Letting Yourself Go Later In Life - Ramifications?

[Time2]

If the pants are getting a bit tight, it’s not because they’re shrinking.

Please say at ain't so!


All my pants are tight, I guess it's time to do something.
I'm going shopping!

 

[jollystomper]

My vanity forces me to not let go, for as long as I have the option . I have always enjoyed compliments about my figure and fitness, especially from women (even when DW has jokingly "banned" me from certain locations because of that). That in itself is motivation for being careful (but moderate) in my eating, and being as physically active as possible in enjoyable pursuits.

But this is not taken for granted. As alluded to earlier in the thread, the time may come where, due to illness or accident, I will have little, if any control. All I can do before then is to do the best I can. And enjoy the compliments, as memories I can hold onto when I am all shot to pot .

 

[aja8888]

At my age, 77+, I'm pretty much invisible to much younger women. But I really have to be careful around the ones my age!

 

[skipro33]

I don't think it's a matter of 'making it' to older age, it's a matter of making it and not be in discomfort. Right you you are of the mind that 'slowing down' is just because it's an effort thing. It is not. Folks slow down because of the physical discomfort to continue at the level of exercise needed to maintain thei current younger pace.
I think you could easily gain 30 extra pounds and it not reduce your life span a bit. I also think it will make old age much more difficult and painful. Kidney disease, neuropathy, diabetes, can, among other illnesses cause much discomfort without killing you. Not to mention your teeth; oral health, ankle, knee and hip pain associated with carrying the extra weight.
If your mind stays intact at that age and you realize the struggle involved for someone in their 80's to haul around an extra 30 pounds, I think your mind will also find food to be a turn-off and your diet wants will change.

Also, it's noted that the much older generations tend to find their metabolism digresses and your body's efficiency falls off. Many older people in their late 70's and 80's find it hard to maintain weight. Protein supplements are regularly added to diet in order to even maintain current weight.

My father passed at 87. He weighed 258 pounds or so. He could barely get up out of his powered recliner, had problems using the toilet, needed lots of assistance with bathing all because of his weight. He had dementia and would eat anything, showing us that many things are edible that are not food. His appetite was ravenous. We could no longer have family pot lucks with him in attendance. He'd eat until he would have to vomit, then start over again.
My father in law couldn't keep weight on, passing at 87 as well but weighing under 100 pounds. He drank protein drinks regularly as well as high calorie meals. It didn't matter. He was able to live independently until Parkinson's set in.

 

[NW-Bound]

My wife and I are both on the skinny side, she more than me (BMIs of 23 and 21 or so).

My wife eats very little, and she's also quite active. I eat about 3x what she does, but perhaps I have a higher metabolism. I don't know how she can feel satiated with what she eats, but she says she cannot eat more. On the other hand, I tend to eat so much that I feel tired after a meal, and I know that's too much and have to cut back. I guess we are blessed.

We are never interested in Fitbits. One time, my wife asked to borrow my daughter's to see what it's all about. I don't remember what it logged, but the number blew my daughter away.

 

[ivinsfan]

Obese is obese.

Fat is fat.

Diabetes, which often stems from obesity, is diabetes.

Ditto with congestive heart failure.

If you are able to chose lifestyle behaviors that avoid obesity, CHF and diabetes, what should your actions be?

What is this supposed to mean? I think they call it blaming the victim. My DH fit as a fiddle and very active has ongoing heart issues from a GENETIC heart tissue problem.



But thanks for the lecture.

 

[ivinsfan]

Depends where you look. The ones you see out and about are likely to be thinner. Go to a retirement home and you see a lot of heavier people who rarely leave there. My observation.

What's a retirement home? I can't tell if you mean nursing home where people are not capable of living alone do to health/mental issues or something different.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

But I LOVE to eat food. It's my one vice. So far my weight is normal due to an excessive variety of exercises routine (every day at least 45 minutes "hard") but I believe that when my body starts to fail me I won't be able to exercise as much.

You can eat 15 pounds of low glycemic vegetables a day for only ~1,500 calories.

 

[Amethyst]

No you can't. If you tried to eat 15 pounds of vegetables a day, you would be in the bathroom so much, there wouldn't be time to chew and swallow them all. Think about a horse you've watched, grazing a field. It's also fertilizing the field all day long!

You can eat 15 pounds of low glycemic vegetables a day for only ~1,500 calories.

 

[ivinsfan]

You can eat 15 pounds of low glycemic vegetables a day for only ~1,500 calories.

Double points if you garden and do the work yourself, I think you'd go negative on calories.

 

[ivinsfan]

You can eat 15 pounds of low glycemic vegetables a day for only ~1,500 calories.

Start with 5 and work yourself up to 15....that would help!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

No you can't. If you tried to eat 15 pounds of vegetables a day, you would be in the bathroom so much, there wouldn't be time to chew and swallow them all. Think about a horse you've watched, grazing a field. It's also fertilizing the field all day long!

Okay, I'll change that to up to 15 pounds of low glycemic veggies a day, or whatever you can manage.

