st.cronin
12-08-2008, 03:19 AM
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (http://fantastic-voyage.net/ShortGuide.htm)
I have read most of Kurzweil/Grossman's book Fantastic Voyage, which claims that somebody of my age should, with proper maintenance, live long enough to enjoy medical miracles that will prolong life indefinitely. The implications of this are interesting but not the subject of this thread. This will instead be a hopefully long-lived journal of my efforts to investigate and take up as many of their suggestions as possible.
We start with a self-assesment, using a template from the book:
5'7", 170 lbs. Body fat is, at a guess, 20%. It may be lower, I'd be surprised if it were much higher. I'll see if I can get that measured at my next doctor's visit (Dec 17). My diet is not terrible, but neither is it at all deliberate, and is actually pretty erratic. I eat pretty much what I like when I like. Sometimes I eat a lot of junk food, sometimes I eat very healthy, but it is based more on whim than any sense of what's good for me. I drink a lot of coffee, I enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage. I don't eat a lot of red meat. I eat a lot of vegetables, a lot of bread, a lot of sweets, some fruits. I don't think I even really understand what a proper diet would be like for me right now.
I do not have a regular exercise program. I do the occasional walk around the neighborhood with my dog, and it seems like there are always household chores that require some physical effort, but I have not had a planned exercise regime since I was in the service.
I have a fairly low-stress life, but I also have a low tolerance for stress. I have a very easy job, my relationship with my girlfriend has its ups and downs (currently mostly ups). I am not close to my family and I do not have a lot of friends. I have in the past dabbled in meditation, with uncertain results. One area which I am particularly bad at is sleep - I do not sleep properly (although there has been some improvement with some medication recently).
I use my brain often, and in a variety of ways.
I do not know much about toxins.
My blood pressure is on the high side of normal (122/76...116/81...114/86 are the last three readings). Resting pulse rate is also on the high side of normal.
I have not had any other generic medical tests.
First step: Ditch coffee, replace it with green tea. This is accomplished as of three days ago. I am also resolving to vastly reduce the amount of sugar I consume.
I have read most of Kurzweil/Grossman's book Fantastic Voyage, which claims that somebody of my age should, with proper maintenance, live long enough to enjoy medical miracles that will prolong life indefinitely. The implications of this are interesting but not the subject of this thread. This will instead be a hopefully long-lived journal of my efforts to investigate and take up as many of their suggestions as possible.
We start with a self-assesment, using a template from the book:
5'7", 170 lbs. Body fat is, at a guess, 20%. It may be lower, I'd be surprised if it were much higher. I'll see if I can get that measured at my next doctor's visit (Dec 17). My diet is not terrible, but neither is it at all deliberate, and is actually pretty erratic. I eat pretty much what I like when I like. Sometimes I eat a lot of junk food, sometimes I eat very healthy, but it is based more on whim than any sense of what's good for me. I drink a lot of coffee, I enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage. I don't eat a lot of red meat. I eat a lot of vegetables, a lot of bread, a lot of sweets, some fruits. I don't think I even really understand what a proper diet would be like for me right now.
I do not have a regular exercise program. I do the occasional walk around the neighborhood with my dog, and it seems like there are always household chores that require some physical effort, but I have not had a planned exercise regime since I was in the service.
I have a fairly low-stress life, but I also have a low tolerance for stress. I have a very easy job, my relationship with my girlfriend has its ups and downs (currently mostly ups). I am not close to my family and I do not have a lot of friends. I have in the past dabbled in meditation, with uncertain results. One area which I am particularly bad at is sleep - I do not sleep properly (although there has been some improvement with some medication recently).
I use my brain often, and in a variety of ways.
I do not know much about toxins.
My blood pressure is on the high side of normal (122/76...116/81...114/86 are the last three readings). Resting pulse rate is also on the high side of normal.
I have not had any other generic medical tests.
First step: Ditch coffee, replace it with green tea. This is accomplished as of three days ago. I am also resolving to vastly reduce the amount of sugar I consume.