Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

[Jrjohnny]

Don't let people tell you it's all down hill after you turn 30. It's BS.

I spent pretty much all of my 20s as sedentary overweight business guy that ate at restaurants way too much.

I turn 34 next month. I have 2 kids now, we eat at home mostly and make healthy meals. I will finish this month having run 73 miles. I feel better now than I did in college.

Your health is mostly what you make it.

Your body can’t tell the unreal from the real.

It’ll do whatever you say. You say you’re ugly? Your body will begin to change in that way.

Say you’re a bad sleeper? Your body will randomly wake up at 2 am.

Say your health will decline at 30? It sure as heck will when you have that kind of mindset.

Sure, a lot of things in life you can’t control, from genetics, place of birth, your past, or family.

But sometimes you just gotta let go of the fact that it’s something you can’t change, and learn to have peace within.

It may or may not be your fault. But it’s still your responsibility on how you react to it.

When you realize that it’s not your fault your 5’7, but your still responsible, you’ll let go of the victim mindset that nobody will date you because your short (which I find very weird some people think like that).

You will start focusing on things you can control, like diet, health, exercise and other aspects of life.

And people will notice that your not all stuck up in your head, and take an interest in you.

As long as you keep waking up, know your already luckier than some people, each breath is a blessing and means god still has plans for you here.

 

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[MitchC]

We go hiking occassionally around our area, there's 2 really hard ones. Like really hard. One frequently has people rescued from it by helicopter.

On both of these hikes I have seen women likely in their 70's going up and down it with ease. On one of them she passed us coming down while we were going up and then passed us as she went back up again. I struggled to do it once and she was doing it multiple times with ease.

It really is just your life choices and how you look after your body.

 

[Bounce Back]

Alright time for some honesty folks.

Who besides me types in thefatlaneforums.com at least once per day and giggles a bit?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Who besides me types in thefatlaneforums.com at least once per day and giggles a bit?

X 100,000 over 15 years.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Weird question.

If you're having lunch with a billionaire as a young entrepreneur, what can you say in the conversation to get some good advice? is there any way to be a giver in the situation?

I ask because I am getting the opportunity to go to the home of a famous hedge fund billionaire to have lunch with him this weekend through family ties..

I understand that a lot of people may say "just act normal!" but.. come on.. it would be cool to get a nugget of wisdom or two from one of the richest people on earth.

Any advice?

 

[Bearcorp]

As @IceCreamKid said... recovery times are longer, and if you pick up an injury it often needs intervention rather than the body just healing. Trips to the physio are more frequent.

Yep, I mentioned here a few weeks ago I did myself a mischief trying to play Aussie rules for the first time in 9 years, I saw my physio yesterday (that used to fix me up when I was playing all those years ago) my hips are out of alignment, I have all these exercises to do to strengthen the muscles to square everything up.. I'm glad I saw him but gee long gone are the years of a decent massage and straight back into it!

I'll take 30's over 20's. Here's to 40's being even better.

Here here! I remember as a teenager being told from a group of locals a generation above me, in the small town we lived in, that high school would be the best years of my life. Because it certainly was for them. I didn't have the greatest High School experience, was ok but nothing special like these people made out, so I locked in that life would only get better, not worse from that point.

I'm 40 this year. My 30's have been 100x better than my 20's. Bring on 40 and beyond. To add to this, 5 years ago we had dinner with my sister in law on her 40th birthday. She was miserable. Someone at work didn't wish her happy birthday, she over the hill, blah blah blah. I pushed back after a while, as she's of good health, healthy kids and husband that makes a lot of money, she was, and still is living a good life. She eyeballed me and said "you wait until you turn 40 then you'll get it" well in 6 months I'm there and life is only just beginning. Bring it

 

[Kak]

Yep, I mentioned here a few weeks ago I did myself a mischief trying to play Aussie rules for the first time in 9 years, I saw my physio yesterday (that used to fix me up when I was playing all those years ago) my hips are out of alignment, I have all these exercises to do to strengthen the muscles to square everything up.. I'm glad I saw him but gee long gone are the years of a decent massage and straight back into it!



