Inter-Generational Relationships Are Challenging Like All Other Relationships […with a few exceptions]

So let’s say you’re an attractive 30-year-old woman who’s fallen for a man of 60.

While it may provide shelter from the storm of corporate climbing and adolescent pack animals, it’s not all roses.

There are inherent risks, difficulties, and pitfalls that may prove impossible to overcome.

But most women I know who find themselves in such relationships know exactly what they’re getting themselves into, and won’t leave without a severance package or SWAT standoff.

Generational Divide

An older man may find himself in the position of surrogate parent if the younger woman is substantially younger, or the man is more traditional and/or less fluid in his approach to life.

If, for example, he spent his entire career surrounded by corporate types, adhering to stodgy cultural norms, his ability to communicate with a creative Millennial, for example, may prove impossible.

On the other hand, if he’s lead guitarist for a major rock group or an A-list actor, she’ll assume the role of surrogate parent.

Strong, Powerful Men Didn’t Get to Where They Are by Accident

Older men may have mellowed somewhat with age and maturity, but this mild-mannered guy is only a cover for a ruthless and aggressive nature that got them to where they are in life. In other words, the nice house didn’t happen without a fight.

This usually means that as long as everything is going well, you get the cool older guy. But the moment the shit hits the skids, you get a first hand look at human predation from the perspective of prey. Men will defend and protect their financial interests and prosperity over all else in their lives, including you.

Of course, gorillas do the same damn thing, so it’s not exactly news.

Taming and Older Man is a Ludicrous Pursuit

Why women like to fix older men is beyond me. I can understand trying to get a 25-year-old guy to get out of bed in the mornings, and to get a life. But older men have been there, and at this stage of the game don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about their lifestyle habits.

He’s already self-sufficient. He doesn’t need you to pave the way forward. You can’t cut him off from his friends, or interests, or in any way undermine his life. It’s already worked for him. His entire psychological framework is built around decades of experience. Give it up.

If You’re Seeing a Married Man, Love Isn’t Enough to Shake the Tree

The married guys I know with “women-on-the-side” like the no-strings-attached erotic sex, even the fantasy that love plays a major role in all of it. But understand that it’s still fantasy. All of it. Your best bet is to find a recently divorced older man of affluence, or just go the married route in exchange for college tuition and be done with it. Graduate programs run 50k. Get real.

The Sexual Equation

No matter how successful and older man is he cannot reverse the aging process. Understand that as you turn a year older he turns 7 years older [after a certain point in life]. So if you want to build a long-lasting relationship with him, you better make damn sure your sexual rhythms and desires are on the same page.

While adventure and passion are still very much on the table, things will eventually change.

Of course, it’s also important to keep in mind that a young man will eventually get bored with you, especially after he’s achieved success in his 40’s, and will often replace you with someone half your age that he won’t be bored with. It’s a cycle that tends to repeat itself a few go-rounds in life.

Parental Issues

In my case, the woman in my life’s parents refused to speak to me for the first 3 years of our relationships, assuming that I was buying her love, and at the same time, stealing her youth and opportunity.

Thankfully, it passed and we now have a wonderful relationship. But it was awkward. Be prepared for that.

Completely Different Entertainment Preferences

In many cases, taste in music is a major marker of significant age differences. In my own relationship, though, our tastes were identical. In fact, she had more Zeppelin albums than I did. Another ironic twist of fate was that I was the one going out every night of the week, while she preferred evenings at home watching TV, painting or video editing.

I could argue that she made me grow up, and that all had to do was provide financial stability, love and commitment in exchange for a more adult lifestyle. It was a small price to pay, and probably paid for itself given my wayward leanings.

OVERVIEW

Affluent older men do NOT choose women unless they’re prostitutes. It’s the other way around. This is one of life’s biggest misconceptions about the older man/younger woman paradigm.

This being the case, she will decide whether or not she can handle the difference in age, the disparity between their respective success and power, his intransigence, the sex and whether or not he knows – or gives a crap about – Taylor Swift.

“All Middle-Aged Men Want To Be Thought Of As Cool…”

This statement is thrown around a lot these days, mostly by older women who are sick to death of older men acting like juvenile delinquents.

