Life sentence

Yeah, yeah. You heard it before. Eat your veggies, exercise, quit smoking and cut back on the booze and you'll live a longer, healthier life. But nobody actually has ever said HOW long, or HOW healthy. Until now.

People who drink moderately, exercise, quit smoking and eat five servings of fruit and vegetables each day live on average 14 years longer than people who adopt none of these behaviors, researchers said on Tuesday.

Overwhelming evidence has shown that these things contribute to healthier and longer lives, but the new study actually quantified their combined impact, the British team said.

"These results may provide further support for the idea that even small differences in lifestyle may make a big difference to health in the population and encourage behavior change," the researchers wrote in the journal PLoS Medicine.

Many people think that, if they do all these things, life will only seem longer.

But no. Wheezing around with bad knees and constant constipation isn't exactly living it up.

And by the way, despite FIVE PERFECT DAYS, including hours and hours at the gym, the scale has not budged.

Feel so bad must have cigarette and drink now.

Comments

[Marky Mark]

Hang in there!

[Erik]

Even if the scale did budge after five days, it's most likely only water weight.

Real weight loss takes time and consistent effort. Keep up the gym and eating healthy and you'll get there.

[Randall]

So if I'm reading that right, I have to take up smoking so I can quit and live longer. That seems a little complicated to me.

[stageleft]

I have been trying to lose some weight and get into shape for the last 6 months, so far it has resulted in the loss of 12 lb (no, I never did go metric) and 6" of fat. I am told, by one of my sons who is in such good shape that it depresses me when I look at myself, that denying *all* of the urges will only lead to a binge - so enjoy your smoke.

PS: I can't afford a gym or a trainer so part of my "get into shape winter exercise program" was to buy some good used cross country ski gear so I could get outside in the winter and do something - it's been raining for almost a week.

stageleft sez: if you're gonna drink, do it first thing in the morning, that way you've got a whole day to work it off :-)

[johnnykap]

A warm hello to Marky Mark. Antonia, all these people trying to encourage you when you, by your own admission, have followed your regimen perfectly with nothing to show for it seem a tad disingenuous. Obviously your well-documented plan is not working and changes need to be made. I recommend phentermine pills. They will kill your appetite (saving you $ on food), you won't need to work out as much (thus minimizing wear and tear on the communal exercise equipment), and you won't have to spend so much time researching all the latest fads.

[Des Donovan]

RE: Healthy Living
An extra 14 years by eating right, exercising etc. Since my RSP investments are paying a whopping 2% that sounds like recipe for outliving my savings. I can enjoy myself and stay solvent until my dying day. Now I know what they mean by 'fat and happy.'

[Chris Moorehead]

Antonia, your lack of weight loss isn't surprising - if you're now working out regularly you're probably putting on muscle mass, which weighs more than fat. Therefore, any actual fat loss is being offset by an increase in muscle.

It might be more beneficial to you if you kept a record of your measurements rather than weight. I've now been back at the gym for a month after a layoff of about six months, and have lost a whopping three pounds. However, my pants are already noticeably looser around the waist.

[Deanna]

Hey Des,

The benefits touted by that article apply to eveyone, regardless of weight. That's right, fat people who exercise, don't smoke, drink moderately, and eat their veggies also get the healthy living benefit.

Guess you're just going to have to fall back on being a lazy alcoholic if you want to die young.

[John]

Antonia,

You can't put on muscle mass in 5 days, and most of what you loose right away is water weight and food that is in your system.

That being said, you should have dropped weight in the first five days - that is the easiest time to loose. I highly question that you have been as dedicated to you nutrition as you say..."Five Perfect Days", would have resulted in some pretty good results.

It all comes down to calories - you burn more than you eat and the weight will drop. Be honest with yourself.