I posted this as an answer to the 'bacon' question, and decided it should have a thread of its own.

When I read posts about foods or other items that, supposedly, aren't good for us, I have to ponder the risk/reward ratio.

Not one of us will survive our lives. Death is guaranteed. It will come from one of many causes, and sooner than any of us want. With this in mind, the next question to consider is 'of what quality do we want our remaining days to be'?

For example, if we eliminated all those foods that are 'bad' for us, the quality of our lives and the enjoyment of our remaining days is diminished. Since we are all going to die anyway, why not enjoy ourselves on the journey?

I no longer prohibit myself from the enjoyment of my life. If I want to eat a food that is delicious, but is 'bad' for me, I eat it. If I want to buy an article that I don't really need, but would enjoy having, I buy it. We are not here on this earth very long, and to live your life under so many self-imposed restrictions to your happiness and tranquility will not necessarily prolong your life, but it will reduce your happiness and the enjoyment of it. Why not live as if there is no tomorrow, as you can't know when tomorrow won't come. Think about it!

I have been living that way for 40 years. The problem is that I'm still here. Now what?

To the OP:
Could'nt agree more. You gotta die of something.....
I'll be darned if i'm going to give up my little pleasures
of life to "maybe" get an extra year or two on the end.
Anyone can go at ANY time. I could get t-boned by a
drunk driver on the way to work on monday.
Tommorrow is promised noone. I dip a little tobbacky and
i'll have an adult beverage now and then. I like my red meat
and i'll not be spending my range time at a Gym on a stupid
treadmill. To each his own. Enjoy Life !!!

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

My kids worry about my health more than I do. I drink coffee, chew tobacco & drink spirits when i want to. I drive with my lights on in daytime but don't drive at night. As Clint said in a movie, I know my limitations. I enjoy my time on earth & know it won't last forever. I've hunted since I was a kid, most Western States, deer & Elk. Out lasted 2 wives & a Great grandfather. Had a pretty good collection of S&W's a one time [27] But gave most to my kids when I moved to Oregon.Those S&W's will be here when I'm long gone. Do I have any remorse? Of course not. I've lived thru a Depression, WW2, Korea & raised my 3 kids with 4 step kids. I've seen more Presidents come & go than most ever will. And their ideas also. Hell, when I was born Herbert Hoover was in the White House. Guess I've rambled enough, sorry if I stepped on any toes. But every once in a while I have to unload & this place is the best way I know.

I am terribly overweight. I guess what they would call 'morbidly obese.' I have always had the problem, but spinal fusion surgery followed by six months of restricted activity in a hard back brace (put on every morning) then shoulder replacement surgery with restricted activity a year later really exacerbated the problem. I just can't get rid of the 60-plus pounds I gained during that period. Yet with just a little bit of watching what I eat, my cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar stays within bounds.

I am 64. My Mama is 94, and her mother lived to 99. All my other Grandparents were mid to late 80s at death.

I am a firm believer that genetics is your biggest friend or enemy as far as longevity is concerned.

Google Jim Fixx.

By the way, I'll have the 14 oz ribeye with a big old baked tater and a couple of scrambled eggs, please.

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Georgia On My Mind

You can live, or you can survive, the choice is yours.
Eat, drink, and be merry.
I'd rather sluff off the mortal coil than live to be a Hundred eating nothing but bran and sucking filtered water.
To that end, I'm popping another brew and having Green enchilladas w/beans and rice for dinner.

YMMV.

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Hold my beer and watch this!

You should be a happy man!
olcop

My dad's diet was one that would make a cardiac specialist tear his hair out.

Dad would usually start the day with either a large plate of bacon with biscuits and gravy or a big steak with plenty of home fries.

Dinner would be equally as caloric. Usually another steak with a baked potato slathered with real butter and sour cream, corn-on-the-cob dripping with real butter, and finished off with a large cereal bowl of homemade ice cream.