But I can assure you, I know just as many 40-60-something women who make them look like choir boys.

~~~

Okay, enough with the stereotyping.

It’s boring, mostly because it’s true.

Older men who can afford to “act out” [when I was a kid, they called it “acting up”], do so because they can.

And because they can, they do. Not all, but those who can afford the fallout.

This is how many gold-diggers spot their marks, by the way.

Anyone who can afford to stand out does so for reasons that have pretty much everything to do with the fact that they can do so with impunity.

The same is true of divorced older women who go on jaunts to Cancun with their single – and married – girlfriends only to come back knocked up by teenagers at beach raves.

Understand that, from an actuarial point of view, there is nothing ahead that remotely resembles “I’m getting hotter,” or “Aging is an abstraction.”

It’s in your face and it’s mouth is wide open.

What better to do than go back to a time before all the existential crap laid its wicked hands on you and stick it to time, even if you’re still sticking it to yourself.

Affluent older men [and women] do, in fact, buy sports cars and motorcycles, drug themselves silly, engage in risky sexual encounters, do stupid shit like jump out of airplanes, climb mountains and play with gold-diggers as though they were domesticated animals.

It happens to all of us at some point along the way, when time is slipping so fast you start with the opiates to slow the shit down.

Not to bury the lead here, but it’s obvious by now that both genders play the same game.

Perhaps it could be argued that for men aging is a tougher pill to swallow.

The hunter/predator/drone paradigm only works when the joints are nimble and quick to react.

But women who take on traditionally male roles suffer similar fates as time beats down the doors, wreaking havoc on once vibrant skin, teeth hair, nails and everything else for that matter.

Neither gender fares particularly well where the body is concerned.

The bottom line is this:

Older women want men – within their age demographic – to kick the older man/younger woman habit so they can have a fair shot at settling down with one of them.

And while there are ample studies that suggest older women are just fine being alone or in the company of friends, it is only so when faced with the alternative of an average older man.

This is why we see so many of them revisiting adolescence on Spring Break before finding themselves empty, depressed and alone.

See, men are superficial enough to keep this thing going until the day they die.

Women, on the other hand, can only keep it going long enough to prove a point before moving to Florida, joining a book club, and outliving men by 10 years.

Revenge at last.

[Depending on your point of view].

“Love is a Concept Invented by Poor People…” Seeking Arrangement Founder, Brandon Wade

“By encouraging people to find and negotiate an arrangement, we hope to create modern relationships based on open-mindedness, open communication, brutal honesty and transparent expectations.”

“This is the future of dating.” BW

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/25/opinion/seeking-arrangement-ceo-on-love/

Ashley reminds me of someone I once dated, also an entrepreneur.

~~~

Now understand something here: The woman posing with Mr. Wade in the above photo would have no problem waltzing right over his dead body if he weren’t filthy rich.

I don’t mean this in any negative way, but Mr. Wade had to make himself valuable in order to earn visibility, which everyone understands and appreciates.

This revelation set him ablaze with passion to acquire the one asset that would act as a carbon credit for whatever he lacked elsewhere.

Next thing you know, he goes meteoric and declares “love is a concept created by the poor!” before heading off to CNN for an interview.

By the way, a rough translation of his statement is If you don’t have money, no one will love you, which is why poor people created it in the first place.

Okay. Whatever. I get it. We get it. Pretty much all of us, really.

Baby Boomers like myself suffer physical attrition after enough water’s under the bridge.

Fortunately, though, many of us are able to leverage money and power against the cost of aging and manage to stay square with the gods.

Now you know why seekingarrangement.com claims 1.9 million subscribers…and climbing.

On a general note, there is absolutely nothing novel about prostitution.

Whether you couch it as “Hey, I just need a little help with college,” or “Hey, want a blowjob?” you’re still hooking.

Having said this, everything these days is relative.

Just how relative depends on the price tag.

The more you spend, the more normal everything seems.

On a related note, most of the women my peers end up with are passed from one older man to the next within their own immediate peer group.

This is because the women in question are known commodities who’ve been properly vetted, and therefore, predictable within reason.

The downside is that there is often a limited supply of such women within certain demographics, which usually triggers bidding wars resulting in some of the best television fodder on the planet.

