First - those dogs are obese due to their diet. Dogs a mainly carnivores and the food pushed on the public is loaded with cheap carbohydrates like wheat, rice and potatoes. No dog (and especially no cats) should be eating that crap. Dogs should eat animal protein, they will thrive on that diet and their body fat will normalize. It's all about keeping the metabolism running well - carbs and vegetable oils gum up the works and slow the metabolism.
This goes for people too. We are not genetically adapted to thrive on the things most people buy from the grocery stores. Vegetable oils were created as a machine lubricant and should be treated thusly. Nobody should be eating them. Grains and sugar are bad as well. What isn't bas are red meat, saturated fat and cholesterol... the things the "health experts" tell us to avoid. We've been given bad information about diet for a long time but after our COVID experience why would we ever assume the experts are giving us good advice on diet?
Second - with studies like the ones you mentioned it's difficult to determine cause and effect from observational studies. Do people live longer because they're active or is it that people who are healthy and more likely to live longer are more active? I'd say it's the latter - people who feel good are more likely to go out and be active... it's not the activity, it's the being healthy in the first place.
An analogy is that many studies have shown that vegans are more prone to diagnosed mental illness. Is it the veganism that causes the mental illness or is it that already having a mental illness makes you more likely to become vegan? I have no idea what the answer is.
So this second point actually dovetails back to the first - eating a proper diet filled with protein from animal sources and avoiding vegetable oils, grains and sugar will make you healthy and help you retain muscle as you age - making it more likely that you can stand up from a seated position. Being active is great but not ruining your body with sub-optimal foods is where the biggest gains are made.
Nicely reasoned! Love to see a study on longevity vs guilt/shame on a dose response model. That said - walk a little and love on your dog and neighbors while you go - might be a good confounded remedy to experiment with.
My wife tried cutting way back on meat and did not fare well at all. Carnivores cannot change their spots easily, particularly in later years of life I suspect
There is no reason that a person won't be healthy by limiting red meat. Zack Bush M.D. triple board certified is a perfect example. The rest of what you mention is right on, Bob.
There is a difference between limiting meat and eliminating meat. There are necessary compounds in meat that you aren't going to get from non-animal sources and if you eliminate meat and aren't very careful with supplementation (and probably even if you are due to bio-availability) your health will eventually suffer.
People go vegan and see benefits because they were likely eating the Standard American Diet, which is crap. But eventually the lack of animal protein catches up with you.
The problem with this kind of discussion is that what is good for one may not be so good for another. Cultures like the Hindus have practiced meatless existence for hundreds of years and can now thrive as vegetarians. Does not mean anyone can ands like Bob said most cannot. Physiology dictates and physiology varies, person to person
Susan Benjamin, found of Code Pink and other lefty orgs said on CSPAN some years ago that she is a vegan but when pregnant while in Cuba and feeling worn out, was told by a doctor she must eat meat to keep her child healthy. She said she did and was much improved but went back to vegan after the pregnancy.
No doubt others will have personal stories of baring many healthy with a meatless diet.
There was an episode of Gunsmoke where Doc and Cheater are out in the wilds, and doc gets sick, or shot. The episode revolves around Chester saving Docs life by caring for him, not able to find wild game, cooks his own horse to feed Doc the meat to make him well again
Dunno, our family now includes some Hindus, and while vegans are among them, the main meat they tend to avoid is beef. While people do vary in dietary tolerance, the biggest hurdle to going plant based is figuring out how to replace all your protein and such nutrients as cyanocobalamin. That takes dedication and hard work, (a bit too much for me.) I admired Seventh Day Adventist hospital staff that handled nutrition for a bunch of vegetarians. They worked hard at it, and their food was very good.
Most doctors who are vegan and have studied the matter say B12 supplementation once a month is all you need for being vegan. This is not difficult. You are good to point out difference between limiting meat and going without. Most cultures noted as vegetarian/vegan do occasionally eat meat or fish (not necessarily both). But what does the WHO say is the minimum amount of protein a human needs? It is about 15 grams at most, compared to SAD of 250 and above. And that protein can easily come primarily from plants. Or of course eggs. Typical old family farms slaughtered a chicken maybe once a month but used it well (bone broth) for many weeks after. SAD you rightly note is typically bad but mainly because of lack of fresh green leafy and varied vegetables in the diet.
No we’re not listening to WHO now. These studies were done years ago when it still had credibility to assess world food health requirements. That is all.
Once an organization is shown to be a bunch of authoritarian liars pushing the globalist agenda you may want to go back and re-examine all the other things they've said in the past.