 

[Crewer]

DH was carrying extra weight (he put it on years ago when we had dogs because of allergies and 2 years on steroids before we gave them away). He used to say something to the effect that the people who lasted longer in assisted living were the ones with meat on their bones. He also said he had so many steps in him and he didn't want to use them up too fast. But his knees gave out. I was used to doing alot of sightseeing via walking on my own. But it really hurt him when his knees gave out when we were in Normandy, France. I had to push him through the DDay Museum in Caen in a wheelchair because he'd been on his feet too much the previous week.

He got in a pulmonary study and the side effect of the coaching and everything was he started to watch his eating. He's back to a normal BMI. Now he can do two mile walks with hills and could keep going limited by COPD more than his knees. He has stopped taking the NSAID Rx prescribed for his knee pain. Losing the weight has made all the difference. His COPD got reclassified from severe to moderate, probably because of the exercise. (And his COPD was not from smoking, just an upgrade from the severe asthma he'd had since he was a tot.)

From what I've read the number one thing you can do to stave off dementia/Alzheimers is exercise, though certain diets may also help. I'm in a study on that very topic.

Would it have been better if he hadn't let himself go? I would have missed much of my my solo sightseeing.

 

[audreyh1]

Shortly after I retired, and I had just turned 40, a yoga studio opened nearby. I immediately signed on as I decided that I needed to learn yoga as a life skill with an eye on aging gracefully (as possible). Yoga really helps with balance, flexibility, posture, core strength, some protection against injury, body awareness - all these things that become a challenge for an older person.

It is currently paying off big time. I do yoga almost daily these days. I’ve gone through periods without, and it’s quite a relief to regain lost flexibility. I was worried there for a while when a couple of years after menopause I suddenly lost considerable hip flexibility that I had taken for granted. But after a year of twice a week classes at a local studio I gained the flexibility all back and then some! I couldn’t believe that I was more flexible than I had been in decades. I’m doing Apple Fitness+ yoga at home these days, haven’t been to a studio since the pandemic and I do it much more often at home so it’s really working for me.

I also do strength training as an anti-aging measure. Gone through periods in the last 20 years where I did serious training.

And other exercise including aerobic.

Who knows what debilitations will come my way. I have a few minor issues - some bad bones in feet, weakish knees (although they haven’t been bothering me at all lately).

 

[bloom2708]

It is the food.

Eat more plants, less meat, cheese, dairy. Eat lower calorie foods that have more nutrients.

Or don't.

Ramifications? A typical death in the late 60s or early 70s.

Only you can decide if those ramifications are tolerable.

 

[RunningBum]

What's a retirement home? I can't tell if you mean nursing home where people are not capable of living alone do to health/mental issues or something different.

Intentionally left generic. What you said above plus independent living. My theory is that the elderly you see out in public may not be representative of the elderly population because the more obese may rarely leave wherever they live. Dtail observed otherwise so maybe I'm wrong.

 

[audreyh1]

I had read that in the very elderly, morbid obesity was far less common, and that carrying a little extra weight was protective.

Morbid obesity is associated with several chronic diseases that shorten the lifespan.

However obesity is not the cause of diabetes as some people think. The are a huge number of non-obese diabetics in the world.

 

[Chuckanut]

I’m single and dating so I definitely pay attention to what I eat even though I am only in my 40s (I want to remain somewhat attractive ).

I'm also single though considerably older than you. I try to keep fit with an exercise routine and good eating habits. I consider myself height weight proportional. Today, being HWP is a huge advantage when trying to attract females. Who knew the skinny nerds of the past would be the hunks of today?

 

[Nick12]

What's a retirement home? I can't tell if you mean nursing home where people are not capable of living alone do to health/mental issues or something different.

Retirement home? In my area for a single room, 3 meals a day in a nice setting goes for $400 per day. For the average retiree that's not even realistic.

 

[Nick12]

I'm also single though considerably older than you. I try to keep fit with an exercise routine and good eating habits. I consider myself height weight proportional. Today, being HWP is a huge advantage when tyring to atrract females. Who knew the skinny nerds of the past would be the hunks of today?

Good health is the greatest wealth.

 

[RunningBum]

Retirement home? In my area for a single room, 3 meals a day in a nice setting goes for $400 per day. For the average retiree that's not even realistic.

Where my parents live in a midwest town, it's 1/4 of that for independent living. Memory care isn't even that high.

 

[Aerides]

When I quit smoking in my 20's, I told myself I'm permitted to take it up again at 80.
DH wouldn't like that, so only if I outlive him. Even then, nasty habit I know. still...

 

[chassis]

It is the food.

Eat more plants, less meat, cheese, dairy. Eat lower calorie foods that have more nutrients.

Or don't.

Ramifications? A typical death in the late 60s or early 70s.

Only you can decide if those ramifications are tolerable.

Yes, this. It’s your (our) responsibility to manage our own obesity, or absence of it. No one else’s job but ours.

 

[Nick12]

Yes, this. It’s your (our) responsibility to manage our own obesity, or absence of it. No one else’s job but ours.

+1. A former peer of mine said he couldn't afford healthy options. I posed a question to him, what is more expensive a $4 box of donuts or a $4 bag of raw spinach?

 

[Dtail]

Intentionally left generic. What you said above plus independent living. My theory is that the elderly you see out in public may not be representative of the elderly population because the more obese may rarely leave wherever they live. Dtail observed otherwise so maybe I'm wrong.

Just to add further color, my reference was more to the assisted living type places vs. the generic retirement type places.