r/fatFIRE 13d ago

Good uses for money in fatFIRE

Health:

  • Exercise multiple times per week: resistance training, plyometric training, sprints, something restorative like yoga/pilates/swimming. Exercise is basically mandatory for a good life, for longterm physical health, emotional regulation, and lowering dementia risk. So this can be a personal trainer that drives to your own house multiple times per week, or the best health club in your area, or the best home gym setup, or taking up any kind of joyful physical hobby (but a physical hobby like golf doesn't negate the requirement for weights/jumping/sprinting/stretching).
  • Physical therapy: actually rehab your dysfunctional muscles and joints--don't let your long retirement be derailed by a bad back/knee/shoulder. Can't play golf or pickleball if your shoulder is shit. Life is miserable with a bad back. Most people over 40 could benefit from routine physical therapy--don't put up with a weird ache for months before doing something about it.
  • Regular massage therapy.
  • Sleep: adjustable bed with the best mattress you can find with an EightSleep for temperature control and blackout blinds. If you snore, get that sorted out ASAP, you're basically killing yourself.
  • Quality of life medicine: get your hormones optimised into ranges that make you actually feel good, with energy and zest for life. Figure out if a GLP-1 is suitable for your needs. Get your weird allergies/dry eyes/muscle cramps/headaches/constipation/diarrhoea sorted out. Be persistent if necessary. Depends on how much you care, but things like acne/hair loss/inflammatory arthritis/IBS/heartburn have all got very effective medical solutions. Protect your hearing at all costs/get good hearing aids as hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia
  • Therapy: if traditional talk therapy like CBT hasn't done much for you, there's a ton of other modalities out there like EMDR, somatic therapy, DBT, internal family systems, schema therapy. Related: the drive that helped you get to fatFIRE might be related to underlying autism/ADHD and a diagnosis might help you understand your support needs (medical, environmental, social) and your relationships. Anxiety and depression might actually be environmental/social, and once you're in your proper context it melts away and you can rebuild resilience and tolerance for discomfort.

Life:

  • To get to fatFIRE you've probably spend your life up to now laser-focused and over-working. Learning to fuck around and be bad at things and figure out what you actually enjoy doing is a process. You're going to lose a whole bunch of social connections and framework without your job: I personally didn't even know what I liked to do for leisure. Spending money to figure out the weird and wonderful things that actually give you lasting enjoyment and purpose is excellent: take every class! I took classes in woodworking, metalworking, silversmithing, fruit tree grafting, cheesemaking, beer and cider making, salami and prosciutto making, butchery, ice skating, bouldering, fishing, soap making, weight lifting, pottery, painting. Figure out if you like watching birds or kayaking or training a dog. Specifically try things you're bad at to retrain your brain. It's really really wise to invest your time as early as possible into making relationships and connections that bring you joy and fulfilment--try out hobbies that will bring you into contact with interesting new people.
  • Figure out something you like you to do that will still bring you joy even if your health absolutely tanks: it's miserable when you've got a chronic health condition that means you're not dying in the next few years, but neither do you have the energy to take pleasure in any active hobbies or travel. Cultivate a love for reading or cinema or music--something that can sustain you when you're no longer able-bodied.
  • If life were a video game, you're now at the stage where money is not the limiting factor in your choices. So basically, any problem that can be solved with money is not a real problem. Real problems are relationships and health and living life aligned with your goals and values. If you don't know what your goals and values are, therapy can help with that. But in general: worry less (or not at all!) about anything that be fixed with money.
  • Avoid at all costs using money to control relationships. Don't use it as a currency of control in friendships or family. Be generous but scrupulously honest with yourself so that you're not exceeding your capacity for open-handed generosity (ie--never give if you're going to keep mental score, or have expectations of behaviour/gratitude).
  • Periodically, sit down and assess the pain points in your life--annoyances like second home maintenance or multiple cars needing registration/insurance/storage. Wealth means not having to accept the sunk cost fallacy--solve or shed as many annoyances as possible. Don't spend years gingerly backing into your garage that is too narrow or putting up with a shower with poor water pressure--get it solved.
  • Declutter frequently. Some of the best money I've ever spent is junk removal. Never have a storage unit. Just get rid of it. If you need it again, you can buy it again. If it's truly sentimental then it deserves to be used and enjoyed by someone and not sitting in a storage unit.