Here here! I remember as a teenager being told from a group of locals a generation above me, in the small town we lived in, that high school would be the best years of my life. Because it certainly was for them. I didn't have the greatest High School experience, was ok but nothing special like these people made out, so I locked in that life would only get better, not worse from that point.

I'm 40 this year. My 30's have been 100x better than my 20's. Bring on 40 and beyond. To add to this, 5 years ago we had dinner with my sister in law on her 40th birthday. She was miserable. Someone at work didn't wish her happy birthday, she over the hill, blah blah blah. I pushed back after a while, as she's of good health, healthy kids and husband that makes a lot of money, she was, and still is living a good life. She eyeballed me and said "you wait until you turn 40 then you'll get it" well in 6 months I'm there and life is only just beginning. Bring it

Life in high school is basically a comfy prison. You are beholden to parents. You don't really have your own money. You can't really start a real business.

I know it is dependent on the parents, but I couldn't go whatever I wanted, or do whatever I wanted. Nor did I personally have the resources to do much anyway.

Yeah the "high school best years of your life" people remind me of this quote... "Most people die at 25, we just don't bury them until they are 75." -Benjamin Franklin

They're dead. They have evidently decided their goal in life is to take up space. There is no zeal or excitement about the future for these people.

I had a fine high school experience, but it was nowhere near the best years of my life. What an incredibly sad thing for someone married with kids to say... Wow.

 

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[Bearcorp]

Life in high school is basically a comfy prison. You are beholden to parents. You don't really have your own money. You can't really start a real business. I couldn't go where I wanted, or do what I wanted. Nor did I have the resources to do much anyway.

Yeah the "high school best years of your life" people remind me of this quote... "Most people die at 25, we just font bury them until they are 75." -Benjamin Franklin

They're dead. They have evidently decided their goal in life is to take up space. There is no zeal or excitement about the future for these people.

I had a fine high school experience, but it was nowhere near the best years of my life. What an incredibly sad thing for someone married with kids to say... Wow.

These people were the products of the 60's hippies, unemployed weed smokers.
Don't get me wrong, they were lovely people, always friendly, would look out for me and being young in little towns, knowing older people made life a lot easier, they knew a lot of people in our area and being a youngster that was friendly with them didn't hurt at all.
But they haven't changed 30 years later, and it was obvious to a young bearcorp back then that they were going no where. I'm grateful for that, because it helped spur my mind to not be like that. But I'm still grateful for those friendships, life could have been a lot worse growing up without having some older connections, I'll always appreciate knowing them back then, but maybe for more reasons than they would ever realise.

 

[MTF]

I'm jealous of those who say they feel better in their thirties. I'm 34 now and despite having objectively a better life (more money, no financial worries) I don't believe I'll live a long, healthy life. And on many days, I don't even care.

I get injured multiple times a year and am worried I'll eventually become an amalgamation of broken things.

Spoiler: injury talk

Ever since I injured my knee doing Turkish get-ups in June last year (and I was doing them with a light weight and really paying attention to my form, filming myself multiple times), the knee bothers me on and off. When it bothers me a lot (all it takes is to do bodyweight squats), for several days I can't get up without intense pain. I need to get up slowly and use support like an old man or get up in a way that doesn't involve bending my knee. I've had multiple PT visits and I've tried stretching/mobility programs to fix the knee (all they did was causing even more extreme pain). So now I just avoid bending the knee.

A couple of months ago I noticed that my left pinky sometimes doesn't want to easily bend, gets stuck, or there's a sensation of something grinding inside. How did this happen? No idea. Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse. Even though it's a small thing, it's scary. What if my other fingers start behaving like that?