I’m glad you’re fit and feeling it. You have probably learned what’s good for you and use your knowledge wisely. Yet, it’s problematic to make sweeping statements about what is good or not for whole populations. That has been done for decades by people who often have lots of “expert” credentials and conflicts of interest. We have been ripped away from traditional ethnic cuisines and their embedded wisdom to follow experts. Perhaps people can revisit the cuisines that appeal to them and see how it goes. Some of us do really well w red meat and there is a NWO propaganda effort to end that option. I know that does not apply to you DD -- but I have a real doubt about the establishment commentary on anything these days as far as broad guidelines go. Red meat that is grass fed and humanely raised is a real food with true benefit to a lot of us. With science, the devil is always in the details. Always, always, always. And those details always include - Who benefits?
I feed my dog meat most of the time. He typically gets 1 egg & meat for breakfast, meat and what's left of my salad for dinner. Sometimes he gets a bit of dog food. This week he's had Brisket everyday as we had lots of left overs from last weeks potluck. Sometimes I buy him heart meat. He's my meat head. The heart meat really increased his energy level.
I certainly agree about the value of meat and saturated fat and eat both. But the blanket condemnation of grains makes no sense to me. If it were refined grains being criticized, I’d have no problem. Grains have been grown and eaten for thousands of years and people have thrived on them. The problem is hybridization and refining. What we need to get back to is non-hybridized grains prepared in traditional ways.
You say that grains aren't a problem but then say we need to get back to non-hybridized grains and traditional preparation, indicating grains today are a problem.
Just get a dog that needs long walks. You might deny yourself that walk but you'd never let your dog down, would you?
Stay thin if you can. Don't eat junk. Eat little but eat well. It's surprising how little you really need to eat to just stay average/slim as you get older.
Find something that keeps you thinking. It has to be something you get some enjoyment from. Likewise with the exercise. If you hate the physical and mental exercise and you hate your restricted diet, you'll probably go back to your bad habits.
Once you get really out of shape mentally and physically it's really hard to turn it around.
Forgive yourself if you slip up. Today is what matters. Start the change today, not tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
2 weeks ago I began taking a walk with my 2 year old boxer. I’d gotten quite lazy as she has a doggy door and huge fenced in backyard. My annual check up included a CT scan this year, as a former smoker insurance will pay for it. My lungs looked wonderful, my coronary arteries did not. I discussed my plan with my doctor. She knows I will stick to any goal I set. We know winter is coming and walking late evening isn’t practical for me at my age. I have a barely used stair stepper I’ve drug out to the middle of my bedroom for nasty weather days. So, I decided to make 2 immediate changes. No snacks or sweets will pass my lips. I’ve increased my vegetable intake as my snacks. I need to lose 15 pounds. Each day I walk little Hela. She likes to walk fast, so my walks are brisk. Being a desk sitter at work I get up and move for 5-10 minutes every 2 hours. When I get home from work, Hela and I now walk 1 mile each evening. Weekends we increase the walk to 1.5 miles. In only 2 weeks, what a difference, ive lost 2.5 pounds, met new neighbors down the street and feel happier, a sense of well being I’d lost during the pandemic.
My message is get up, get moving, enjoy nature’s beauty, walk a dog!
LOL....without my glasses I read "i've lost 25 pounds in two weeks". ...good on you for the 2.5 pound loss. My old boy is 14 (a cross between a Jack Russell terrier and Satan) and he keeps me honest. I'm not sure I'll ever feel the same about things since the COVID nonsense but life is still good. I think that I have been left with the feeling that my government can take my freedom away at any time for any trumped up reason and that disturbs me greatly. More disturbing is that I represent a minority of the population that was outraged by the mask and vaccine mandates. I'm trying to forgive those who were merely afraid but I'll never forgive my government and the cowards who knew better yet complied without protest.
I’m anti-mask, never vaxed, realized I’m in the 10 to 15% who cannot be forced into anything as I’ve always been a bit rebellious. I stopped getting pissed off that other people will always comply, will want me to do likewise and believe everything the government says. Sure, why would I start now at 68 years old? Blood pressure is now a healthy 120/70 and my pup loves taking me on walks.
I hear ya. Just can't find enough in that 10-15% demographic to make it a little easier. I'm 67. Same. I've always asked questions and when the answers don't make sense and I figure I'm not hurting anybody I tend to disobey authority whenever I can get away with it.
My mask was something like a turkey hunting mask....the holes were big enough for a mosquito to fly through. Unless you wear a respirator that 0.1 micron diameter virus is going to dance right through your N95 anyhow.
I have to admit that I got a perverse joy out of seeing the disapproving stares from the hardcore maskers who looked at my mask and could see my face through it. Rules at the door didn't state the required specifications for the mask.
Next crisis they'll probably just cut off my electricity and water or shoot me on sight. After all, our government actually froze the bank accounts of the people who protested with the truckers.
I mean, for the greater good and all....you can justify anything, right?
You are doing the right things with your boy, and you will benefit from it - physically and psychologically. We have been scammed, and are now beginning to understand that we should have never trusted the 'government' in the first place. So many of us, over decades, have been too complacent about government, but I do hope that we will wake up.
