Staying HEALTHY in retirement, with enjoying retirement activities

I found a link from Bluezones about greens that contain little oxalic acid, I eat a lot of these vegetables except nettles and Swiss chard. But cooking Swiss chard or spinach reduces the oxalic acid.

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So everyone you know would prefer cancer, Alzheimers/dementia, strokes or accidents? Or are they wishful thinking that they will go peacefully in their sleep from something (likely heart stopping if peaceful)? Or do you simply not talk about it?

Those in my circle who have seen death of parents and other relatives almost always say they prefer a heart attack. A few hope for a fatal, quick, accident. Maybe we’re unusual that we talk about it. Nothing is off limits for our discussions. :wink:

(It’s not like we discuss it all the time - it mainly comes up after a close death or during an illness of a relative.)

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Contrary to popular belief, heart attacks are usually not immediately fatal. Twenty-Year Trends in Outcomes of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Older US Adults indicates that, in 2014, 12.4% were fatal within 30 days. However, those who do not die quickly may spend a lot of time in the hospital and have to deal with loss of ability and increased medical vulnerability due to a weakened heart. I.e. the more common outcome of a heart attack is a slow slide toward the grave, much like many of the other common reasons for death like cancer, dementia, etc…

No one that I know talks about death, nor does the subject come up, except when we redo the will and trust every 10-20 +/- years.

My diet is clean. Really clean. :slightly_smiling_face:

And when my health provider asks me at my physical if I get 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, I laugh. That’s about the amount of moderate (and then some) exercise that I get daily.

As @ucbalumnus mentioned upthread, I want to earn that “winning lottery ticket” and extend my life on Earth for as long as possible. That’s my goal.

But I tell Ya right now, when I do “go out,” I want to “go out” in a competiton, maybe crossing the finish line of a race, preferably an obstacle race, or yanking a barbell at PR weight, grunting, with a grimace on my face. :weight_lifting_man: :man_running: :wink:

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And if you want that, it will likely be a heart attack. :wink:

I’ve always figured my circles of friends/family are more conversant than many. I like it that way, so “birds of a feather” is probably happening. One never knows what our work lunch table will be talking about, or talks while traveling/walking, or playing games, or around a campfire. It’s fun.

We know plenty who have had “minor” heart attacks too. It’s not even close to equivalent to dealing with cancer/Alzheimer’s/stroke to us. As one ages, physical ailments happen. Such is life.

You can be a lane swimmer with the breast stroke! That is what I do. I worked up from 1/2 mile, and once I was regularly doing that for a while, could work up to 1 mile. Try it! 6 years ago, I could complete 1 mile in 45 or 50 minutes - now it takes me an hour.

But now I am focusing on my 1 1/2 hour walk/jog so I can burn off more calories with the weight bearing - and also using a bit different muscles.

But the swimming definitely helps with tightening up on one’s ‘trunk’ (waist, hips, tummy) - my last weight gain was gaining ‘apple shape’ and I have reduced that expanse some.

The weight is coming off so slowly. But I am in this for the ‘long haul’. I have a long way to go on the weight loss.

I could not walk/jog w/o the knee protector sleeves - I have lost enough to safely go now with them – but lost some weight with swimming first and more modifications with eating.

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We are always talking about it at work, and at home. Several of us at work are dealing with elderly parents/in-laws with major issues. And also, one of my co-worker’s H works at a funeral home! Another WANTS to work at a funeral home. So that leads to all kinds of discussions here. And in this small town, it seems that every day we know someone in the obituaries, and that gets it going as well.

My joke is that I will get hit by a bus. Of course, around here a bus might go by once an hour if your lucky, lol. The older couple who died this summer while on their anniversary trip to DC by getting hit by lightening under a tree. I thought that sounded pretty good. Having one last happy day together, and then just gone together.

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My joke is that I’ll get hit by the beer truck! My grandparents owned a funeral home. They died before they were 60. Dad died at 65 and my sister before she was 50. My mother is constantly talking about illness and death when she’s not helping with a funeral reception at church. I think as we age and the recognize the inevitability of death it gets easier to discuss. That said, I’m doing as much as I can to avoid an early demise. Healthy diet, moderate exercise, some red wine and ice cream once in a while. Not together, of course.