Affluent 50 to 60-Something Men Still Choose Beauty First

“…all older women hear (and thus believe) that older men are only looking for much younger women. OK, many of them are. But are they getting them? Not really, unless they’re wealthy and powerful. (And I have always believed that it’s good to identify those men and remove them from the 50-something dating pool ASAP; I’m not interested in men like that so move along, men, and good luck!”). Vicki Larson, journalist

I hate to tell you people this, but a simple fact can save you a lot of heartache:

Reasonably attractive, healthy and successful older men have lots of choices when it comes to choosing partners.

Too many, in most cases, which is why so many of them are single or serial monogamists, the emphasis on serial.

~~~

When it gets down to it, money and power are the great equalizers.

Conversely, youth and beauty are also commodities openly traded on the human stock exchange.

Whether you’re young or old, you have different assets to barter, but something is always for sale.

Most of the older successful guys I know have an exacting set of standards they apply to the acquired women in their lives.

These are the very same standards, by the way, they applied to their ex-wives before they divorced them 20 years later.

The fact is successful men prefer to date younger women is because THEY CAN.

Generally speaking, women over the age of 17 are not attracted to youth.

They’re attracted to confidence and power.

Therefore when a beautiful woman in her 20s or 30s meets a man who is in his 50s, with the world in the palm of his hands, it’s sexy and alluring to her.

His age becomes irrelevant.

Walk into any upscale restaurant or bar and what you will see are drop-dead gorgeous women accompanying successful older men.

These women were not forced at gunpoint, believe me.

To many men I know, it’s almost irrelevant whether these women are truly in love with them or merely out to make better lives for themselves.

It matters that they are in the company of a beautiful, intelligent and uncomplicated young woman.

The rest they leave to a suspension of disbelief.

She is everything their wives once were before time took its pound of flesh and soul.

No wonder so many middle aged women without much to leverage scream and yell about all of this.

But put them in the position to do what these young women are doing and you wouldn’t hear a peep.

The fact is average men and women receive average returns, and exceptional beauty and youth will always win out where successful older men are concerned.

Is it fair?

No.

But pretending that “real men” don’t want younger women is delusion. That they want an equal is naive at best, disastrous at worst.

According to one NYC matchmaker, this is the normal course of things:

“I recently had a 78-year-old client who wouldn’t even consider a woman older than 50. If you are 25 years old as you are reading this, let me put this in perspective: That would be like dating a 55-year-old.

That brings me to why I can’t take on women as clients; and no, misogyny has nothing to do with it. In this tough singles market, if a man pays top dollar for a matchmaker, he expects nothing less than a 29-year-old model. As a result, I cannot find a husband for a 47-year-old schoolteacher with two kids and three mortgages.”

So where do relatively pretty, average 40-plus women find men of means?

They don’t.

What they can and do find are men of equal value, which is not a particularly palatable prospect for most.

My recommendation to such women:

1] Join a book club.

2] Enroll in a continuing education class at a local college.

3] Attend art openings.

4] Get out of the house – maximize exposure.

5] Go back to therapy.

Nature is neither kind nor compassionate, but the good news is that there are exceptions to every rule.

Just not very many.

Male Sex Appeal vs the Aging Demon

Alessandro Manfredini, Model

Ask most women to name an age when men start losing their sex appeal and most would say 39-40.

What would you pick?

The consensus from pop culture and social science seem to agree that 40 is the line in the sand when men start to become “invisible” to opposite-sex potential partners, and especially to younger ones.

But how young?

Most teens don’t look at men over the age of 25, so it’s all relative.

British Crown in Manchester, a hair transplantation clinic, paid for a study started all this crap.

It’s findings were that men 39 or older are more likely to be identified by women as a “father figure” than a “sex symbol.”

In my world, that’s considered advanced adolescence.

Needless to say, the clinic had an agenda in mind.

Since most men lose hair along with color, we need to book an appointment at our earliest possible convenience in order to avoid suicidal tendencies.

The web is littered with this ridiculous “study,” mostly because no one else has bothered to commission a legitimate one.

What I have found through personal experience is that women consider “ideal” and “perfectly acceptable” to be the same things.

Again, I’m not talking about teens. Their objectivity is palpable. But they can afford it, so there’s that.

For everyone else, here’s what women I know cite as critical to a man’s enduring sex appeal:

1] Maintaining Your Hair, no matter how much – or how little – of it you may have.

So, in other words, get a decent haircut and let the gray do its thing.

http://metro.co.uk/2015/02/17/10-reasons-grey-haired-men-are-hot-5065945/

The alternative is to shave your head, which many women like, but only if the head in question does not resemble an egg.

If it does, you’re screwed.

2] Stay Fit and Healthy

I don’t know anyone my age who doesn’t stay fit, no matter what their hair looks like.

3] Take Care of Your Teeth

Most men I know have straighter, whiter teeth than they did at 25, real or fake.

4] Chill & Stay Confident

The men my age who’ve done well in life tend to be confident.

Thus, successful men are attractive to women at pretty much any age.

