Does anyone wish they had eaten a few more cheeseburgers?

O

OldEngineer

Member
Location
San Diego, CA
As I turn the corner on 80 years old, I'm thinking maybe I should have had a few more cheeseburgers, another martini at dinner, kept that Corvette a little longer, called in sick a few more times, ... well you get the idea. I feel like I put in my time and went with the madding crowd, anxious to squeeze a few more years out of my brief existence by drinking the kool aid of the day to beat back the medical threats of the day.

What do I mean?
I ran. And ran, and ran. I bought Jim Fixx's books. We ran on the beach strand, we rode our bikes to work. I ran on the school track nearby on weekends. I ran on the street, on treadmills, on steppers and towards mirrors. And for what? Well, I've seen every World War 2 movie ever made. Was it a good ROI (return-on-investment)? I'm still pondering this.
(BTW, Jim Fixx died while running)
We ate what was presumed healthy.
Adelle Davis told us to eat liver and other 'meats' once a week to be healthy so we naturally ate them twice a week to be sure. She did warn us about processed food but nobody paid much attention. (She died of an unknown, incurable mystery disease.)
Did you load up on nuts and grains like Euell Gibbons who was a naturalist picking his own berries and nuts in the forest. He died at the age of 64 with much speculation that he had poisoned himself while living off of the land.
Did the Atkins diet help or hurt in the long run? Who knows?
And all the other diets that we all trudged our way through with little success.
Exercise
I didn't watch the exercise gurus line Jack LaLanne or Richard Simmons or even "Ahnold". LaLanne ate a lot of meat (every meal) and lived to be almost 100, but what an investment of time!
Psych
And to round things out,we listened to radio psychologists to improve our mental health and lifestyle. How many can you remember? (Hints: Dr. Viscott, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Grant, Dr. Laura maybe even Dr. Frasier Crane )

Was it worth it? If someone did an ROI for the general population, probably not IMHO.
Or maybe a risk-to-reward study would clear it up. I guess in the end it's just whatever crosses your path and captures your interest at the time that counts.
I know there are many who can recount all the healthy things they have done and how they are enjoying their golden years. Good for them. Others might be wishing they took better care of themselves. And like me, others are still wondering but not regretting.

Mark Twain supposedly said "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself". I wonder. If I knew I was going to live this long would I trade a few years skydiving or mountain climbing or just having lots of vacations for a few 'golden' years? It's a tough decision.
 

Nah. I did eat those cheese burgers, called in sick, left home at 16, went to hundreds of musical concerts, went to the best parties, had the greatest friends ever. No. At times I wonder if I was too outside the box, too much of a rebel but Iā€™m coming to appreciate my very unique life
 
My college years were rough. I might have gone to Burger King one time, when a Whopper was a whopper.

After that it got even rougher. A meal was something like a boxed mac 'n cheese with some tuna and peas in it. The store brand was 5 boxes for a buck.

Things looked a little brighter once I had a permanent full time job. But then I was digging myself out of a hole.

Got married, had kids, and faced times where assuming a VA 11 1/2% mortgage was a bargain not to be turned down. Assuming I had the down payment necessary scraped together.

Kids needed clothes, braces, time to build a house. Cha-ching!

Give it more time and a divorce wiped me out. I wasn't going to deny the kids what they needed and I bore the ex no ill will.

It goes on and on, but we all had different life experiences. I count myself more fortunate financially than my siblings who never had my advantages. Sure, today I worry about the FDIC insurance limit per institution on savings, something I don't think most people in my family have any need to be aware of.
 
OldEngineer said:
As I turn the corner on 80 years old, I'm thinking maybe I should have had a few more cheeseburgers, another martini at dinner, kept that Corvette a little longer, called in sick a few more times, ... well you get the idea. I feel like I put in my time and went with the madding crowd, anxious to squeeze a few more years out of my brief existence by drinking the kool aid of the day to beat back the medical threats of the day.

What do I mean?
I ran. And ran, and ran. I bought Jim Fixx's books. We ran on the beach strand, we rode our bikes to work. I ran on the school track nearby on weekends. I ran on the street, on treadmills, on steppers and towards mirrors. And for what? Well, I've seen every World War 2 movie ever made. Was it a good ROI (return-on-investment)? I'm still pondering this.
(BTW, Jim Fixx died while running)
We ate what was presumed healthy.
Adelle Davis told us to eat liver and other 'meats' once a week to be healthy so we naturally ate them twice a week to be sure. She did warn us about processed food but nobody paid much attention. (She died of an unknown, incurable mystery disease.)
Did you load up on nuts and grains like Euell Gibbons who was a naturalist picking his own berries and nuts in the forest. He died at the age of 64 with much speculation that he had poisoned himself while living off of the land.
Did the Atkins diet help or hurt in the long run? Who knows?
And all the other diets that we all trudged our way through with little success.
Exercise
I didn't watch the exercise gurus line Jack LaLanne or Richard Simmons or even "Ahnold". LaLanne ate a lot of meat (every meal) and lived to be almost 100, but what an investment of time!
Psych
And to round things out,we listened to radio psychologists to improve our mental health and lifestyle. How many can you remember? (Hints: Dr. Viscott, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Grant, Dr. Laura maybe even Dr. Frasier Crane )

Was it worth it? If someone did an ROI for the general population, probably not IMHO.
Or maybe a risk-to-reward study would clear it up. I guess in the end it's just whatever crosses your path and captures your interest at the time that counts.
I know there are many who can recount all the healthy things they have done and how they are enjoying their golden years. Good for them. Others might be wishing they took better care of themselves. And like me, others are still wondering but not regretting.