Last week I wanted to test pressing a heavier kettlebell as I had been lifting the same weight for about six months. After a few reps I lost control of the kettlebell while it was overhead. I heard something snap in my shoulder and the pain intensified so much by the next day I had to go to the ER thinking I tore a muscle. Thankfully it was just a mild strain, or my physical therapist even said it was just an overstretched muscle and no fibers were torn. I still feel pain and really hope it'll be over soon as my last shoulder injury took about a year to recover from.

These are just the three recent things but each year I now deal with at least 10-15 different injuries. Some get fixed by my PT during one visit, some require multiple visits, and some (very few of them) heal by themselves.

Did I get injured when I was in my twenties? Sure. But as far as I remember, it was maybe 1-2x a year and usually all it took to recover was taking some time off or one PT visit. These days I go to my PT so often that I see him more often than most of my friends.

Then there's overall energy. I have way less energy these days and way less willingness to do anything that requires work. I can still work but can I work all day long like I did was when I was in my twenties? Lol no way.

Then there's weight control. I struggle mightily to maintain my weight. I eat emotionally. I binge eat. I have to use a variety of tactics (like eating with a stopwatch and with chopsticks to eat more slowly) to barely stay at the same weight. Granted, in my twenties I weighed food and counted every single calorie as I was always dieting. It eventually led to an eating disorder and I'm still struggling with it these days. Still, I now weigh about 10 kg more than on average in my twenties and last year even weighed 20 kg more (I lost that 10 kg last year).

Digestive issues and random belly aches I never had in my twenties? Check.

Headaches? Well, I've had them since forever and a year ago finally learned I suffer from migraines. I got prescribed some supplements and thankfully they reduce the frequency.

Then there's a general lack of enthusiasm for life, nihilism, and other mental issues. It gets better when I can be in a place where I can freedive, swim and/or surf as these help my mental state a lot. But in my twenties I had less access to that yet felt on average better (though winters have always been terribly tough for me).

Is my state the result of my abysmal life choices?

• I have very low stress since I have no responsibilities.
• I'm vegan and have a healthy, plant-based diet. I also take supplements.
• I've been fasting for about 12 years now, usually for at least 20 hours a day.
• Depending on the season and where I am, I exercise up to 10-15 hours a week, including strength training, cardio, flexibility, walking, etc.
• I get exposed to natural light or a very strong SAD lamp (when it's dark outside) every morning.
• I'm in nature every day.
• I keep the same sleep routine each day and sleep as much as my body needs. I recently even installed blackout curtains. I also tried mouth taping which didn't work.
• When I don't have access to my favorite outdoor activities, I keep myself occupied with language learning and/or study other skills.
• I do regular, expensive complete check-ups. The last one I did in May and the doctor said my arteries were as clean as those of a newborn. My other blood tests were all perfect, too.
• I got way, way better at relaxation, being present and controlling my stress levels through proper breathing (freediving training helps a lot with that).

Whatever else is supposed to make you healthy, I probably tried that, too.

This is why I don't agree with that generalization that the way you feel is your life choices. It isn't for me as I do virtually every single thing you're suppposed to do to feel healthy. Yet I don't feel like that.

I wish I could know why I feel like that. But at the same time, I'm not sure if I care as I don't see how this can get better if I'm as optimized as I can be.

Now tell me it's depression, send me to a shrink who will prescribe a F*ckton of chemicals to numb my brain and recommend a therapist to talk over my childhood traumas

 

[Jon822]

This is why I don't agree with that generalization that the way you feel is your life choices. It isn't for me as I do virtually every single thing you're suppposed to do to feel healthy. Yet I don't feel like that.

Because anecdotes don't disprove scientifically proven results. There are smokers who live to be over 100 and people who have never smoked in their life that get lung cancer in their twenties. Does this prove that smoking isn't bad for your lungs or is actually healthy? Of course not.

Let's say you are doing everything perfectly that you can to be healthy. Then if you don't feel well, you likely have issues that you cannot control. HOWEVER, if you decided to start eating worse and living an overall unhealthier lifestyle, you would feel WORSE than you do now. The point of doing everything in your power to be healthy is to maximize your own health. Your health's upper limit is going to be dictated by things outside your control so once you start comparing your health to other people, genetic coefficients will come into play. But this doesn't change the fact that the best option is to live the healthiest lifestyle you can.

