For fun. When did you first realize you were no longer 25?

I could do almost anything I wanted well into my 50's. I was literally in the best shape of my life at 30 and then again thru most of my 50's. I was in better physical shape at 55 than I was at 45. But I've been reminded of my physical limitations more and more each year now in my 60's and poorer eyesight hasn't helped either (I was 20/15 or 20/20 until mid 40's). I can still do almost anything I want physically, just noticeably slower and more cautiously or more clumsily at times. Aches and pains take longer to get over.

I did a long sail race with some of my old (same age and older) regular crew on Sat, we're pretty sad these days physically and not as mentally sharp, a shadow of our former selves. I enter 5K walks these days instead of 10K runs. Fortunately golf courses haven't gotten too long...yet. Sigh :blush:
 
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I started noticing it after turning 50, which saddened me a little but not enough to really change anything. Since then the downward curve has been very gentle and overall I'm pretty happy with it.

Still, I think REWahoo's line says it well: "When I hit 70, it hit back."
 
Running a small half marathon once, I was behind a silver haired guy for awhile. I finally passed him, and thought about how that old guy was running well. Post-race, they're giving out age group awards, and he gets something for placing in the age group younger than me...
 
Gastro issues hit me with a vengeance last year just before my 49th B-day. Blockage, Hospital stay, tons of testing...very scary. Finally told them no more going where no man had gone before, and was left with no diagnosis other than it isn't cancer or chrons.

I used to pride myself on an iron clad stomach. I could eat rotten food, dairy, with no ill effects, now one wrong ingredient can cause bloating or other unpleasant experiences. So now..very cautious about what I eat, how much and when. The wrong thing or wrong combo, can hit me like a ton of bricks.
 
Yesterday had a family brunch to celebrate DH's brother's 40th anniv.


We took a sibs and spouse picture since this year was had a 51st, 45th, 40th and 36 year for wedding anniv.


Downloaded my pics to the computer and thought "Da$m we ALL look old...happy but old! .....
 
bclover said:
[emoji2] don't make me come over there. I've got leftover spicy chicken empanadas and I'm not afraid to use them.
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LOL. OMG, Two bites and I would be dying of heartburn! I take two antacids before meals, haha, Im certainly not 25 anymore.
 
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Luck_Club said:
I used to pride myself on an iron clad stomach. I could eat rotten food, dairy, with no ill effects, now one wrong ingredient can cause bloating or other unpleasant experiences.
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That was me too. In HS friends accused me of having a tapeworm - in hindsight, when teenagers accuse you of that you know you're packing away the food. In order to get hired by the PD (which had a minimum weight of 145 lbs.) I was pumping iron, eating five meals a day, and doing anything else I could think of to gain weight. On weigh-in day I was drinking massive quantities of water and I was 144 & 3/4 lbs. and the kindly doctor said "Okay, I'll give you the 1/4 lb."

Up until about age 35 I could eat all I wanted of anything and that slowly changed by the time I was 40 when the first "serious" one hit - celiac disease. All of a sudden I couldn't partake of my favorites, beer and pizza.

By 50, for the first time in my life I had to start paying serious attention to calorie intake or I was going to have to buy all new clothes. LBYM has stuck, so I had to change the diet to avoid that.
 
Midpack said:
now in my 60's and poorer eyesight hasn't helped either (I was 20/15 or 20/20 until mid 40's). :blush:
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Strange that you mentioned that. I had to wear glasses when driving since I was in my mid 20's. Actually needed bi-focals by the time I was 45. Over the years, I had a couple of eye doctors tell me that sometimes men's vision may actually get better in their 60s'. I wrote that off as BS babble until I started noticing I could see better in my late 50's. By the time I made it to 65, I could pass my drivers license vision test without any glasses. I haven't wore glasses now in almost a year. Now I can only hope other things start working better too.:)
 
Sojourner said:
That's absurd. Maybe someone who's 55 would be viewed as "elderly" by a 7 year-old child, but who else thinks of people in their 50s this way? To me, the word elderly has always implied a state of frailty, both mental and physical, and I personally know of no one in their 50s or 60s who fits that description.
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I know! That's why I was insulted when I read her post....I'm 63 and I'm not "elderly"....am I ? Or maybe I am :(
This was written by an adult woman, although I don't know how old she is.
63 is still middle age in my book!
 
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The local newspaper where I live definitely thinks anyone in their 60s is "elderly". Makes me laugh.
 
I’m 43 now. But it started to hit in my late 30’s, then hit like a hammer when I turned 40. I’ve played soccer my entire life. Continuing to play indoor my entire adulthood. When I hit 40, you can say I lost a step or two! The issue was compounded by there never being enough teams in each age group, so it became a men’s open league and we were playing against the 20 somethings.
Being on the field and my body not being able to do what my mind was wanting it to was both depressing and eye opening. Add to that the presence of back pain, swollen knee’s and my wife yelling at me every night I’d come home from a game, and I hung up the spikes.
The diet is starting to become affected as well. Pizza is a big culprit, and it takes less beer to make me hurt these days, lol. I can change my diet and not miss it too much, but being active, and competitive at soccer has been sorely missed.
 
