Diet and Exercise – As Simple As Possible…but not Simpler
If you knew exactly how long you were going to live and had no choice to change it, would you still follow a ‘healthy’ lifestyle?
After all, what is the point of health foods, healthy lifestyle choices, exercising, dieting anyway? If you engage in any of this you must have some sort of end game in mind.
My assumption is that your goal is to live as vigorously as possible for as long as possible. A more poetic way to say it would be:
“To die young…as old as possible”
No matter what you believe, there is one fact we all must face: We are all going to die.
And unless something miraculous happens in the next 30-50 years in modern medicine we’re all going to have to accept this fact.
So, given that you simply cannot live forever, all you have left is a choice of how you would like to spend the time that you do have.
This is where the concept of living a ‘healthy’ lifestyle comes into question.
Can you prove that the things you do and the way you choose to live will actually enhance the quality of your life (if not the length)?
Will eating raw foods do this? will eating low carb do this? Is interval training required for this? what about functional training?
Is stressing about all of this actually going to be worse for your overall quality and length of your life more than any benefit a diet or exercise routine could have had?
I went to a conference on aging a back in september and the 2 take home messages I got were as follows:
1. If there is going to be anything that can extend the length of our life beyond the current average, it’s not going to be a new style of diet or exercise. (we already know what to do as far as diet and exercise is concerned)
2. The oldest people on record have only one thing in common…a low stress/laid back outlook on life.
I’m sure there are some risk factors you can reduce with your diet and exercise habits. But in general there is no proof that they will ever help you live longer than what we would expect based on current population data.
So the next step is living vigorously for as long as you can. And that is precisely what I am trying to do. One of the major keys to this is balancing the effort put into diet/exercise/lifestyle with the stress that these choices bring.
I’ll add in what is necessary but nothing more.
From what I can gather, simplicity is one of the basic tenets of achieving vigorous health for a lifetime. If I can simplify the things I need to do then I’m doing a good job
For example: with food it is just calories in vs calories out + variety. Any rules beyond this add unnecessary stress with no proof of benefit.
(The only caveat I will add is that intermittent fasting might very well be the most beneficial way to reduce calories)
If I’m making things too complicated then I’m not only adding unnecessary effort and work but I’m also adding unnecessary stress.
I’ll have to borrow another quote from Einstein because he said it so well:
“make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler”
This is my basic philosophy on health and wellness.
So what is your end game?
John
11 Responses to “Diet and Exercise – As Simple As Possible…but not Simpler”
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January 25th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I tend to write a lot of notes about diet, and then I’ll look through them quite a bit. I could probably replace all or most of those notes with: “calories in vs calories out + variety. Any rules beyond this add unnecessary stress with no proof of benefit.” Really boils it down.
January 25th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Love the post! The picture is awesome
Simplicity is key (note to self). I have to work on that for sure. I need to let go of stress and enjoy life! Not that I don’t! But I don’t need to worry all the time about exercising and dieting. Just relax and breathe and do what works and keep things simple! Thanks for sharing…this is just what I needed 
Jen
January 25th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Great picture, great quote.
I’ve been trying to eliminate as much stress as possible from my life the last 2 years. Putting forth the energy to do this, has been the best investment I’ve ever made. Happy & getting happier
January 25th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
this post stresses me out.
if I die early, I guess I can blame you for the added stress!!
HAHAHA!! kidding.
thanks for an awesome post John. Informative and helpful as always.
J
January 26th, 2010 at 4:38 am
I think most of the gym guys and girls diet and working out to be muscular and good looking not to live longer.
Reading You and Brad Pilon my view is changing (still stressing sometimes about that a glass coke or some cookies destroy my fat loss or having a fast day takes away all my muscle) but now i think i can see a bigger picture.
And this is the “sustainable development” for me – as a working family man. Can I eat 6-7 times per day for a lifertime? No. Can I working out in the gym 2 times a day for 5 days a week for a lifetime? No.
But I think I can go to gym 2 times a week doing a simple still effektiv plan, eating responsible and fasting 1-2 times a week. And that way I dont have to stress about food and working out.
January 26th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
My biggest motivation is to keep doing the activities that I love. I don’t want my (poor) health to interfere with being outdoors, playing sports, or enjoying my family. Thus, I choose to exercise to keep my body strong and eat to keep my body fat low.
January 26th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
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January 29th, 2010 at 9:21 am
“”2. The oldest people on record have only one thing in common…a low stress/laid back outlook on life.”"
I know you for going the point that “diet” doesn’t matter, as in what you eat… But don’t all centunarians also have in common a healthy weight? In other words there are no obese centunarians?
January 29th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Alek,
It kind of goes without saying that anyone who has made it upwards of 100 years old is not obese. As people age they require less and less food. So anyone who makes it that far just doesn’t eat much.
JB
January 31st, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Oh ok, I forgot that part. But I’m genuinelly curious, and I haven’t done enough research into life-extension as much as you have.
Let me rephrase my curiosity. Do any obese people reach old age? In other words, ok, people eat less and less as they age. But are there any people who’ve spent most of their lifes obese, and then reaching old-age?
Most of those information out there about how weight kills years off your life are based on those stats. Like they say “being obese cuts 20 years off your lifespan” or whatever. Are those just faulty reading of the data, where they don’t account that obese people get thinner as they age… or do obese people really never reach old age?
February 15th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Wow, what a great question. Are there any centenarians that are obese? My mother-in-law is 94 and pretty amazing. She has too much fat around her middle, but she could never be called obese. My thought is that diet does count. When everyone says eat your veggies and fruits it’s the truth. The studies on antioxidants, fiber, and enzymes show that they are protective. But, I have discovered after trying to eat that way that I really want to eat cheese and meat. So my goal is to try to do the best I can with the veggies and fruit and reward myself with what I really want, the cheese and meat. And, when in the past I have exercised and dieted down to get into my two piece bathing suit, I last for about two days before I decide that alcohol and starchy carbs have a place in my life as well. So, I guess it’s really about balance, isn’t it? I know I’m mortal and I’m thrilled to have lived this long. Bottom line for me, is that life is about the people I love and those who love me. I’ve been on this earth for 55 years and I feel pretty lucky. I love reading the info from John and Brad Pilon and from many other fitness mentors I have supported over the years. I now feel that being strong and feeling good is what I really want. Because I used to look good in my 30′s and 40′s I placed too much importance on trying to look good in my 50′s. My goal now is to be the strongest and healthiest I can be. OK, that’s not really true. I want to be healthy in spurts, and I want to be decadent in spurts. I’m happy that I have learned how to be both. I was with my family in Hawaii last week and I wore a two piece bathing suit for the first time in 15 years. My daughter commented on how ripped I was!! But, I’m not going to keep up that effort forever. Anyway, I want to commend John and Brad for their common sense and scientifically based comments on diet and fasting. Please keep up the good work.