The more that people depend upon governments for their day to day needs, the more personal freedom is ceded to government agencies, and in most cases these are not even elected officials but rather government employees who cannot be removed from office. This tiptoe towards totalitarianism has been happening for many years but we're only now recognizing en masse how much damage has been done and how difficult it is to reverse the situation.
As a Canadian I see the USA as the last hope for individual freedom.. In as much as individual States within the Union have a lot of autonomy, I hope at least some of these States will resist enough so that those who will not be controlled can gravitate and populate there. The lost causes (like California) will stand out as examples of the failure of people to stay true to the vision of the founding fathers of the USA and this will become more and more obvious as conditions in States like California get worse.
Amen! “Stayin’ Alive!” is the theme song. I personally use Broadway musicals as my house cleaning inspiration. Nothing like Ethel Merman in Gypsy! to get one motivated. Or Chorus Line or Oklahoma!
Well, a surprise for me! Got down easily but could hardly stand back up! Thought I was in pretty good shape but apparently not. Time to go back to yoga. Can’t remember why I even stopped. This was a very interesting and fun posting, Dr Malone. I love the way you mix up your topics!
I have noticed lately how overweight we all are. We are trying to calm ourselves with food. We can’t do anything about inflation, personal and political attacks, multiple wars, the knowledge that things are dicey at the moment, and truth tellers are few and far between. (Political, employment, healthcare ramifications are abundant for speaking out.) Quite frankly, I am exhausted most of the time. Lots of naps, trying to eat well, some foods just don’t agree with me, cheese, milk. Anything that is high in fats means I will be in the bathroom for a while. I have no gallbladder and my lower intestines are gone due to an surgery. I also live in a food desert, fast food, but healthy food is really hard to come by. While I live in a farming community, it is beef, not vegetables that is grown here. We have had serious droughts, water restrictions, and the ground is sand based which means hard to grow things. There are lots of people like me. An everyday average person who is trying and failing to remain healthy. I want to ask you to ask readers are you sleeping more? I don’t watch tv anymore, don’t listen to the radio, and watch really old black and white tv shows. The rifleman, lost in space, wild Wild West and I knit. I work very part time and that will end this December because I fear that 2024 is going to be really rocky and rough. I want to stay close to home. Everything a walmart, grocery store, target (don’t shop there anymore) is at least an hour to hour and half away. It is both a plus and minus for me.
I love my husband, state and country, its just damn is living getting harder and harder and not because I’ve done anything wrong. I have had two deaths in my family. My mom in January and my nephew this month. My mom had a good long life, my nephew a rougher life due to personal choices which I believe cost him his life. A wife, mother three sons are grieving. There is nothing I can do, nothing. I think people are scared, unhealthy, and undereducated. I too, will shuffle off this mortal coil at some point I am in my 60s now. While I have love, food and housing, why do I feel like the deck is stacked against me through no fault of my own. Anyone else?
Pbr: I loved what you wrote. But I pray you and husband can relocate somewhere much closer to helpful resources, food, and medical or health care. It is very admirable to be a rural pioneer. But at times in life we do need the help of others. You have the Internet: are there “senior resource” organizations in your county that can at least offer some local suggestions? And you certainly can pray for your lost and grieving family. Knit one, Pray twice!
Believe it or not we relocated here! We do have healthcare, which we pay for and the community is mainly older people. I did live in the city, and suburbs of an east coast state. We were told by two different financial advisors to leave the state to maintain our modest standard of living. SERIOUSLY. I am one of those people who did a lot of things right, but didn’t manage to bring in the big bucks. I am not alone. In fact I gather with a group of women once a week to keep tabs on one another, help one another, have our joys and upsets. While I grieve for my family members the flip side is that my niece is pregnant with her second child. So there is happiness, and we women work on knitted items for the Indian reservation. I remember a Gladys Knight song, “keep on keeping on.” That’s where I am.
Whatever state you are in, there must be a few bigger towns worthy of living in, closer to more resources. Your women’s group is great. Our town in Oregon is only 35,000 but has abundant local resources, medical, and shopping. Plus the best weekly growers market for our produce. We’re very grateful we moved from SF for that.
Have you ever considered a grocery delivery service like Blue Apron, Green Chef, or Hungryroot? While more costly than shopping yourself, it does remove some of the burden of living way out of the way, and the expense may be mitigated by not having to commute 90 minutes to the store every week.
Try to have faith. I hope that doesn't sound trite. Find inspiration from people (like Dr. Malone) who have been courageous and took the high road when things got tough. Be the person you admire. And when you can't be that person, own your faults and be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself first. I like to follow people who inspire me. I try to be like them. I like to listen to people like Jordan Peterson.
Life is ultimately tragic. We are born to die. But we can slay dragons along the way and that in itself is an adventure that makes life worthwhile.
I sleep more because I'm getting old, LOL. That's OK. My dad always tried to instill in me the idea that "it has always been thus." He was right. Has there ever been a time in history when things were perfect? At least I'm not fleeing Gaza City and trying to find clean water. My problems are real but perspective is important.
