bats

The point being that we know that it's a struggle for Jsmith to meet rent, food etc needs and I don't think that comments on how easily it can be done are helpful, supportive, or even realistic. Usually posts on the ease of living cheaply are made by people that don't have to.

Danny B

Lots of really good info here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/budgetfood/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comm..._on_25_a_week/

Tirytory

Bags of lentils, tins of beans don't cost much at all, pair with cheap vegetables and you have nutritious cheap meals that serve numerous portions. Eating meat (any type of meat) makes for an expensive shop.

Tirytory

And usually the defensive posts are made by those who know what they should be doing and make excuses. And what's the alternative? His body gets a pass because of circumstances, it doesn't work like that.

Initially I was responding to Mark's post about longevity. Let's not pretend that half of the chronic illnesses are not caused by lifestyle choices.

bats

And subsequently you told Jsmith he should be exercising instead of being on BE when he do ends his working day lugging luggage around. I think he gets a pass on exercising after work.

I'm saying that these days fruit and veg aren't so cheap if you want to have variety, and I'm sure you know that variety is healthier than a diet of potatoes and lentils. I take issue with your saying that "usually the defensive" posts are written by people making excuses. Some are simply explaining their situation.

Interestingly you comment on half of chronic illness being caused by lifestyle choices yet make no mention of all the musculoskeletal injury caused by lifestyle choices involving exercise.

Danny B

I don't think health professionals are suggesting that people join a cross fit gym, but last time I checked, obesity which leads to heart disease is the no.1 killer in the USA and is preventable with good diet and regular exercise.

BristolUK

Took a quick look...lots of references to Lidl/Aldi which is great if you're in the UK and have them near you.

I was a bit surprised by this piece of advice.

Better to get a third more for your money and shred it yourself and not buy other things for 50% more because they come in a nice bag.

Bread wrappers are free and have a multitude of uses without having a cupboard full of alternatives.

Tirytory

I have every sympathy with JS but even if you can't exercise per se, then even walking on the spot or around your work place is still better than sitting down in front of a computer. People who even walk for 20/30 mins a day live longer than those who are sedentary, it doesn't even need to be in one go..

Why are you even trying to compare muscular skeletal injury to heart disease, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, cancer and all the other myriad of health related diseases? There is no comparison, and you know it. I wasn't even complaining about health care cost and lifestyle, I was merely pointing out that if you want to have your body Frozen as per Mark G's post then you'd better make sure your body is in a healthy enough state to do it. Unless you've been living under a rock, then you know that my generation and the next is a time bomb waiting to happen!

Almost Canadian

I used to run 5 miles each day before breakfast, weight train at lunchtime and then run another 10 miles in the evening most days. Most weekends were spent walking all over the Brecon Beacons.

When doing the above, I contracted Type I diabetes.

Over time, I stopped the running and the weight training and gained about 50 lbs. I feel as good as I did previously, but I struggle to vault over walls 2 feet higher than I am, can no longer perform 60 pushups in 45 seconds and sometimes get out of breath doing up my shoelaces.

I have always eaten well but I am not going to start exercising again as I don't want to contract another unhealthy life threatening condition

Tirytory

Which is why I mentioned Type II diabetes, which is related to lifestyle, unlike Type I. I'm not totally sure why people are trying to deny that you will have better health and live longer if you eat properly and exercise. Again, I'll go back to my defensive comment, you don't want to exercise so you make a sarcastic comment.

i'll bet my bottom dollar that you don't feel as good as when you used to exercise. I think that would be impossible.

Almost Canadian

No defensive comments here. I don't ache everyday now as I did when I was training as hard as a did and I am now overweight. I am not able to maintain a conversation when running 6 minute miles as I once could but, if I am honest, I feel as good as I did then.

I still eat properly and I still go about my day to day activities with no issues. I am not too sure that, if I had kept up the amount of exercise I did, I would be healthier and live longer than I will based upon my current regime and I am confident that I do not need to point out to you that the greatest determining factor as to how long and healthy one will live is genes - unless, of course, you believe that people that die of cancer bring it on themselves.