Yep...the doctors were right. That diet killed him. He died of a stroke at age 80...but he had a smile on his face.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

It seems I never have agreed with more posters on one thread! I am a month away from 72, fat and bad knees. I used copenhagen for 50 years but did quit as its a nasty dirty habit, but only for my wifes sake. I like good whiskey and keep it in the cubbard, but I will go maybe two years before I have to buy another bottel. I burried 4 GFs so far and all was in "better shape" than me. I cant began to count old friends, co-workers and aquantances younger and in better shape than me that have been long gone.
Yesterday by chance theresa and I met a instructor for "The biggest loser" in a book store. I told her what I thought about those instructors "pushing" those people on the tv show. She instructs at a biggest loser fat farm near st. george. I said they couldnt relate to a fat person how it feels and how difficult it is to have bad knees etc to work out. That little chat cost me about a $150s in various diet books she recommended to theresa!

Why not eat and do what keeps one happy?I sure as heck don't want to die healthy.That last phrase makes my wife and doc both shake their heads.Don't drink any more,but do have a smoke now and then.Eat what tastes good and spit out the rest!!

All true and i agree with it but there is a fine line between enjoying and digging an early grave.

Im 33, 165lbs. I love liquor and beer. I can wake up Sunday morning and have a bottle or two of a good brew with my breakfast or not. I also love smoking and coffee. On my 5th cup now. BUT...im trying to quit smoking completely. Some days i'll have one or two some days none. I smoked 2 packs a day. Now i could say that who cares just enjoy life and if i get cancer in a year so be it. Or, i can quit and extend my life my decades. Not really a bad thing...would you agree.

Another thing. What counts as enjoyment for one may be excessive. What do you guys consider "enjoying a drink"? To me it means at least a 12 pack of beer or a bottle of liquor. To some it might be just a sip or two. Yesterday i "enjoyed" some beer. Stopped by a local brewery and bought 2 64oz growlers. They were finished last night.

I know i have to learn to lower my enjoyment for health and wallet.

I eat healthy. I try to not eat fried food or junk food. Everything i eat is cooked at home with raw food. Nothing pre prepared. I buy what i can from local farmer markets orordering the Amish. I buy fresh fish about 2 times a week at a local market and take it apart and cook it myself. I try to be grass fed beef and i look at every label when i buy a packaged product. I also tend to buy whole grain and organic as much as possible. It is more time consuming and a little more money (not always) but the food actually tastes better. So in a way im getting more enjoyment from the better flavor. I do however pig out on pizzas and Philly cheesesteaks.

Life is short and we should enjoy it because we dont know when it will end, or where but that doesnt mean we should shorten ourselves

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

My mom was a dietician. When I was a kid, you couldn't get out of the house in the morning without eating two eggs over easy, a portion of bacon, buttered toast and a glass of whole milk. We ate red meat five nights a week. Now it seems the pendulum has swung the other way and all those things that were considered to be healthful are now the things that will put you in the grave. I'm going to follow my wise ole granny's advice when she said, do whatever you want but do it in moderation.

I am 65 years old, I have had three careers, raised two sons been married to the same women for forty five years. I would say I have had a good life and I have been a responsible person. While in the Air Force I was required to weight in every six months and be at or under a required weight. We were required to be able to run a mile and a half with in a set time, based on our age. My spouse was active duty Air Force we figured if we went to the gym a couple three times a week we would have less worries about weight and physical fitness tests and could eat more of the foods we liked. It worked for us. After I retired, I quite smoking for a couple reasons, cost and I was tired of it. In February of 2008 our youngest son died, he has a tear in his descending aorta. He was 12 days short of his 34 th birthday. He left 2 daughters and an ex wife. I have always know the uncertainty of life and how quickly it can be taken away. Thru my grief I came out living my life, doing the things I enjoy doing with the people I love the most. I like a good steak now and again, This morning I have me a plate of sausage gravy and eggs it was good. I enjoy a good glass of 9 year old single barrel uncut bourbon now and again. When I go I will leave a safe full of the guns I enjoyed shooting with my son and granddaughters and a boat load on memories. What more is their.

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Carpriver.

