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Athletic Challenges and Achievements by Ordinary People

Archive for category aging

Aging Doesn’t Have To Look Like This

Sep 2

Posted by ira in aging, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

A friend intended to make me laugh by sending me the three pictures below. He suggested that they are all the same females over a lifetime. The images actually make me angry that some folks let themselves fall apart so badly, increase their odds of sickness or even deadly health, and just lose any interest in being attractive, fit or toned.

The article I posted yesterday explains it all—people are lazy and won’t accept how unfit or fat they really are. And if they do notice, they are unwilling to do much about it. What I hear all the time is “Life is short, so why should I deprive myself of a little pleasure.” (…like some ice cream or tasty meat treat with loads of delicious fat). I have to keep reminding myself that my doctor says I just happen to be able to avoid the foods that are bad for me, while others who are overweight neither can nor want to.

On the other hand, one friend told me last night that he now weighs 189 for the first time in years, and that he has lost 30 to 40 pounds in the last few months. His secret: eat small meals and healthy snacks throughout the whole day instead of skipping breakfast and lunch and gorging himself at a late dinner that barely digests while he is sleeping.

young girls at the beach

teen-age girls at the beach

grandmothers at the beach

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Many Americans Don’t Even Know They’re Fat

Sep 1

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

First I read an article by Amanda Gardner suggesting that fat people don’t realize they are fat. Then a friend sent me some pictures of females at the beach over a 60 or 70 year period. You can see these above and wonder if aging has to lead to such blubberous decay.

I am including some snippets from the article. The biggest culprit suggested by this poll is that overweight comes from lack of exercise more than bad food. I can easily understand this resistance to exercise. These days I find it almost impossible to “exercise” by lifting weights or driving to the gym. That is boring and tedious. But I have no trouble making myself go to the tennis court—over 42 hours last month. That is fun, and I am eager to play. The article does point out, however, that just walking is considered exercise…you don’t have to make beautifully sculpted muscles.

(HealthDay News) — Many Americans have skewed perceptions when it comes to their weight, often believing they are thinner than they really are, even when the scales are shouting otherwise, a new poll finds.

Thirty percent of those in the “overweight” class believed they were actually normal size, while 70 percent of those classified as obese felt they were simply overweight. Among the heaviest group, the morbidly obese, almost 60 percent pegged themselves as obese, while another 39 percent considered themselves merely overweight.

These findings may help to explain why overweight and obesity rates in the United States continue to go up, experts say.

“While there are some people who have body images in line with their actual Body Mass Index, for many people they are not, and this may be where part of the problem lies,” said Regina Corso, vice president of Harris Poll Solutions. “If they do not recognize the problem or don’t recognize the severity of the problem, they are less likely to do something about it.”

And that means that obesity may be becoming the new norm, raising the specter of increasing rates of health threats such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

“I think too many people are unsure of what they should actually weigh,” said Keri Gans, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “For many, they have grown up in a culture were most people are overweight and that is the norm, or they have been surrounded by too many celebrities and fashion in the media and think very thin is the norm.”

Most respondents to the poll who felt they were heavier than they should be blamed sloth, rather than poor eating habits, for their predicament.

“We’re seeing the couch potato stigma [syndrome],” Corso said. “Three out of five Americans overall are saying they don’t exercise as much as they should.” Read the rest of this entry »

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The Dangers Of Oldsters Acting Like Youngsters Or…Oldsters

Aug 23

Posted by ira in aging, dancing, exercise, humorous stories | No Comments

After reading yesterday’s article about older people dancing, a 62-year-old who just fractured his foot walking in France to feed his chickens sent me the following video that laughs cruelly at old people acting like kids…and getting into trouble. It’s an update on the slip-on-a-banana peel cartoon of decades past:

I admit that I smiled and laughed at some of these spills. I mean the people seem so dumb to be trying some of the things they are doing. But maybe that is one of the sadnesses of getting older—a complete lack of awareness of what your body and sense of balance can no longer manage. Or maybe they just need new glasses and don’t want to spend the money?

Anyway, it all motivates me to stay in shape and to keep moving, whether it’s dancing, tennis, lifting weights or much riskier, more daring sports…

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Growing Stomachs And Wrinkles Over The Years

Aug 15

Posted by ira in aging, diet, photos of celebrities | No Comments

I’m really laughing at myself…and you can too. Back in January I posted a story about aging and showed pictures of a number of celebrities when they were young and then decades later. How they changed. My, my, oh my. Included snaps of myself over the years and a high school friend. But all the celebrities were women.

So why didn’t I also show photos of male film stars? I dunno. Maybe I couldn’t take the pain of making their evolutions a bit more real. Too close to home, my gender-mates, mates. This week I TV-surfed into an old James Bond movie starring Roger Moore…and I remembered a recent picture of him that froze his figure in the guillotine of time. Finally I am motivated to publish these images of movie gods who were so physically attractive in their youth and have morphed into less glorious specimens of our species. Whatever. Maybe more fitness, less calories and minimal alcohol would make a big difference. But it’s so hard to be disciplined. We need more food police…

roger moore

clint eastwood

arnold schwarzenegger

mickey rourke

alex baldwin

russell crowe

rod stewart

val kilmer

richard gere

brendan fraser

pierce brosnan

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The Difficulty Of Thinking About Your Future

Aug 10

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, aging, diet, my background, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

I spent yesterday visiting with two great kids around 20. The girl was beautiful and bronze. She admitted that she tans easily and didn’t use sun screen yet this summer. He admitted that when you are 20, you never think about what life will be like when you are 40. We were talking about staying fit and healthy, and I had mentioned how many women I saw who may have gained just two pounds a year after college, so they were 40 pounds heavier at age 40, or weighed an extra 60+ pounds by the time they were 60 or 70.

The concerned parent in me told the girl how I worked as a cabana boy in Florida during high school and even used baby oil to intensify my tan. My blond hairs against a bronze skin were often admired by the tourist girls I was trying to impress.

At my annual physical, when I was in my 50’s, my new doctor in Connecticut was also very impressed: “Lots of sun damage here.” He explained that it can take decades for the harm from excessive sun tanning to show itself.

My doc insisted that I see a dermatologist every six months. It may have kept me alive, because in addition to various, benign skin cancers that appeared and needed to be removed, there was one very deadly cancer, melanoma, that surfaced. It was removed early enough that five years have passed without a flare up or serious consequence. Lucky me. But a friend’s friend died of melanoma after years sailing joyfully, and unprotected, in the sun.

