My blogger BFF
Ashley brought up an interesting point this morning, so I'm going to discuss something similar, because it's hot as hell and thinking of something original just isn't in the cards today.
Like Ashley, I am terrified of getting older. I feel shallow, but if that fear is going to help me take better care of myself, then good! Every time I go to my parents' house, my senior pictures are up on the wall. I keep asking the hubs if I look older, and he wisely says no.
Some of my biggest fears about getting old:
Wrinkles. I'm trying my best to take care of my skin, so hopefully this will be minimized. Below is a pic of me and my parents from my wedding. My mom was 50 in this picture, 54 now (ooh, she's going to KILL me if she ever sees this blog, lol). In my opinion, she doesn't look her age. She also admits that she spent all of her youth in the sun, getting burned. The way I see it, at worst, I'll look like her (which is not bad at all!), but I am crazy about SPF on my face (hence why I'm pasty white all summer except for sunless tanner), so hopefully wrinkles and age spots will be kept at bay.
Not being able to lose weight.
I've already noticed this bitch. I'm 27 and a size 8. In college, I was a size 4. Don't know how I gained the weight, but I did. It is a real SOB to get rid of, and the fact that I have the build of a gymnast doesn't help - I have very muscular legs, which make me look heavier than I am.
My back. For those of you that don't know, I have 4 stress fractures in my lumbar spine from an old gymnastics injury. Those stress fractures will never heal because of the area where they are. In fact, each "end" of each fracture has healed over, so they are pseudo-joints. I literally have the back of an 80 year old woman, have difficulty exercising without pain, and I'm just wondering what's going to happen as I age ...
Losing my husband. OK, this is kind of morbid but here are the facts: I'm 8 years younger than he is, women live longer than men, and his family has a history of heart disease and my FIL is the first male in his family to live past 60. So I am CRAZY obsessed with keeping him healthy. I'd like to keep him around for a LOOOOOOOOONG time.
So what am I going to do? Curl up and cry? Thinking about it, LOL. But seriously.
1.
Take care of my face and hands! Your hands can give away your age in a heartbeat. Next time you're in a store, look at people's hands. People get facelifts, but they don't touch their hands. The face is self-explanatory. Moisturize and don't get burned! I am SPF crazy when I go outside because a) I don't want to look like one of those crocodile old ladies coming out of the tanning salon and b) I don't want a goofy tan line from my big sunglasses. And I moisturize like crazy because (and this may sound counter intuitive) I break out when I DON'T moisturize. Apparently the dry skin clogs my pores and I break out. My wanna-be dermatologist BFF Juli taught me that in college. Amazing how it helped clear my skin.
2.
Eat better! Not going to preach, but for Lent this year I gave up meat. I never felt better in my life. Now I still eat meat occasionally, but I feel sluggish and heavy when I do. I also gave up all drinks except water and unsweetened tea. I don't want to drink my calories - I'd rather save them for yummy food! Now the hard part - actually trying to eat healthier foods. My hubs is a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy, so it's hard, but I'm slowly working on it. I just need to work on moderation. I can eat whatever I want, as long as I can limit myself. :o)
3.
Relax more! Stress is a bitch and can really age you. So what's a girl to do? Don't worry about what you have no control over. I am by no means the poster child for this, but it's something I've gotta do.
4.
Have fun! Did you ever notice how much younger you look when you're having a good time? I swear, it's no coincidence.
Hopefully all of these will allow me to age gracefully and look younger than my real age. If not, well, I'm sorry to say it, but I *am* shallow enough to get surgery. And while I'm in there, might as well get a little something special for the girls, right? :o)
xoxo Jess
