Serious post.
Been the most difficult Christmas of all of my days after a very close friend of mine (since 1990) was found at the side of a quiet road just before the festive period, with a serious head injury, which lead to his death within a few minutes. This event was so sudden I had texted him twice that day, once in the morning and again around 4.30pm (which was never read), as the time of death was given as 4.20pm, before 4.20pm there was nothing unusual about this day, just the normal routine.
After the autopsy, it turned out the reason he fell was a heart attack, a reasonably athletic guy around the age of 50, who had often joined me attending football matches, camping expeditions, and even climbing mountains or taking on long distance trails, all without incident. A guy who had a reasonably healthy diet (in fact one similar to my own) but one thing he did do was smother his food in salt, which maybe didn't help and his 'addiction' to salt was so severe that if he went to a takeaway he would demand the salt shaker to apply his own salt.
The whole situation obviously got me thinking about my own existence, and what we all put into our bodies, sometimes without thinking, and how we can maybe all change for the better, if we need to, before its too late.
sandpit72Serious post.
Been the most difficult Christmas of all of my days after a very close friend of mine (since 1990) was found at the side of a quiet road just before the festive period, with a serious head injury, which lead to his death within a few minutes. This event was so sudden I had texted him twice that day, once in the morning and again around 4.30pm (which was never read), as the time of death was given as 4.20pm, before 4.20pm there was nothing unusual about this day, just the normal routine.
After the autopsy, it turned out the reason he fell was a heart attack, a reasonably athletic guy around the age of 50, who had often joined me attending football matches, camping expeditions, and even climbing mountains or taking on long distance trails, all without incident. A guy who had a reasonably healthy diet (in fact one similar to my own) but one thing he did do was smother his food in salt, which maybe didn't help and his 'addiction' to salt was so severe that if he went to a takeaway he would demand the salt shaker to apply his own salt.
The whole situation obviously got me thinking about my own existence, and what we all put into our bodies, sometimes without thinking, and how we can maybe all change for the better, if we need to, before its too late.
So sorry to hear such tragic news.
I am very conscious of what I eat for these reasons, although I often give in and eat a few things I know I shouldn’t I try to not eat anything sugary more than once a week and also processed and fried food I try to stay away from.
I have recently added saunas and Cold showers around 3 times per week after listening to and reading quite a few things about the benefits.
Anybody with any other advice or information it would be great to hear.
A lot of diseases if not all are preventable.
I've lost two very good friends in the last 5 years both in their 50's. Both healthy,didn't smoke and drank very little. Pete got lung cancer and Ruedi got a headache and was brain dead by the time they got him to hospital, brain tumour unfortunately. I have conflicting thoughts on the rest of life,do I want to live a long life where I watch what I eat and drink or would I prefer a shorter life where I just do whatever the f*** I want/enjoy. I still don't know the answer to be honest.
Just small changes can make a difference, with salt already being in a lot of foods I'm really not convinced its needed, maybe instead of a can of lager have a glass of red wine, I don't think we need to remove everything that is good or enjoyable.
Firstly, sorry for your loss.
A very personal decision though isn't it? you could live like a monk and get struck down by something like cancer, or you could live the life and go into your 80's. Somewhere inbetween for me, what use is life without some joy? so I have a drink, don't worry too much about anything, but keep the takeaways down to one every few months and don't eat shit (chocolate, crisps, fizzy pop etc). Get regular check ups and listen to what the medics say - after that it's all a bleedin' lottery.
For me, being older means coming to terms with death because it's getting much closer and it starts happening all around us - not only with friends and relatives, but with public icons and ways of life that have always been familiar. Consequently, this leads back to coming to terms with our own life and the choices we make. We can't control most things (like death for example) but we can control how we deal with it and the choices we make in life. Part of this ongoing process has been to try to come to terms with what has been lost already (EG youth and all that goes with it) and obviously the natural replacement for the loss of youth is to use the years of experience to become wiser - so that's the positive aspect - if I can use my wisdom to improve my life and the life of those close to me before I die, then I'll live and die as happy as possible.
So until I have more of the answers I am simply trying to do a better job of existing than I have done in the past, trying to make sure that my interactions with the rest of the world are more impactful in the right ways but less destructive. I also pay attention to people older than me who seem to be doing things rights and those who have achieved longevity in terms of health, fitness and sharpness of mind - how have they done this, what is it about them that stands out? I also find myself watching and interacting with nature and animals more - there is so much to learn and be gained from this.
Regarding the points about health, I have been on that mission to clean up my act regarding what I consume and what I do for health and fitness for the last 10-15 years so it is just a normal part of life now to always be trying to achieve a healthier diet, find the right blend of fitness activity and manage life in order to avoid unnecessary/toxic stress. I think everybody of a certain age should be making it a part of life to improve these things daily - if they can.
Resolutions this year revolve around work goals and certain health/fitness goals which have been particularly difficult ones to crack - the fitness one is mainly weight loss/gut reduction, while simultaneously maintaining muscle mass. I haven't been able to crack this one. I also think that processed food is becoming more and more unhealthy and dangerous (and expensive), so preparing as many healthy meals of our own as possible is on the urgent to-do list.
Sorry to hear about your loss, I hope you can somehow find the positives from this experience because I think that's the challenge for all of us when these things occur, and I suspect (from this thread) that's what you're doing already. 👍
I’ll repeat what I said the other day. Don’t listen to any advice from people on message boards. If someone seems sensible use what they say as a steer to find out more. There is a hell of a lot conflicting advice out there from professionals. Just look at research on fat consumption. Half the experts say avoid, half the experts say scarf down as much you like, so long as it’s organic. Be careful. Good luck.
Tha Project OBEI’ll repeat what I said the other day. Don’t listen to any advice from people on message boards. If someone seems sensible use what they say as a steer to find out more. There is a hell of a lot conflicting advice out there from professionals. Just look at research on fat consumption. Half the experts say avoid, half the experts say scarf down as much you like, so long as it’s organic. Be careful. Good luck.
You can listen to advice and choose bits what you feel best could help for you.
sandpit72Serious post.
Been the most difficult Christmas of all of my days after a very close friend of mine (since 1990) was found at the side of a quiet road just before the festive period, with a serious head injury, which lead to his death within a few minutes. This event was so sudden I had texted him twice that day, once in the morning and again around 4.30pm (which was never read), as the time of death was given as 4.20pm, before 4.20pm there was nothing unusual about this day, just the normal routine.
After the autopsy, it turned out the reason he fell was a heart attack, a reasonably athletic guy around the age of 50, who had often joined me attending football matches, camping expeditions, and even climbing mountains or taking on long distance trails, all without incident. A guy who had a reasonably healthy diet (in fact one similar to my own) but one thing he did do was smother his food in salt, which maybe didn't help and his 'addiction' to salt was so severe that if he went to a takeaway he would demand the salt shaker to apply his own salt.
The whole situation obviously got me thinking about my own existence, and what we all put into our bodies, sometimes without thinking, and how we can maybe all change for the better, if we need to, before its too late.
What a tragedy mate; so sorry to hear this.
With regard to life choices, there are some benefits which might seem difficult to make habitual but you DO get used to them being part of your routine. For example, 5 years ago, if you’d he be told me that by 2023, I’d hardly be drinking, I’d have laughed at you…but that’s a lifestyle choice I decided to make and now, I definitely don’t miss drinking!