So it’s hard to be young and worry about consequences later, when you are old. That was me too in college. I was just trying to pass some courses, get a date, have fun, earn some respect. Normal and very understandable. Maybe many people don’t ever see how earlier actions are connected to later results. I read that the human brain can’t think very far into the future until it is around 25 years old. That is why insurance rates for drivers are so high until age 25. At that time those drivers still alive have a bit more “common sense.” It’s not true when it comes to eating. Not when one third of the people are obese and another third are overweight.

And it may not be true when it comes to our leaders anticipating international relations, economics, climate change. So we just have to muddle along, trying not to be fearful of all the foods we encounter. Being aware enough to not fall into the hole of denial. Controlling what we can of the choices we have. Taking the time to become informed.

Most of us don’t have the energy to do this in addition to all the demands of a busy overstimulated, overwhelming life. We are simply trying to survive, to make it to the next day, the next paycheck, the next vacation or family dinner.

Sometimes we can’t change our behavior, even when we know what the consequences are likely to be. My father used to say, “If the crime is worth the punishment, then commit the crime.” I read an essay about cancer this week by Christopher Hitchens, a famous intellectual who wrote books, high-brow essays and appeared on talk shows. I saw a video today in which he states, “I am dying. Read the rest of this entry »

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Exercise Should Be Like Brushing Your Teeth

May 8

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise | No Comments

Jane Brody wrote an article for the New York Times this past January 10th that questions the benefits of dietary supplements like vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidant drinks. She describes what a good diet should be and urges us all to exercise.

…Each year millions of people fall prey to false promises that this, that or the other formula or fortified food can protect their hearts, prevent cancer, improve memory, strengthen their bones, uncreak their joints, build their muscles, even enable them to burn extra calories without moving.

The desire to achieve a healthy old age is laudable indeed, and will be even more so in the future. According to a projection of the century-long rise in life expectancy published in The Lancet in October, more than half the children born since 2000 in wealthy countries can expect to celebrate their 100th birthday.

If so many of us are destined to become centenarians, it is all the more important to be able to enjoy those years unencumbered by chronic disease and disability. There is no virtue in simply living long; the goal should be to live long and well.

But while much is known about how to raise the odds of a healthy old age, only a minority of Americans incorporate into their lives what is likely to give them the biggest bang for their buck. Like the woman in the health food store, they’d rather rely on supplements of vitamins and minerals, fish oils and herbs, perhaps washed down with pricey antioxidant juices.

Unfortunately, sound evidence for the benefits of most such products is sorely lacking; in some cases the best scientific evidence has shown no benefit, and in a few cases has even shown harm…

…we are a long way from consuming the kind of diet most closely linked to a low risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and dementia. That diet need not be strictly vegetarian, but it should emphasize plant-based foods over the meat and other products that come from animals that eat plants. The closer to the earth we eat, the healthier — and leaner — we are likely to be.

…The second crucial ingredient is regular physical exercise. I know, you’ve heard this song before and you know you should do it, but … fill in the blank: you hate exercise, you have no time, the weather is lousy, the children are sick, you’re injured, you don’t get enough sleep as it is. It’s easy to find reasons not to exercise.

It’s time to stop making excuses and make regular physical activity an integral part of your life, like eating, sleeping and brushing your teeth. You don’t decide every day to do these things, you just do them. Likewise with exercise. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ken Kantrowitz Has Been Swimming For Life

Apr 28

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, aging, sports, swimming | 1 Comment

Ken Kantrowitz, age 70, is one of those fortunate individuals who discover a passion that embraces him for life: he loves swimming in pools, has been competing on and off for 55 years, and still practices eagerly many many days each week. Inspired by this web site to describe his love affair, he has written a detailed narrative that shows his determination and what it took to make the most of his talents. Especially interesting is that after college and daily swimming, Ken gained 60 pounds due to the lack of intense exercise. Then at age 48, he returned to the pool and the regular exuberant workouts he loves, and much of the weight dissolved in the water. Most years he swims 5-10,000 yards (3-6 miles) a week and 300 to 350,000 yards a year. His best year was 504,000 yards (306 miles).

Ken's specialty was the butterfly—1996

Ken's specialty was the butterfly—1996

SWIMMING FOR LIFE: MY SWIMMING CAREER
by Ken Kantrowitz

CHAPTER ONE: ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
When I was six years old, in 1946, my dad took me to a swimming pool and saw that I received lessons to learn how to swim. My teacher, according to my dad, was Jack Morris (more about him later.) Today I would call what I learned to do “swimming doggie-paddle.” It was one step beyond learning to float. I could keep my head above the water level, move my arms and legs and very slowly get from one spot in the pool to another. During the next few summers I went to summer camp and had some more exposure to what a person could do in the water. I was very comfortable in this element and usually had to be bribed to get out of the pool or lake. Little did I know in those days in elementary school that my prime passion at the age of 70, in 2010, would be working out in a swimming pool three or four times a week for an hour and a half each session, and swimming competitively.

In 1954, in the ninth grade, when I was fourteen years old, I wanted to play for a high school varsity team. I was, and still am, a spectator and participation sports nut. Through grade school and junior high, I played softball, baseball, touch football, and basketball. These sports and several others were played on the street in pick-up games, at the Pittsburgh Oakland “Y” on Saturdays and during the summer school vacation, and in a league or two, whenever. Getting into a swimming pool, a lake or an ocean was an afterthought most of the time when the opportunity arose or if we wanted to cool down after doing other exercising land activities or sports. In most sports, I was decent or better than average, but I didn’t feel that I was good enough to make the starting high school varsity in any particular sport.

Ken (far left) and friends—

Ken (far left) and friends—4/94

I knew how to swim I thought— but not really! “Doggie-paddle” wasn’t VARSITY SWIMMING. So in ninth grade, I tried out for the Varsity Swimming team. Coach Claude Sofield, who was a junior and senior high school physical education instructor, coached the Taylor Allderdice High School Varsity Swimming Team in Pittsburgh. Al Wiggins, who swam for Allderdice and the Oakland “Y,” was one of the premier swimmers in high school and in the state and the country. Al set the state record for Pennsylvania in the 100-yard backstroke and eventually was an All-American at National Champion Ohio State and later a top medalist in the Olympics. It was an understatement to say that he was my HERO. Read the rest of this entry »

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Paulina’s Lament About Body Modification

Apr 27

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, aging, photos of celebrities, plastic surgery | 2 Comments

Since starting this site and becoming more aware of popular culture, I keep bumping into the obsession in so many countries with physical appearance, particularly breast size, and how it distorts what women of all ages—but especially girls—think of their bodies. It’s clear how imperfectly many females view themselves due to the society’s ideal dimensions promoted in the media. It also affects how men and teenage boys regard their potential dates and mates.