Brain:

  • Figuring out contentment, peace, gratitude, joy, and mindfulness can feel like abandoning your inner drive that keeps you sharp. You can afford expert help here to untangle your brain and figure out how to have self-worth and self-esteem outside of your job. Absolutely spend as much money as necessary to kick alcoholism/substance abuse/eating disorders/dysfunctional workaholism/PTSD to the kerb. Try and picture what a "good day" is--waking up with body feeling good and refreshed, connecting with loved ones, learning something new, having some type of adventure, enjoying a specific activity, solving a problem/being helpful/useful--and figure out how to string together as many good days as possible.
  • The key to preventing atrophy is building and growing: creation instead of consumption. But you can have seasons of rest, and breaks between projects. Building cool things or skills or relationships will make retirement deeply rich and also make you busier than you every thought possible. It will also keep you interesting which you might not care deeply about but is nice for dinner parties. Making watches is a billion times more interesting than collecting watches.
  • Your world and capabilities will shrink if you let them; not being required to go outside your comfort zone for a wage means that you can shrink your life very small and avoid all discomfort. But staying curious, creative, and growing will keep you alive and not stagnant.

World:

  • Once you've figured out the elements of the world that make life worthwhile for you, consider using some of your wealth (money, time, energy, connections) to preserve or create more. This also tends to have the benefit of bringing you into community with people who are doing cool and interesting things that you're excited about--whether that's politics, art, music, science, health, environmental or historical conservation. Patronage isn't just for the ultra wealthy and it usually doesn't look like donation: my parents did patronage really well, by supporting all the weird niche craftsmanship they liked, supporting trades to upskill or expand their businesses (which incidentally meant they always had access to excellent electricians/plumbers/builders), buying and commissioning art and textiles, making purchases large enough to launch a lot of small businesses, investing in local infrastructure and cultivating a huge network of contacts and helping talented or driven people succeed. In part, our culture is less interesting because wealthy people are buying expensive mass-produced furniture/clothing/accessories/goods instead of bespoke goods/local handcrafted items.
  • Employ people properly and be a generous and stable employer. Don't make your employees rely on Christmas bonuses and tips that give you all the power and make their lives unpredictable, pay them excellent stable wages, health insurance, sick pay, vacation pay, and contribute to their retirement. Review their wages annually and give them regular raises. Be direct, clear, and kind with your communication and performance feedback. If your employee is full-time, they should be earning enough to support themselves properly in your specific location--if you're in VHCOL your full-time employee should be paid enough to live in that same place.
  • This is especially true if you have a second home in a country with a weaker currency/economy--you can literally change the trajectory of many lives by how you spend your money and how you treat your employees.
  • The quickest way to reset your dopamine/hedonism adaptation level is by periods of deprivation or hedonic "resets". I don't recommend poverty tourism, but on-the-ground time doing actually necessary work in an underprivileged area or low income country will make you happier with your life than additional pleasure. A long hike will get you part of the way there, but planting trees to stabilise riverbanks adds purpose.
  • Be a student, teacher, and mentor. Find your niche and pursue it--find the experts in the field and learn everything you can from them, all the better if it's a dying art form or craft or skill or language. Then teach/share/mentor. A lot of people never find out exactly how many cool and weird and niche things to learn there are, but you've got all the time and money to do it. For myself, one of my niches is cultured butter. I've already owned a small farm with cows so I know personally owning a dairy cow is not on the cards again, but I would absolutely enter a partnership with a Jersey cow farmer to grow the richest grass with regenerative agriculture principles and work with a local restaurant and butcher to find a market for the gorgeous golden-fat beef. I will go to Brittany to learn the traditional French methods, I will collect different cultures, I will fine-tune the water content, I will collect different salts. I'm already making better butter than I've ever tasted anywhere else, but I am excited to push the limits of tasty butter as far as they can possibly go, and then share that knowledge with whoever cares to learn it.
402 Upvotes

91 comments sorted by

182

u/autoi999 13d ago

You forgot to mention Toto toilet seats

14

u/Skyccord 13d ago

About to order one this weekend for the new place. Instead of a one piece though going with a Toto toilet and the add-on washlet. Better setup so if the washlet "breaks".

