Easier said than done.

Whatever you do, don't eat at night.

Best health advice I ever got.

But as a rule of thumb, around 4 hours before turning in.

Naturally, it would be less for someone young and/or with high metabolism - and an athlete would be able to disregard that time limit entirely.

But in general - especially among the elderly and/or people who should lose a few, 4 hours is best.

I recommend making a thermos full of your favorite tea (no sugar), and you do get used to it - as hard as it is at first.

As you said: Easier said than done.

but proper form is essential.

Start by placing your hands firmly against the side of your dining table, then push straight back until your seat is far enough from the table you can stand up and walk away. Do this often, and early, during every meal.

I have started every day for the past 3 years putting in 5 miles (9100+ steps) on our NuStep T4r. I missed 2 days in March when my 19 year old cat was dying (R.I.P. Spencer), but I've not missed any others. We put new batteries in our scale to start off 2020, so I checked my weight after next to never. Well, turned out I was WAY overweight and proceeded to start exercising and have managed to drop 50 pounds and keep it off.

What is healthy? It wasn't where I was, and isn't quite where I am now. But, I'm better.

My friends have the most problems with their joints -- knees, hips, and ankles. I generally do 5-10,000 steps a day. Some of my friends I travel with are significantly handicapped, mostly in their joints. They are severely limited in how far they can walk. Ages from mid 70s to mid 80s.

"...women who averaged 4400 steps a day had lower mortality rates than those who took fewer than 3000 steps. Mortality rates decreased as step rates increased up until around 7500 steps, beyond which no additional mortality benefit was observed."