How seriously do you take your health? (and) How Healthy are you?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

How seriously do you take your health on a daily basis? Does anyone take a statin like Lipitor regularly to help out later in life? I’m just back from seeing my internist and he was telling me that recent articles have stated taking a statin like lipitor or crestor can help out later in life if taken as a daily health routine. :dubious:

I’m not really in the habit of taking meds when they are not needed… and aparently that is the very problem. People wait until the issues (high blood pressure, cholesterol) get way out of control before doing anything about it. I’m not really a big fan of taking a med to pay it forward for healthy elderly living, but I am a fan of eating right to make sure problems do not arise…

What about everyone else? Do you take your health seriously enough to eat right and exercise? I’m not talking about being in top physical shape like Lance Armstrong or anything like that… but do you avoid - as best you can - unhealthy livng?

It sounds like such an innocuous question but in scope I’d say it’s quite important. So for the purposes of this post I’ll just ask - How healthy are you on a scale of 1-10. 1 = complete sloth and utter disregard for health and 10 = peak physical shape…

#2

I’m probably an 8.

I train 4-5 times a week for usually 1 1/2 hours (usually 45 min or so intensive) but I need to start weight training again and could use more steady state workouts. Plus I don’t stretch regularly and I’m really starting to feel it.

I avoid corn syrup, trans fats, saturated fats and eat a fairly healthly diet although I could cut back on the fats and sugar and eat a little more protein. I drink green tea and take fish oil and eat lots of fiber. I should probably eat more fruit.

I take my health pretty seriously as I plan to be very old (got the genetics for it) and want to be healthy when I get there. Right now my numbers are great. If a physician recommended that I take a statin drug premeptively, I’d do my own research and make life style changes to avoid it.

#3

I work out most days a week and try to eat healthfully, but, other than the occasional article about health and tweaking my exercise routine to make sure it keeps challenging me, I don’t spend too much time worrying about what I’m doing to stay healthy. I’ve found that healthy eating makes me feel good and so does exercising, so I do what makes me feel good. Also, I, too, don’t like to take medication if I don’t need it. It doesn’t make sense to me. After all, if eating right, exercising and managing stress is supposed to keep you healthy in the long run, why take a drug you don’t need that may have negative side effects to do the same thing?

On scale from 1 to 10, I’d say I’m about a 7. Yes, I eat healthy but I still have a few extra pounds from my recent pregnancy (gave birth 8 weeks ago Wednesday) and I often allow myself a “treat,” but try to limit it to one a day. It takes care of my cravings so I don’t obsess about what I can and can’t have.

#4

I’ve gotten to the point where it’s just my lifestyle. If you take it seriously over the course of your life, you don’t need to take it seriously on a daily basis.

For instance, the notion of a “diet” is really silly to me. Either decide to eat healthy starting now, or don’t. But how do intelligent people still think, “oh, I’m going to lose weight by cutting back on <such and such> for <period of time> and I’m not going to put it back on”?

I prepare all my own food so I know what I’m eating and I exercise vigorously 5+ times per week. I’m as healthy as that makes me, which is quite. If my cholesterol is too high, I’m not going to take a drug for it because I’m not doing anything wrong.

When you live that way, the occasional bowl of ice cream, or couch-potato day no more makes you fat than the occasional salad makes the overweight person skinny.

#5

i was gonna say 7 or 8, but the folks who said 7 or 8 before me work out more and eat better than me. IMO, they may have underrated themselves. Does the scale rate your personal potential, or compare yourself to the general population?

I think I’m probably more fit than 70-80% of the men my age (45). But I know I could eat better and exercise more. My theory is pretty much “everything in moderation.” I run 4-7 miles 3-4 times a week. Don’t do any weight work or stretch as much as I should. I don’t drink or smoke, tho I used to do both to excess. I should eat more fruits and vegetables than I do. My biggest downfall is sweets - especially chocolate and ice cream. But thanks to genetics, most people would consider me somewhat thin, or at least not overweight.

I don’t take any preventative meds/supplements other than a multivitamin most days.

I’ll give myself a 7.