What has always bothered me is that once belived things are later reversed as ordy just said. What we were told was good for us in the 40s and 50s is now suppose to kill us! I do know something has changed. They say the average japanese is something like 8"s taller than they were before world war II. I can see people today that are overall far taller and fatter than the average was when I was growing up. I think there basicly can be only two factors that have changed. First is what we eat, and the secound is exercise or the lack of it.
I say probley 90 % of the hard labor jobs we used to have doesnt exist or are made much easier with new tools and methods.
The thinking today that I DONT agree with is they try to put everything in the math of calories and how much physical action it takes to burn off X calories. I dont buy that over a certain point. I belive what genes you are lucky to get and what type metabolism you were given really account for most of the weight.
I never knew what it was like to be thin or "normal" since brith. I flunked out more times than I can count getting into the service or a LEO job due to my weight and high blood pressure.
Years ago I went to a doctor that put me on thyroid pills. He said I would have to take them for life. The weight melted off. I soon lost about 70 lbs. At the time I was about 24 years old. After about a year of enjoying my new life my doctor died. I ran out of the pills and the prescription. I put on weight. Since then I have went to numerous doctors, told them my story. They all tested me and the answer has always been, yes, you test in the low range of normal but you arent bad enough for pills and I wont give you a prescription.
Oddly as said, my BP was high all through the vietnam era and that along with the weight kept me out of the service. In 1970 I got in a terrible motorcycle accident and while recovering found my BP was good. It has stayed good!
Another thing I tried was the atkins diet. I lost a 100 lbs on it. It almost killed me! I got kidney stones and gout. Then I read where it is suppose to be a killer. What do we belive?

I have modified my behavior & habits somewhat over the years. In 1991 I ran out of cigarettes on the day of the National Smoke Out(do they still have those?)& figured it might be a sign, so I quit & haven't smoked since. I don't miss it like I used to, but every now & then...

I started drinking sugar free soda a long time ago, but of course nowadays its said that sugar free might be worse for you than regular pop. And lets not forget sodium! I recently got a Sodastream unit, & find that I really enjoy unflavored water but with all the fizz, so I'm cutting back on soda. I don't think I'll give it up entirely, though.

My "diet" has always been my downfall. Pasta, taters, rice, anything starchy, I'm in. I never developed a taste for any kind of fish or crustaceans. I used to eat a tuna fish sandwich, but now even that is too "fishy" for me. Red meat, chicken, or pork, yes please! I do eat a lot more veggies than I used to(especially broccoli!)But won't touch asparagus or brussel sprouts(VILE WEEDS!). After a major illness sometime back, my Dad stayed with me to try & help get me functional again. Once again, he was teaching me & providing guidance. I learned to read food labels to see what I was really consuming. He's eight five & doing good. He can walk me into the ground any day. The most important thing he taught me is moderation, as others have mentioned here. I eat some things I probably shouldn't, but not very often. I feel like sure, you can give up all the things you enjoy & love, & your life may be longer. But...will it really be longer, or will it just seem that way? Who want's to live like that? Not Me! Sorry for the ramble!

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

I think if you're in shape you are happier because doing things you love isn't so taxing. I'm too heavy, and I still push myself and it's hard. I just did 133,000 vertical feet skiing 5 days in Colorado. THAT would have been easier if I was 50 pounds lighter!

But I like to enjoy myself now, eat a nice steak, drink a good beer or 20. I try to eat as well as I can, but I give in.

What I DON'T want to do is earn myself 3 extra years in an old age home in diapers... Just kill me now.....

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Kirk / Spock 2020

I was told I needed to get in shape, pear is a shape. I am Fine.

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Carpriver.

Kids are all grown up/gone.Wifey and I now get to spend a little quality time together.

Yesterday we went for our weekly hike in the mountains....did about 7 miles on the A.T....In medium to heavy steepness.

Got home and one of the boys and wife showed up for Sunday dinner.My wife and I ate way more than the young'ins.I know they were looking at us like,"where are you two fitting all that food",haha.

But I hear ya on the quality of life thing,we treat it as a balance.Hard work/fun = stuffing the 'ole piehole.