As someone who spends hours exercising to change my body slightly and come closer to the fantasy me in my mind (more ab definition, more muscle cuts), I certainly can’t criticize most of the two million women a year worldwide (300,000 in the U.S.) who enlarge their bosoms for cosmetic reasons to ease their insecurities or to help them believe they will have a better chance of attracting a man. Both plastic surgery and muscle building may have the same goal—to look “better” in the mirror and on the beach— but it is obvious that surgery is a lot more serious and riskier than crunches and weight lifting.

supermodel Paulina Porizkova—1985

supermodel Paulina Porizkova—1985

The attention to celebrities’ body changes is mind-boggling. Here is an article by Paulina Porizkova, who in the ’80′s was one of the top models in the world— she was twice voted by People Magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world…and also nominated in 1989 for a Golden Raspberry award as one of the worst actresses in a film. I never heard of her before this story appeared, so in case you are as naive about some icons as I am, I have added Paulina’s bio after her article.

You will notice that Paulina minds when women make body changes to conform to the current mass standards of beauty—which she just happens to have been born with—and she faults Kate Hudson for feeling insecure and modifying her “perfect” body by having breast implants. Yet the bio mentions that Paulina had a gap in her teeth, resisted smiling in her photographs, and eventually had her teeth corrected. Paulina also says every woman is uniquely beautiful and should celebrate any good features if she can find them. For me this sounds like a rich person saying all poor people shouldn’t mind poverty, because they have an abundance of spiritual riches.

April 22, 2010

Why Kate Hudson’s (Alleged) Breast Implants Have Me Heartbroken
by Paulina Porizkova, Supermodel

Kate Hudson has gotten implants. Allegedly. This news headed straight to my heart from the lips of Wendy Williams who got it from some gossip rag. My coffee was getting cold while I, heartbroken, sadly gazed at the before and after pictures of Kate Hudson on the screen. The before: an amazingly fit, gorgeous, and yes, small-breasted young woman in a to-die-for red bikini; in the other, a blond starlet sipping a latte. The cup size was undeniably different. (And no, we’re not speaking of the latte.) Was there a chance it was merely a hardworking push-up bra? I find myself practically praying over Kate’s boobs. Pathetic, I know…

two shots of Kate Hudson, 2009 (left) and 2010

two shots of Kate Hudson, 2009 (left) and 2010

My issue here isn’t with Kate. If big boobs make her happier, then more power to her. The issue here, this fixing something perfect to something else perfect, is so much a sign of our times, and one that truly saddens me. The availability and ease of transforming our bodies is completely losing our identities and uniqueness. No one ages anymore, no one has imperfections of any kind anymore, all smiles are flawless and no one past 35 can express displeasure. Madonna no longer looks like Madonna: what started as a sexy, well shaped, and somewhat hairy Italian girl has ended as a cool Nordic blonde. It’s not that she doesn’t look great, she does. But she is starting to sort of melt away into the stew of the famous women over-fifty-high-cheek-boned blondes-who-cannot-frown.

Generally, I’m all for self-improvement. If you don’t know something, do look it up. Do learn another language, do travel, do open your heart and mind to new experiences. And by all means, pluck your mono-brow, dye your mouse-brown hair and work out to firm your body; after all, if fashion changes to celebrate hairy plump women you can go right back. But please, before permanently removing or adding a part to you to fit societal graphs of pulchritude, consider that that change will be permanent. If, a hundred years ago, you were unhappy with your nose – tough luck. You could hide your flaws, accentuate your strengths, and sometimes, more often than not, realize your flaws were your strengths and were precisely what made you unique and beautiful. That’s how, for example, we got the incomparable portrait of a large nosed Madame X, proudly displaying a profile that makes ME want a big nose.

Paulina writes she now has saddlebags and cellulite

Paulina writes she now has saddlebags and cellulite

Personally, I believe that every woman in the world is beautiful. Sometimes the distribution of her attributes is not immediately apparent; sometimes it’s a little uneven, but if she knew how to celebrate the things she was given, whether it’s a beautiful pair of eyes or legs, or intellect, or a sense of humor- she could see how uniquely beautiful she was. Lest you feel like interjecting, “oh please, easy for you to say, Miss Former Supermodel…” for your information, I have saddlebags and cellulite, and no matter how hard I work out, that is my body shape and I’m stuck with it. I look horrendous in short shorts and any pant or trouser that is tight in the thigh. But, for the body type of a saddlebag/cellulite, I think I look really great. I have a small waist (which seems to come with my specific body type) and so I take every opportunity to show that off. In my opinion, I’m one hot example of a saddlebag/cellulite woman over forty. If I went and lipo-ed my thighs to the size of Gisele’s, I still wouldn’t look anything like her, and instead, I’d start looking like everyone else. I would be a poor example of a woman with skinny thighs. That is my trouble with Kate. I used to use her as an example of the perfect beauty with a small chest. Now, with her new boobs, she just looks like any California blond actress. Instead of enhancing, she has diminished herself.

Wouldn’t Audrey Hepburn, Jane Birkin, Twiggy, Charlotte Rampling, and Jean Harlow have lost their special brand of elegant, feline sexiness if they were tipping over under the weight of great ol’ mammaries? Compare any one of these natural beauties to someone like Heidi Montag, and it’s like comparing a Hastens Swedish handmade mattress to a cheap plastic pool float.

Heidi Montag after multiple plastic surgeries

Heidi Montag after multiple plastic surgeries


So why? Why do we all want to look the same? It can’t all be about being attractive to the opposite sex. There are men who prefer the full breast; there are men who prefer the well-shaped leg or the round behind. There are all sorts of tastes out there, for all sorts of women. And the way to get their attention is by being different, by standing out. Once you start to blend in, you are no longer special.

That’s the end of Paulina’s article. Now here are some facts about her life:

Paulina Porizkova (born April 9, 1965) is a Czech-born supermodel and actress. She holds both Swedish and United States citizenship.

A photographer friend took pictures of Porizkova and sent them to the Elite modeling agency in 1980. At 5 feet 10 1/2 inches (180 cm), she was the perfect height for a fashion model. Elite head John Casablancas noticed Porizkova’s attractiveness and potential, and offered her a ticket to Paris. It was an extremely tempting offer for a teenager who was eager to get out of Sweden and to support herself.

