Fading Looks

I have been recently catching up with old friends from high school and college and when i see pics of them, i am shocked.
ALL of them have gained weight, gotten out of shape and are just not aging that well.
has anyone else noticed this about their old friends from their youth?
and what gets me is that they are all married and with kids.
does being married and having kids really have to do that to people?
there is one girl from college that looks even better than she did then, but other than that - wow. not a hundred percent good news.

 

The only thing worse than getting older is the alternative.

 

in a word, yes

believe a study found that the men experience a change of hormonal mix that results in a "state of contentment", so they just let themselves go, and become the stereotypical married hetero slob

 

I'll bet you look fantastic though, right?

 

wow.
when i was with a woman that had 2 little ones,
and was doing the whole family thing,
i was never in better shape in my life. and i had
never had more sex in my life. i wanted to look
great for her and be strong for the kids. i guess
this doesn't happen a lot.
i can't imagine letting myself go like that.
its just so shocking to see formerly good looking
friends looking not so good. time frame: this is
15-20 years past. but i am the same age and
as of november of '08 while not an 18 year old,
i hope i am not completely unfortunate looking.

 

Nick8 -
in my gallery, from nov. '08 at 38, if that's not that great then fine.

 

Look at my gallery, and come see me when you're 49.

 

Bbucko
well done. you are in very good shape.
keep up the good work. as long as i don't
get married and have kids, perhaps i could
age as well as you.

 

I hadn't looked at your gallery; I was assuming you thought so by your post.

I know, in all honesty, that as a 'single' city dweller, I once made the assumption that people who chose to get married and move away to the suburbs let themselves go.

And so?

 

I hadn't looked at your gallery; I was assuming you thought so by your post.

I know, in all honesty, that as a 'single' city dweller, I once made the assumption that people who chose to get married and move away to the suburbs let themselves go.

And so?

i did not think so by my post. although if you saw what i saw, you would understand the reason for my post.

nick - your assumption is right on the money. in my mind it doesn't need to be like that but apparently that is how things go for the vast majority.

i will not be part of that vast majority. no need to let ones' self go, that's all i am saying. it's surprising to me how many people let themselves go. that's all.

 

omg! Chuck Norris would (has and does) KILL to look that good!!! :biggrin:


= = = = =

I hear ya, GW.

I'm a mom of teenagers, and almost all of the other parents look like crap.

Personally, I think it's laziness.

 

You'd be amazed how little I do to maintain, and my diet's really nothing fabulous. My health's bumpy (HIV+ for over 25 years), I smoke and enjoy an occasional cool beverage. I haven't been inside a gym in three years.

Honestly, I think it's more a combination of genetics and attitude; one you have no control over, the other you do.

 

Gay men never age. They sparkle and glitter FOREVER !!!!

 

LMAO....funny and very wise :biggrin1:

I know what you mean Woodster....I have seen the same thing. The youngins need to understand that the way they live today is an investment in their tomorrow. Thankfully, people do not smoke like they used to, but all that partying and eating crap takes its toll over time. One of my best friends from childhood and college, who is in his mid 30s like me, looks more like fiftysomething thanks to his wild-ass lifestyle.

Its not like we can get off the age train...so, till then, all I can do is watch what i eat ... exercise as much as i can, watch the booze and use a gallon of moisterizer hehe.

 

Sooner or later, aging catches up to just about all of us. I think those of us who are older wish we could look and feel the way we did when we were younger; but that's life! The main thing is being happy; and thinking to yourself while you are younger about what you want to do with your life. The key may be: when you look back on your life 30 or 40 years down the road, will you be happy with what you see? Live your life now so you will be able to look back and be content; having as few regrets as possible. :smile:

And yes, for the record, I have gotten back in touch with people I knew back in high school. Most have gotten heavier, as have I. Just about all have more wrinkles now, so some degree or another. So, some have not aged well; but some have. Once again, that's life!

 

I thought that was the whole reason to go to class reunions ... to see which cheerleader got the fattest??!?

:biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1:

 

I don't know. Quite a few of my classmates continue to look very good. I'm not sure why that is.

Either way, looks can fade but confidence and style never does. Get those right and you'll be surprised how attractive people will find you.

 

Heh. Our cheerleaders planned our ten-year and twenty-year reunions, and they all looked just as slim and energetic as they used to.

The problem was that they hadn't grown very much intellectually, socially, or emotionally.

NCbear (who resisted the old cliques at his twenty-year reunion and talked to everyone in the room)

 

I've inherited my parents' baby-faced-ness (if that's a word). I hope to stay looking around thirty-something (or early forty-something) for the next 25-30 years, as they did.

[Only now, at 71, are they finally looking fifty-something.]

NCbear (whose jeans [sp?] look better the more he exercises :tongue

 

Well said!

There are many things that go into it. Nutrition and exercise are 2 things over which we have control. Genetics is the other factor that we don't control.

Back in the 1969, I started a job as a checkout clerk at a grocery store the day after I graduated high school. After a while, I noticed all the chemicals that went into products that we buy. There were hippy people who would say that big business is poisoning us to make profit and preservatives cause cancer. It got me thinking, and I slowly began eliminating everything from my diet that had BHA, BHT, and sodium nitrate. It got to the point where if I couldn't pronounce it easily, I didn't buy it. In my early 20s, the first things to go were bacon, lunchmeat, and hot dogs. I learned to cook and dropped red meat. By my late 20s, I dropped poultry. Since my early 30s, I've been vegetarian. Only recently have I decided to reintroduce fish into my diet on occasion. Most of the food that I eat is healthy gourmet and made from scratch with fresh ingredients.

Exercise is extremely important. I had a mountain bike accident in the '90s that trashed my knee and grounded me from running. After the knee healed, I tried to run again, but it didn't cut it. I got fat, and became depressed. Then in the fall of '05 I bought a fitness bike to commute to work with the hope of dropping weight and getting fit again. Cycling became a passion, and it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. I'll be 58 in April, and I look okay for my age. I believe that eating wisely and working out regularly will slow the fading of our looks. Our routine lifestyle and behavior will either allow us to enjoy life or just survive it. The choice is ours.