You're the only one that can know for sure how healthy your lifestyle is because the details are what matter. For example, being vegan could include drinking 2L of Coke every day.

I've been fasting for about 12 years now, usually for at least 20 hours a day.

This is not a good idea on a plant-based diet. Fasting for 20 hours a day is only viable if you're going to eat calorie dense junk food that can quickly get you to your daily requirements. Healthy plant-based foods are generally lower calorie and high volume, meaning that you would need to eat a lot more of it throughout the day to reach a daily calorie requirement. Fasting only seems to have benefits to most people because it's the only time their bodies don't have to process the garbage they eat. If you're eating foods that restore your body, there's no reason to set an arbitrary time limit.

Nobody's lifestyle is perfect -- we all have room for improvements. For your sake, I hope you find things that you can improve on that make you feel as healthy as others have described. If not, then it sucks to feel bad with nothing you can do about it but at least you can know you're living the healthiest lifestyle you can. Best of luck

 

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[luminis_]

I remember as a teenager being told from a group of locals a generation above me, in the small town we lived in, that high school would be the best years of my life

Tell me you gave up on your dreams without telling me you gave up on your dreams.

 

[heavy_industry]

@MTF I don't want to give the impression that I'm indifferent to your suffering, or that I am saying it's all your fault because it's not.

Life = Genetics + Your actions + Entropy (luck)

Out of these three variables, you can only control your actions - which in most cases is sufficient to create a wonderful life.

I say most cases because if you're born with a severe neurological disorder, you're bound in a wheelchair, or you're on the wrong side of the planet, you're going to fight an uphill battle.

But even in this case, you can still choose how to act - this is your fundamental human freedom.

---

You have every reason to be upset because of your health, but just remember one thing:

At least you've done your best to try and live a healthy life and you've achieved financial freedom - which is going to partially shield you from the catastrophe of life.

Imagine what would have happened if you were in bad health AND had no money to address the issue.

A nightmare that most people will have to endure at some point since they've been irresponsible with both their health and finances.

 

[MTF]

You're the only one that can know for sure how healthy your lifestyle is because the details are what matter. For example, being vegan could include drinking 2L of Coke every day.

I didn't describe my diet in detail but I haven't had any Coke in probably 20 years, have never taken any drugs, have never smoked, have never drunk any alcohol, and have stopped consuming caffeine completely a few years ago.

My diet is based on whole foods and I don't eat vegan junk food except for occasional vegan cheese which is basically coconut oil with spices.

This is not a good idea on a plant-based diet. Fasting for 20 hours a day is only viable if you're going to eat calorie dense junk food that can quickly get you to your daily requirements. Healthy plant-based foods are generally lower calorie and high volume, meaning that you would need to eat a lot more of it throughout the day to reach a daily calorie requirement. Fasting only seems to have benefits to most people because it's the only time their bodies don't have to process the garbage they eat. If you're eating foods that restore your body, there's no reason to set an arbitrary time limit.

I don't think you can even understand how much food I can easily fit into my body in one sitting

I don't have a problem eating junk food. I have a problem eating too much healthy food which is why intermittent fasting helps me at least reduce it somehow.

It's extremely easy to get your daily requirements with healthy plant-based foods. For example, I can easily eat 300 grams of lentils. That's already 1200 calories. And I usually eat that with beans, tofu/tempeh and stuff like that. One meal can easily reach 2000-2500 calories and after that, despite all the fiber and protein, I can still easily eat more.

I mostly stopped eating more calorie-dense foods like nuts or peanut butter and stuff because that's simply uncontrollable.

At least you've done your best to try and live a healthy life and you've achieved financial freedom - which is going to partially shield you from the catastrophe of life.

Imagine what would have happened if you were in bad health AND had no money to address the issue.