#6

I’m not a medical doctor.
As I understand cholesterol and the meds for the various kinds, the drugs will generally improve your cholesterol numbers, but they cannot reduce the damage already done. Even if you are eating right and exercising, you could have bad cholesterol numbers. If you’ve been tested, and your doctor says you need a statin, I don’t believe it’s good to second guess the science. If you wait until you feel bad, you could be in big trouble. If you choose to ignore your doctor’s advice, that’s up to you. However, please fill out an organ donor card.

I wish you well.

#7

I’d say I’m a 6. I do cardio three times a week, but no strength training. I eat healthy the majority of the week, but weekends are open to anything, and I know I don’t eat enough vegetables. I drink seldom, and rarely get drunk. I don’t smoke.
Mentally I’m happy, with a few down periods now and then. I have a fantastic support system of close family and friends, which is a big help in times of stress.

I wouldn’t take any drugs unless I unequivically need it to function. I don’t even like taking aspirin!

#8

I’ve never had any serious medical problems, and I take pretty good care of myself (though of course there’s room for improvement.) I’d say my health is an eight or nine.

However, I despise going to the doctor for any reason. I’m not afraid, and I can’t defend my position logically…I just feel that if there’s something wrong with me, I can usually work it out without interference. Also, I haven’t had much luck with the doctors I’ve been to. I had a vision problem last year, so I went to several doctors and had every test they recommended. None of them could find the problem and it eventually went away on its own, making me wish I’d saved all the time and trouble.

So, I’m healthy as can be, but if I were to catch something nasty, it’d kill me before I’d go get any treatment.

#9

Well said. I live very similarly to you and I have friends who gasp if I mention having ice cream or pizza. If you are generally fit and healthy you can occasionally indulge without consequence.

I give myself a 9. I take it seriously and I have good health to show for it. I deduct one point for being a worrier, but that’s my only terrible habit.

#10

I would call myself a 7 or 8, or perhaps a nine if the American public is the standard. I go running most days a week, ride my bike every day, dont smoke, try to limit the caffeine and alcohol, and always eat moderately. As a result Im pretty thin and pretty fit, although I wish I were more muscular, especially on my upper body.

Ive never considered taking a daily supplement for my health. It seems sort of unnatural to me, but I guess if its shown to help out later in life its worth considering.

#11

For me, 'dieting" always meant a severe restriction in calories and 2 things always happened:

  1. I would end up binging, feel like a no will power loser, give up and quit.
  2. I would eventually reach a goal weight and return to my previous unhealthy eating habits.

I would lose weight, but always gain it back. Everytime I gained weight, I gained back MORE weight. I started “dieting” in high school when I felt so hugely chunky at 140 lbs and ended up 200 lbs 20 years later - dieting made me fat.

I completely changed how I eat forever 2 years ago - gave up all fast food, fried foods and as much processed food as possible. Lost 70 lbs and have kept it off for over a year. I have no plans to ever return to my old unhealthy way of eating.

After giving up all the sugar and fake foods, I was surprised to find out that I really LIKE healthy foods. I love baked sweet potatoes, grilled salmon, natural peanut butter, roasted cherry tomatoes. I would much rather have fresh raspberries than a brownie - it’s an amazing thing to me.

I’m an 8, I would bump it to a 9 if I worked out more consistently. It’s a ton of planning, trips to the grocery store, extra work packing a healthy lunch for work every day and additional expense but it is worth it. I feel incredible, so much energy all the time. All four of my grandparents died young (1 from complications from diabetes, 1 from complications of alzheimers and 2 from cancer) - I want to beat those odds.

I would take drugs if needed to per the direction of my physician.

#12

I don’t give my health much thought, though I should. I have a heart problem, for which I take medication, but I haven’t made the lifestyle changes my cardiologist recommends. (Quitting smoking and cutting down on my massive daily intake of caffine.) My other doctor nags at me every time I see her to gain weight but I can’t force myself to eat if I’m not hungry, nor do I like many of the fattening foods.

I get a good deal of exercise in my job, because the building is huge and I’m running up and down the stairs all day, but I’ve never been one to enjoy strenuous activities like jogging or using the StairMaster.

My diet is terrible. Eating a balanced meal is a real rarity, and I haven’t had vegetables in quite some time. (There’s only two of us in the house, and it seems wasteful to make a full meal with all the sides.) Last night, I had a cheesburger and fries, and I haven’t eaten yet today.

