Ask Lemmy

The thing is, when you live in an unhealthy manner, you won't just live with minor symptoms of it, before your body just has enough and dies immediately. You will have to face the long time consequences for decades. If you decide to do so at the age of 17 or 20, and find a romantic partner later, you might see things differently by the time you notice how your health degraded.

I'm obviously not trying to get you to live healthy - you do you. But in my experience, not caring about your future self will just make it even harder when it becomes your present self - and on top of that global recession, famine, wars, diseases and whatnot now you will also have to deal with an achy foot, constant coughing or crippling depression. For a long time.

I think I'd be perfectly fine living up to the age of... idk, 50, as long as I'm living happy and as long as I die happy and painlessly. That is literally all that matters to me.

If your life is so miserable, why would you want to live a long one? You'd rather end it as soon as possible because it's the ultimate escape from horrors. It's why when given the opportunity to have immortality, hypothetically, I always, and I mean ALWAYS, say no.

As for health itself, well... it's your body, do whatever you want with it. I don't care. My only advice is be careful out there when you do get ill.

I am father to a 10 year old, so yes I care very much.

In Italy, our most famous Holocaust survivor, Primo Levi, in his book recounting his days in Auschwitz tells of a man who would spend all his cigarettes on the black market to get some soap and shower every day.

Asked about why, he tells that you not taking care of yourself and your body is what Nazis want to achieve: to turn you in the animal they can exploit to the last drops of blood and sweat.

Taking care of yourself is the first Resistance against Fascism and all those who are against unconditional respect for Humanity.

Take care, Brother.

You don't have hobbies you'd like to be healthy or sane to keep enjoying?

For one I would drop social media time... That's where the toxicity gathers.

Can't plan on "this incarnation - that incarnation" level without becoming conscious enough, and that mostly requires hell lot of work, which requires healthy stable body among other things.

But back to the source problem: there are still people who are not toxic. Seems like you are too, and you just staying alive does matter. Live that long for others who come after you, if not for anything else

I enjoy being able to do physical activity, to be able to run, and enjoy life while I have it. Why would I actively want to be unable to do anything I enjoy?

I've had similar thoughts, too, but as I get older, being extremely fat just isn't something I can continue doing. Having back pain and requiring a nap every day after work just ruined my quality of life too much, and I'm only in my early 30s.

Tell me you’re young and reasonably healthy without telling me yadda yadda

There comes an age where health is not a matter of choice. You do it or you suffer whatever years you stay alive, which can be surprisingly long. If you’re healthy for your age, don’t squander it, you will regret it as early as your 50s, if not a bit sooner.

You’ve heard 30-somethings joke about bad knees and back pain? That’s nothing, chump. You’ll know it when even sleeping hurts.

I used to think like this... Nothing worked for me, so I said I don't care.

Later I discovered how easy it is to be healthy, doesn't even require much exercise, just a simple eating pattern. My health improved tremendously, and life is better.

Now I really care about my health, because I feel in control of my health.

Live long and die fast: healthy people don't have long drawn out painful deaths, unhealthy people suffer for years and years before they kick the bucket. Healthspan is something under our control.

No. I don't care about living long, but do care about feeling good, and figure I have a body and might as well take care of it. Not obsessive by a long shot but eat well, exercise, sleep. All that feels good.

Eat heathy, and live a long life? Jesus christ, who has the energy for that?

my energy isn't a magic spell. it comes from my habits, diet, sleep, and social support network. I do my best to cultivate each of these. when I lived in a toxic place, I moved. my government is still evil (as it was last year) but sometimes, on good days, it seems like people are starting to wake up. that would be very consequential.

I'm not perfect; I am drinking too much. so yeah I do get where you're coming from. I used to drink too much soda, too, but it was not actually all thatdifficult to cut down from 3 a day to one a month. all my brain needed was one soda to look forward to, didn't really matter when it was. and then once I got to that point, I was feeling sooo much better that there was a very clear mental map from drink-soda to feel-like-ass.

I'm healthier and more fit than I've ever been before.

Why in the world would you purposely let your health suffer just because you don't like the government?! What?!

But if you get fat you have to buy new clothes

Holy shit there's so much ableism in these comments. @op you apparently stepped on some toes with this hot take

You only live once, so you should try to make your only life as good as you can.

And living with health problems - even if that meant you would have a shorter life - can suck much more than if you just lived without them.

Becoming healthy is tough and can suck. But being healthy is its own reward. I really enjoy eating clean, lifting weights, going on hikes in nature, etc. You can find joy in life through healthy living. YMMV if you don't have the right attitude though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Just the opposite.

With the potential of medical expenses rising, medication costs going up, insurance becoming shittier (if you'll be able to afford it at all), staying healthy to continue to earn a paycheck (that is a depressing phrase), the potential of wide spread violence, I think its imperative to be as healthy and strong as you can be.

You may also find yourself in a position where you're the only one you can count on and if you are sickly, and weak then it will make things that much worse. Or you may find yourself in a position to help someone that has less ability to move and you'll need to be in good health for their sake.

Yup. Almost succeeded in having a stroke. It was caught. Better luck next time I suppose.

Being healthy improves your mood. Might as well be happy for whatever time we have left.