I'm 71 and was able to do this quite easily until late March of this year when I injured my left knee. It has been nearly 7 months (without surgery or pain reliever - just PT) and I hope that eventually, I will regain this ability but who knows?
Two additional resources: Rock Steady Boxing is an exercise program for Parkinson’s and related patients. It works wonders by incorporating not just muscle but coordination.
Also, John Ratey MD wrote a book called Spark, the New Science of Exercise and the Brain. He has videos as well. Exercise profoundly helps not only learning outcomes in youth but dementia or depression in seniors. We need to remake hospitals and classrooms into day spas!
I scored a 9. A year ago I would have had to have someone pull me off of the floor. I was in a car wreck 4 years ago. I have three severe curves in my back from scoliosis . But because I have been active all my life my scoliosis has not slowed me down.
The car wreck took a fragile back and left me in bad shape. I lost 2” in height and couldn’t walk far and had to walk slow.
I tried chiropractic, physical therapy, cortisone shots those didn’t work. I consulted a neurosurgeon who told me surgery would have a 70% chance of complications. The neurosurgeon told me that it was good that I was exercising all those years or I could be crippled.
Since I couldn’t walk I went to the water. I go 5 days a week and do water aerobics . I have freedom of movement in the pool. I found a chiropractor that uses a technique the triggers the muscles to turn on.
He has helped me so much and got me walking again. He keeps me moving. It has been a huge blessing.
If I hadn’t been active all those years I would probably be crippled. I have exercised 5 days a week for the last 40 years.
Keep moving it makes a huge difference. Find something you can do to exercise .
At age 45 in 2012, I ran my last 10K race. The next year, I realized I had to stop running because the dull ache in my knees was not going away. It's down to walking, biking, and swimming for me. But now at 57, I'm definitely low on springiness. I was afraid of what I might find with this test, but I made it down and up in pretty good shape.
Glad to hear it Dr. Malone. I was in better shape before the need to sit on my ass during 2 bouts of Covid, cured by an Ivermectin protocol. In have my work cut out for me to get back in shape. Thanks for your honesty. I'm wishing you great good health ongoing...
A walking partner helps. In the last six months, I’ve increased my steps from an average of 5,000 steps a day to an average of 9,500 hundred steps a day. My walking partner is a 7-month-old lab.
Shift work and “on call” status for 32 years. Lessons learned:
Do not neglect sleep and keep the “sleep battery” topped up. If you are not sleeping there is a reason; figure out the reason(s) and get some sleep. No sleep aids…most are bad for you.
Stress and management thereof, without pharmaceutical assistance. Nicotine and caffeine are pharmaceutical assistance. Use carefully.
Regular exercise.
Get some fresh air and sunlight.
Eat the healthiest foods you can and try not to eat to soon before bed…. unless you like gerd and hiatal hernias.
If injured tend to the injury sooner, not later. I’m over a dozen for surgeries, that number would be less had I ate better, slept more and got treatment earlier.
The short version is when in doubt walk the dog and then take a nap.
I don't sleep as well as I did when I was in my 40s and 50s. I still work a fair number of full shifts and without a benzo I'm usually going to have inadequate sleep if I'm going to be in any kind of shape to work a full shift at the clinic.
If I'm not working in the morning I just get up a read a book if I cannot sleep. I can't work properly on less than 5 hours of sleep now. Even sleep aided sleep is better than no sleep or 3 hours of tossing and turning sleep.
Even with the sleep problem I think I'm better to keep working. I won't be able to do this forever but while I can I might as well.
We are all trying that test now and we are all stuck on the ground 😂
Fortunately, a terrific sense of humor is also associated with longevity = : )
Age combined with gravity is a fearsome coupling.
Me too, I found this and will use the Full Body Warm Up video to help strengthen muscles I was unaware of
https://www.certifiedfsc.com/whats-your-get-up-score/
It is not inexpensive; however try Pilates. They “Instructors” can teach You how to do things at home as well. I just thought I was strong😳. Ed
Agree! Lol.
😂😜
See comment at https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/wellbeing-fragility-and-shorter-lifespans/comment/42310737, which also mentions Pilates.
A couple thoughts:
First - those dogs are obese due to their diet. Dogs a mainly carnivores and the food pushed on the public is loaded with cheap carbohydrates like wheat, rice and potatoes. No dog (and especially no cats) should be eating that crap. Dogs should eat animal protein, they will thrive on that diet and their body fat will normalize. It's all about keeping the metabolism running well - carbs and vegetable oils gum up the works and slow the metabolism.
This goes for people too. We are not genetically adapted to thrive on the things most people buy from the grocery stores. Vegetable oils were created as a machine lubricant and should be treated thusly. Nobody should be eating them. Grains and sugar are bad as well. What isn't bas are red meat, saturated fat and cholesterol... the things the "health experts" tell us to avoid. We've been given bad information about diet for a long time but after our COVID experience why would we ever assume the experts are giving us good advice on diet?
