Is it possible to roll back the years?

LegacyUser

Recently a few females (i'm male) have said to me "you used to be a fine looking fella". Now I'm only 33 but have had a a few years of hard living drinking, partying & eating crap. I'm not overweight but could do with being in better shape.
My question is, is it possible to improve your appearance a fair bit with a change of lifestyle such as leaning up the diet, ldrinking loads of water, more sleep & hitting the gym and knocking the sauce on the head?
Any thoughts?

Wibbs

I'd say a lot is possible. Depends on the effort involved. I've seen a 45 year old man do it so... I would suggest the fitness forum hereabouts for guidance.

SheRa

DiCanio wrote: »

Recently a few females (i'm male) have said to me "you used to be a fine looking fella". Now I'm only 33 but have had a a few years of hard living drinking, partying & eating crap. I'm not overweight but could do with being in better shape.
My question is, is it possible to improve your appearance a fair bit with a change of lifestyle such as leaning up the diet, ldrinking loads of water, more sleep & hitting the gym and knocking the sauce on the head?
Any thoughts?

it is absolutely possible. Somebody I know cut out the smokes, cut down on the coffee and started drinking smoothies instead and he looks a decade younger (he's 40). His skin is glowing etc. Maybe try that?

The_Minister

Factually speaking - Yes.

Can you do it? Only you know if you have the willpower and dedication.

cowzerp

1 of my best mates is 49, i personal train him and he eats well and does not drink to excess, people cant believe he's 49, they think he's more like 35!

many clients can look years younger and feel it too after a couple of months training, this is got to do with posture, strenght and confidence, its amazing what a smile can do for your looks!

sunnyside

Yes BUT it will take a lot of determination, motivation and dedication to change. You're not overweight so hopefully it won't be too difficult from where you're starting.

You won't see results straight away (unfortunately) but if you start now and give it until Christmas you should see the improvements.

There's no reason why someone who is only 33 should be "letting themselves go".

themullet

OP this is definitely possible, but the only question is.. how much to you want it. I know many people have tried this, started out with great intentions, but after a few weeks the new lifestyle fizzled out. All you need is a bit of willpower. Start tomorrow.....no excuses!!

ShawnRaven

In the process of doing this myself (i'm 32). Over the course of the last five years between drinking, stress induced crap eating, and overall neglect, i've gotten a little overweight. Not obese or anything, but the belly is there. My motivation was that i'm getting married next year and i don't particularly want to look round in my suit!

It's a case of reducing the amount of crap one eats, and at the right time (try not to eat after 8-9ish), exercising (get off the bus or train a couple of stops early and walk the rest of the way), and in general taking care of yourself.

I've lost over a stone already in the last month or so, and still going.
Also, know when to stop when you're done, and do it the right way, none of this starving yourself crap. You won't notice it, in fact even when it's noticable you probably still won't see a difference but others might. To remedy this, try on a shirt or a pair of jeans that you had trouble fitting into before you started.

You'll lose a bit rapidly, and then it'll stop dropping (but in a lot of cases, the weight doesn't gain either. Do NOT give up if you find this happens, it takes time for it to start again)

Thats from my own experience anyway, hope it helps.
Good luck
VR!

CerebralCortex

sunnyside wrote: »

Yes BUT it will take a lot of determination, motivation and dedication to change. You're not overweight so hopefully it won't be too difficult from where you're starting.

You won't see results straight away (unfortunately) but if you start now and give it until Christmas you should see the improvements.

There's no reason why someone who is only 33 should be "letting themselves go".

+1

Check this guy out
http://www.bobdelmonteque.com/

Miss Fluff

Of course you can turn the clock back, it's all about making the necessary changes to your diet and lifestyle. You should definitely post over in the Fitness forum for some advice, they are a helpful bunch.

Oryx

DiCanio wrote: »

Recently a few females (i'm male) have said to me "you used to be a fine looking fella". Now I'm only 33 but have had a a few years of hard living drinking, partying & eating crap. I'm not overweight but could do with being in better shape.
My question is, is it possible to improve your appearance a fair bit with a change of lifestyle such as leaning up the diet, ldrinking loads of water, more sleep & hitting the gym and knocking the sauce on the head?
Any thoughts?

Of course its possible. Dya think only the under 30's can get fit?:) Ive seen plenty of people older than you take up exercise and pretty much change their whole fitness. Its all down to your own mindset, because contrary to what some reality tv shows would have you believe, it isnt at all easy. You do need to be pretty determined and strong to cope with the days when you really dont want to exercise and looooonnnng for some chocolate or a pint*. As long as you are realistic about what you can achieve and how long it will take (so that you dont give up after two weeks when things arent pinging into shape) youll do it just fine. If you stick at it youll find it will become habit in the same way as your old lifestyle was a habit, and youll miss your exercise when you dont do it. My only other thought, is dont try to do it all at once, or youll just get ticked off and go on a bender. Start realistically, you arent going to become a teetotal water slugging athlete overnight.

*which you dont give up completely, but you know... moderation.

sunnyside

The fitness section here on boards has loads of useful information about diet and being healthy in general. Have a read through some of the threads over there for inspiration and motivation.

HouseHippo

Wow you sound exactly like a friend of mine. When I first met him I would have guessed 25, didn't see him for a few months and he'd aged years. He's the same age as you.
It was mostly his job, do you work in a stressful job?

Also if you are losing your hair I recommend a head shaving, it's just better that way, Beer puts on piles of weight especially for men of your age, don't want a beer belly now do we??
Go to the gym, work on that washboard stomach, your not past it at 33, I'm 18 and I known plenty of sex 30 year olds

Handsome Bob

validreasoning! wrote: »

In the process of doing this myself (i'm 32). Over the course of the last five years between drinking, stress induced crap eating, and overall neglect, i've gotten a little overweight. Not obese or anything, but the belly is there. My motivation was that i'm getting married next year and i don't particularly want to look round in my suit!

It's a case of reducing the amount of crap one eats, and at the right time (try not to eat after 8-9ish), exercising (get off the bus or train a couple of stops early and walk the rest of the way), and in general taking care of yourself.

I've lost over a stone already in the last month or so, and still going.
Also, know when to stop when you're done, and do it the right way, none of this starving yourself crap. You won't notice it, in fact even when it's noticable you probably still won't see a difference but others might. To remedy this, try on a shirt or a pair of jeans that you had trouble fitting into before you started.

You'll lose a bit rapidly, and then it'll stop dropping (but in a lot of cases, the weight doesn't gain either. Do NOT give up if you find this happens, it takes time for it to start again)

Thats from my own experience anyway, hope it helps.
Good luck
VR!

Spot on.

It really is all about wanting to do it for yourself OP. I remember countless times that I attempted to sort myself out to make other people happy, and I almost always gave up. Then one day in 2006 I took a look in the mirror and said "you're only 19 for **** sake and look at you." So I started to change myself when I wanted to do it for myself, not for anyone else.

As VR said, it will be frustrating. You'll lose weight rapidly and all of a sudden the loss will slow down. It's normal, don't give up when that happens.

As someone once said to me, "You didn't gain all that weight from a few weeks of eating, it took years of mistreating yourself for you to get to that stage so losing it all is not going to happen in the space of weeks."

Good luck man.