She quickly rose to become a top model in Paris during the early 1980s, and her fame spread to the United States when she posed in swimwear for Sports Illustrated magazine. She appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1984 and again in 1985. (Her first appearance as a model in the magazine was in 1983.) A third consecutive run as the S.I. covergirl supposedly was dashed when she appeared on the cover of Life magazine in a swimsuit. Read the rest of this entry »

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Spring Into Shape With Smart Exercise

Apr 12

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise, gym stuff | No Comments

When I started reading this article, I immediately thought, “Another author telling the same obvious tale—exercise is good for you. Don’t people get it yet? Is it really necessary to keep saying the same thing?”

But then I recognized one of the books Dr. Ni has written—I already own it and like it. And he talks about injuries, while I also was enduring a back pain that may have come from too many weights lifted or too many crunches after too long of not doing too much. So I am sharing a few excerpts. He also mentions and includes links to Tai Chi and acupuncture.

No Pain, No Gain? Think Again! I have a number of patients who are “weekend warriors”—people who don’t exercise much during the week but go to the extreme on weekends. They’ll engage in vigorous physical activities like mountain biking or high-impact aerobics—and then usually end up in my office with an injury. There is nothing wrong with these intense athletic activities, but when they are done infrequently, they often lead to injuries.

To reap the benefits of exercise, it isn’t necessary to work out to the extreme or get your heart pumping to its maximum. On the contrary, many studies show that regular, moderate exercise does more for your health and waistline than periodic intense workouts. Also keep in mind, when exercising beyond a healthy level of heart rate, your body switches from burning fat to burning carbohydrates for energy. The old maxim of “no pain, no gain” is destructive, and the wear and tear of physical strain takes its toll.

… From my clinical experience and research, I am convinced that it is best to exercise four times or more per week, for 30 minutes each time.

…In my 25 years of clinical practice and research on centenarians, I have never met a healthy person or centenarian that lived a physically inactive life. Exercise brings with it numerous benefits, from boosting your energy and reducing stress hormones to lowering your risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer depression, and diabetes.

Dr. Maoshing Ni, Longevity Expert
Author of Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to Be 100

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Thoughts About Birthdays And Aging

Apr 7

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, aging | No Comments

Ira—Does it feel any better being in the 7th decade as opposed to the 6th decade? Happy Birthday!
—Mickey Fierberg-Freundlich

I still feel young, Mickey, and my body is still working after so FEW years of physical activity. But getting this close to 70 sounds and looks (on paper) somewhat elderly (but not yet ancient). I will work at acquiring that “It’s only a number” attitude, but I am not there yet. Any suggestions from readers are welcome, although drinking until I can’t think straight probably won’t happen for me.

One thing I do believe is that each birthday confirms obviously that I lived another year. I am very grateful for that achievement and feel extremely fortunate to keep reaching higher numbers. I often mention to younger friends and relatives who make fun of what an old fart I am that I knew someone in high school who died at age 17, andr a former girl friend who died at 45, and many other people I know who are gone. It’s all attitude, isn’t it?
— ira

A belated Happy Birthday, Ira!! What a wonderful way to spend Easter Sunday and your birthday—sounds like all of you had a blast!
—Stephanie Logan Kennedy

Hunting On Easter

Apr 5

Posted by ira in aging, exercise, hunting, running | No Comments

I organized a hunt yesterday for around 20 friends and family members. My kids traveled as much as six hours round trip to be part of the event. There was food and drinks and even a cake with candles, because today is my birthday. I have made it this far…69 years. What a treat. I am grateful to be alive, to have lived this long, to still be journeying and celebrating.

This morning I forced myself to do 700 crunches (300 bicycles and 400 non-stop balls) after warming up with a brisk 1500 meters of indoor rowing.

Oh yes, that hunt: it was for plastic Easter eggs, about 100 of them, hidden in the cracks between stones in old walls, under plants, in the branches of trees and bushes. It’s a lot of fun. And great exercise. I spent over an hour planting these multi-colored symbols of spring and new beginnings, stooping and bending, keeping my Springer Spaniel from eating the candies stuffed inside. In a warm year like this one, I worked up quite a sweat.

When everyone had arrived, and I shouted “GO!” to launch the egg search, the energy release is a mini-explosion . The kids run like crazy in all different directions, but the adults and post-teen children are running as well, either helping the little ones or competing with them unashamedly. You ever try keeping up with a five-year-old racing for candy? Not easy, bless their little hearts. And they are tireless. No one ever has “enough.”

Then I walk around for another half hour checking all the spots. You’d be amazed how many eggs are missed that are right out in the open. People just pass by them. No wonder I can’t see a tennis ball at 100 mph, when the average human eye walks by a static object without noticing its existence. And every time I announce that there is still another egg to be found, the crowd rushes and crushes to my general vicinity to seek out the missed prize.

Lots of laughs. The downed “game” is devoured within an hour, along with the cake—I had three pieces—and ice cream for those who reward themselves for such an active workout.

Who says exercise helps you lose weight? Not on Easter Sunday or your birthday.

hunters and game—4/4/10

hunters and game—4/4/10

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Another Inspiring Person…He Climbs Mountains

Apr 1

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, aging, mountain climbing, sports | No Comments

Timothy Egan tells a story in today’s New York Times about his friend who is off to climb Mt. Everest at 62. There are so many people who continue to inspire us.

John Rudolf—2008

John Rudolf—2008

SEATTLE — My friend John Rudolf left for Mount Everest on Monday, off to clamber up toward the roof the world at an age, 62, when some people have trouble getting out of bed in the morning — or at least finding a motivation to greet the dawn.

He’s in great shape, full of the kind of energy that could keep a poker game going at 3:00 a.m., and I’m convinced if weather, luck and logistics are on his side, John Rudolf will join a very small club of people who have climbed the highest point on each of the seven continents. For him, Everest is the last one left on this most rarified of bucket lists.

Oh, and he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer as well, though at this point it’s in a wait-and-watch stage.

“Sometimes I wake up in the morning like that character in the Kafka novel ['Metamorphosis'], I look at myself and say, ‘How did I get old?’” he said. “Because I don’t feel like that guy.”

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Seeing Old Age As A Never-Ending Adventure

Mar 27

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, aging, exercise, plane walking or jumping without a parachute | No Comments

Here is a New York Times article by Kirk Johnson about elderly folks 70 to 90 who are walking on flying airplane wings, climbing Mt Everest, going to the South Pole. They are an inspiration to us all to stay healthy, in shape and to keep thinking what used to be called “young.”

Wingwalking at 89 years old

Wingwalking at 89 years old

…Intensely active older men and women who have the means and see the twilight years as just another stage of exploration are pushing further and harder, tossing aside presumed limitations…

“This is an emerging market phenomenon based on tens of millions of longer-lived men and women with more youth vitality than ever imagined,” said Ken Dychtwald, a psychologist and author who has written widely about aging and economics.