Second - with studies like the ones you mentioned it's difficult to determine cause and effect from observational studies. Do people live longer because they're active or is it that people who are healthy and more likely to live longer are more active? I'd say it's the latter - people who feel good are more likely to go out and be active... it's not the activity, it's the being healthy in the first place.
An analogy is that many studies have shown that vegans are more prone to diagnosed mental illness. Is it the veganism that causes the mental illness or is it that already having a mental illness makes you more likely to become vegan? I have no idea what the answer is.
So this second point actually dovetails back to the first - eating a proper diet filled with protein from animal sources and avoiding vegetable oils, grains and sugar will make you healthy and help you retain muscle as you age - making it more likely that you can stand up from a seated position. Being active is great but not ruining your body with sub-optimal foods is where the biggest gains are made.
Second -
Nicely reasoned! Love to see a study on longevity vs guilt/shame on a dose response model. That said - walk a little and love on your dog and neighbors while you go - might be a good confounded remedy to experiment with.
My wife tried cutting way back on meat and did not fare well at all. Carnivores cannot change their spots easily, particularly in later years of life I suspect
There is no reason that a person won't be healthy by limiting red meat. Zack Bush M.D. triple board certified is a perfect example. The rest of what you mention is right on, Bob.
There is a difference between limiting meat and eliminating meat. There are necessary compounds in meat that you aren't going to get from non-animal sources and if you eliminate meat and aren't very careful with supplementation (and probably even if you are due to bio-availability) your health will eventually suffer.
People go vegan and see benefits because they were likely eating the Standard American Diet, which is crap. But eventually the lack of animal protein catches up with you.
See Dr Colin Campbell and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn for longevity and health benefits of whole food plant based diets. They are both 90 yrs young!
I'm not sure I understand your point. I'm sure I can find people who live to be 100 who smoked their entire lives... should we all start smoking?
I'm not going to expend a lot of time debating vegans, there's no point. We'll have to agree to disagree.
The problem with this kind of discussion is that what is good for one may not be so good for another. Cultures like the Hindus have practiced meatless existence for hundreds of years and can now thrive as vegetarians. Does not mean anyone can ands like Bob said most cannot. Physiology dictates and physiology varies, person to person
Susan Benjamin, found of Code Pink and other lefty orgs said on CSPAN some years ago that she is a vegan but when pregnant while in Cuba and feeling worn out, was told by a doctor she must eat meat to keep her child healthy. She said she did and was much improved but went back to vegan after the pregnancy.
No doubt others will have personal stories of baring many healthy with a meatless diet.
There was an episode of Gunsmoke where Doc and Cheater are out in the wilds, and doc gets sick, or shot. The episode revolves around Chester saving Docs life by caring for him, not able to find wild game, cooks his own horse to feed Doc the meat to make him well again
Dunno, our family now includes some Hindus, and while vegans are among them, the main meat they tend to avoid is beef. While people do vary in dietary tolerance, the biggest hurdle to going plant based is figuring out how to replace all your protein and such nutrients as cyanocobalamin. That takes dedication and hard work, (a bit too much for me.) I admired Seventh Day Adventist hospital staff that handled nutrition for a bunch of vegetarians. They worked hard at it, and their food was very good.
John Adams was a vegan. He was 91 when he died.
Vegan or vegetarian? Huge difference.
Vegetarian is the term I read.
Never heard this. Where did you get the info?
I read it somewhere in the 1990s.
Most doctors who are vegan and have studied the matter say B12 supplementation once a month is all you need for being vegan. This is not difficult. You are good to point out difference between limiting meat and going without. Most cultures noted as vegetarian/vegan do occasionally eat meat or fish (not necessarily both). But what does the WHO say is the minimum amount of protein a human needs? It is about 15 grams at most, compared to SAD of 250 and above. And that protein can easily come primarily from plants. Or of course eggs. Typical old family farms slaughtered a chicken maybe once a month but used it well (bone broth) for many weeks after. SAD you rightly note is typically bad but mainly because of lack of fresh green leafy and varied vegetables in the diet.
We're listening to the WHO now? :-)
No we’re not listening to WHO now. These studies were done years ago when it still had credibility to assess world food health requirements. That is all.
Once an organization is shown to be a bunch of authoritarian liars pushing the globalist agenda you may want to go back and re-examine all the other things they've said in the past.
I’m glad you’re fit and feeling it. You have probably learned what’s good for you and use your knowledge wisely. Yet, it’s problematic to make sweeping statements about what is good or not for whole populations. That has been done for decades by people who often have lots of “expert” credentials and conflicts of interest. We have been ripped away from traditional ethnic cuisines and their embedded wisdom to follow experts. Perhaps people can revisit the cuisines that appeal to them and see how it goes. Some of us do really well w red meat and there is a NWO propaganda effort to end that option. I know that does not apply to you DD -- but I have a real doubt about the establishment commentary on anything these days as far as broad guidelines go. Red meat that is grass fed and humanely raised is a real food with true benefit to a lot of us. With science, the devil is always in the details. Always, always, always. And those details always include - Who benefits?