~~~

SUMMARY

All of these “studies” are complete bullshit.

They play out in abstraction, not reality.

In reality, where the rest of us reside, young men attract women because they are physically flawless and ripe with potential.

Older men, on the other hand, attract women because of their level of success and the maturity and confidence that comes along with it.

People say a lot of things from a distance, but in the end, women see with their ears.

And yes, nice neighborhoods do sound pretty damn good to most of them.

So, You Want a Daddy?

I’m cracking myself up this morning.

No seriously.

For all you unemployed millennial’s out there, hope’s on the horizon.

You don’t have to earn a PhD. – or even a GED.

But you will need other assets worth bartering.

I should be charging a consultation fee for this, but you caught me on a good day.

The Most Common Gold-Digger Backstory

Teenage daughter works as a part-time waitress. She lives in a trailer with her biological mother and unemployed stepfather, whose on disability over an alleged lumberyard mishap.

In the mother’s mind…

“The disability payments ain’t worth shit money-wise, but that daughter of mine has an ass…if she only knew how to use it right. I ain’t talkin’ flat-out hookin,’ but maybe goin’ in to the big city and learnin’ how to talk right for god’s sake. Get rid of that gum chewin,’ act like she belongs, ya know…find out where the money’s at…”

This is the template from which most gold-diggers are hatched and bred. It’s as old as the hills, the situation I mean…and how to get out of it.

But there’s a lot more to it than what you read, so I’ll help fill in the blanks.

While finding a “daddy” sounds like a cakewalk to many of you who think that youth and beauty are enough to seal the deal, think again. Cultural evolution is no different than biological evolution, except that it’s a thousand times faster. So while the gold-digger of old was easy to pull from a police line-up, today’s incarnation is virtually unrecognizable even under polygraph analysis and near lethal doses of sodium pentothal.

With this as a backdrop, here are 25 clues from my own personal experience tells me you’re someone I don’t want to know.

1] Gum chewing.

2] Ending sentences with prepositions. While sometimes it’s okay to end sentences with prepositions, you best know when it’s okay. Otherwise, stick to the rules.

Incorrect usage: Where is he at?

Correct usage: Where is he?

.3] Improperly conjugating verbs

Incorrect usage: “She run off.”

Correct usage: “She ran off.”

4] Mispronouncing words that reasonably educated women learn by the time they’re 6.

Example #1: Never say expresso. The correct word is Espresso.

Example#2: It’s also not Excetera. It’s et cetera.

5] Me vs I

Incorrect usage: Jim and me are going to the beach.

Correct usage: Jim and I are going to the beach.

6] Gone vs Went

Incorrect usage: I should’ve went somewhere!

Correct usage: I went to the store. I should have gone to the open market instead.

7] Could of vs Could have

Incorrect usage: I wonder if I could of majored in English.

Correct usage: I wonder if I could have majored in English.

8] Cheap handbag. Only acceptable if you just picked up something interesting at a vintage shop.

9] Don’t overuse foundation. It makes you look like you’re hiding something. Ask any stripper.

10] Know the difference between sexy and sleazy. It’s part self-confidence, part self-actualization, and part breeding.

11] Bad posture is a clear and present sign of a mother who doesn’t know better.

12] If you’ve never heard of Shakespeare, you’re toast…even if your target is an engineer who only reads blueprints.