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Can Anyone Fit In An Hour Of Exercise Each Day?

Mar 23

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise, gym stuff, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Healthy middle-aged women in America will be hard pressed to get in the full hour of moderate exercise it will take to avoid gaining weight as they age, and it may be too challenging for some.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday found that middle-aged women need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the creep of extra pounds that comes with aging.
“Time is a four-letter word,” said Eva Lazarra, 48, a pharmacist at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, who was taking a break from work to lift weights at the facility’s fitness center.

“In a realistic world of a working mom with a family, it can be difficult. I’ve done my best,” said Lazarra. “I have done marathons. I have done triathlons. Unfortunately, we have to start looking at prevention, and that being part of our daily life.”

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are already waging a war on childhood obesity. It may take a similar push in adults to help them avoid the health consequences of obesity such as heart attacks, strokes and diabetes.

Already, two-thirds of U.S. adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese — a condition that increases their risk for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. Read the rest of this entry »

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Older Women Need Exercise PLUS DIETING To Lose Weight

Mar 23

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise, gym stuff, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

CHICAGO – Rev up the treadmill: Sobering new research spells out just how much exercise women need to keep the flab off as they age — and it’s a lot.

At least an hour of moderate activity a day is needed for older women at a healthy weight who aren’t dieting. For those who are already overweight — and that’s most American women — even more exercise is called for to avoid gaining weight without eating less, the study results suggest.

“We all have to work at it. If it were easy to be skinny, we would all be skinny,” said John Foreyt, a behavioral medicine expert who reviewed the study but wasn’t involved in the research.

Brisk walking, leisurely bicycling and golfing are all examples of moderate exercise. But don’t throw in the towel if you can’t do those things for at least an hour a day. Even a little exercise is good for your health even if it won’t make you thin, the researchers said.

Their findings are based on 34,079 middle-aged women followed for about 13 years. Most were not on calorie-cutting diets. The women gained an average of almost 6 pounds during the study.

Those who started out at a healthy weight, with a body mass index less than 25, and who gained little or no weight during the study consistently got the equivalent of about an hour of moderate activity daily. Few women — only 13 percent — were in this category.

Few already overweight women got that amount of exercise, and the results suggest it wasn’t enough to stop them from gaining weight. Read the rest of this entry »

How Risk-Averse Are You In Life And In Sports?

Feb 12

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, aging, humorous stories | 1 Comment

Are you willing to take chances? I think I am. I’ve made investments in start-up companies, begun new books or magazines when I was a publisher, learned to ride a horse English-style at 50 and jump bareback at 52. I began serious tennis lessons at 65, and I’ve taken up squash for the first time when I was 68. But on the tennis court, I often play the safer shot and am gentler with my follow through for fear of hitting the ball too long. Then my opponent often smashes it back for a winner. No good. I must have more courage.

When it comes to food, I know people who order the same meals each time in restaurants. They admit that they are worried about not liking some unknown choice and are then stuck eating something they think tastes horrible. Or not eating it and wasting the money. And not reordering, and then going hungry. Or they don’t want to think about another decision, so they order what is familiar. A seven-day-a-week meat-eating friend told me proudly that he recently ordered trout for the first time and is now eating fish twice a week. He is in his mid-50’s.

These are little steps, but maybe they reveal bigger truths about who we are and how we play at sports and the rest of our lives. Yesterday I gambled and ordered the special appetizer the waitress had described, but not told me the price. As I said to the owner at the end of the meal, all the appetizers on the menu were around $10-13. Imagine my shock when the special one was $19! He said the waitress had made a mistake with the bill and insisted that the price should have been $17. But it certainly makes me leery about taking a chance again and ordering food blindly in his place. That price equaled the cost of some of the entrees. And I was unwilling to ask how much it cost before I ordered it. Too awkward for me.

Yesterday I also had another confront about my appearance. I have been playing many more hours of tennis and squash the past few months since my arm injury kept me from exercises in the gym. My upper-body muscles are gone or soft. I may be as fit as I was in the army at 21, when I ran five miles a day and jumped out of airplanes. But I look older. Of course I am older. So what’s my problem?

Well part of my goal in building muscle—and especially abs is to look “better”—and also younger. As I wrote in a previous post, millions of people reach for those goals by coloring their hair and undertaking plastic surgery. Very common and socially acceptable, although more for women than men.

graybeard Ira—2/1/10

graybeard Ira—2/1/10


But what the hell, you only live once. So tired of how gray my beard and remaining head hair had become, I went back to the hair salon for a cut and color. I was willing to take THAT chance, if not a riskier tennis swing or skiing down a steeper, black diamond trail.

What happened yesterday was a very funny development: the stylist tried a new color on my beard, and I ENDED UP LOOKING TOO YOUNG! This was a minor disaster, and she wasn’t sure how I was taking it and what to do about it. It was hilarious. My beard went from white to almost black. A clearly different color than the hair on my head. I was two-toned, like a tiger…well not that different. But anyone could tell.

the beard that still looks too young—2/12/10

the beard that still looks too young—2/12/10


This was a problem. I considered shaving it off on the spot. A friend at tennis had advised me to do that if I wanted to drop five or more years of appearance. I was almost at that point. I had taken the chance of a newer beard color, because the old one faded back to white weeks before my head hair. Now I was stuck. Of course it is only hair, it will fade in time, grow out, I am not a celebrity or going to job interviews. I am not dying. I will get through this. I will survive.

An hour later, after I learned more of what most women go through, after consultation with the owner of the salon, I had another paint brushing of bleach and coloring agent, and it didn’t look so bad. But I clearly looked more like when I was 20 years younger. And I have a picture to prove it.

my beard in 1980

my beard in 1980

The biggest problem is that I no longer recognize myself in the mirror. And I am sure other people are going to do triple takes when they see me. I will have to insist that, “I am not Chuck Norris.”

Now if I could only apply this gutsiness to my athletic pursuits, I’d be terrific. So many sports are mental games more than physical challenges. I have to take more risk…

…Ha Ha Ha Ha. I told you. Bumped into someone I work with for years—but hadn’t seen in three DAYS— and after her startled look at me, she asked if I was growing a beard! I had to tell her I have had the same beard for over 30 years, but that it was just darker than the last time we met.

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A Reader Writes About Hair and Abs and Food

Feb 12

Posted by ira in aging, exercise, humorous stories | No Comments

Is that you Ira?

Is that you Ira?

Is that you Ira?