Mark Twain supposedly said "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself". I wonder. If I knew I was going to live this long would I trade a few years skydiving or mountain climbing or just having lots of vacations for a few 'golden' years? It's a tough decision.
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I also did similar activities, like the exercises and eating "healthy." But now that I've gotten into my sixties, I started doing the keto diet, and as a result, I do eat read meat, but more like once a week (before, I rarely ate red meat). It's a balancing act. When we reach a certain age, I think we can eat anything we want by then, lol. The important thing is to enjoy your life.
 
palides2021 said:
I also did similar activities, like the exercises and eating "healthy." But now that I've gotten into my sixties, I started doing the keto diet, and as a result, I do eat read meat, but more like once a week (before, I rarely ate red meat). It's a balancing act. When we reach a certain age, I think we can eat anything we want by then, lol. The important thing is to enjoy your life.
Click to expand...
I'm not bothered about any of it... , I survived near death beatings as a child and as a teen including mental torture.. as well as literal starvation.... I am never going to deny myself anything in this life if it's in my power.. to just add a couple of years onto the end of my life...

if I die I die...I'll at least have died having a much better time than the first 21 years of my life...
 
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hollydolly said:
I'm not bothered about any of it... , I survived near death beatings as a child and a teen. mental torture.. .. and literal starvation.... I am never going to deny myself anything in this life if it's in my power.. to just add a couple of years onto the end of my life...

if I die I die...I'll at least have died having a much better time than the first 21 years of my life...
Click to expand...
I'm sorry to hear about your earlier life, @hollydolly. Such things should never be.
 
OldEngineer said:
As I turn the corner on 80 years old, I'm thinking maybe I should have had a few more cheeseburgers, another martini at dinner, kept that Corvette a little longer, called in sick a few more times, ... well you get the idea. I feel like I put in my time and went with the madding crowd, anxious to squeeze a few more years out of my brief existence by drinking the kool aid of the day to beat back the medical threats of the day.

What do I mean?
I ran. And ran, and ran. I bought Jim Fixx's books. We ran on the beach strand, we rode our bikes to work. I ran on the school track nearby on weekends. I ran on the street, on treadmills, on steppers and towards mirrors. And for what? Well, I've seen every World War 2 movie ever made. Was it a good ROI (return-on-investment)? I'm still pondering this.
(BTW, Jim Fixx died while running)
We ate what was presumed healthy.
Adelle Davis told us to eat liver and other 'meats' once a week to be healthy so we naturally ate them twice a week to be sure. She did warn us about processed food but nobody paid much attention. (She died of an unknown, incurable mystery disease.)
Did you load up on nuts and grains like Euell Gibbons who was a naturalist picking his own berries and nuts in the forest. He died at the age of 64 with much speculation that he had poisoned himself while living off of the land.
Did the Atkins diet help or hurt in the long run? Who knows?
And all the other diets that we all trudged our way through with little success.
Exercise
I didn't watch the exercise gurus line Jack LaLanne or Richard Simmons or even "Ahnold". LaLanne ate a lot of meat (every meal) and lived to be almost 100, but what an investment of time!
Psych
And to round things out,we listened to radio psychologists to improve our mental health and lifestyle. How many can you remember? (Hints: Dr. Viscott, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Grant, Dr. Laura maybe even Dr. Frasier Crane )

Was it worth it? If someone did an ROI for the general population, probably not IMHO.
Or maybe a risk-to-reward study would clear it up. I guess in the end it's just whatever crosses your path and captures your interest at the time that counts.
I know there are many who can recount all the healthy things they have done and how they are enjoying their golden years. Good for them. Others might be wishing they took better care of themselves. And like me, others are still wondering but not regretting.

Mark Twain supposedly said "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself". I wonder. If I knew I was going to live this long would I trade a few years skydiving or mountain climbing or just having lots of vacations for a few 'golden' years? It's a tough decision.
Click to expand...
I do remember Euell Gibbons from back in the '70's. He did commercials for grapenuts cereal which I loved. I had no idea he died so young. He just sort of faded from popularity.
 
My grandfather lived to 98 y/o. He smoked all his life, retired in his 50's and was mostly sedentary unless he was out tending to his vegetables or mowing his couple of acres on his riding mower. Maybe it was all the home-grown vegetables that kept him healthy, but I doubt it. By all means, have a cheeseburger!
 
OldEngineer said:
As I turn thebowl of corner on 80 years old, I'm thinking maybe I should have had a few more cheeseburgers, another martini at dinner
Click to expand...
Well, I'm only 74
Done most everything I wanted to do in my early years
Lived in the mountains when in my late 60s early 70s

I'll tell ya, after coming in from the cold into a warm cabin and having a bowl of hot homemade soup cannot be beat



15844866_10211666901057181_4858357882528898592_o.jpg
 
Trouble is, we have the medicines and treatment to prop us up to age 80 and beyond regardless of how poor of health we are in. So we sit in a wheel chair in a nursing home for 10+ years. And our kids have to spend their holidays at the nursing home with us.

One does not have to live in misery and complete self denial. But we can enjoy things in moderation, which to me is a win-win proposition!
 
seadoug said:
My grandfather lived to 98 y/o. He smoked all his life, retired in his 50's and was mostly sedentary unless he was out tending to his vegetables or mowing his couple of acres on his riding mower. Maybe it was all the home-grown vegetables that kept him healthy, but I doubt it. By all means, have a cheeseburger!
Click to expand...
Luck, great genes and a strong spirit.
 

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