I understand the thread, I do. But, part of the quality of life I want is activity. I'll be 62 this year and like some of you close to my age have said, I have had a good life. But, I still have a good life to live. I still want to climb the mountain to see the sunrise. Climb a tree to spot a buck slipping along an oak ridge, stand in a stream and feel a fish take the bait. All of those things get harder to do each year, so I work, or try to work at staying in good enough condition to do them. It is hard. I enjoy most of those foods and drinks that you do but I have my priorities.

There's been a bunch of threads like this lately. Folks are getting deep around here.
I also try to eat right. Doesn't always work out, especially if I'm in a hurry and just need something to soothe a growling gut, then it's the fast food drive through for me. I believe in moderation. I have mentioned recently my new favorite comfort food: Good French fries dipped in melted butter. It's sinfully good, but if I ate that regularly I'd be about 100 pounds heavier......or dead. I also love good steak, and it has to be just a little warmer than raw. Missus Fan gets ill just looking at it. I don't drink, but I've been known to enjoy a Marlboro Light. All these things, according to the Nanny State, are anathema to long life. Too bad. I'm gonna die someday anyway, and I know where I'm goin', and it's a lot better than here.
I exercise regularly, but I enjoy it. Racquetball is running with a purpose. If I had to jog, there's no way I'd keep it up. I tell people I'll run when I'm out of ammunition, (and that ain't likely to happen).
People like Mayor Bloomberg think if we pass enough laws we can legislate never dying. Who'd WANT to live forever in a world like that?
Jim

I love chocolate fudge with walnuts.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

Fortunately for me, the foods I and my family like are actually healthy foods...low in fats, cholesterol, etc, and every now and then we splurge for some take out fried chicken or fried catfish. We don't fry anything in our home, so I figure we're ahead of the power curve; heart healthy and all.

I always am amused when people start trying to dictate what's "healthy" and then banning it. Nobody's business what I eat but my own, I say. But then, I run 45 minutes a day so I can eat what I want. All things in moderation and a little common sense goes a long way.

Balut will keep you slim and healthy.

I eat bacon, butter, eggs, meats rare, and drink well water. I cook on a grill charcoal, gas and smoker everything of which at one time or another has been said to be bad for you. My cholesterol is good but I should lose about 30 lbs. Whenever they come up with something that is bad for you I ignore them, I'm still here. If they didn't find anything bad it does not justify their jobs remember they are funded to find something wrong, this is job security for them. Like global warming, earth has gone through these cycles since the beginning of time science has shown. I survived 10 months in southeast Asia. I survive driving a motorcycle since the early 70's. I have drag raced on the street in my younger days. I have survived lots of close escapes in my work career and had to retire on disability because of one of them not because of food and have trouble walking now so that messes up my walking exercise. So far I'm still here, not in the best health because of work injuries not food, but still here. I don't smoke, drink when I feel like it. I had a uncle die at 47, a brother at 56 both from heart problems, had several friends and relatives murdered or committed suicide. You will die from something that is no doubt. For me eating what I like, and want, will not stop no matter what anyone says and if it kills me I will die happy and figure it's my time. Heck I remember when pork was bad for you, had to almost over cook it, now its chicken, it has to be almost overcooked and pork is ok cooked med rare. MORE POWER TO BACON and its grease, a great flavor enhancer to any food. To each his or her own everyone has their own agenda and has to do what they fell is right, to me no one has proved that by not eating things that are supposed to be bad for me will increase my life, I'm 64 now, doing and eating what I want and am able to do..Just my thoughts

6"4" 200lbs
I don't eat sugar, but I like pie.

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Sure you did

I am 67 lost 30 lbs to get control of my agent orange type 2 diabetes, that being said dying is not a choice as stated but what scares me is being half dead or incapacitated being a vegie in a rest home . They can keep ya alive but not living my 2 cents worth Thanks

Just got home for the YMCA, swam laps for 45 minutes, The water was 85 degrees, and I swam at my own pace. Swimming helps my joints and maintains my muscles and it just feels good.

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Carpriver.