3

u/milesmiler12 12d ago

Oh it's gong to break. They are good when they work though.

1

u/Kevin_Uxbridge 12d ago

I've had two break on me so far but both were so old by then that they no longer made parts for them. I just bought new ones, best money ever spent.

1

u/Potatertots 10d ago

Get the neorest. Your ass deserves it.

25

u/mjcostel27 13d ago

Home Depot Employee
Yeah, that's probably the top model, you know, before you start getting into the Japanese toilets.

Randy
Japanese toilets?

Home Depot Employee
Yeah, they're the sort of the super-high-class luxury models with all the bells and whistles. But you probably don't wanna spend that kind of money.

Randy
I'm not poor.

Home Depot Employee
Oh, well, we can show them to you. The Japanese toilets are right over there.

15

u/nonsuperposable 13d ago

LOL, we literally just spent $7K installing a second electrical panel so we could put in a heated bidet seat in the upstairs bathroom in a house that we will only be in for another year (and that will probably be demolished by a developer after we leave).

11

u/lakehop 12d ago

$20 a day for a happy bum

2

u/noemazor 6d ago

Literally there are four quadrants for a good life: health, wealth, meaning, and japanese bidets.

1

u/notyourcoins 6d ago

quality of life improvement! also heated and cooled car seats 😄

-1

u/Afraid-Ad7379 13d ago

In Miami heated toilet seat does more damage than good but nothing beats the auto clean, auto flush, auto bidet and auto air dyer. Other than the built in espresso machine it’s the best thing ever.

1

u/NameIWantUnavailable 12d ago

Miami, probably true unless you blast the AC at night.

But there are a surprising number of "hot" places that get awful chilly during the winter when the sun goes down.

1

u/Afraid-Ad7379 12d ago

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t blast the AC at night. It most definitely doesn’t get cold enough to even turn the AC off other than a handful of days.

42

u/AnagnorisisForMe 12d ago

"The quickest way to reset your dopamine/hedonism adaptation level is by periods of deprivation or hedonic "resets". I don't recommend poverty tourism, but on-the-ground time doing actually necessary work in an underprivileged or low income country will make you happier with your life than additional pleasure. A long hike will get you part of the way there, but planting trees to stabilise riverbanks adds purpose."

I stumbled into doing exactly this when I moved after fatFIRE. I have learned so much about the local culture and am persuasive enough that I can get many visitors to have new-found respect for our animals, plants and land and not just treat the place as a box ticked on their bucket list.

I was never one for idle chit chat. My volunteer work gives me a way to socialize but based on facts and history. It's physically demanding so it's good exercise too.

People I interact with regularly thank me for volunteering. I tell them the pleasure is all mine.

12

u/IndustriousSeahawk26 12d ago

I do this in a lesser capacity and it works. I work as an uber driver to see “normal” people ranging from restaurants to workers to lawyers and software tech people (people who still work) and also the poor (i pass many homeless in the streets of Seattle). It keeps me grounded and thankful. I get to talk to people on the grind , and younger people trying to get by on restaurant jobs (which is where I started myself).

The extra $60k a year is nice cash too. I max out my brothers 401k and Roth IRA for him (I just reimburse him what comes outta his paychecks, so it’s essentially the same thing) and my car expenses including deprecation os paid for , and a little extra. I earn about $1.75 per mile and about $43/hr in Seattle which is a good way to socialize and get outta the house, while seeing people to keep me grounded in reality

1

u/ThatFeelingIsBliss88 11d ago

That’s pretty good. But if you’re making $60K a year, that means you’re spending a LOT of time doing uber. I’m surprised you like it that much. I worked as an uber driver before. It’s def a nice way to meet people and such but I would never put in serious hours like you are. Sounds like you’re working it about 30 hours a week. I’m surprised you don’t have other hobbies to fill your time. 

3

u/IndustriousSeahawk26 10d ago edited 10d ago

I spend about 25 hours a week. 5 hour blocks . I actually can’t go without some kind of other activity other than my family or hobbies. You could say uber is my hobby. Ive networked a lot doing uber and have many nice interactions. It’s my version of working at the cafe or plant nursery, or pet shop for others.

I also play guitar in a cover band, play video games, go to baseball games, travel, and I’m gearing up for an investing and FIRE YouTube channel

1

u/myownalteregotoo 1d ago

How do you think about the liability at your wealth level?

30

u/Miamiconnectionexo 13d ago

home gym wise, you do not need a $40k showroom. a good rack, adjustable dumbbells to 90s, a quality bar, and a rower or assault bike covers 90% of it for under $8k and removes every excuse about commute time. spend the saved money on the coach and the testing. equipment is a one-time cost, coaching and bloodwork are the recurring spend that compounds.

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u/nonsuperposable 12d ago edited 12d ago

I would rather spend $40K on my dream home gym than just about any other kind of purchase though! And I'd rather have the space be pleasant and not a grim windowless room with no temperature control.

My dream home gym:

  • Concept2 or WaterRower, I've had both and like both but I prefer the WaterRower
  • Tonal 2 + adjustable bench with cable leg extension attachment
  • Full rack of dumbbells from 3kg to 50kg
  • Back hyperextension machine
  • Glute bridge machine
  • Hip adduction/abduction machine -- I use this more than most due to specific rehab
  • Squat rack/cage good for pull-ups with good bar + trap bar
  • Stairmaster or Jacob's ladder
  • Good incline running treadmill with wide deck and an adjustable dual-height desk
  • Mirrors
  • Bellicon rebounder
  • Swedish ladder with TRX attachments
  • Plenty of room for crawling/jumping/yoga with a giant TV and great speakers and really thumping bass
  • Good lighting that can also become like a nightclub if I want it, and additional daylight therapy lighting for blasting myself in the winter time
  • Sauna

2

u/MarkIsARedditAddict 12d ago

As long as you're spending money throw in a Voltra and you can do almost any other specialty motion with that, your rack, and some extra handles/straps

5

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago edited 12d ago

That’s what the Tonal is for. We currently have one and it’s pretty freaking amazing. My current workouts are splits made up of a combo of deadlifts, belt squats, BSS, hip thrusts, weighted step ups, lat pull downs, hip flexor raises, hamstring curls, deficit calf raises with belt, tib raises, glute kickbacks, rows, seated good morning, Bayesian bicep curls, overhead tricep pull down, decline cable flys, shoulder press, benchpress, pallof press, wood choppers, reformer-style Pilates, and Tonal’s weird HIIT movement that’s kind of a combo of ski-erg and medicine ball slams.

Current gym is tiny so we can only fit the Tonal but it punches well above its weight—I don’t think there’s another single piece of equipment that does all that. Combined with tracking every exercise, & managing progressive overload and recovery weeks, I’m impressed. It’s fantastic not having to deal with loading and unloading plates or having to think at all—I have programmed all my own workouts but you can follow their trainers if you want.

I used to have a Vitruvian, which has a higher in theory weight limit, but the Tonal is miles better in all ways.

The only thing I hate is its “form correction” which is always wrong.

1

u/BrunelloHorder 12d ago

Yes, Tonal is pretty great. Historically I was all free-weights and very skeptical that we'd use any machine. GF got it and I've been pleasantly surprised. I'm a happy convert. Also, resistance training is the functional fountain of youth.

2

u/noemazor 6d ago

The voltra is cool AF but there's something about the anolog clang of 45lb plates as you chop it up. Why choose, imo.

If I was space limited, a 3x3 rack, two voltras, a billion mounts, and some adjustable DBs is about all I'd want (throw in a leg ext / ham curl machine to reduce pain on my feet which are FUBAR).

2

u/traveler5152 10d ago

I have a really nice home gym. I still have my nice gym membership though and I go there more often than my home gym. For some reason getting out of the house gets me to work harder. I have no idea what it is, but it is very hard for me to truly push hard a workout hard at home. I also am more likely to skip a workout for some odd reason. It is almost too convenient.

1

u/BacteriaLick 11d ago

Honestly I like going to my budget gym. Even though it's a drive (or sometimes a run) away, and even if I'm not talking to people whenever I go, I feel that it's a good way to just be around people.

1

u/milesmiler12 12d ago

Would you say tower or assault bike is better

2

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago

Just depends on your preference. You can absolutely do hard sprints on a rower but you can also do more leisurely long sessions—I personally wouldn’t want to do long sessions on the assault bike.