I feed my dog meat most of the time. He typically gets 1 egg & meat for breakfast, meat and what's left of my salad for dinner. Sometimes he gets a bit of dog food. This week he's had Brisket everyday as we had lots of left overs from last weeks potluck. Sometimes I buy him heart meat. He's my meat head. The heart meat really increased his energy level.
I certainly agree about the value of meat and saturated fat and eat both. But the blanket condemnation of grains makes no sense to me. If it were refined grains being criticized, I’d have no problem. Grains have been grown and eaten for thousands of years and people have thrived on them. The problem is hybridization and refining. What we need to get back to is non-hybridized grains prepared in traditional ways.
You say that grains aren't a problem but then say we need to get back to non-hybridized grains and traditional preparation, indicating grains today are a problem.
Dang, I could go on a full rant about Pup health…I’ll just say They get a belly rub every night before bed. Ed
Edit - bag of Pup food = $80.
Emotional and mental health is most important of all, that is an issue all to it's own.
There is also the grip test.
Just get a dog that needs long walks. You might deny yourself that walk but you'd never let your dog down, would you?
Stay thin if you can. Don't eat junk. Eat little but eat well. It's surprising how little you really need to eat to just stay average/slim as you get older.
Find something that keeps you thinking. It has to be something you get some enjoyment from. Likewise with the exercise. If you hate the physical and mental exercise and you hate your restricted diet, you'll probably go back to your bad habits.
Once you get really out of shape mentally and physically it's really hard to turn it around.
Forgive yourself if you slip up. Today is what matters. Start the change today, not tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
2 weeks ago I began taking a walk with my 2 year old boxer. I’d gotten quite lazy as she has a doggy door and huge fenced in backyard. My annual check up included a CT scan this year, as a former smoker insurance will pay for it. My lungs looked wonderful, my coronary arteries did not. I discussed my plan with my doctor. She knows I will stick to any goal I set. We know winter is coming and walking late evening isn’t practical for me at my age. I have a barely used stair stepper I’ve drug out to the middle of my bedroom for nasty weather days. So, I decided to make 2 immediate changes. No snacks or sweets will pass my lips. I’ve increased my vegetable intake as my snacks. I need to lose 15 pounds. Each day I walk little Hela. She likes to walk fast, so my walks are brisk. Being a desk sitter at work I get up and move for 5-10 minutes every 2 hours. When I get home from work, Hela and I now walk 1 mile each evening. Weekends we increase the walk to 1.5 miles. In only 2 weeks, what a difference, ive lost 2.5 pounds, met new neighbors down the street and feel happier, a sense of well being I’d lost during the pandemic.
My message is get up, get moving, enjoy nature’s beauty, walk a dog!
LOL....without my glasses I read "i've lost 25 pounds in two weeks". ...good on you for the 2.5 pound loss. My old boy is 14 (a cross between a Jack Russell terrier and Satan) and he keeps me honest. I'm not sure I'll ever feel the same about things since the COVID nonsense but life is still good. I think that I have been left with the feeling that my government can take my freedom away at any time for any trumped up reason and that disturbs me greatly. More disturbing is that I represent a minority of the population that was outraged by the mask and vaccine mandates. I'm trying to forgive those who were merely afraid but I'll never forgive my government and the cowards who knew better yet complied without protest.
I’m anti-mask, never vaxed, realized I’m in the 10 to 15% who cannot be forced into anything as I’ve always been a bit rebellious. I stopped getting pissed off that other people will always comply, will want me to do likewise and believe everything the government says. Sure, why would I start now at 68 years old? Blood pressure is now a healthy 120/70 and my pup loves taking me on walks.
I hear ya. Just can't find enough in that 10-15% demographic to make it a little easier. I'm 67. Same. I've always asked questions and when the answers don't make sense and I figure I'm not hurting anybody I tend to disobey authority whenever I can get away with it.
My mask was something like a turkey hunting mask....the holes were big enough for a mosquito to fly through. Unless you wear a respirator that 0.1 micron diameter virus is going to dance right through your N95 anyhow.
I have to admit that I got a perverse joy out of seeing the disapproving stares from the hardcore maskers who looked at my mask and could see my face through it. Rules at the door didn't state the required specifications for the mask.
Next crisis they'll probably just cut off my electricity and water or shoot me on sight. After all, our government actually froze the bank accounts of the people who protested with the truckers.
I mean, for the greater good and all....you can justify anything, right?
You are doing the right things with your boy, and you will benefit from it - physically and psychologically. We have been scammed, and are now beginning to understand that we should have never trusted the 'government' in the first place. So many of us, over decades, have been too complacent about government, but I do hope that we will wake up.
The more that people depend upon governments for their day to day needs, the more personal freedom is ceded to government agencies, and in most cases these are not even elected officials but rather government employees who cannot be removed from office. This tiptoe towards totalitarianism has been happening for many years but we're only now recognizing en masse how much damage has been done and how difficult it is to reverse the situation.
As a Canadian I see the USA as the last hope for individual freedom.. In as much as individual States within the Union have a lot of autonomy, I hope at least some of these States will resist enough so that those who will not be controlled can gravitate and populate there. The lost causes (like California) will stand out as examples of the failure of people to stay true to the vision of the founding fathers of the USA and this will become more and more obvious as conditions in States like California get worse.
❤️👏🏼🕺💃🏻 Dancing along while doing daily chores is also great fun. Try it!
A good play list helps!
Amen! “Stayin’ Alive!” is the theme song. I personally use Broadway musicals as my house cleaning inspiration. Nothing like Ethel Merman in Gypsy! to get one motivated. Or Chorus Line or Oklahoma!
Well, a surprise for me! Got down easily but could hardly stand back up! Thought I was in pretty good shape but apparently not. Time to go back to yoga. Can’t remember why I even stopped. This was a very interesting and fun posting, Dr Malone. I love the way you mix up your topics!
I have noticed lately how overweight we all are. We are trying to calm ourselves with food. We can’t do anything about inflation, personal and political attacks, multiple wars, the knowledge that things are dicey at the moment, and truth tellers are few and far between. (Political, employment, healthcare ramifications are abundant for speaking out.) Quite frankly, I am exhausted most of the time. Lots of naps, trying to eat well, some foods just don’t agree with me, cheese, milk. Anything that is high in fats means I will be in the bathroom for a while. I have no gallbladder and my lower intestines are gone due to an surgery. I also live in a food desert, fast food, but healthy food is really hard to come by. While I live in a farming community, it is beef, not vegetables that is grown here. We have had serious droughts, water restrictions, and the ground is sand based which means hard to grow things. There are lots of people like me. An everyday average person who is trying and failing to remain healthy. I want to ask you to ask readers are you sleeping more? I don’t watch tv anymore, don’t listen to the radio, and watch really old black and white tv shows. The rifleman, lost in space, wild Wild West and I knit. I work very part time and that will end this December because I fear that 2024 is going to be really rocky and rough. I want to stay close to home. Everything a walmart, grocery store, target (don’t shop there anymore) is at least an hour to hour and half away. It is both a plus and minus for me.
I love my husband, state and country, its just damn is living getting harder and harder and not because I’ve done anything wrong. I have had two deaths in my family. My mom in January and my nephew this month. My mom had a good long life, my nephew a rougher life due to personal choices which I believe cost him his life. A wife, mother three sons are grieving. There is nothing I can do, nothing. I think people are scared, unhealthy, and undereducated. I too, will shuffle off this mortal coil at some point I am in my 60s now. While I have love, food and housing, why do I feel like the deck is stacked against me through no fault of my own. Anyone else?
Pbr: I loved what you wrote. But I pray you and husband can relocate somewhere much closer to helpful resources, food, and medical or health care. It is very admirable to be a rural pioneer. But at times in life we do need the help of others. You have the Internet: are there “senior resource” organizations in your county that can at least offer some local suggestions? And you certainly can pray for your lost and grieving family. Knit one, Pray twice!
Believe it or not we relocated here! We do have healthcare, which we pay for and the community is mainly older people. I did live in the city, and suburbs of an east coast state. We were told by two different financial advisors to leave the state to maintain our modest standard of living. SERIOUSLY. I am one of those people who did a lot of things right, but didn’t manage to bring in the big bucks. I am not alone. In fact I gather with a group of women once a week to keep tabs on one another, help one another, have our joys and upsets. While I grieve for my family members the flip side is that my niece is pregnant with her second child. So there is happiness, and we women work on knitted items for the Indian reservation. I remember a Gladys Knight song, “keep on keeping on.” That’s where I am.
Whatever state you are in, there must be a few bigger towns worthy of living in, closer to more resources. Your women’s group is great. Our town in Oregon is only 35,000 but has abundant local resources, medical, and shopping. Plus the best weekly growers market for our produce. We’re very grateful we moved from SF for that.
Have you ever considered a grocery delivery service like Blue Apron, Green Chef, or Hungryroot? While more costly than shopping yourself, it does remove some of the burden of living way out of the way, and the expense may be mitigated by not having to commute 90 minutes to the store every week.
Try to have faith. I hope that doesn't sound trite. Find inspiration from people (like Dr. Malone) who have been courageous and took the high road when things got tough. Be the person you admire. And when you can't be that person, own your faults and be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself first. I like to follow people who inspire me. I try to be like them. I like to listen to people like Jordan Peterson.
Life is ultimately tragic. We are born to die. But we can slay dragons along the way and that in itself is an adventure that makes life worthwhile.
