Santa Delivered
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Nyboy
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I was in Lala land
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digitS'
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I thought about saying something about this on NyBoy's thread when he told us:
Well, it isn't so much about thing's being "off" with his father but that things must have been "on," and I'm not referring to his sweater
. How did he happen to live such a long life? Before I go on, give him this challenge NyBoy: my dad will be 99 in February, 2017 .
How might we live so long? I think TEG has quite a bit of talking about fruits and vegetables and making good use of them. This little thread is mostly about some other things: maintaining healthy weight and strength - especially through the winter months when we can't be quite as active as gardeners. There's another thing, good mental health. I'll get to that but here are some recent studies on exercise for older people:
What to Avoid: too much sitting around!
What to Do: even a little exercise helps!
Now, here was something you might have heard about a few years ago. It had to do with, well shoot, maybe stress isn't too bad, maybe marriage doesn't count for that much towards a long life (except for guys), and there's more to living a long time than just avoiding bad habits, getting enough exercise and a good diet, while married and avoiding stress ... wait! Those last 2 might be contradictory! No, this study has mostly to do with mental health and our attitude towards living our lives. I went back and read a little about it. The study was of a group of children begun in .... 1921! Yes, 3 years after Dad was born but it was looking at 10 and 11 year-olds who are now, nearly all gone now. Although, there were about 1,500 of them. Wow! Anyway, if living a long while is a good indication of a lifetime of healthy behavior, even if things like diet and exercise aren't central, this research has got to count.
Here's a report on it from 2011. There's a test you can do to see how you yourself might fit in on a scale of "conscientiousness." That characteristic was found to be very important. It wasn't solely important but the researchers found it surprisingly so. I did too ... and I'm glad I went back to look at this thing again. Secrets To Longevity
Steve
Well, it isn't so much about thing's being "off" with his father but that things must have been "on," and I'm not referring to his sweater
. How did he happen to live such a long life? Before I go on, give him this challenge NyBoy: my dad will be 99 in February, 2017 .How might we live so long? I think TEG has quite a bit of talking about fruits and vegetables and making good use of them. This little thread is mostly about some other things: maintaining healthy weight and strength - especially through the winter months when we can't be quite as active as gardeners. There's another thing, good mental health. I'll get to that but here are some recent studies on exercise for older people:
What to Avoid: too much sitting around!
What to Do: even a little exercise helps!
Now, here was something you might have heard about a few years ago. It had to do with, well shoot, maybe stress isn't too bad, maybe marriage doesn't count for that much towards a long life (except for guys), and there's more to living a long time than just avoiding bad habits, getting enough exercise and a good diet, while married and avoiding stress ... wait! Those last 2 might be contradictory! No, this study has mostly to do with mental health and our attitude towards living our lives. I went back and read a little about it. The study was of a group of children begun in .... 1921! Yes, 3 years after Dad was born but it was looking at 10 and 11 year-olds who are now, nearly all gone now. Although, there were about 1,500 of them. Wow! Anyway, if living a long while is a good indication of a lifetime of healthy behavior, even if things like diet and exercise aren't central, this research has got to count.
Here's a report on it from 2011. There's a test you can do to see how you yourself might fit in on a scale of "conscientiousness." That characteristic was found to be very important. It wasn't solely important but the researchers found it surprisingly so. I did too ... and I'm glad I went back to look at this thing again
. Secrets To LongevitySteve
Nyboy
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All of my father's sibling lived into their 90s ( people they married all died young) Dad never smoke and drank rarely, worked outside and never sat still for long.
so lucky
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My FIL would be 100 on Feb 3rd, if he were still alive. I think if legs hadn't given out, he would still be with us. Once he was wheelchair bound, his zest for life was gone. His favorite things to do was fish and mow his lawn. And eat. He lived to 97, the way it was.
Nyboy
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Nobody but dad mows his grass. It takes him 2 days for a tiny city size lawn, first day cutting 2nd day edging.
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digitS'
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Ha! I mow the front lawn on Wednesday, the back lawn on Saturday .. .
Dad is the longest-living of 9 siblings. Only one sister lived longer than Mom, who made it to 87. Only one of her 4 brothers came anywhere close.
That test. It's only one trait and we know that being conscientious about things doesn't always lead to success nor happiness. And, even if they do come together, plenty of conscientious, successful, happy people don't have a long life. It just "bends the curve" in that direction.
According to the authors, a healthy life activity like volunteering is both related to and different from being conscientious. Oh yeah, I picked up the book. I mean, a look at 1,500 life stories and 100 years ..!
One thing noted was how changes can be of benefit at anytime. A selfish, careless, just pain-in-the-rear kid in 1921 was able to turn things around, enjoy his job, take on civic responsibility, be a good husband (even according to his wife!), after spinning his wheels like an idiot, well into adulthood. He was around a long time.
By the way, the happy-go-lucky types, they might have been fun and popular, all that - they tended not to live long. Happiness, maybe even because of a worry-free gene and being loved, well - that helps but not a great deal. I think if you are loved, you gotta take that seriously. It probably isn't just looks or being cheery. What's expected, hoped for, from you?