Not to worry Ira; the only reason you felt uncomfortable with your new hair, and the possible clash with your beard, is that, subconsciously, your mind could not associate your “mature” looking hair with your 30ish’ body architecture. Images of you have caused such a sensation globally that the Web is now replete with illustrations such as the one here, fashioned – of course – after your new sculpted body. You have started a new trend Ira. Next, IRA’s Eatery, featuring Mussels Marinara.

Robert Doornick

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Reader Writes That Fitness (Not A Sculpted Body) Is What Really Matters

Feb 9

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, aging, exercise | No Comments

Back on December 30th, a reader criticized this site for promoting the wrong message about the importance of abs, thin bodies and hair coloring, all intended to make us look younger than we are. She said that I am a pawn in a superficial society focusing on youth, and I am spreading a teaching that is bad for the average person who does not look like a movie star or model.

I just received an email from Robert Doornick referring to that earlier post and making some other observations about fitness and good health:

The web site looks great, and continues to expand with time. You’ve started a trend! Unlike that person who speaks negatively about the wrongfulness of obligating people to look better than they can or should at any given age, I firmly adhere to the principles that aiming for a fit body has little to do with the resulting aesthetics of a more “sculpted look” – unless of course vanity comes into play, in which case that becomes a personal issue – but instead, it has everything to do with maintaining a healthier body, embracing a more active and productive life, along with equally important side effects such as a more fit mind as well. If one ends up having a more pleasing architecture as a byproduct of exercising and eating right, then so be it; lest we not forget that it takes such a well tuned body to perform in sports, lead a much more productive life and – for those of us who don’t adhere to physical exercise – enjoy a healthier and longer life.

Indeed, Advertising agencies manipulate consumers in the wrong way by using physical perfection, love and sex as appealing incentives for using or wanting products and services. In that context, the comments made by this person in your web site are indeed correct. Perhaps this same person should also be reminded that www.irasabs.com does not sell cars, toothpaste, clothing, or any other product or services. Replete with its countless and ever increasing accounts from willing participants, this implies that the clearly popular Site is about staying fit and healthy, rather than associating with a centerfold in order to drive the latest Automobile!

I for one have been working out for decades, and my body has at times looked fit enough, and at other times a bit on the bulky side. I have never lost sleep over its appearance however, and my satisfaction has always come from the knowledge that I was taking care of this bipedal vehicle so that it would transport me safely through life’s challenging roads; and even when desired, allow me to willingly take the bumps, just for the fun of it!

I applaud you for irasabs.com Ira, and for facilitating this fun enclave of like-minds. May the Force Be With You, and I mean this strictly in the gymnastic, resistive kind of way!!!

Robert

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Growing Older Is What We All Do, Like It Or Not

Jan 26

Posted by ira in aging, photos of celebrities | 1 Comment

How is aging altering your appearance? Watching how people evolve physically is a transition that fascinates me. When I went to my 50-year high school and college reunions in the last two years, I loved seeing how people had changed. Most were mellower, some—like my friend Cindy—smiled more than I remembered, and others were completely unrecognizable. I don’t think I was so identifiable, especially with my beard. Would you have guessed it was me?

Cindy—1957

Cindy—1957


Cindy—2009

Cindy—2009

Ira—1961

Ira—1961


Ira—2008

Ira—2008

More important is being fit and healthy by eating right and exercising. Abs are a nice cosmetic benefit that are good for your core. Some defined muscles are also a visual treat. But toned muscles and the mobility to enjoy life and keep playing sports is the key goal…An inevitable part of the older-growing process is to wrinkle and gray (if we live long enough and don’t color our hair). I’ve observed aging with equines and canines. Now here are some famous feminines who’ve been affected by their years. MAYBE YOU SHOULD SEND IN PHOTOS OF YOUR CHANGES OVER THE DECADES. I will include them with pictures of celebrity males who’ve “matured.”

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor


Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Bardot


Ursula Andress came out of the water in a James Bond film:

Ursula Andress

Ursula Andress


Jean Simmons was great in the movie Elmer Gantry:
Jean Simmons

Jean died this week

Jean died this week

Mamie Van Doren:

Mamie Van Doren

Mamie Van Doren

Barbara Eden starred in “I Dream of Jeannie.”

Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden

Julie Christie:

Julie Christie

Julie Christie

Ann-Margret

Ann-Margret

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren

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Shocking Good News About Living 100 Years

Jan 16

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise | No Comments

Here is some shocking news: According to a projection of the century-long rise in life expectancy published in The Lancet in October, 2009, more than half the children born since 2000 in wealthy countries can expect to celebrate their 100th birthday.

This New York Times article by Jane Brody continues in predictable ways: “ If so many of us are destined to become centenarians, it is all the more important to be able to enjoy those years unencumbered by chronic disease and disability. There is no virtue in simply living long; the goal should be to live long and well.”

This is certainly how I feel. My brother wrote that my anxiety about dying was what drove me to watch my diet and to exercise so passionately. I still disagree. I want to be fit and mobile as I grow older.

“But while much is known about how to raise the odds of a healthy old age, only a minority of Americans incorporate into their lives what is likely to give them the biggest bang for their buck…

“After decades of government guidelines and advice from friends, family and physicians, Americans have made some improvements in their eating habits. On average, we consume less red meat and saturated fat and somewhat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables…

“But, and this is a big but, we are a long way from consuming the kind of diet most closely linked to a low risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and dementia. That diet need not be strictly vegetarian, but it should emphasize plant-based foods over the meat and other products that come from animals that eat plants. The closer to the earth we eat, the healthier — and leaner — we are likely to be…

“The second crucial ingredient is regular physical exercise. The single most effective activity, studies have found, is an aerobic activity like brisk walking — about 30 minutes a day. If you can’t get out of the house, walk inside. Go up and down stairs, walk the hall, walk from room to room, walk in place. If walking doesn’t suit you, try dancing to music…

“So get off the couch and make this year the year you discover the joys and benefits of movement.”

The article has lots of good hyperlinks to other articles that you may find beneficial, and I will post excerpts from some of them soon.