I chose great parents. All of my mother's side lived into their late 80s and my mum is over 70 and still doing well. Other than my father (died of cancer at the age of 35) my father's side lived into their late 80s too and his brothers are still going strong in their mid 70s.

Are there any studies that show that identical twins, one that did exercise, one that didn't, have massively different outcomes?

scrubbedexpat091

For the record, I don't have diabetes nor am I close to having it as I was recently screened for it and everything is a-okay, I don't have high cholesterol or even borderline high, I don't have any known heart problems that are of a concern, although I have some sort of benign issue that feels funny sometimes, but doctor says its not a concern.

Round trip from employee parking to my workplace is about 1 mile, so I walk at minimum 1 mile per day right there, add in the walking around to/from gates, and such, I probably am close to 2 miles a day.

At minimum lift/pull/move 4,000-6,000 pounds of bags per day.

I am not overweight and within the accepted weight range for my height.

I don't smoke and drink so infrequently, I cannot recall the last time I did.

Now I am not saint when it comes to diet, although I try to mix in healthy items when I can such as fruit that I buy frozen vs fresh as I can get more variety with frozen.

Regardless as of now I don't have any known health issues and don't appear to be borderline unhealthy or at risk of developing issues related to my diet or exercise habits.

I am a poster child for good health, no, but I don't have any indications that I am completely unhealthy either based on the doctors opinions from the various screenings they have done.

And quite frankly after unloading and loading a plane, I am worn out and need to rest....lol.... I think people may under estimate just how tiring the ramp is, yes we get a good amount of downtime, but in a span of an hour we do more physical work then most will do even those who exercise, having a physical job is totally different then an office job where one is sedentary and may have excess energy to burn after work, when I get home after 12 1/2 hours I go straight to bed.

Add in commute times and time to shower in the morning/eat breakfast, on a good night I might get 6-7 hours of sleep which for me isn't ideal, I feel fully rested after a solid 8-9 hours, so 6-7 hours I wake up tired and less then rested feeling.

I have no baseline for family longevity on my dads side really, my grandfather smoked and drank heavily and died at 63 from complications related to bypass surgery (bacterial infection.) my grandmother died in her 50's from a self inflicted injury, although my great grandfather on dads side did live until 71 or 72 and smoked heavily.

My dad and his siblings have already outlived their mother and oldest same age as their father, only 1 sibling smokes, none drink that I know of, so they will be the best indicator of family longevity there.

Mom's side her dad is still living at 83 or 84 and in good health, her mom died when my mom was 10 of a self inflicted injury, but my mom's mom's mother lived until 93 or so.

Other then my mom who had breast cancer in 2003, and my great great grandmother who had stomach cancer at 91, I am not aware of any other cancer in the family.

I have a great uncle in his 80's who smokes like a chimney and drinks beer like water, and has done so since I have a memory.

I suppose for some smoking and drinking has minimal effect on their longevity.

Danny B

Good for you john smith. BTW, I don't think anyone was insinuating that you were an unhealthy person.

My job involves sitting in front of several computer screens for 12hrs a day, both days and nights. Luckily we have a gym at work so I do get to spend 45 mins in the gym 4 days in every 8.

I guess I could exercise more on my 4 days off, but I consider dog walking exercise.

MarkG

I wasn't talking about freezing my body. There are many groups currently working on ways to improve the body's ability to repair itself, and preventing the repair mechanisms from declining with age as they currently do. Those are the initial routes to living longer than we do today.

Exercise appears to trigger autophagy, which is one of the methods the body uses to repair itself, and seems to provide at least some capability for preventing cancer by eating up the cancerous cells before they spread. But it typically only seems to add maybe half a dozen years over those who don't exercise.

And, as for cancer in general, one group is looking at simply removing the telomerase gene from the human body, which is used by pretty much all cancers to make their cells immortal. Chromosomes grow shorter every time a cell splits, and that typically kills any cancerous cells which don't trigger that gene.

Shard

Latest news in the UK is that losing 10-15 kg through a focused diet can reverse Type II diabetes. Apparently, some breakthrough research in The Lancet yesterday.