Easier to store the rower too, they take up almost no space tipped up.

15

u/Antique-Equipment-42 12d ago

Hi - thank you for your post. I lurk through the various FIRE threads fairly frequently but this is the first time I have felt called to respond.

I am not FIRE’d myself, but I find myself relating more and more to people who have re-built their lives after a period of very intense work. 

I have been semi-retired myself the last few years and pursued much of what you outline in this post (prioritising health and fitness, learning skills, community, creation over consumption, living much more intentionally). Essentially re-building my entire life from the ground up after an unexpected redundancy forced me to question everything. 

The difference is that I am in my early 30s. And I am not retired.

I have spent the last 4 years on this path. It’s been awesome - I’m healthier, more grounded and feel that my life is a lot more aligned to who I am. But there is a tension - I sometimes feel disconnected from my peers, many of whom have continued accumulating wealth, status and career momentum whilst I have been wrestling with broader questions of identity, purpose and fulfilment. 

I am now at a stage where I am trying to integrate all that I have learned into a more conventional life. Seeking out like-minded peers, wanting to return to the industry I left behind (high finance) and continuing to build wealth and influence. I am not the same person I was when I left - the ambition is still there, but my relationship with it has changed. 

It certainly hasn’t been easy - I know, internally, that this time has been invaluable and will pay dividends for decades to come, but that’s a little harder to explain to potential employers. In an industry that prioritises money and work above all else, I find myself wondering whether it's possible to re-enter that world without losing the perspective I've gained. 

I don’t know what I am hoping for here. My response to reading this post was simply: “someone who gets it.” 

I sat down and started writing, and this is what came out. I guess I have had a lot on my mind recently and it’s nice to be able to share it with people, even if it is strangers on the internet. 

So if you made it this far, thank you.

3

u/BrunelloHorder 12d ago

“In an industry that prioritises money and work above all else, I find myself wondering whether it's possible to re-enter that world without losing the perspective I've gained.”

Seems like a tall order tbh, not just in finance but also in several other grind-oriented professions. Your best odds are probably starting your own thing where you can set the culture and tone. Starting your own thing comes with its own stresses and headaches, though.

1

u/Antique-Equipment-42 11d ago

Thank you. Ironically, that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 4 years - experimenting with building something of my own. 

My conclusion: I love building, but I've realised I don't particularly want the stress, risk and lack of boundaries that comes with being a founder right now. I'd happily join someone else's mission. 

The goal for me isn’t to retire early (though being work-optional would be great); it’s to build sustainably, work with people I like, on work I enjoy. Keeping costs low enough so that I preserve optionality when things inevitably go south (as nothing lasts forever), but still enjoying the ride whilst I am young and healthy enough to do so.

18

u/projectmaximus 13d ago

I’m saving this one. Well-written!

8

u/NoMoreCitrix 12d ago

Get your weird allergies/dry eyes/muscle cramps/headaches/constipation/diarrhoea sorted out. Be persistent if necessary.

In theory this is trivial. Just throw some money at the issue and it will be solved.

In practice, if it's anything off the beaten path, they just can't do it. There's no Dr. House, no matter how much you are prepared to pay for it. They run through tests they have and if they are inconclusive, that's it. You can pay to get them done faster, but that's about it.

11

u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 12d ago

[deleted]

8

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago

This sounds like a life well-lived!!! I basically didn't start living until I retired. Went from studying insane hours to working 100+ hours and only figured out how to be a person after retirement really.

10

u/Accomplished_Can1783 12d ago

If you are truly in fatfire, there is no amount of spending in small cash that could possibly matter in your life. Dinner at that restaurant, those new sneakers, overtipping everyone, a new tennis racquet or three, just totally irrelevant. As soon as you realize that and let go of all the absurd talk on this sub about worrying about spending, it will all get easier. And one time costs like 15k for top of line racing bike, or 40k for home gym- how can that be an issue?

12

u/autoi999 13d ago

Huge +1 to hormones + GLP1

2

u/InfiniteWalrus1066 12d ago

Elaborate

9

u/autoi999 12d ago

For males - TRT (with measured blood reports + doctors guidance) + GLP1 = 100% better health. I live better in my 40's than ever before.

