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Peregrine Took

(7,497 posts)
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:28 PM Dec 2011

How are you adapting to being "older?" What do you do to fight it?

I think its harder for women re: the whole "looks" thing. Its really hard to look in that mirror everyday (especially if its in broad daylight where mine is...) and see that face, those lines. Those furrows!! The jowls, etc.

And your hands! I haven't been as careful as I should have all these years and they look so old!! Even crepey!!

Still I'm still around - above ground - that is and that's a wonder considering all the ones I know that aren't.

Running is my only weapon plus I TRY to eat right and get some good sleep.
Stress and worry are my worst problems - hard to shake.

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How are you adapting to being "older?" What do you do to fight it? (Original Post) Peregrine Took Dec 2011 OP
I never look in the mirror... Little Star Dec 2011 #1
Getting old isn't so bad...... Uben Dec 2011 #2
First..... quickesst Dec 2011 #4
I took a crack at being middle-aged, bit it just didn't work out rocktivity Dec 2011 #3
Keep active! elfin Dec 2011 #5
Im Lucky krucial Dec 2011 #6
I tend not to think about it DavidDvorkin Dec 2011 #7
Having been around in the 60s I adopted an attitude regarding looks years ago. I do not do things jwirr Dec 2011 #8
How? Growl at the youngsters from time to time. AnotherMcIntosh Dec 2011 #9
I am learning to deal with it. RebelOne Jan 2012 #10

Little Star

(17,055 posts)
1. I never look in the mirror...
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:36 PM
Dec 2011

Just kidding. Sometimes I look and wonder who that is staring back at me.

We're all gonna get old. I guess we just have to accept it gracefully.

But, I hate the saggy skin!!!

Uben

(7,719 posts)
2. Getting old isn't so bad......
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:40 PM
Dec 2011

......not getting old is. I always figured if I made it to fifty I'd be lucky and everything thereafter was bonus. I'm 56 now. Coincidentally, I found out a couple of hours ago that my wife has liver and colon cancer and probably bone cancer as well, but the bone scan results are not in yet. So you see, getting old is not a problem, staying old is. We earned those wrinkles and furrows and jowls, and you should wear them as a badge of honor. You are doing good by running and eating right. Those are two things that can make sure you get even older. I have made the adjustment myself. I am exercising and trying to follow a healthier diet. Already I have dropped 20 lbs, from 195 to 175, which is my goal weight at 6 ft tall.

quickesst

(6,300 posts)
4. First.....
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:50 PM
Dec 2011

I'm sorry about the news concerning your wife. I don't know if I could handle it were it my better half.
My grip on "youth" is getting out every chance I get and trying to keep up with my twelve year old grandson, and my son on our dirt bikes. Six to eight hours on the trails and in the woods is pretty good excercise. Sore as hell after, but I feel good too. I'm less than a month away from my 60th birthday, and although I smoke, and imbibe more than occasionally, I feel great, and look forward to many more miles in the woods. Thanks.
quickesst

rocktivity

(44,883 posts)
3. I took a crack at being middle-aged, bit it just didn't work out
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:49 PM
Dec 2011

Last edited Mon Apr 22, 2013, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

so I went back to being me. Which worked until I woke up one morning to find a pair of big fat ugly strangers in my bed, which turned out to me my thighs.

I, too, now aerobicize regularly and have substituted spring water for soda. Oh, and I take a "seniors" multivitamin, but only because they stopped putting lutein in the brand I used to take.




rocktivity

elfin

(6,262 posts)
5. Keep active!
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:51 PM
Dec 2011

Find something that gives you satisfaction and leads to new friendships, especially if those friends are younger.

If the activity and the people in it are of real value, no one cares what we look like - nor should we.

It is a precious stage of life where we learn what is really important, and if we're very lucky, can impart that sensibility to others.

I admit to a shock when I look in the mirror and see a geezer looking back. But then I go on about my day, taking joy in what I have learned and the wonderful people in my life.

 

krucial

(206 posts)
6. Im Lucky
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 05:52 PM
Dec 2011

For me,i am taking getting older,one day at a time,and I guess I am lucky.

I am 63 with no wrinkles yet,though I do have some gray hair in my head and some of my facial hair,plus I have remained about the same size for the last 30 years ,a 5 ft 9 and skinny Black guyI think my waist size zoomed from 28 to 33 in those 30 years,but I still have my paper weight between 138lb and 146lbs when I am heavy.

Well I guess I got it from my Mom and Dad,bothside of my family are slim to normal
I dont stress,all my 5 kids are grown 34 to 42 and have their own families,so I just live with my wife.

DavidDvorkin

(19,868 posts)
7. I tend not to think about it
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 09:02 PM
Dec 2011

I'm focused on the current day.

The mirror and the calendar both sometimes catch me by surprise and remind me that I became an old man while I wasn't paying attention. But I would have become an old man even if I had been paying attention, so I try to continue not doing so.

jwirr

(39,215 posts)
8. Having been around in the 60s I adopted an attitude regarding looks years ago. I do not do things
Wed Dec 14, 2011, 02:18 PM
Dec 2011

because the world tells me I should look a certain way. I was also lucky to have a Native American friend who taught me that grey hair means wisdom. I am damn smart now!!!

However, I have dry skin on my arms and that is not a looks issue but a health issue. I use moisturizers for dry skin. At 70 I do not have a lot of lines on my face and I wish I knew why - I could market it. Up until recently weight has been a big problem but I have diabetes and the doctor prescibed Victoza for me - it inhibits hunger so I have been losing almost too fast.

As to thinking I am old. I have 9 great grandchildren and DU. They all help me stay young.

RebelOne

(30,947 posts)
10. I am learning to deal with it.
Fri Jan 6, 2012, 12:58 PM
Jan 2012

Yes, the "looks" thing is the worst. Throughout my life, I was always good looking. People would compare me with Marilyn Monroe. But alas, those days are gone. I will be 73 Jan. 18, so I just have to accept the mirror telling me that I am not the fairest of them all.

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