A nightmare that most people will have to endure at some point since they've been irresponsible with both their health and finances.

That makes sense. Thank you for reframing it. I guess better be grateful for what I have even though there are people doing F*ck all and being in much better shape and health.

 

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[Matt Sun]

I didn't describe my diet in detail but I haven't had any Coke in probably 20 years, have never taken any drugs, have never smoked, have never drunk any alcohol, and have stopped consuming caffeine completely a few years ago.

My diet is based on whole foods and I don't eat vegan junk food except for occasional vegan cheese which is basically coconut oil with spices.



I don't think you can even understand how much food I can easily fit into my body in one sitting

I don't have a problem eating junk food. I have a problem eating too much healthy food which is why intermittent fasting helps me at least reduce it somehow.

It's extremely easy to get your daily requirements with healthy plant-based foods. For example, I can easily eat 300 grams of lentils. That's already 1200 calories. And I usually eat that with beans, tofu/tempeh and stuff like that. One meal can easily reach 2000-2500 calories and after that, despite all the fiber and protein, I can still easily eat more.

I mostly stopped eating more calorie-dense foods like nuts or peanut butter and stuff because that's simply uncontrollable.



That makes sense. Thank you for reframing it. I guess better be grateful for what I have even though there are people doing F*ck all and being in much better shape and health.

I don't want to make this comment, it's a sensitive subject, but I'll do it. Is there a chance that your injuries increased after taking a certain injection against covid ?

 

[MTF]

I don't want to make this comment, it's a sensitive subject, but I'll do it. Is there a chance that your injuries increased after taking a certain injection against covid ?

No. Looking back, I started getting injured more often and more severely roughly when I turned 30, a year and a half before the vaccine. I also had an extremely painful injury of my intercostal muscles in 2018, way before that.

 

[BizyDad]

Weird question.

If you're having lunch with a billionaire as a young entrepreneur, what can you say in the conversation to get some good advice? is there any way to be a giver in the situation?

I ask because I am getting the opportunity to go to the home of a famous hedge fund billionaire to have lunch with him this weekend through family ties..

I understand that a lot of people may say "just act normal!" but.. come on.. it would be cool to get a nugget of wisdom or two from one of the richest people on earth.

Any advice?

You can go with the classic kind of questions, like...

How did you get to where you are?
What advice would you give someone just getting started?
What three books most impacted you on your path?

The tough thing is, he's not going to really want to talk about himself because it's not the right setting.

The other thing you could do Is tell him how much you admire him, and ask if it would be okay to email him a few questions for advice.

To the point about you providing value, well for that, I think you just got to roll up your sleeves. Do your research. What are his interests? What are his hobbies? What is his family into?

There are so many ways to be interesting to another person bro. And you just have to find one that he'll want to talk about and you can have a good conversation about.

Think it through, and come up with a bunch of conversational questions that get other people talking and you listening.

What is your favorite travel story?
While traveling, have you ever had something go horribly wrong, but it's still turned out okay?

Substitute the word travel for any number of other hobbies that the group having lunch might be taking part in. You'll get people talking. You won't have to do much talking. But people will notice that you're interested in others and not yourself.

Lastly, you can go with one of those "slice of life" type questions to gain a little insight. If I were in your shoes, one question I would ask is, how do you choose who will be managing your money, and how do you know you made the right choice?

Of course he will probably say, "he's making me more money" as a response to the last one, but it gives him a chance to crack a joke and be funny, and you still get a legitimate answer to the first part. A little insight into how he chooses who he surrounds himself with. You can take this same question format and apply it to employees instead. Or business opportunities. Or time.

Given that it's a lunch and you don't want to be dominating his time, turning it into a one to one, asking questions of the table first is a good way to get him to open up.

Hope that helps.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

Boss just left the building at my contracted job. Here's his advice:

Prioritize what truly matters in life and ruthlessly defend it. For me, this is a combo of my mental health, my relationship with my wife, and being a good father to my girls. I let myself lose sight of those things for a time and I shouldn't have. I let work stress me out way more than should have been allowed and it negatively impacted me severely. We can't get any time back that we miss with our loved ones - if you leave a job, the company will just fill it without any issue. People and relationships matter the most in life - cherish them, protect them, and seek to improve them often.