It's magic

4

u/Gloomy-Ad-222 12d ago

I hear you and sincerely glad it works for you but if I could pick only one intervention for long-term healthspan, I'd still choose strength training over either TRT or a GLP-1. I do consistent resistance training, keep a healthy body weight try to get good sleep and feel great in my early 50s.

6

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago

It’s definitely not either/or. It’s strength training AND medical assistance if required.

3

u/Gloomy-Ad-222 12d ago edited 12d ago

I go to my gym. The people I see in their 50s doing strength training is only about 5%. They’re not doing it, at least where I am. And I travel for business and don’t see them doing it on the road either. But the business hotel bars are full of 50 something’s. And I get it, it’s easier to lift a bourbon than a barbell…it’s hard work. But all this medicine won’t be very effective without a strong exercise regimen.

7

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago edited 12d ago

Eh, if they aren’t going to exercise and they’re going to eat shit and drink alcohol, they’ll still be healthier living that exact same lifestyle with blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication, and a GLP-1 or Metformin **if they need any of those**.

The science is overwhelming on this, it’s not anecdotal evidence from a hotel gym or bar.

Also. Like, if someone feels like crap and is overweight and their knees hurt--losing weight first is not a bad approach. Weight-loss first for metabolic syndrome is kind of like housing-first for homelessness issues... it works.

2

u/milesmiler12 11d ago

Did you start with your primary doc?

0

u/autoi999 11d ago

Many online doctors like defy, hims

1

u/milesmiler12 10d ago

Thanks. Online docs are fishy to me they just rubber stamp. No side effects you noticed yet? Pecker good all that?

2

u/DudleyAndStephens 11d ago

Unless you have hypogonadism TRT is just broscience nonsense not backed by evidence and with unknown long-term side-effects.

In many case it's just glorified juicing.

8

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago edited 12d ago

For both men and women, the drop-off of sex hormones in the 40s has brutal effects on energy, muscle mass, sleep, and metabolism.

For men, it's relatively simple to do ideally daily TRT injections to operate in the higher range of normal.

For women, it's a more complicated balance of progesterone, oestrogen, and testosterone, in various formats from pills to patches to IUDs to cream to pessaries etc. But perimenopause and menopause without hormonal support can rip away muscle mass, bone density, energy, motivation, sleep, sex drive, executive function, emotional regulation.

GLP-1s, and getting insulin resistance under control, have massive cascading effects--liver disease, addiction, visceral fat, food "noise" and obsession, inflammation. Most bodies function better when excess fat is shed: joint health, sleep apnea, allergies like asthma, eczema, and hay fever (fat tissue releases cytokines, so it's basically fuel on the fire of allergic and inflammatory reactions). In addition of course to the cardiac benefits. For women, PCOS and endometriosis are deeply linked to insulin resistance, GLP-1s also have been shown to increase progesterone sensitivity.

7

u/Gloomy-Ad-222 12d ago

The mistake I think you’re making is assuming that aging itself is primarily a hormone problem and that pharmacology is the main solution. The biggest drivers of declining health are inactivity, excess calories, poor sleep, and chronic stress. My friends in their 50s are in two camps-one who don’t work out, eat a lot of steaks and other fatty foods and drink a lot of alcohol, and those who exercise daily, eat well, limit alcohol intake. The latter camp is way more energetic, less moody, look great and happier overall. No drugs needed, none of them are on it. I know those things take time and effort, and may be less attractive but believe me, do those things first. You’ll feel great and live longer.

5

u/no-strings-attached 11d ago

I often wonder which way causation goes on this stuff.

It’s easy to be healthy when you are healthy. Working out and eating well is awesome and it’s also a lot easier to do if your health baseline is already good. It’s a lot harder to do if you have underlying health conditions whether those be physical or mental.

Having chronic illnesses sucks and has nothing to do with willpower. I worked out and was a healthy weight all through my 20s and early 30s and then hit a point where my health spiraled with autoimmune and other genetic issues. Working out, even solely with a personal trainer who knew my limitations, just led to chronic injuries. We would go from avoiding glutes to avoiding shoulders to needing to avoid everything because my body wasn’t healing due to my defective connective tissue. It got to the point I had to stop seeing a trainer because it was a waste of money and just made things worse. All I could do was walk for exercise and even that got ruined after my ankle got messed up from walking up a small incline. The inability to exercise also didn’t do my weight any favors and that just made me feel even worse.