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Why not together :laughing:?

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I do freestyle, since I never did really learn how to swim from anybody, I just read from a book.
So far I’ve lost 2lbs already.

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Actually, in my case, heart disease is highly unlikely. One, heart disease doesn’t run in my family. And two, I have very little visceral fat, the bad fat around the organs that increases your chance for heart disease, cancer, etc. So, I think I’m good there.

Considering, 40% +/- of the US is obese, that certainly doesn’t help matters. Obviously, genetics plays a role, but IMO, a majority of the US doesn’t even try or try hard enough to decrease their chances of age-related physical ailments. They eat poorly and do little to no exercise.

Everyone is built differently. Personally, I don’t find talking about death “fun.” But, if that floats one’s boat, then carry on.

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That would be awesome, not only going together while doing something fun, but being gone in the blink of an eye from a quick zap (assuming they both died quickly).

Maybe, once we’re ready (not yet), we should take umbrellas out and play in storms?

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To be clear, what’s “fun” is not knowing where the conversation will go. When we’re sympathizing with someone experiencing a loss, we’re not laughing about it.

But otherwise, yeah, my group will talk about anything from colonoscopies to ways we’d prefer to die to what new ____ we just discovered - literally anything. It’s not preplanned. It’s just living life as it comes along. And yes, I really enjoy it.

FWIW, having good friends/socialization is also helpful for health and longevity according the the Blue Zones author.

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So one of my first retirement activities will be traveling to Mercers to enjoy some wine ice cream, which sounds a lot better than wine AND ice cream.

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We’ve yet to have that kind of talk with our friends.
Today I went swimming again, just 30 minutes and I had no pain. Know your body is key.
But my husband had no sole in Spain, he bought a new pair of Nike shoes and they didn’t hurt him there when he’s walking around, but yesterday he went to my sister’s yard to pick up some lemons and now his feet are hurting. I think it’s a new shoes problem, not PF.

This made me laugh, because guess what we were just discussing? My lovely colonoscopy on Friday - that is now FINALLY cleared as being in network. Oh the things we discuss… It can be literally anything…

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The breast stroke is very easy, and has a frog kick. Can easily learn!

What makes walk/jog appealing is I don’t spend the time driving to the fitness center, and in the locker room before and after swim. The next neighborhood connecting to us has a big hill, with a lot of side dead ends so I have a great neighborhood to do this in. DH likes to go to a flat greenway which is in the neighborhood across a dividing road; he also likes to go on the trails that are on top of the big hill (we have walking neighborhood access). I only go up there with him when I feel like going when he goes, and I have a walking stick and special hiking boots.

If we want to bike – we haven’t done so in quite a while, but if we do, we go to the greenway which also connects to a sizable research park with sidewalks as well as two lane roads each direction that are not heavily traveled on at off times and weekends.

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Did your husband also purchase shoe inserts?

DH when he would jog 100% and a fair distance (maybe around 5 - 7 miles at a time), he had a fairly new pair of New Balance shoes and particular inserts (we have a New Balance store). After so much time, before the shoes are really ‘worn out’, he needed new. But now that he is doing a lot more walking, he doesn’t have to make so many new purchases. At least once a year, if not every 8 months. Trying to resolve a low back issue - to get steroid injections under anesthesia (3rd time) - some relief from earlier ones – and hope to gain more relief. This is ‘last time’ with injections - unless they work for a long period. His cervical spine injections worked in 2018 – some relief after 1st time, and total relief after 2nd, and no return (he had pain going down one side of his back, which was a secondary nerve where the primary nerve problem was down the arm which he never had) – he had long airline trips monthly which caused him a great deal of discomfort.

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No he didn’t, he never needed them in the states. Anyway, he’s no longer running, he stopped after repeatedly having PF, then after the problem went away, he decided not to run anymore, he now just walks 2-3 miles everyday. He doesn’t have any back issues yet.
But I do have a few jars of Tiger Balm in my home just in case he pulls some muscles.

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You folks who don’t talk about death are certainly having a lively discussion on….death!

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