13] Money is not the determinant of class. Class is the determinant of class. Then money is the determinant of class.

14] If you can’t walk in heels, learn at home.

15] If you’ve never attended college and you’re not a famous entertainer or entrepreneur, lie.

16] Never trip out at the sight of an expensive home or car. It’s just a home and a car.

17] Never ask a man you don’t know for money or he will have sex with you without paying for it.

18] Hit on anyone other than your date and it will be your last.

19] One online profile is enough. More than one with entirely different information is identity theft.

20] Have interests outside of going out. Some people enjoy reading books, for example.

21] Using country vernacular is fine as long as people know you know the difference between ignorance and the Queen’s English.

22] Never name-drop unless your own name is worth dropping.

23] Your cell phone is simply a cellphone, not a codependent relationship.

24] Repeat after me: “I have a good relationship with my father.”

25] When referring to family members, never say “grampah and grammah.” Instead, say “grandfather and grandmother.” This also applies to mother and father, whom can be also be referred to as simply “mom and dad.”

I could go on…

Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Baby Boomers as Common as Flu Shots

Take a look at Mel Gibson in the above photo.

Notice the vascular character of his arms, veins running like ship rope over rock.

This look is not uncommon for men in their 20’s [with testosterone levels well north of 1000], but it is impossible for 60-year-old men with levels in the 300-400 range, which is pretty much all of us, plus or minus a few.

The only exceptions I have ever seen [and remember folks, I photographed national fitness magazine covers and editorials for 10 years of my career], are men who took steroids early on in their careers and built the framework for what we now see.

Without the drugs, there would be no “framework’ to speak of.

After a while, you can spot users a mile off.

But what’s really interesting about all of this is that taking testosterone is becoming so commonplace that I can envision supermarkets like Kroger offering weekly injections along with flu shots, because like the flu, aging sucks and in many cases leads to death.

~~~

Here’s the hook most commonly used to encourage testosterone use:

Anybody, regardless of occupation, can receive testosterone replacement therapy if he experiences symptoms of Low-T.

Please read the above statement carefully.

It says, “if he experiences symptoms of Low-T,” not “if he has Low-T.”

In other words, no blood test necessary.

There is a difference between feeling more fatigued at 60 than you did at 20. It’s called nature, which is more an annoyance than anything else, and therefore testosterone supplementation is a perfectly rational course of action…like recommending 30 minutes a day on a treadmill for diabetics.

I have many friends who self-administer weekly testosterone injections. Others opt for patches, pills and other delivery systems, but injections seem to be the most preferred method.

When asked what they “take” [because it’s so damn obvious], most claim to be “all natural.”

What this actually means is that they are taking “bio-identical” testosterone, manufactured in labs to mimic testosterone produced by the human body.

The interesting news is that because testosterone use has become so commonplace, most people just say “I’m taking 1cc a week of testosterone, so nothing really.”

I know that many of you don’t believe a word of this. Why would you?

You live in a world where people go to work, raise families, play golf and fade in ways designed by nature.

You accept the fact that you don’t look the way you did 30 years ago.

You try to eat right, exercise when you can and pray you don’t drop dead before your 60th birthday.

This is normal.

Most people don’t expect life to go on and on the way it used to…until now.

~~~

I have a good friend who is on an elaborate “supplement cocktail,” which has led to explosive mass and strength.

He knows the risks, but in his mind the rewards far outweigh them.

I don’t judge him. We all live our lives the way we choose, and as long as we treat one another with dignity and respect, I support him in any way I can.

If he were using heroin, I would do the same.

In the end, the litany of potential side-effects fade along with the side-effects from taking a daily aspirin.

The rationale is that life is dangerous, but that shouldn’t stop any of us from living it.

Using this rationale, testosterone use is relative, like getting out of bed.

~~~

Target Consumers of Testosterone Replacement Therapy:

1] People in law enforcement.

2] Affluent older men with the financial resources available to offset the cost of “aging gracefully.”

3] Young men and women in professional athletics.

4] Bullied young men who seek revenge against their tormentors.

5] People who have unnaturally low testosterone levels as measured by several blood tests.

How Not to Keep a Good Man Down.

What I’m about to tell you cuts a deep swath between what you were and what many of you are becoming.

Most men don’t have the balls to say [out loud] any of what I’m about to tell you, but saying it is the only way to help catalyze change in what’s often a foot-dragging passage into twilight.

Buckle up.