Steve
.Dad is the longest-living of 9 siblings. Only one sister lived longer than Mom, who made it to 87. Only one of her 4 brothers came anywhere close.
That test. It's only one trait and we know that being conscientious about things doesn't always lead to success nor happiness. And, even if they do come together, plenty of conscientious, successful, happy people don't have a long life. It just "bends the curve" in that direction.
According to the authors, a healthy life activity like volunteering is both related to and different from being conscientious. Oh yeah, I picked up the book
. I mean, a look at 1,500 life stories and 100 years ..!One thing noted was how changes can be of benefit at anytime. A selfish, careless, just pain-in-the-rear kid in 1921 was able to turn things around, enjoy his job, take on civic responsibility, be a good husband (even according to his wife!), after spinning his wheels like an idiot, well into adulthood. He was around a long time.
By the way, the happy-go-lucky types, they might have been fun and popular, all that - they tended not to live long. Happiness, maybe even because of a worry-free gene and being loved, well - that helps but not a great deal. I think if you are loved, you gotta take that seriously
. It probably isn't just looks or being cheery. What's expected, hoped for, from you?Steve
ninnymary
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One of my parent's grandfather just passed at 100 years old. He was a civil rights attorney who worked in the south during the civil rights. Up to a couple months ago, he was still practicing 2 days a week! Still sharp as a tack. He died of pneumonia. Her other grandfather passed at 102. He was also very sharp till the end. She has the good genes from both sides of the family, so who knows.
Mary
Mary
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digitS'
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Can happiness be measured by health? No, not quite. It is more true than health measured by happiness, however. Darn. Those researchers found that just wasn't so ... not according to those kids' parents, teachers and their future spouses and friends! Not to mention: death certificates.
I'm not sure where the authors of this nearly 100 year study fit in within whatever consensus there is in the research community. I know that they don't fit in well in popular media, which is so very much about "party hardy!!" Good for their advertisers' sales, don't you know.
There is very limited visibility here what with the freezing fog and 1/4 mile visibility at the nearby airport. I think I'm seeing a little more clearly ... reflecting on my father being 99 years old, and all. The authors say that health usually leads to happiness - well, that stands to reason. How many people can be happy if they are not physically healthy??
Stress. What's stress? We have read for decades how stress leads to ill health. Relieve your stress! Have another cupcake! Then, we manufacture stress. How about those Falcons?!! Did you see that (blank) ... What? You just aren't doing enough - spend more, fly farther, higher, ad.ven.ture! Funny how wherever I go, there I am.
Take up space, breathing space, space me out, watch this space, Space the Final Frontier!
Steve
I'm not sure where the authors of this nearly 100 year study fit in within whatever consensus there is in the research community. I know that they don't fit in well in popular media, which is so very much about "party hardy!!" Good for their advertisers' sales, don't you know.
There is very limited visibility here what with the freezing fog and 1/4 mile visibility at the nearby airport. I think I'm seeing a little more clearly ... reflecting on my father being 99 years old, and all. The authors say that health usually leads to happiness - well, that stands to reason. How many people can be happy if they are not physically healthy??
Stress. What's stress? We have read for decades how stress leads to ill health. Relieve your stress! Have another cupcake! Then, we manufacture stress. How about those Falcons?!! Did you see that (blank) ... What? You just aren't doing enough - spend more, fly farther, higher, ad.ven.ture! Funny how wherever I go, there I am.
Take up space, breathing space, space me out, watch this space, Space the Final Frontier!
Steve
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digitS'
Garden Master
And, sweets!
For the first time since Spring, I showered and put on sweatpants this morning. BTW, I hit that weight loss goal, bounced around on both sides of it for about a week, and decided I could do my little victory dance
Now what? ...
Since October 16th, I have gained 4½ pounds as of today. For me, that is some sort of a victory
It has probably been since that 16 October post that I have had the courage to climb on the scales. I have about 5 weeks to go before my usual #1 April Fool's Day weigh-in. It seemed fairly obvious to me that I was doing okay through about December. I felt like a skinny, cold, olde guy out there shoveling snow on more than one occasion. That was encouraging ... then.
I am not sure if there has been a winter in recent memory when I haven't gained, at least, 7#. Why that number sticks in my mind was that I had only lost 7# during the summer of of 2013, I think it was. So ... I weighed as much on April 1st as I had 365 days before! NOT much of an accomplishment ...
My weight long ago while working at a greenhouse, was probably about the same year around. Winter production was what we geared up for but there was a lot of work to be done during the summer. I also spent quite a bit of time on the roof during the summer. Ya want motivation to keep the weight off? Try working on top of a glass roof ..!
Again, then and now. It might be that I can drop below 180# through this summer. I don't want to count my pounds before they are trashed but ... dropping 10# shouldn't be all that tuff. I'm not really a skinny guy, not now, not in December, not October, not if I can drop below 180. It would be a good thing if I can just be a ways into "normal." and keep some of that extra weight off the legs.
By tomorrow afternoon, the Weather Service says that there may be as much as 6" of snow to shovel. We will see. My greenhouse needs some sunshine but exercise today was walk outdoors, aaaalllll way around a shopping mall ... outside ... in the cold wind! I'd rather be shoveling a little snow.
Steve