I’m sure my liver is slowly melting into a glob of goo from all the medications I’m taking, but I don’t let myself worry about it.

In short, I have very unhealthy habits, and though I know the potential consequences, I doubt if I’ll change.

#13

I don’t know how to assign myself a number. We eat really well - lots of vegetables, one vegetarian meal a week. My wife is on a Weight Watchers diet, so I eat what she eats. My blood pressure is good, my weight is good, my chloresterol is way low, I don’t smoke, I drink very little. I walk the dog, so I should probably exercise more, but I’m the type who burns off more calories sitting in a chair than some people do jogging.

I’m 54, and I’ve only spent one night in a hospital since I’ve been born. For meds, I take a very low dose of Synthroid and a multivitamin. I’ve had one cold in the past four years.

My teeth were in rotten shape, but I’ve gotten them under control by using every decay prevention technique known to man.

My goal - to stay in good health until I’m very old, and then, like the one-hoss shay, fall apart totally all at once.

#14

I agree with those who don’t diet. I recently lost about 20 pounds that had crept on from pregnancy and time, and I did it just by making a few eating changes and exercising more often. The weight comes off slowly but it stays off because now I am used to eating better and exercise has become a habit. For me 20 pounds feels like a ‘dramatic’ weight loss and I can tell the difference in my energy and well being. I have had people ask me how I did it, but the funny thing is, no one seems to either believe me or want to hear the answer, that it was just eating well and exercise. I have a woman at work who has asked me several times, like I have a big secret diet and just won’t tell her what it is! She is the type who is always on the latest fad diet and just can’t seem to lose any weight. When I told her I work out 3-5 times a week and watch what I eat, she just sighs and says “I wish I could lose weight.” Ok.

I would rate myself about a 7, I do have some health issues like acid reflux but my Dr. has told me it is not due to anything I can change. I don’t smoke and I am not overweight. I read food labels and avoid fast food and packaged stuff in general, but I still eat junk sometimes. I incorporate fresh vegetables and fruit into meals and eat whole grains over white foods. It’s just as easy to make whole wheat pasta as white, for example. I go by the 80-20% rule, by which I believe if you eat right and live well 80% of the time then you can do what you want the other 20%. Like others have pointed out, you can have a cheeseburger or pizza or whatever if eating junk is not a daily habit. So I don’t get into the deprave yourself to the point of obsession over bad food mentality either, and I don’t gasp in horror when someone eats a donut in front of me. I don’t like those types either.

I would hesitate on taking medication strictly as a preventative, unless I had a family genetic issue or something. I think eating well and exercising is a good preventative of most health problems, with medication to help when that isn’t enough. But I do think that some people tend to go for the medication too early without even trying to change their lifestyles. Of course there are illnesses that even the most healthy person can get and there is no way to prevent them, but I have also heard people say ‘just give me the pills’ when there are other things that can be done. Pills are easier.

#15

Hmmm. Without having read this thread, I would have given myself a 6. I guess I will stick with that number, just because I’m young. On the positive side, I am a pretty healthy eater. I make almost everything I eat from scratch, with the occasional organic frozen dinner and the occasional (averaging out to once every two weeks, I’d guess) fast food meal. I eat more fish and beans than I do meat. I get plenty of fiber. I like fruit and vegetables. I hydrate.

Exercise-wise, I have a Gazelle that I do for 45 minutes about 3-4 times a week in rotten weather (both too hot and too cold to go outside), otherwise I like to take brisk walks. I do calisthenics, like leg lifts, at random intervals during the day. I hate to sit still for very long–sitting through a half-hour television program without hopping up during the commercials bugs me. Sitting at the computer for too long bugs me.

I’m also good about a lot of “little” things like getting enough sleep, flossing my teeth, and having checkups. I have a great family history of living well into the 90s.

On the down side, I have Hashimoto’s disease. I grind my teeth and am generally tense. My BMI is 27. I also really, really hate cardio work–running the mile in school (when my BMI was 22) always left me feeling nauseous and occasionally put me in the nurse’s office for the afternoon. I sleep nine hours a night. I cannot have alcohol or sweets, or my weight shoots right up.

I dunno. How would you rate that?