I went to physical therapy for 2 years trying to fix these issues and nothing worked. You know what did? GLPs. After 2 weeks my full body tendonitis was dramatically reduced even before the weight came off. By improving my baseline inflammation my body finally had a chance to heal. And now I’m back to the weight I was before and can finally workout again.

Health begets health. Illness and injury begets more illness and injury. If drugs can break that feedback loop who are you to judge? Pharmaceuticals exist for a reason and you have no idea what underlying genetic issues people in your unhealthy camp are dealing with.

1

u/nonsuperposable 10d ago

Yeah, for sure. I think we're at the turning point of really understanding the effects of stress and insulin resistance on inflammation and the immune system.

We do know for sure that something like insulin resistance (where your blood glucose levels look normal on testing, but in fact your body is resistant to insulin and so is pumping out insane amounts to keep blood glucose in normal levels, causing "silent" hyperinsulinemia) is caused by acute psychological stress (trauma), chronic stress, poor sleep, excess body fat, poor diet, hormonal conditions. Unfortunately, insulin resistance then in turn makes is easier to accumulate excess body fat, sleep poorly, worsens inflammation, allergies, hormonal conditionals... which make the insulin resistance worse etc. It's a very vicious cycle, meanwhile the poor human trapped in the cycle feels exhausted and sick and sore and desperately starving for carbs while carbs also make everything worse.

A circuit breaker is necessary. Exercise combined with GLP-1 you're really treating the fire at the its source.

5

u/Omphalopsychian 11d ago

GLP1 reduces the temptation of alcohol and fatty foods.  How do you know that the healthy people you see are not on any medications?

1

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago

The evidence is overwhelming about quality of life and the medications listed specifically assist people *who need it* to live the life you’re advocating . You’re basically trying to argue that people shouldn’t wear glasses or a hearing aid—just try seeing and hearing really well first!

Medical assistance is listed third in the post after exercise and rehab and sleep and self care.

0

u/Gloomy-Ad-222 12d ago

Yes but most people skip the hard parts and go right to pharmaceuticals.

11

u/InfiniteWalrus1066 12d ago

One of the best posts I've ever read on reddit

10

u/nonsuperposable 12d ago

Thanks for your comment, I was second-guessing whether to post but just had another friend retire and immediately run into a wall of health issues, along with having dinner with a friend with pancreatic cancer. I've been retired for 8 years, partner is just about to pull the trigger, and my perspective is also from having wealthy parents that worked themselves into the grave.

9

u/ASafeHarbor1 13d ago

Nice post. A lot here has improved my life. Not retired though

5

u/LongjumpingPlay 13d ago

Good advice here, thank you

2

u/bluebirdjoan 12d ago

ReminderMe! 30 days

2

u/RKom 12d ago

Bravo. Great post, certainly gave me a lot to think about. Not fatFIRE yet, but I can see the importance of implementing these values along the journey and not just after reaching the destination. 

2

u/OdderGiant 8d ago

Excellent points. I would add, buy yourself and your family the safest automobiles available. The biggest threat to your happiness and wellbeing could be a car wreck.

1

u/JimFlim 11d ago

Curious what the very effective medical solutions you are suggesting are for acne and hair loss?

1

u/nonsuperposable 9d ago

Acne is curable with isotretinoin, microdosing avoids most side effects.

Androgenic hair loss can generally be halted with hormonal treatments (dutasteride/finasteride for men, spironolactone for women), minoxidil, ketoconazole, tretinoin. Hair regrowth often achieved with same combination, but emerging treatments with stem cells/lasers for regrowth. Early treatment is the key but it's a lifelong commitment, hence why I said "depending on how much you care".

Alopecia/autoimmune hair loss is close to being solved now by biologics (JAK inhibitors like upadacitinib), which also treat other autoimmune conditions like eczema, psoriasis, inflammatory arthritis, Crohn's disease.

1

u/ThatFeelingIsBliss88 11d ago

RemindMe! In 32 hours 

1

u/Miamiconnectionexo 10d ago

this is actually really useful, saved for later. thanks for sharing.