Time and People. Recommended to get out our comfortzone. And that failure was apart of the process.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

If you're having lunch with a billionaire as a young entrepreneur, what can you say in the conversation to get some good advice? is there any way to be a giver in the situation?

Nothing. Stop wasting your time (and the billionaire's) and don't ask him anything. Simply say "Sir, I have nothing to give you, and I am nothing for you, we live in parallel worlds".

Asking a billionaire for advice is sort of like a caterpillar asking a butterfly for advice. It doesn't help. Grow your wings first.

 

[Jon822]

Nothing. Stop wasting your time (and the billionaire's) and don't ask him anything. Simply say "Sir, I have nothing to give you, and I am nothing for you, we live in parallel worlds".

Asking a billionaire for advice is sort of like a caterpillar asking a butterfly for advice. It doesn't help. Grow your wings first.

I disagree. Billionaires are not special lifeforms or advanced beings: they are just people who have helped more people than us. If he thinks he could gain some insight from asking a question, then he should go for it.

I don't think I would gain much from asking but to each their own.

 

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[Two Dog]

Inspiration

Barnes Bay Estate

Concierge Auctions has listed a private retreat on the island of Anguilla. Perched on the rocky shoreline, the Barnes Bay Estate is situated on 1.7 acres overlooking the Caribbean waters. It spans 28,000 square feet and is comprised of a...

uncrate.com

 

[Matt Sun]

No. Looking back, I started getting injured more often and more severely roughly when I turned 30, a year and a half before the vaccine. I also had an extremely painful injury of my intercostal muscles in 2018, way before that.

Well I had recurrent injuries playing soccer until I started religiously doing strength training in the gym. Lo and behold never got injured again. But you already do that. And I bet you do good supplementation also (such as creatine, magnesium, cbd).

Only thing I can think is the vax, I just can't fantom the idea of somebody doing everything well like you do and not having great health. Hope you find the way to get better.

 

[Bearcorp]

Tell me you gave up on your dreams without telling me you gave up on your dreams.

To be honest I think their dreams were to smoke bongs and not have to work and they’ve achieved that their whole lives

 

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[msufan]

Well I had recurrent injuries playing soccer until I started religiously doing strength training in the gym. Lo and behold never got injured again. But you already do that. And I bet you do good supplementation also (such as creatine, magnesium, cbd).

Only thing I can think is the vax, I just can't fantom the idea of somebody doing everything well like you do and not having great health. Hope you find the way to get better.

It is possible to overtrain or do too much high-impact exercise. That's the only other thing I could think of re: MTF.

 

[Bounce Back]

- deleted by user-

 

[Timmy C]

I'm jealous of those who say they feel better in their thirties. I'm 34 now and despite having objectively a better life (more money, no financial worries) I don't believe I'll live a long, healthy life. And on many days, I don't even care.

I get injured multiple times a year and am worried I'll eventually become an amalgamation of broken things.

Spoiler: injury talk

Ever since I injured my knee doing Turkish get-ups in June last year (and I was doing them with a light weight and really paying attention to my form, filming myself multiple times), the knee bothers me on and off. When it bothers me a lot (all it takes is to do bodyweight squats), for several days I can't get up without intense pain. I need to get up slowly and use support like an old man or get up in a way that doesn't involve bending my knee. I've had multiple PT visits and I've tried stretching/mobility programs to fix the knee (all they did was causing even more extreme pain). So now I just avoid bending the knee.

A couple of months ago I noticed that my left pinky sometimes doesn't want to easily bend, gets stuck, or there's a sensation of something grinding inside. How did this happen? No idea. Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse. Even though it's a small thing, it's scary. What if my other fingers start behaving like that?