~~~

Over these past decades I’ve learned a few things about being a man that weigh on all of us after enough water’s under the bridge.

The first is the personal assessment quiz, where we sum up all of our perceived accomplishments and hope that our backstories are sellable on the open market.

I say ‘open market’ because unless you live in a vacuum, you have an audience that determines your viability. I know. This sounds like every psychiatrist’s worst nightmare, but it’s still true.

We live in a society filled with people, not open land filled with livestock.

Remember, this is a blog about urban life, not rural isolationism.

In this world, our world, we need to matter. Some call it relevance. And while many claim this to be an exercise in pure nihilism and self-destruction, it’s critical to our emotional well being that we see our lives as having been well spent.

The resulting self-esteem becomes our fuel, our motivation to go on long after the glory years of imagined immortality and endless promise have passed.

But let me reiterate that we must pass muster with the world around us before we get the fuel. We can’t just fantasize it into being.

The world around us is a cold, objective force. It sees us as fully formed entities, each with a script in our hands that we read to ourselves before closing our eyes at night, hoping our dreams don’t contradict the plot lines.

Appreciating the gravity of this is an essential part of maintaining dignity no matter how much you try to ignore or deny it.

Okay, so let’s say we’re happy with what we’ve done with our lives up to this juncture. We have financial security and we’re proud of what we’ve done.

Great.

Now what?

Now we have to figure out how to maintain what we’ve built so it doesn’t all come crashing down on top of us.

I’m talking about our physical health, and more specifically, our physical being; how we see ourselves relative to those around us, no matter what their age.

Like everything else in my life, I need to feel in possession of myself physically, to be physically strong, in control, and able to defend myself.

I’m sure that more than a few of you reading this will wonder why men our age [Baby Boomers] should give a crap about what sounds like an older man’s delusions of grandeur, but I don’t know any of you.

The men I do know care. A lot. They don’t want to be walked all over like party confetti. They live with purpose and dignity.

And while a few engage in endurance sports, especially anorexics, who swap one addiction for another, the answer lies in the weight room. Yes, being a man means lifting heavy weight. I know I know. I’m a superficial jackass who has no idea what brings true fulfillment to anyone but myself, but you’re still dead wrong.

Many of the men I’m around are luminaries in their respective fields, ranging in age from late 40’s to early 80’s. But one thing they share is a desire to build and/or maintain physical strength. In other words, no matter what they’ve done, if they’re wasting away it’s irrelevant. Soon, self esteem will erode away all that they’ve built, and they’ll end up dead long before you read about them in the obituaries.

This brings to mind a guy in my gym in his early 80’s who is not only a celebrated surgeon, but a world champion masters power lifter.

You think he feels irrelevant?

The respect he receives from people around him is palpable.

My motto: Be strong, live well.

Our personal lives are the final cog in our wheels of fortune. While I cannot pretend to speak for gay men and their relationships, I do know a thing or two about living with women, which is kind of like living with an extraterrestrial biological life form, identical human DNA, notwithstanding.

Like #1 and #2, how we feel in the context of our relationships is inextricably tied to how we feel as men.

The first thing we men know about ourselves is that our egos are fragile, particularly when we feel vulnerable. Thus, we need our masculinity validated daily. We need to feel loved; we need to feel attractive; and we need to feel capable.

That’s a lot of need, but miss an ounce of it at your peril.

Memorize this list so you don’t lose it:

A] Admire Us.

Compliment us on the things we’re good at and our physical qualities. Beat on us and we’ll stop making the house payments.

B] Brag on Us

The first time I heard a woman complaining about her husband’s “many” shortfalls, I suggested he leave her. In my mind, she breached the trust and left him out to dry.

C] Ask For Our Help

Ask us to show you how to do something or to give you advice on a tough situation. We’ll be more than happy to show you, believe me.

D] Never, Ever Cut Us Down No Matter What.

Make you man feel like an idiot and he will show you the door. Men have massive egos. Why this is I don’t know, but suspect it has something to do with having to kill things so the rest of his primordial family didn’t starve to death.