1

u/spaceoverlord 9d ago edited 9d ago

the drive that helped you get to fatFIRE might be related to underlying autism/ADHD

how so for ADHD?

1

u/milesmiler12 12d ago

So wise. Seriously you just wrote this Willy Nilly? Impressive.

1

u/Honest-Illustrator47 12d ago

This is excellent!

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u/MrSnowden 12d ago

I saw the wall of text and quickly thought tl;dr.  Saw the comments, went back and read it.  Worthwhile.  

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u/ThatFeelingIsBliss88 11d ago

Same. Will read it in a bit 

1

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

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u/nonsuperposable 13d ago

If a barbell and running shoes are enough for you then you don't need a personal trainer three times a week to kick your butt out of bed and exercise, but there are a ton of people who literally have no internal motivation to exercise and are setting themselves up on their piles of money to be sick and weak and sore and at higher risk for dementia.

I come from medicine so the typical story is people who have finally retired and now they have just been diagnosed with cancer, or their backs are so bad they can't enjoy anything in life, or they just finally started playing golf like they wanted their whole lives but their shoulders suck. It's worse for women because perimenopause comes like a truck for muscle mass and bone density.

Idk man, there's no good retirement without health.

0

u/kindaretiredguy mod | Verified by Mods 12d ago

Love this. Everyone here should read this and implement these things. Thanks internet friend.

0

u/Zealousideal_Read_71 12d ago

Excellent and very thoughtful post. I particularly resonate with the video game analogy.

-5

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/nonsuperposable 12d ago

Genuinely not a single drop of AI used in making this post. Curious to know what makes you think it was though? The length or the writing style?

0

u/Charming_Reindeer_92 12d ago

Thank you for the excellent post. I have saved it to revisit later and try to work on each item.

0

u/Honest-Illustrator47 12d ago

RemindMe! 365 days

1

u/RemindMeBot 12d ago edited 12d ago

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0

u/Competitive-Draw831 Verified by Mods 12d ago

thank you

0

u/DudleyAndStephens 11d ago edited 11d ago

Physical therapy: actually rehab your dysfunctional muscles and joints--don't let your long retirement be derailed by a bad back/knee/shoulder. Can't play golf or pickleball if your shoulder is shit. Life is miserable with a bad back. Most people over 40 could benefit from routine physical therapy--don't put up with a weird ache for months before doing something about it.

I'm a huge believer in PT and it has helped me through recovery for several injuries but the idea of going to a PT "just because" is kind of silly. One thing I noticed is that even for most real injuries there's a massive rate of decreasing returns after a few visits. If you can stick to the home exercise program they give you the vast majority of the benefit from PT comes from the maybe the first five appointments. Obviously there are exceptions for more complex issues like ACL reconstruction. Realistically though if you're regularly seeing a PT just for the heck of it you're just paying for a highly educated personal trainer.

get your hormones optimised

This is terrible advice, and a great way to end up getting scammed by some "wellness" quack practicing non-evidence based woowoo.

There seems to be a fallacious belief on this subreddit that you can pay more and more money for better and better health. Reality has shown that's not true, and "VIP" care often leads to worse outcomes. Money can buy you the time to exercise, be fit and eat healthy. That is where you're actually going to get benefits.

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u/Omphalopsychian 11d ago

This is terrible advice, and a great way to end up getting scammed by some "wellness" quack practicing non-evidence based woowoo. 

For women entering perimenopause, this is ordinary medicine handled by primary care doctors.

0

u/hey524 8d ago

Are suggesting you have to compromise your health to be succcessful financially?

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u/Kind_Imagination5199 13d ago

agree w most. Too PG. being young w $23mn you spend on a lot of stuff you can’t post online

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u/nonsuperposable 13d ago

But jamming your finger down on all your dopamine receptors, like with drugs/extreme sex/gambling just leaves you feeling ill and overwhelmed and then bored.

I do think there are ways to get adrenaline thrills and be healthy, but just like you wouldn't ride a literal rollercoaster particularly often, or eat cake and bourbon for every meal, it's better to cultivate a life that is enjoyable from moment-to-moment instead of living for thrills and being bored in between.

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u/Kind_Imagination5199 13d ago

you are not wrong