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Joe Rollino—The Greatest Strongman Ever (Pound For Pound)

Jan 12

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, aging, diet, exercise | No Comments

[How do some people become so much stronger or physically talented than others? Is it just that people are born with superior physical capabilities, and you are lucky if you have those skills ? Of course you have to cultivate your potential? My doctor suggested that I can play three to five hours of tennis nonstop, "because of my physiology," while he is wiped out at the end of just two hours. Anyway one of the world's greatest strongmen died yesterday. Here are excerpts from his story in today's New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/nyregion/12ironman.html?hp)]

Joe Rollino once lifted 475 pounds. He used neither his arms nor his legs but, reportedly, his teeth. With just one finger he raised up 635 pounds; with his back he moved 3,200. He bit down on quarters to bend them with his thumb…

Joe Rollino at 10 years old and 68 pounds

Joe Rollino at 10 years old and 68 pounds


People called him the Great Joe Rollino, the Mighty Joe Rollino and even the World’s Strongest Man. Mr. Rollino stayed away from meat. And cigarettes. And alcohol… He said he walked five miles every morning, rain or shine. At the height of his career, he weighed between 125 and 150 pounds and stood about 5-foot-5…
Joe Rollino—2009

Joe Rollino—2009

He was a legend within that small Coney Island society in which few New Yorkers would want to become known as legends: the men and women who swim in the Atlantic when it is at its harshest and coldest. On a 6-degree day in January 1974, Mr. Rollino and six other members of the Iceberg Athletic Club swam into the waters off Coney Island. The freezing Atlantic was like steel: It didn’t intimidate him…

“He was known as the Great Joe Rollino, and he was great. You knew he was great just by standing next to him. He just had that humble confidence and strength. It shined.”

Sounds like a very special human. Even if we can’t come close to equalling his talents, we can learn how to be healthy and stronger like him. I’m very impressed that he acquired all that strength and protein without eating meat. When he died from a car accident, he was still fit and had lived to 104.

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Startling Use Of Plastic Surgery To Challenge Your Ideas About Conventional Beauty

Jan 5

Posted by ira in aging, photos of celebrities, plastic surgery | 1 Comment

Looking fitter and younger can certainly be helped by healthy diet, exercise, sports, and muscle building. Some people also turn to hair coloring and cosmetic procedures, and this is the fourth article discussing these topics in some detail. It may be easiest to scroll down to the earlier posts, which appeared on January 2, 2010 (http://www.irasabs.com/?p=3400), December 28, 2009 (http://www.irasabs.com/?p=3287)and December 20, 2009(http://www.irasabs.com/?p=3153).

Millions of women modify their features thru cosmetic surgery, so they will look like: celebrities they admire; their own ideas of what is beautiful; or what will make them more attractive to men.

A totally different approach to altering one’s looks took place from 1990 to 1993, when a performance artist named Orlan carried out a series of nine surgeries viewed live by audiences during which her face was transformed through plastic surgery. Orlan’s “Carnal Art” was an attempt to question stereotypical ideas about beauty promoted by advertising, fashion and media professionals.

Orlan long before any surgeries—1977

Orlan long before any surgeries—1977


Orlan—1977

Orlan—1977

You can see what she looked like in these pre-surgery pictures of her in 1977.

Years after the surgeries, she said, “…with cosmetic surgery, you can look like a Barbie doll, or some big star, or you can try to create you own inner portrait.”

One of her objectives was to embody the enduring visions of beauty created by renowned painters throughout history. She accomplished this seemingly impossible goal by surgically replicating the most cherished facial feature as it was presented in each famous artist’s most revered artwork.

Orlan after some of the surgeries—1992

Orlan after some of the surgeries—1992

For example, she has the chin of Botticelli’s Venus, the nose of Gerome’s Psyche, the lips of François Boucher’s Europa, the eyes of Diana from a sixteenth-century French painting and the forehead of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Orlan picked these characters, “not for the canons of beauty they represent… but rather on account of the stories associated with them.” Diana because she is inferior to the gods and men, but is leader of the goddesses and women; Mona Lisa because of the standard of beauty, or anti-beauty, she represents; Psyche because of her fragility and vulnerability within the soul; Venus for carnal beauty and notions of fertility; Europa for her adventurous outlook to the horizon, the future.

Orlan as Frankenstein's fiancee

Orlan as Frankenstein's fiancee

Yet another surgery implanted two symmetrical bumps that look like horns in her forehead to mimic the protruding brow of Mona Lisa. Sometimes she highlights these protrusions with glitter.

Orlan with forehead bumps

Orlan with forehead bumps

The events that brought her closer to achieving ultimate beauty were celebrated and special. Each surgery was captured on video, fed to live international audiences via satellite link-ups, and exhibited in a number of galleries in Europe and the U.S.

Instead of the sterile environment of the operating room, she constructed an operating ‘theater’ in which everything was choreographed, and the space was decorated with flowers. Famous designers, such as Paco Rabanne and Issey Miyake, designed costumes for Orlan and her doctors to wear during the surgeries. Poetry was read and music played, while she lay on the operating table fully conscious of the events taking place (only local anesthetic was used) read from scripts and answered questions from viewers around the world.

In all these ways she demonstrated that there are many standards of excellence and diverse models of beauty. Read the rest of this entry »

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Plastic Surgery Thoughts And Top Procedures

Jan 2

Posted by ira in aging, plastic surgery | 1 Comment

To look younger and more in accordance with our culture’s standards of beauty, some people exercise to make muscles, some color their hair and some resort to cosmetic surgery. A plastic surgeon I know, Dr. Dean Jabs, sent me this response to the December 28th article about Demi Moore’s possible plastic surgeries(http://www.irasabs.com/?p=3287):

Ira,

I think most people overestimate what can be done with surgery. People’s imaginations get the best of them. Too much Hollywood, not enough Main Street, so to speak. We can do a lot, but like I tell my patients, “My name tag says M.D., not GOD”. Lipo can contour but not reduce your body fat to 6%. Facial surgery and breast surgery can go a long way to restoring a youthful appearance and liposuction can contour…but that doesn’t take the place of a good diet and exercise, appropriate sleep and laying off the “sauce.”

Cheers,

Dean

At the end of this post are three of Dean’s company web sites, and one of them offered the following information:

May 15, 2009

Here at Cosmetic Surgery Associates we have definitely seen a shift in how people are viewing cosmetic surgery. People are concerned about the economy and are more willing to do smaller things now such as botox or fillers to maintain their looks rather than address the bigger issues that might require surgery. The recent release of statistics from our national society, The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, bears this out. Here is a summary of the stats. Enjoy!

The top five surgical cosmetic procedures in 2008 were:

1. Breast Augmentation (355,671)
2. Liposuction (341,144)
3. Eyelid Surgery (195,104)
4. Nasal Surgery (152,434)
5. Tummy Tuck (147,392)

Women accounted for 92% of the total.