Never, ever discredit us or make snide comments about our appearance, abilities or performances, particularly around others.

E] Learn How to Listen.

Men may not be as talkative as women are, but we still have things to say and emotions to vent or bad days we want to discuss. While we’re more about fixing things than just talking for the sake of being heard, sometimes we like being heard so we can justify fixing things.

F] Respect Us.

Respect builds the foundation of our relationships. Without it, we will look for it elsewhere, believe me. Incessant nagging comes to mind. It’s like rat poison for human relationships.

G] Believe In Us

We want the women in our lives to be our biggest cheerleaders. We’ll do anything for someone who believes in us. Even if what we try to do doesn’t succeed by someone else’s standards, the fact that we gave it our best shot deserves praise and love.

H] Do Little Things For Us

Whether you leave a love note somewhere we’ll find it, stuff an Oreo under our pillow…or just wear something that we can’t seem to live without, JUST DO IT!

FINAL THOUGHTS

As men get older it’s even more important to affirm us. First, because we are no longer 25. Second, because no matter what we act like, we’re no longer in college and running track for NYU.

Of course, back then we were flat broke, our trust factor was zero, and and our apartments resembled the wolf dens you see at natural science museums across the country.

As women who’ve spent your fair share of time with men, you already know all these things.

This is just a reminder.

Adult “Baby Food”

As I’ve covered a few times on this site, healthy eating is a pain in the ass, like everything else that involves maintenance after a certain age.

So what exactly do I eat every day of my life, and why am I sick of it in spite of the fact that I can’t stop doing it?

The answer to the first part will follow, with specific food items you just have to accept no matter how much you want to hit that new burger joint.

The rest of it has to do with how eating the aforementioned foods make you feel, which becomes more important than consumption after a certain point in life.

You have to accept the fact that life is a balancing act filled with gives and takes along the way, mostly takes.

Ok, the food:

1] Oats

A study published in the Nutrition Journal found that participants who consumed oatmeal on a regular basis experienced a drop in bad cholesterol (and waist size!) due to their increased fiber intake.

I like knowing that oats are good for me more than I do consuming them. Nonetheless, just knowing this cancels out the negatives.

I also don’t like blood sugar crashes during workouts or long mornings at my computer, so eat your oats and shut up.

2] Raspberries

I know, weird, right?

I mix this antioxidant-rich berry in with my morning oats for taste, and again, the knowledge that they are good for me.

Never underestimate human psychology in all of this.

3] Carrots

Okay, I generally don’t like carrots. For one thing, I hate carrot juice, which seems counter-intuitive, but isn’t.

What I do like – and/or hate – about carrots is that they fill me up during the course of the day when I’m dreaming about chips and blocks of cheddar cheese.

4] Bell Peppers

For taste, i throw them into pretty much everything. For one thing, I like the primary colors [yellow, red and green], and they’re also a good source of fiber, like celery and cucumbers.

Personally, I prefer celery stuffed with goat cheese, but I have to earn it to enjoy it. I’ll get to that in a minute.

5] Chia Seeds

You may have heard all about Rhona Rousey’s love affair with Chia seeds. they burn longer, keep her feeling full and provide hours of energy.

This is also true for other human beings, if you can get past the fact that they don’t taste like anything, including water.

Again, they boost your fiber intake and you reap the digestive benefits, which is well documented.

6] Flax Seeds

A step below the today deified Chia seed, flax seeds offer up 5.6 grams per two tablespoons – which is actually more than those two bites of broccoli can claim.

Of course, “2 bites of broccoli” is a relative thing since I consume an entire stalk in a single sitting.

Note: I can only eat it when it when steamed, then I can get enough for some reason I can’t quite explain.

7] Barley

Most people I know haven’t a clue what barley is. Most think of oatmeal.

In the end, it doesn’t matter. Just buy it and throw something on top of it, like shrimp or chicken.

It has no taste whatsoever, but cooked barley has 6 grams of the fibrous gut-filling nutrient.

Again, we’re talking about filling you up so you don’t crave things you shouldn’t eat.

Yes it sucks. Yes I get it. But no, you can’t deviate…much.

