothes anymore.
And it all started by making the first step, one small step. Literally ;)
Edit: clarifications.
I gave up eating meat, because I think animals are gross and annoying. Did wonders for my health and weight. I’m still a miserable bastard though.
I went vegetarian 13 years ago. I lost a little weight in the beginning, then immediately gained it all back once I figured out what I liked. If being vegetarian makes you healthier, that’s a skill issue, considering pizza and ice cream can be vegetarian.
Seriously, though, congrats.
Around December my doctor told me my cholesterol and blood pressure was dangerously high. I have cut out about 95% of animal products out of my diet. I’m down to basically non fat greek yogurt. I refer to myself as an involuntary vegan.
I can’t stress enough how much this isn’t about will power but exploiting my depression for health benefits. It’s easy to get rid of things if all it does is make me happy.
Edit: Same philosophy applied to quitting cigarettes by going cold turkey a decade ago.