I sleep more because I'm getting old, LOL. That's OK. My dad always tried to instill in me the idea that "it has always been thus." He was right. Has there ever been a time in history when things were perfect? At least I'm not fleeing Gaza City and trying to find clean water. My problems are real but perspective is important.
Stay well. Keep the faith.
If you have no gall bladder, you need bile salts with every meal that contains fat. Doctors don’t tell you this; I have no idea why not.
Oh heck yeah! The floor test - able to get up on my own - was real eye opener.
I need to do my stretch exercises again!
I have a bum knee so it is a lil more work than normal getting up
I'm 71 and was able to do this quite easily until late March of this year when I injured my left knee. It has been nearly 7 months (without surgery or pain reliever - just PT) and I hope that eventually, I will regain this ability but who knows?
Two additional resources: Rock Steady Boxing is an exercise program for Parkinson’s and related patients. It works wonders by incorporating not just muscle but coordination.
Also, John Ratey MD wrote a book called Spark, the New Science of Exercise and the Brain. He has videos as well. Exercise profoundly helps not only learning outcomes in youth but dementia or depression in seniors. We need to remake hospitals and classrooms into day spas!
Hi Dr Malone - Lots of good advice. I just got home from climbing our local mountain. Have you watched this from New Zealand? https://nzloyal.org.nz/
I scored a 9. A year ago I would have had to have someone pull me off of the floor. I was in a car wreck 4 years ago. I have three severe curves in my back from scoliosis . But because I have been active all my life my scoliosis has not slowed me down.
The car wreck took a fragile back and left me in bad shape. I lost 2” in height and couldn’t walk far and had to walk slow.
I tried chiropractic, physical therapy, cortisone shots those didn’t work. I consulted a neurosurgeon who told me surgery would have a 70% chance of complications. The neurosurgeon told me that it was good that I was exercising all those years or I could be crippled.
Since I couldn’t walk I went to the water. I go 5 days a week and do water aerobics . I have freedom of movement in the pool. I found a chiropractor that uses a technique the triggers the muscles to turn on.
He has helped me so much and got me walking again. He keeps me moving. It has been a huge blessing.
If I hadn’t been active all those years I would probably be crippled. I have exercised 5 days a week for the last 40 years.
Keep moving it makes a huge difference. Find something you can do to exercise .
I still can’t stand long and have a hard time twisting and turning and moving up and down. But I can walk and move with freedom in the pool.
An important part of your recovery is your searching for alternatives due to limitations.
Exactly. The water is my friend. I use water weights.
I had to use my knee to stand.
At age 45 in 2012, I ran my last 10K race. The next year, I realized I had to stop running because the dull ache in my knees was not going away. It's down to walking, biking, and swimming for me. But now at 57, I'm definitely low on springiness. I was afraid of what I might find with this test, but I made it down and up in pretty good shape.
Okay, I tried it but it reminded me of Margaret Thatcher's quip to HW, “This is no time to go wobbly, George.”
A quick question Dr. Malone: Can you do that feet crossed sit down, rise back up test ?
yes, but was pretty marginal before I dropped weight.
Glad to hear it Dr. Malone. I was in better shape before the need to sit on my ass during 2 bouts of Covid, cured by an Ivermectin protocol. In have my work cut out for me to get back in shape. Thanks for your honesty. I'm wishing you great good health ongoing...
A walking partner helps. In the last six months, I’ve increased my steps from an average of 5,000 steps a day to an average of 9,500 hundred steps a day. My walking partner is a 7-month-old lab.
Hard to beat a dog as a walking companion.
The get up test.
Grip test.
Hanging test. (Look up Dr. Peter Attia)
Passed all of them at a high mileage 58.
Shift work and “on call” status for 32 years. Lessons learned:
Do not neglect sleep and keep the “sleep battery” topped up. If you are not sleeping there is a reason; figure out the reason(s) and get some sleep. No sleep aids…most are bad for you.
Stress and management thereof, without pharmaceutical assistance. Nicotine and caffeine are pharmaceutical assistance. Use carefully.
Regular exercise.
Get some fresh air and sunlight.
Eat the healthiest foods you can and try not to eat to soon before bed…. unless you like gerd and hiatal hernias.
If injured tend to the injury sooner, not later. I’m over a dozen for surgeries, that number would be less had I ate better, slept more and got treatment earlier.
The short version is when in doubt walk the dog and then take a nap.
No sleep aids…most are bad for you.
I don't sleep as well as I did when I was in my 40s and 50s. I still work a fair number of full shifts and without a benzo I'm usually going to have inadequate sleep if I'm going to be in any kind of shape to work a full shift at the clinic.
If I'm not working in the morning I just get up a read a book if I cannot sleep. I can't work properly on less than 5 hours of sleep now. Even sleep aided sleep is better than no sleep or 3 hours of tossing and turning sleep.
Even with the sleep problem I think I'm better to keep working. I won't be able to do this forever but while I can I might as well.