8] Brown Rice

Everyone by now has brown rice stuffed somewhere in their kitchen. We all know it’s better for us than the dreaded white rice, with over three times the amount fiber per cup.

I still prefer white rice, but like so much else I love, I don’t eat it.

9] Artichokes

Finally! Something I love!

Artichokes rock!

One medium artichoke boasts an impressive 10.3 grams of fiber and incorporating it into your diet may aid weight loss efforts…because, again, it makes you feel full.

This aside, I’ll boil or steam 3 of these bad boys and down all of them in a single sitting without an ounce of flavoring.

10] Lentils, Black beans, and Green peas, Sugar Snap Peas, Chickpeas, Split peas

Beans and legumes will always be standouts in this category. One cup of lentils serves up a massive 15.6 grams of fiber, which can help keep your energy steady throughout the day.

They also help maintain stable blood sugar levels.

I keep beans in the kitchen because they’re easy to combine with foods I prefer, like pretty much everything.

11] Blackberries

I love these these things. Blackberries contain 8 grams of fiber per cup, towering over strawberries and blueberries.

I know. You thought blueberries were on top the food chain.

12] Pears

There is nothing quite like a ripe, juice pear.

One medium pear contains around 5.5 grams of fiber, but in order to get all those grams you need to keep the skin in tact because that’s where most of the nutrient is concentrated. This same rule applies to apples, potatoes, and even that white stuff you love to pick off of oranges after you’ve peeled the outer layer off!

I’ve witnessed people do that.

13] Whole Wheat pasta

Yes, pasta is good for you.

No, not all pastas are as good for you.

Read the labels.

http://www.eatthis.com/pasta-nutrition

14] Figs

One dried fig contains nearly one gram of fiber and about 20 calories.

I like them, you might as well.

15] Dates

These things are weird, mushy and have the capacity to pull out a crown, but they have 1.6 grams of energy-boosting fiber, so there’s that.

16] Popcorn

I love popcorn and eat it all the time. I fill the bottom of a pan with extra virgin olive oil throw in the kernels and wait for them to pop. Then I add some spice and eat it in a bowl while watching Criminal Minds.

17] Acorn Squash

I couldn’t spot this in a grocery isle if my life depended on it, but one cup mashed provides your body with 6 grams of satiating fiber. Plus, acorn squash is also an excellent source of vitamin C—one serving provides about 20 percent of your daily needs—which is important for your immunity.

18] Sweet potato

I really like these when they soft. I carry them around with me. 6 grams of fiber per large baked potato for only 160 calories.

19] Apple

One medium apple contains around 4.4 grams of the belly-friendly nutrient and can help ward off junk food cravings between meals.

20] Almonds

High fiber nuts and seeds are always great while you’re on the go. Snack on almonds, which have an average of 3.5 grams of fiber per one-ounce serving and are a convenient way to supplement your fiber intake slowly throughout the day. In other words, they burn slowly.

21] Oranges

If I ever experience a radical drop in blood sugar during an intense workout, I reach for an orange. It’s not the fiber I’m looking for, it’s the fructose.

One orange also contains 4.4 grams of fiber, versus a banana, which contains 3.

22] Whole grain bread

One slice of a true whole grain bread can contain around 5 or 6 grams of fiber.

Remember to stick with whole grain, not multigrain, which simply means that there are different types of grains present

~~~

It should be obvious by now that consuming the aforementioned foods are a proven way of tricking your body into feeling full so you don’t down a Big Mac.

Adulthood is tough when you break it all down, which is why so many of us deflect attention from existential pain by going to the gym, watching a lot of television, working, and staying out of the hospital by eating things we hate.

Unplugging Facebook…and Other Mysteries Solved.

If you’re anything at all like me you already know that Facebook is potentially catastrophic to one’s emotional well being.

But like any drug, some are better able to handle the ups and downs.

I’m not one of them, which is why heroin has never been a line-item on my bucket list, except in extreme cases where I’m terminal and don’t want to wait another week for the inevitable.

Digression notwithstanding, Facebook has a way of burrowing into your life without giving much in return, unlike, say, Instagram or Twitter where the entire friggin’ world gets to tune into your life, and maybe you end up with a new TV deal.

So today I decided to put an end to it — at least, for now.

December 2024
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