Two meals a day = key to longevity

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
moshquerade

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
According to this 113 y/o dude:


Two-meal diet aids in oldest man's longevity

By Sydne George, Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune
GREAT FALLS, Mont. ? So what does the world's oldest man eat? The answer is not much, at least not too much.

Walter Breuning, who turned 113 on Monday, eats just two meals a day and has done so for the past 35 years.

"I think you should push back from the table when you're still hungry," Breuning said.

At 5 foot 8, ("I shrunk a little," he admitted) and 125 pounds, Breuning limits himself to a big breakfast and lunch every day and no supper.

"I have weighed the same for about 35 years," Breuning said. "Well, that's the way it should be."

"You get in the habit of not eating at night, and you realize how good you feel. If you could just tell people not to eat so darn much."

His practice of skipping supper began when he first moved to Great Falls from Minneapolis in 1978. He lived in the Yellowstone Apartments at the time and would walk downtown to Schell's in the Johnson Hotel or the Albon Club on the second floor for lunch.

In 1980, the Albon Club moved to the Rainbow Hotel, and the owners asked Breuning to be manager, which he did for 15 years.

"I never started eating supper again," Breuning said.

He gets up at 6:15 a.m. and has a big breakfast every day at 7:30 a.m. Usually it's eggs, toast or pancakes.

"You can order anything you want, just like a restaurant," he said.

"I eat a lot of fruit every day."

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer sent Breuning a fruit basket after a recent visit.

"Boy, I tell you that was good fruit. I ate the whole darn thing," Breuning said. "Peaches, pears, everything, it sure was good."

In addition to eating fruit every day, Breuning also takes a baby aspirin.

"Just one baby aspirin," he said, "but everybody gets that for their heart. That's the only pill I ever take, no other medicine."

And he drinks plenty of water.

"I drink water all the time," he said, and just a bit of coffee. "I drink a cup and a half of coffee for breakfast and a cup with lunch."

Breuning said he has been healthy all of his life and believes diet has a lot to do with it.

"If people could cut back on their normal weight, it wouldn't be quite so bad," he commented. "They just eat too much!"

Breuning remembers his family having a cow, pigs, chickens and a big garden when he was growing up, like most people did in those days.

"Everybody was poor years ago," he said. "When we were kids, we ate what was on the table. Crusts of bread or whatever it was. You ate what they put on your plate, and that's all you got," Breuning said.

Breuning recalls his mother being a good cook, though she died when she was 46 after an operation in Minneapolis. His wife was a good cook, too. They met when they worked in Butte for the railroad.

"Everything she made was good," Breuning said. "We used to have lots of card parties, and they would always say what a good cook she was."

While diet has contributed to his longevity, Breuning also believes that working hard was good for him.

"Work doesn't hurt anybody," he said, mentioning that he had two jobs, one working for the Great Northern Railway until he was 66 and the other as manager/secretary for the local Shriner's Club until he was 99.

These days, Breuning keeps busy talking with all of the people who visit the Rainbow Retirement Center interested in meeting the world's oldest man.

Though his vision doesn't allow him to read anymore, Breuning keeps his mind active by listening to the radio.

"My eyes are gone," he said, "but I listen to the radio. I get all my news on KMON."

Breuning started eating out 35 years ago, but said he doesn't anymore.

"Once you get used to not eating in restaurants, you don't want to anymore," he said. Besides, he'd rather eat at home, at the Rainbow Retirement Center.

"They have a lot of good food right here," he said, "and good cooks."

Breuning celebrated his 113th birthday with not one, but two cakes, one chocolate and one vanilla. And for his birthday lunch he got his favorite: liver and onions.
Click to expand...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/n...-oldest-man-diet_N.htm
 
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Mostly it's genetics, and the good fortunate of not having any life-threatening diseases.

But yeah, eating less does seem to prevent a lot of the issues that other Americans face.
 
SandEagle

SandEagle

Lifer
Aug 4, 2007
16,809
13
0
bull. he started doing this for the past 35 years? what did he do during the previous 70+ years?
 
KB

KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
5,406
389
126
Doesn't sound to me likes it just 2 meals a day that equals longevity. It could also be the coffee, water, fruit, or a dead wife. :)
 
D

DisgruntledVirus

Lifer
Dec 26, 2007
11,782
2
76
I only eat breakfast and lunch days when I have class (4 days/wk). I usually get home and am too tired to make anything, and just goto bed.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
I don't think the key is two meals so much as it is a general reduction in calories per day. Study after study has proven that lower calorie diets lead to longer lives.

Skipping what is typically the largest meal of the day certainly helps in that regard, but it's not really necessary if you can spread out your calories over the day.

But really though, genetics are pretty much at play here. If his family had a history of cancer or other terminal illnesses, he'd been dead decades ago.
 
FelixDeCat

FelixDeCat

Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
30,831
2,628
126
I like when old people share their stories. Its neat to hear from someone that has lived so long. :)
 
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
I like when old people share their stories. Its neat to hear from someone that has lived so long. :)
Click to expand...

As long as it doesn't start or end with "Get off my lawn!" or "back in my day"
 
FeuerFrei

FeuerFrei

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2005
9,144
929
126
My dad's eaten only one meal a day for about the last 40 years.

He's not known for his restraint when he eats though. For example, after dinner he'll eat an entire box of cereal. Never got fat though.
 
Fingolfin269

Fingolfin269

Lifer
Feb 28, 2003
17,948
34
91
I would love to sit down and talk to this guy for... Well, as long as he felt like talking. 113 years. This guy has lived through so much it may very well be too much to comprehend. Who knows, someone reading this forum could be the "oldest living person" one day.
 
TehMac

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
9,976
3
71
Originally posted by: ChanHo78
but who the fuck wants to live such a long time? And half starved at that....
Click to expand...

Who says he is half starved? He eats a shit ton at breakfast and lunch, just no dinner. It does work out. I feel a lot better in the morning when I don't eat so much at night.

I'd feel kinda shitty if my eyes started going bad. hopefully they'll fix that soon. :p
 
N

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
91
I used to eat 2 meals a day and weighed 400+ pounds while doing so... somehow I don't think continuing on that path would have led to me leading a long life.
 
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Originally posted by: loki8481
I used to eat 2 meals a day and weighed 400+ pounds while doing so... somehow I don't think continuing on that path would have led to me leading a long life.
Click to expand...

Somehow I doubt your 2 meals a day were conservative, calorie-wise.

 
SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: FYIImaSpy
I almost always skip breakfast. Good for me.
Click to expand...

That's the worst meal to skip, you're working against yourself.
Click to expand...

You know, I always hear people say that, but I don't buy it. Arguments for will say that it keeps your brain sharp in the morning, fights off weariness, etc. To me, lunch does the same thing - I just push my breakfast off a few hours.

I honestly don't think it really matters if you skip breakfast or dinner... I'm usually not hungry in the morning, and generally feel rather ill if I do eat breakfast. It makes me sleepier to eat (I don't drink coffee), and I prefer feeling more awake and alert later in the day anyway.

Biologically, I don't think there's much any foundation other than personal (and cultural) choice in the "breakfast is the worst meal to skip" argument.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom