Turning 28 in a month and in the past year everything has gotten drastically worse.
Is this just a normal part of aging or am I unlucky? I mean I am almost 30 but it just seemed kind of sudden idk.
Like for example my varicose veins have gotten exponentially worse this year, I feel like my skin is sagging a lot over my whole body, and I feel like I’ve lost muscle mass, like significantly. To be fair I wasn’t as active as usual but in other similar situations I was never looking this way.
Doctors said I’m fine btw. I’m just so exhausted and it’s depressing seeing this shit.
When you’re younger, all it takes to be healthy is just to not do a lot of unhealthy stuff. Around 30, health becomes something to upkeep. You need to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Good enough is no longer enough.
Yeah I noticed the only people who don’t look bad for their age are pretty much obsessive with their diets and exercise, or just have freak genetics
It’s not that hard to eat better and work out. After a couple weeks it becomes routine.
It’s not hard but personally, as a habit based person, it was VERY hard to start. But like you said, once the routine starts, you’ll hate yourself for not doing it lol
I started to develop a gut for the first time around the same age (after being so skinny people would comment about it). I think you’re probably noticing regular aging, but you can probably slow the trend via a healthier lifestyle. Get active, improve your diet, maybe check with a different doc just to be sure.
This is what I was going to say.
Falling apart at 28 isn’t normal, but what is normal at 28 is having your body suddenly stop giving you a hall pass. That’s very relatable.
Get 8 hours of sleep a night, walk and bike when you can, eat your greens, etc. and you might notice a difference.
having your body suddenly stop giving you a hall pass.
Great way to put it. I’m close to OPs age, and while I won’t say I’m “falling apart” to the extent they are, things definitely are starting to have consequences. Sleep deprivation was the most shocking; used to be able to get 4-6 hours of sleep for several consecutive days of activity, then sleep on over the weekend and be completely fine. Now, if I get less than 7, chances are pretty good that I’m not gonna have a great day tomorrow.
Do you sit around a lot? Do you play games instead of being active? Do you eat sugary foods and a lot of soft drinks? What sort of exercise are you doing?
I’m 48, I work in computers, but I’m in about the same shape now than I was at 28: I weigh the same if not a little less, I eat well, am active, and when I’m not working, I stay the fuck off of computers, games, and other shit that keeps my ass in a seat.
Exercise increases energy levels, improves mood, and makes you healthier.
Honestly it’s hard for me to exercise cause my downstairs neighbours are psycho, outside is polluted af and I can’t afford a gym membership. My life sucks honestly
Get a friend to do exercises with. Do calisthenics at a friend’s house. It’s very hard to work out by yourself, but very easy with a buddy.
Exercise for it’s own sake sucks. Find something physically challenging and fun. Kayaking is a great example, and not the crazy fast rapids type. Hiking is great exercise as well. Dedicate a pack to it and keep modifying it untill you’re carry what you want and need. LOL, mine’s about 25lbs. with beer and a little shotgun. You get the idea, even if those things aren’t your jam.
You might be surprised what you can find on maps! Zoom out and see what’s out there. Found a park by the Navy base that few locals know exists. Been exploring this area for years and there are still places close by I’ve never been.
Yes. Having excuses can be a major part of the problem too.
I suggest to make ‘having excuses’ one of your former habits now.
If your life sucks, that can be exhausting. I agree with orbituary - do yoga and calisthenics.
Squats. Push-ups. Pull-ups. Dumbells. Yoga. Sit-ups. Crunches.
Sorry to hear your life sucks. Most of us feel that way. You can make small, incremental improvements if you’re motivated to change.
Good luck.
I was starting to go that way in my late twenties. Started training in the gym. Thirties now, looking and feeling better than at any other point in my life. I beat my high school time for the 1 mile run by 30s recently, I couldn’t believe it.
I’ve seen people much older than you or I totally turn their lives around. I think for most people, it’s not getting older that is the problem, but rather, being sedentary over the long run is just way more destructive than we realize. Even just daily long walks makes a night and day difference
Yup I didn’t get back to a healthy weight until after my kid was born at 40. Really till he started running around so closer to 42-43.
Then I got Covid just before the vaccine was available for our ages and have been underweight since. Just finally started gaining back decent muscle this winter but still having trouble keeping weight on (I’m 6’3 and 170-175lbs (~190cm ~78kg)).
Was around 200lbs (90kg) while my wife was pregnant.
How long? Is an hour or so ok or is that not long?
Anything at all is vastly better than sitting around all day.
An hour is great.
it’s the age that rock stars feel is the beginning of the downfall…
I don’t know what to say about your personal experience
but I have witnessed positive changes in people who dedicate themselves to improving their own physical form.
yes
you can make your body what you want it to be… but you must be disciplined and focused.
if you’re asking me? bicycle workouts are the best leg forming exercises. once you get over the initial hump, it’s so liberating and enjoyable.
women who bike have very attractive bodies
I’d say everything slowly goes down hill starting at 25 but drastically worse by 28 means you need to see a doctor. You’re either not okay or living a bad life style.
Body starts aging at around 20 if I recall correctly.
Doctors said I’m fine btw.
One thing you might want to do is see another doctor and get another opinion of your physical condition? I almost lost my eyesight because of an incomp, I mean, with a doctor that was not that well informed. Had I not decided to check with another doctor…
Idk I’ve been to like 20 doctors. Either way whatever tf I have isn’t curable
Do you stretch often? I remember feeling like this in my early 20’s and my friends suggested I do yoga which helped immensely. My legs will also feel terrible if I don’t stretch them or place them above my head every day. Supposedly putting them above your head (like lying on your bed with your legs on the wall) will prevent varicose veins by draining the blood from them and letting them heal. Maybe it’ll help a bit with already varicose veins.
Also you’re getting to that age where your diet will have a larger effect on how you feel, so try to eat more vegetables or whatever your body needs. I’ve found that meat does not sit well with me if I eat too much of it, so try to find out what you need.
Idk there’s literally nothing to eat in this country it’s so depressing. The healthiest it gets here is meat rice and veggies. Good luck affording anything healthy the prices are higher than in Germany not to mention frozen food isn’t even a thing so when I’m dying and can’t cook (which is often lately) I have to eat some garbage instead of a healthy frozen meal
This sounds more like you have depression than problems. Meat rice and veggies are healthy and you can make them taste fantastic. What’s not healthy is frozen “healthy meals”.
It really sounds like you’re depressed and everything that looks like a mountain is actually a mole hill.
From a fellow German: where are you now? Worse but more expensive food, I am guessing US?
Bulgaria 😃
Wtf, how is food more expensive over there?? It’s been a while since I was in eastern Europe, but shouldn’t basic food be way cheaper?
Yeah it should. And it was. Not anymore everything is more expensive than Germany except for the rent.
Short answer, no, it is not normal unless you have some kind of illness.
28 years of age is usually too young for your body to fall apart. It is enough time that your bad habits begin to show results, such as muscle loss, muscle imbalances, etc. This is usually caused by your life style. As you get older, its more important for you to do maintenance on your body and watch what you are consuming.
If your life is too stationary, then you will start to see yourself falling apart. The old saying of “If you don’t use it, you lose it” starts to hold turn with time. How “aged” your body feels really depends on how active you are with it, to an extent. There are people twice your age that are in fantastic shape, that is because they put in work to maintain their bodies.
It is time to introduce some good habits to your routine. Eat a bit better, move around more, more active activities, etc. You will start to feel better again before you know it. Good luck.
Seconding. Early 30s, went to the doc with a set of strange new pains. Turns out I’ve been too sedentary and much of it started to improve with just a couple hours of walking every day
As someone older. I’ve come to find that it’s part of the cycle. Some days I’m great and feel as good as I did in my teens and other days I get winded walking up a flight of stairs.
The biggest thing now is maintenance. Regular stretching, cardio, and strength training, coupled with better lifestyle choices, less booze, junk food, and smoking. It’s sadly the only thing I’ve found that actually works. I don’t do that stuff enough but when I am disciplined enough to do all that, I usually feel pretty good day to day.
As for the varicose veins, I have some that are super noticeable. Compression socks have been my saving grace there. I wear them pretty much everyday, not so much on the weekends, and every time I travel. You can also get them removed through minor surgical means.
Can you please recommend some socks? I only have one light pair and it helps a tiny bit but not much. I tried another one but it made my legs go numb.
There are a lot of different socks out there, most of them are more like hose than socks. I use Bombas socks because they actually feel like regular socks except they go up to my knees. I use the 15-20mmhg compression in their large size and they work well for me.
Bombas also has a good return policy, I was trying to narrow in on the size and compression level and after the first pair was too big, i asked them if I could swap and they just sent me the smaller size for free. I’m a bigger guy if that helps you find the right size.
They aren’t cheap but they also aren’t crazy expensive. I just asked for socks for Christmas and a birthday or two and ended up with more than enough to get me through a week.
In my late 20s my doc told me to start resistance exercises to fight off the atrophy, sounds like its coming a little early for you, but not abnormal. I can’t recomend enough some basic weight routines that more or less get your whole body. Pilates is great if you dont want to use weights or training machines at the gym.
This is the resource I’ve been using for free weight exercises https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workout-routines
varicose veins
wasn’t as active
lost muscle mass, like significantly.
Find a workout or sport routine you enjoy and commit to it. Be mindful of you diet. You’ve got another 10 years at least before things start to get sore.
No that’s not till you’re older. Did you have covid? That can cause lingering issues like that. That can improve over time but maybe not completely.
I did, yea. And I pretty much developed some kind of exercise intolerance since then too.
Looking at your past posts you might have mental health issue like depression. You could see a psychiatrist about that maybe. Re COVID, maybe look at r/longcovid on Reddit and see if your symptoms compare. I hope things clear up for you.
Most people age more between 25 and 35 than they do between 35 and 55.
That’s depressing. Nobody wanted me when I was pretty and young and slim and healthy and look at me now. I look revolting.
Get yo ass a therapist, it shouldn’t be acceptable to talk about yourself like this.
Get them to check your thyroid levels, that’s what it was when I was feeling similar at 24. It took years for me to feel normal and have energy again but it’s treatable.
I was losing hair in the shower, I had dry skin on my arms and bad dandruff and I was exhausted all the time even after a large dose of aderall in the mornings. My TSH was 20 when it’s supposed to be below 6.