Last week I wanted to test pressing a heavier kettlebell as I had been lifting the same weight for about six months. After a few reps I lost control of the kettlebell while it was overhead. I heard something snap in my shoulder and the pain intensified so much by the next day I had to go to the ER thinking I tore a muscle. Thankfully it was just a mild strain, or my physical therapist even said it was just an overstretched muscle and no fibers were torn. I still feel pain and really hope it'll be over soon as my last shoulder injury took about a year to recover from.

These are just the three recent things but each year I now deal with at least 10-15 different injuries. Some get fixed by my PT during one visit, some require multiple visits, and some (very few of them) heal by themselves.

Did I get injured when I was in my twenties? Sure. But as far as I remember, it was maybe 1-2x a year and usually all it took to recover was taking some time off or one PT visit. These days I go to my PT so often that I see him more often than most of my friends.

Then there's overall energy. I have way less energy these days and way less willingness to do anything that requires work. I can still work but can I work all day long like I did was when I was in my twenties? Lol no way.

Then there's weight control. I struggle mightily to maintain my weight. I eat emotionally. I binge eat. I have to use a variety of tactics (like eating with a stopwatch and with chopsticks to eat more slowly) to barely stay at the same weight. Granted, in my twenties I weighed food and counted every single calorie as I was always dieting. It eventually led to an eating disorder and I'm still struggling with it these days. Still, I now weigh about 10 kg more than on average in my twenties and last year even weighed 20 kg more (I lost that 10 kg last year).

Digestive issues and random belly aches I never had in my twenties? Check.

Headaches? Well, I've had them since forever and a year ago finally learned I suffer from migraines. I got prescribed some supplements and thankfully they reduce the frequency.

Then there's a general lack of enthusiasm for life, nihilism, and other mental issues. It gets better when I can be in a place where I can freedive, swim and/or surf as these help my mental state a lot. But in my twenties I had less access to that yet felt on average better (though winters have always been terribly tough for me).

Is my state the result of my abysmal life choices?

• I have very low stress since I have no responsibilities.
• I'm vegan and have a healthy, plant-based diet. I also take supplements.
• I've been fasting for about 12 years now, usually for at least 20 hours a day.
• Depending on the season and where I am, I exercise up to 10-15 hours a week, including strength training, cardio, flexibility, walking, etc.
• I get exposed to natural light or a very strong SAD lamp (when it's dark outside) every morning.
• I'm in nature every day.
• I keep the same sleep routine each day and sleep as much as my body needs. I recently even installed blackout curtains. I also tried mouth taping which didn't work.
• When I don't have access to my favorite outdoor activities, I keep myself occupied with language learning and/or study other skills.
• I do regular, expensive complete check-ups. The last one I did in May and the doctor said my arteries were as clean as those of a newborn. My other blood tests were all perfect, too.
• I got way, way better at relaxation, being present and controlling my stress levels through proper breathing (freediving training helps a lot with that).

Whatever else is supposed to make you healthy, I probably tried that, too.

This is why I don't agree with that generalization that the way you feel is your life choices. It isn't for me as I do virtually every single thing you're suppposed to do to feel healthy. Yet I don't feel like that.

I wish I could know why I feel like that. But at the same time, I'm not sure if I care as I don't see how this can get better if I'm as optimized as I can be.

Now tell me it's depression, send me to a shrink who will prescribe a F*ckton of chemicals to numb my brain and recommend a therapist to talk over my childhood traumas

Yeh I objectively feel worse in every way once I hit 30.

I have exercised and eaten well since I was 20, and after 30 it is a noticeable decline.

Sleep has never been so important and recovery is slower.

Injuries don't go away, and things I hurt 10 years ago that seemingly healed and recovered are now always sore, it's like it never really heals and is painful.

All of a sudden I find myself getting surgeries due to wear and tear over the years from training.

Those that say they are better now than at their 20s, only really applies if they didn't look after themselves in their 20s in my opinion, as in their 20s they were so out of shape.

Of course you feel better now as your baseline back then was always feeling like shit.