The top nonsurgical cosmetic procedures were: Read the rest of this entry »

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A Reader Criticizes This Site

Dec 30

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise, gym stuff | 4 Comments

A woman friend said my web site is now sending out a bad and superficial message: that it is important to look good, and that your body’s appearance is ultra important. This is reinforcing our culture’s terrible emphasis on youth, looking young, and acting like anything but your age, if you are over 30 or 40. I have been seduced, she said, and am simply a pawn in the plan, especially when I am showing so many toned and fit bodies, women naked or in bikinis, and working to make my own body look younger and fitter with defined abs and hair coloring. Most people are not so muscular or thin, and the pictures on my site are insensitive, making some viewers feel resentful, insecure and unattractive.

I actually thought the photos might inspire people to work at diet and exercise to improve not only how they looked, but how they felt physically as well as psychologically. An additional benefit, I thought, was that readers would become healthier and have fewer colds and illnesses.

What do you think?

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How Far Will YOU Go To Improve Your Appearance?

Dec 28

Posted by ira in aging, diet, exercise, photos of celebrities | 3 Comments

Demi Moore’s name and body have been in my consciousness since I saw this 1991 cover.

Demi Moore—1991

Demi Moore—1991

She was criticized recently for looking old, especially her neck and cheeks. She responded, “I’m 47 how am I supposed to look?” Over the years, she has been fighting ageism in Hollywood, and complaining about her difficulty in landing some of the few good parts for older women. All this in spite of how young she looks.

Demi's rumored plastic surgery and expense—2007

Demi's rumored plastic surgery and expense—2007

Having just colored my hair to look younger in keeping with my more youthful body, I wondered if she was modifying her looks artificially as well? After “doing the google,” I discovered some startling stories:

“Demi Moore is rumored to have spent over $120,000 on plastic surgery over the years and over $330,000 on diet and fitness routines, including nutritionist, personal trainer, yoga instructor and kick-boxing champion. Demi Moore has had a breast augmentation in 1996 for the film Striptease, only to remove them subsequently and get a breast lift. Additionally, Demi Moore is rumored to have had liposuction to her hips, stomach, and inner and outer hips, a brow lift, numerous Botox injections and chemical peels, and teeth veneers. Most recently, the actress has been rumored to have had a knee liposuction surgery. The actress is also rumored to have had her nose done. Moore has all these procedures because she reportedly cannot bear to find any part of her body with flaws.”

HOWEVER MOORE DENIES THAT SHE HAS EVER HAD ANY PLASTIC SURGERY AT ALL.

Here are some more Moore photos.

Another Moore nude—1992

Another Moore nude—1992


Demi's abs in movie, Striptease—1996

Demi's abs in movie, Striptease—1996

Demi flexing

Demi flexing

Movie stars obviously go to extreme lengths to keep their careers alive. Yet the idea of shaping your body with the knife, Botox injection or steroids is a question many ordinary people must face all the time. You can only do so much by just eating differently and working out. Maybe you can lose a few inches around the waist, thin out your back. But doesn’t it take surgery to change breast size or eliminate deep facial wrinkles? It’s sort of cheating, but so what, if no one knows…about your nose? I grew up with hair color ads asking “Does she or doesn’t she?” Now I am reading that the perfect plastic surgeon’s work is not apparent to anyone. It looks as natural as apple pie…

My own interest in a six-pack has a lot to do with improving my appearance. I also like seeing definition in my arms. And this is mainly for me, so that I like how I look in the mirror. Of course I am proud when others who see my changes are impressed as well.

How we look—and desire to appear—has to play a major part for many who go to the gym or exercise in other ways. The path we select to come closer to that idealized vision is another story. Maybe sit ups are fine, but liposuction is off limits. Or maybe sit ups are too difficult, and liposuction does the trick easily. Cosmetic surgery can be a tough personal choice. And I know many friends who have done it. Is it okay for you? What do you think?

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Does Aging Bother You? How About Looking Older?

Dec 20

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, aging | 4 Comments

This is a big subject I want to discuss in many posts.

I will show you famous people who have aged horribly and look terrible.

I will talk about people who go through incredible plastic surgery to look younger.

I will talk about the performance artist ORLAN whose medium was once her own body as she directed surgeons to transform her lips, eyes, nose, etc to look like the most perfect body parts seen in paintings and sculpture.

I will mention Botox, hair coloring, dieting and exercise to look fitter and younger.

Let’s start with a True Confession: I color my hair. Here I am in a 2008 photo that shocked and disturbed me, because I thought I looked so old.

old-looking Ira at graduation—6/08

old-looking Ira at graduation—6/08


It’s not that bad for a father aged 67 at his daughter’s high school graduation. But I was very upset. I had been going to the gym and playing tennis, each for about a year. I was OK aging, mainly because I wasn’t sick or lame or inhibited in any major way from doing the physical things I wanted to do.

Maybe I don’t have the reflexes of a 20-year-old. But I have truly felt for years that each birthday celebrated means I lived another year and am glad of that achievement and the life experience. I had some friends who died in high school, and others at older ages. So I am thrilled to still be living and learning and laughing and loving.

But as toned as my body was starting to look with all that gym work and cardio, suddenly I appeared to myself like an old man from the chicken neck up, like my father or grandfather.

Then after months of thinking and hesitating and judging the vainness of doing something, anything, I took the leap and colored my hair. Women start in their teens. Movie stars do it before they are on screen…and a lot more. Why couldn’t I do it too? Yes I was self-conscious. But I always admitted it or volunteered the truth whenever any questions or comments arose. Which was almost never. (“Damn, Ira, you look so good. How do you stay so young-looking?” “It’s easy…I exercise and color my hair.”)

younger-looking Ira—12/09

younger-looking Ira—12/09

Every six or eight weeks, after my hair is looking grey and too long, I head for a haircut and some new pigment. This week when the great change was complete, I looked at myself in the mirror and said to the stylist, “Marlene you are a magician— l look at least 10 years younger…”and better, I thought. It still amazes me. Thank goodness for that blend of delicious dyes named Burnt Sugar, Butter Almond Crunch, Hazelnut and Iced Latte. Who knows why they are all food related.

I resent the Youth Culture mantra that I grew up in and live with. The society that says old and older people are not as valuable as youngsters. They may have lived longer, but those antique “gray-hairs” aren’t as attractive or hip or energetic or worth knowing. Even their wisdom and advice might be out-of-date and easy to ignore. Nevertheless, it looks like I succumbed to part of the message: it’s better to look younger.

I have a woman friend who refuses to use make up, color her hair or do anything about her wrinkles. She welcomes older age and wants to experience it as fully as she can. She is very energetic, used to be a dancer, is very physical and loving toward her children and grandchildren. She knows who she is and is not embarrassed that she looks like a grandma.

But most people don’t do that. Read the rest of this entry »

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