I breezed through age 50 like it was nothing, but late 50s have brought on an awareness of advancing age and the real contrast between younger people and me. Seeing "Incipient Senile Cataracts" on my eye Dr.'s report didn't help, either!
 
I know...I'll see some "old lady" with the puff of hair on top of the head and the shaved neck, printed tunic and capri pants..."she must be 75 at least...." and then something will be said that reveals her birth year to be later than mine :eek:

RunningBum said:
Running a small half marathon once, I was behind a silver haired guy for awhile. I finally passed him, and thought about how that old guy was running well. Post-race, they're giving out age group awards, and he gets something for placing in the age group younger than me...
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Amethyst said:
I breezed through age 50 like it was nothing, but late 50s have brought on an awareness of advancing age and the real contrast between younger people and me. Seeing "Incipient Senile Cataracts" on my eye Dr.'s report didn't help, either!
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This is funny! You should confront the Doc. He needs to find a euphemism for that medical condition.
 
In Vienna some young people held the door open for us. When that hot chick holds the door open for you, it hits you that you truly are an old dude.
 
The first time for me wasn't actually something physical. It was having to take over at my parents' house when my mom first became ill with cancer and with my dad had to go out of town for treatment for a few months. I had to make sure their bills got paid and the house was looked after. I also got to see all the EOBs for the many treatments she was getting. At 28, I felt I aged a lot in that year.


As for physically, it was when all the years of commuting full-time to work wore me down and I had to do something about it. At age 38, I was able to end my full-time hours and work part-time. My body just couldn't take it any more with the long, tiring, awful daily commute on the trains.


Having to start wearing reading glasses back in 2013 made me feel old.


But the biggest time feeling like I had aged a lot was 2 years ago when I was in the hospital for 12 days being treated for diabetes and another ailment usually associated with aging. I felt like I aged 20 years in those 2 weeks.
 
In the past 10 years my vision has improved so much that I no longer need glasses to drive with. Just renewed my license without the "Corrective lenses" restriction. First time ever! I didn't need reading glasses till about 2 years ago and that's just for the smallest writing. Almost never need sunglasses now compare to 10-20 yrs ago when I could hardly look out the window on a sunny day

My teeth continue to amaze and depress my dentist. He says if all his patients had teeth like mine he wouldn't be able to earn a living.

Last colonoscopy I asked directly: So would you say I look better, worse, or about what you'd expect for someone my age? Doc said: "I'd say you look better than what we'd expect to see in someone your age."

However, I have found that while I am strong enough to exercise more I tend to get what I figure are repetitive stress-type pains in some joints if I overdo things. So, I have to sort of rein things in a little. No more: I bet I can do 20 more pushups! I don't want to make temporary pain permanent.

Have aged in reverse the last 10 yrs for the most part. I have some theories as to why. I just turned 60 and wonder what I'll be like 10 yrs from now. Or if I will be 10 yrs from now...?

I realized I wasn't young anymore about 2 yrs ago when I was shaving and noticed an ever so slight evocation of "turkey neck" hanging under my throat.
 
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Lsbcal said:
In Vienna some young people held the door open for us. When that hot chick holds the door open for you, it hits you that you truly are an old dude.
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A couple years back...wintertime, (and around when I was stairclimbing from around 2-5,000 steps daily), DW & I were crossing a minuscule 'snowbank', (about as high as a rolled up carpet), and a young couple ahead of us turned around as asked if we needed assistance. :(
 
Can't remember when I first realized it, but verified last year when my marathon time was 45 minutes slower than when I was 25.

Also the home improvement store now asks if I need help loading a half sheet of plywood.

And the latest - dermatologist asked if I needed help turning over on the table during skin cancer screening
 
25 is a great age. But it's just a blip on the screen and then it's gone. Some try to hold onto it, but it's all in vain. No one has beat father time, and for as far as one can look into the future, no one ever will. But I think we all in some ways wish we could be 25 again, if only for a little while, but it just can't be.

I don't know when I first realized I wasn't 25 anymore. It's a done deal now for sure, but I don't know that there was ever a moment like that. I think it dawned on me over a number of years. Mirrors don't lie.
 
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It was brought home to me most strongly when I was about 53 and climbing Mt. Washington. As I stood bent over and gasping halfway up the Tuckerman Ravine headwall, some very thoughtful young people stopped and asked if I was okay. "Fine," I said "just old". I did make it to the top, but slowly.
 
The food thing....

We were in our mid 30s when KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) opened in the neighborhood. We hadn't had one of those nearby for years and looked forward to having our favorite chicken when it opened.

Bought a bucket and side dishes and we both enjoyed eating it, it was just as good as we remembered. Oh, but later that evening and the next day we both felt like that was not digesting like it used to. We've never been back.

Seeing friends die at 33 (Type 1 diabetic) and 37 (brain cancer, I think it was glioblastoma) and my brother at 45 (drugs and stupidity) I realized I was in the second half of life. Then when I started replacing parts (hip replacement at 59) I really understood.
 
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