Is anyone else planning to be a centarian?

[Vida Winter]

I have always planned and expected to live to at least 100, and tried to live in such a way that would make that possible. I have good genetics on one side of my family, bad genetics on the other side.

 

I was just wondering if anyone else gives this a bit of thought.

 

~Dana

[kaylk in tx]

hopefully they do before i'm underground! :lol:

 

but seriously, i have both good and bad genes in my family background. so i guess i'll just have to wait and see which ones i really got!

[Alenee]

If my young life is any indication, I'll live long w/o illness but be in a lot of pain. :lol: I've rarely ever been sick but I've always had pain. Back, knees, and now my uterus is being taken out on Tuesday next week. We'll just have to see what the Good Lord has in store for me. ;)

[Kay in Cal]

I've always kind of assumed that, accidents aside, I'll make it that far.

 

I have three living grandparents, all in their 90s and still living independantly in their own homes. The one who passed away (my maternal grandfather) was a four pack a day smoker for most of his life and died from cancer and emphysema in his 60s. He was the only smoker in the family. I figure if I avoid tobacco use, I'll be good. I had four living great grandparents when I was born, two of whom lived to be over 100 years old. There's no family history of cancer, diabetes (even though many are fat), some heart disease among older males on my Dad's side but they've all lived through any heart attacks. I think lifestyle helps, but I don't believe any of the elder members of my family were intentionally healthy or anything... they just lived a long time.

 

I'd really like to live to see the Tricentennial celebrations, since I remember those in 1976. (I was born in 1970)

[Colleen]

I have always planned and expected to live to at least 100, and tried to live in such a way that would make that possible. I have good genetics on one side of my family, bad genetics on the other side.

 

What does planning and expecting to live to at least 100 look like?

[Soph the vet]

My great-grandmother was 93 when she died. My grandmother was 87. My mom is 70 and acts like she is 50. So we'll see. Ten out of ten die, the ultimate statistic. But our souls are eternal and God has immortality figured out. I think it was D.L. Moody who said, on his deathbed, "you'll soon read in the papers that I have died...but don't you believe it...for I will be more alive than ever".

[Vida Winter]

 

What does planning and expecting to live to at least 100 look like?

 

Eating healthy food, getting exercise, learning to deal with stress, getting checkups, moderation with alcohol & caffeine, having a network of friends, learning continually, flossing your teeth, ability to bear children later in life, getting enough rest,...

 

Those were some of the things that were mentioned in one of the "age calculators" I found online. Heredity is certainly a biggie.

 

~Dana

[Night Elf]

I have given old age a good bit of thought over my adulthood years. I'm 40 now. Truly, the idea that I can possibly live another 60 years is horrifying to me. My great-grandmother lived to be 105, but she wasn't the same woman she was when she was younger. She was 95 yrs. old when I was 10 years old and she had no idea who any of her family members were. We'd visit and she'd ask my cousins and me who we were, were we married and how many children we had. It was creepy actually. I can still hear my cousin's voice answering her, "Nana, I'm Bill and I'm 8 years old. No Nana, I'm too young to be married."

 

I've got one grandparent still alive. She's 86 I think, and her life isn't what I consider ideal. She's in constant pain because every day she hurts somewhere different. She can't eat the way she wants because her digestive system suffers horribly. And so many other things that just seem to make her so unhappy. My mom is 66 years old and just found out she's diabetic. She hasn't been in good health in several years. My stepdad, obviously not a biological connection, is 71 years old and he's not faring much better.

 

Frankly, I want to live only as long as I can be happy and healthy. Beyond that, I'd rather be with Father God.

[6packofun]

I plan to be of sound mind and mostly sound body for as long as I can and then hope to drop dead not long after I can't maintain it or my health is taken from me. Really, whether it's 70, 80...100, I don't wanna live just to live or reach a number; I want life to be productive, enjoyable and meaningful. And I'm not saying that there isn't meaning in the lives of those who have reduced mental or intellectual capacity or are bed-ridden, etc. I'm only commenting on what I want for myself, right now as a healthy person! LOL I may change my mind as I get older and just want to hang on as long as I can to see as many of my grandchildren and as many family events as I can. Or maybe I'll just want to go be with the Lord because I've pooped out at 85. ??

[Quiver0f10]

I have bad genes on both my mom and dad's sides, but I am working very hard at changing my fate by eating right and living a healthy lifestyle.

[klmama]

Nope. I'm optimistically hoping to make it into my 80s. I take after my dad in a lot of ways, and that's good. On my dad's side, people live into their 80s but have either heart problems or Alzheimer's. Dad has heart problems, no signs of Alzheimer's yet, at 73. On my mom's side people die around 70 from heart problems or from auto-immune disease, plus Alzheimer's. Mom had all three before she died at 71. I'm just hoping to take after my dad's side, and that my lack of obesity will help me avoid the heart problems so that I can get to my 80s. Maybe by then they'll have figured out how to prevent Alzheimer's and I'll be able to enjoy living so long!

[Nestof3]

I don't really give much thought to HOW long I'll live, but I do look at family members on both sides of my family and see how their lifestyles contributed to their diseases and/or death.

 

These are things I see:

 

obesity

alcohol abuse

smoking

unhealthy eating

lack of exercise

 

There are have been some deaths I wouldn't consider self-induced, such as leukemia, another cancer, and carbon monoxide poisoning. The ones I consider self-induced are: lung cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, etc.

 

My mom and I both have very low blood pressure and we have no heart issues in our family.

 

But the people with high blood pressure don't do anything to improve it -- they rely on medication. This is what I see with most people these days: a refusal to take control of ones health and be content with medications and such. I gave my dad a list of things he could do to improve his blood pressure, and he just said, "Oh -- I'll just take this little pill." Then these same people go on and on about how expensive their meds are. :tongue_smilie:

 

So, I personally try to take control of my own health. I am fair-skinned, so I avoid the sun during bright times of the day. I exercise, take vitamins, spend time on creative outlets, consume moderate amounts of alcohol (wine) and caffeine, eat low-fat dairy, lots of fruits and veggies, lots of high-fiber foods, most meats are hormone-free and eaten in small amounts, drink water mostly -- sodas and such rarely. I intend to keep my mind going as well.

 

I brush very well, scrape my own teeth between my two dental checkups, floss fairly regularly. I have annual checkups, particularly the female sorts of checkups.

 

I am currently on my way to what I consider my ideal weight as well. I've lost 10 pounds so far.

 

The biggest thing I need to work on is my stress and frustration level.