There isn't one person in my sport I train with that is over the age of 30 that doesn't realize they are on borrowed time and have the same issues with performance.

Supplement this, specific niche diet that, it all makes a negligible difference or none at all. It's just nature and the natural course of aging. Not much of it helps if you are already taking great care of your health.

 

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[Jrjohnny]

Stop scaring me with all this old people talk (joke)! It’s scaring me!

 

[Lex DeVille]

Nothing. Stop wasting your time (and the billionaire's) and don't ask him anything. Simply say "Sir, I have nothing to give you, and I am nothing for you, we live in parallel worlds".

Asking a billionaire for advice is sort of like a caterpillar asking a butterfly for advice. It doesn't help. Grow your wings first.

Don't be a fool. Get the billionaire sloshed, take scandalous photos. Who needs advice when you can blackmail!

 

[Bekit]

In my early 30s, I spent a year in Haiti that destroyed my health. I got malaria, and then cholera, and then a third illness that was never diagnosed but was probably dengue fever. The aftermath of that was that I was chronically ill for years. My liver and kidneys were badly messed up. I was constantly getting sick on top of having constant, debilitating fatigue, and I got terribly out of shape because I simply couldn't do as much as I used to.

Rebuilding from that, I had to be incredibly strategic about my diet and lifestyle choices. For instance, I had to give up gluten and dairy because I saw a clear correlation between those ingredients and having a flare-up of inflammation afterward.

My health in my 40s has been incredible so far. I've been working out consistently for the past two years and it has been amazing to see myself getting stronger again. I'm hardly ever sick. It's definitely not a given that you'll hit 40 and everything falls apart. I still have to make sure I don't cheat on my diet, but I'll take that over feeling awful all the time!

 

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[Two Dog]

Supplement this, specific niche diet that, it all makes a negligible difference or none at all. It's just nature and the natural course of aging. Not much of it helps if you are already taking great care of your health.

Those things make a *huge* difference particularly as you get older. Try hanging out with more people your age that don't train regularly. There's already a pretty big gap there. Fast forward another 20 years and the gap is 100x bigger for just doing some of the training you're doing now. It's always worthwhile.

 

[Antifragile]

Weird question.

If you're having lunch with a billionaire as a young entrepreneur, what can you say in the conversation to get some good advice? is there any way to be a giver in the situation?

I ask because I am getting the opportunity to go to the home of a famous hedge fund billionaire to have lunch with him this weekend through family ties..

I understand that a lot of people may say "just act normal!" but.. come on.. it would be cool to get a nugget of wisdom or two from one of the richest people on earth.

Any advice?

I can’t tell you what to do

I’ll tell you what I did when I had a lunch with a local billionaire.

There is a halo over someone this rich. Private planes and stuff. But they are still just humans. So I told myself “Don’t act any differently than you would with any person you respect, like a good mentor or a great friend… “

To be “giving” for me meant to respect his time. I chose not ask for “advice” and instead I was genuinely curious about how he made it. He told me he got lucky being born into entrepreneur family, his dad gave him almost a million dollars when he was just a teen to start. He asked for that money to start a business, leveraged it to open a factory… fast forward almost 30 years of consistent growth… it’s insane that a teen would have the balls to open a factory!

Look, I was blown away. He told me story after story of every next business he started. It was nuts how good he became before 25! He’s blown past his dad’s massive success. His brother did well too, but no private planes or mega real estate holdings. The people in his circle changed and his actions kept 10x time and time again.

1.5 hours later I hadn’t asked a thing. And he asked me about my business… so I was extremely honest, not trying to sound like I was some “hot shot” or that “oh I’m just starting out and hope to make it like him bla bla bla”. That I felt would have been a waste of his time. Instead I listed latest big decisions I made and why. He commented on my decisions and I walked away with confidence I was on the right path.

that was a few years ago.

We are still in contact and exchange emails.

Hope this helps.

In short, be genuine. Same as you would with someone you respect.