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Wait just a minute. What if I don't want to live longer? What if I want to live a shorter life full of energy? Everyone is focusing on longevity when quality i

Wait just a minute. What if I don't want to live longer? What if I want to live a shorter life full of energy? Everyone is focusing on longevity when quality is probably more important. 120 years as a couch potato would be shit compared to 60 years of being active every day (whether physically or mentally). People are against TRT because it shortens lifespan, while completely ignoring the quality of life improvements, which is just stupid. Give me something to burn fast and bright, not slow and dim, thank you very much.

RangerScience 10y ago
I think the idea behind intermittent fasting is to trigger some of the low-calorie processes, and then go back to high-energy diets.
gwern 10y ago
> Everyone is focusing on longevity when quality is probably more important. 120 years as a couch potato would be shit compared to 60 years of being active every day (whether physically or mentally). The CALERIE study included a number of questionnaires asking about quality of life issues like libido. While their CR level was moderate, the benefits looked good, attrition was minimal, and they reported little decrease in quality of life.
svachalek 10y ago
From what I read of the early caloric restriction studies on animals, it tended to greatly increase the healthy adult portion of the lifespan rather than adding a lot of geriatric time. That was the great hope for the human version too, but all the accounts I've read do indeed sound miserable. I'm curious about fasting though. It's very easy for me to believe that our bodies are designed to go without eating for a while, much like we need to sleep. In nature we wouldn't really have needed any prodding to miss some meals so there wouldn't necessarily be a corresponding drive like thirst or sleepiness. I haven't tried it but personally I've never suffered much from missing a meal or two... seems like it wouldn't necessarily hurt quality of life if you were used to it.
- aedron 10y ago
  Also don't forget about possible spiritual benefits to fasting. It is no coincidence that practically all spiritual traditions incorporate fasting.
awl130 10y ago
statistically you will change you mind when you are 59 years old with young (or unborn) grandchildren.
synicalx 10y ago
This +1 I've got no interest in living to 100 if I can't even wipe my own bum. Hunter S Thompson had the right idea.

RangerScience 10y ago

I think the idea behind intermittent fasting is to trigger some of the low-calorie processes, and then go back to high-energy diets.

gwern 10y ago

> Everyone is focusing on longevity when quality is probably more important. 120 years as a couch potato would be shit compared to 60 years of being active every day (whether physically or mentally). The CALERIE study included a number of questionnaires asking about quality of life issues like libido. While their CR level was moderate, the benefits looked good, attrition was minimal, and they reported little decrease in quality of life.

svachalek 10y ago

From what I read of the early caloric restriction studies on animals, it tended to greatly increase the healthy adult portion of the lifespan rather than adding a lot of geriatric time. That was the great hope for the human version too, but all the accounts I've read do indeed sound miserable. I'm curious about fasting though. It's very easy for me to believe that our bodies are designed to go without eating for a while, much like we need to sleep. In nature we wouldn't really have needed any prodding to miss some meals so there wouldn't necessarily be a corresponding drive like thirst or sleepiness. I haven't tried it but personally I've never suffered much from missing a meal or two... seems like it wouldn't necessarily hurt quality of life if you were used to it.

aedron 10y ago
Also don't forget about possible spiritual benefits to fasting. It is no coincidence that practically all spiritual traditions incorporate fasting.

awl130 10y ago

statistically you will change you mind when you are 59 years old with young (or unborn) grandchildren.

synicalx 10y ago

This +1 I've got no interest in living to 100 if I can't even wipe my own bum. Hunter S Thompson had the right idea.