# 40 Somethings.... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048 "2003-06-28T23:28:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/41 "2003-06-29T15:48:29Z")
About a year and a half I started losing my pep and vigour…and then I met a wonderful woman and everything got better…until I noticed the calendar was about to turn over that magic number, and then suddenly everything went to pot. I know it was all psychological and I am doing better now that I am one week into the forties…and I found that I was able to have sex as often as an old fart of forty as I was as a young buck of thirty nine…(god I sound like I’m about eighty don’t I??? Keith ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/42 "2003-06-29T15:51:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eilsel \* > \*\*Well maybe at 40 I can start jogging. I dont’ want to start now…I don’t like the feel of all that blubber bouncing around. LOL \*\* That is why I started jogging, I don’t like blubber. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/43 "2003-06-29T15:52:37Z")
I don’t think it was psychological for me, I really did start to break down physically around 34/35 and recently a LOT. Of course I’m just sitting here watching it happen hoping that at some point, I’m gonna wake up and it’s allll been a bad,bad dream. ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/44 "2003-06-29T15:53:44Z")
Well it’s embarrassing for me to jog. I have a nice treadmill inour basement…GAWD forbid I use it. I’m just such a hater of exercise. I did promise when I got to a certain number weight-wise, I’d start up. I’m not that far away from it now tho…ACK! ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/45 "2003-06-29T15:57:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shrinking Violet \* > \*\*Good Lord … and how far have you got? > > 😉 > > Julie \*\* I would estimate 35, 000 miles. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/46 "2003-06-29T16:02:09Z")
Mr. Metabolism skidded to a halt when I was in my late 30s. I’m 46 now, and I _feel_ as good as I used to, but it’s a constant struggle to keep my weight down–hell, just to stay even. I’m more breakable than I used to be, and more prone to aches and pains, but the only thing that really bothers me about my 40s is the drying up of my professional opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/47 "2003-06-29T16:10:05Z")
Your “professional opportunities” are DRYING up? Ummmm… never mind, I’m sooo not gonna say anything LOL ---
**Author:** ![Pelleas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Pelleas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pelleas)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/48 "2003-06-29T16:26:24Z")
> [@](#): > > (the memory is the first thing to go…) Actually, I’ve always heard that memory was the second thing to go. I forget what’s first.😉 I’m 67 and what I notice most is that my stamina started fading around 60 and scratches and bruises take longer to heal. I exercise at the gym four or five days a week and try to eat a low fat, high fiber diet so I have stayed in pretty good shape. ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/49 "2003-06-29T16:28:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pelleas \* > \*\*Actually, I’ve always heard that memory was the second thing to go. I forget what’s first.😉 > > \*\* LOL, I know what is first… jogging hasn’t help that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Pelleas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Pelleas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pelleas)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/50 "2003-06-29T20:37:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by olefin \* > \*\*LOL, I know what is first… jogging hasn’t help that. :smack: \*\* I know what you mean. Exercising at the gym and eating a healthy diet don’t seem to help much either. LOL. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/51 "2003-06-29T20:51:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*It was gradual: > 2. Avoiding places with loud music. I’m out with my friends, having a good time. Don’t wanna shout the whole time. > \*\* I’m the same way. Of course I wouldn’t mind the loud music so much if it wasn’t hip-hop, rap, or techno. Same difference, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/52 "2003-06-29T21:30:43Z")
Mentally, I hit the crisis point at my 38th birthday, at which point I realized that I could no longer say I was in my “mid 30’s” and had to face rapidly approaching 40. My body also started to fall apart at the same age, my hip getting so bad that I couldn’t do the black belt level TKD stuff anymore (Jump and spin off my left hip? Are you freaking nuts???). I’ve never liked loud places just because conversation is pointless beyond about 2’. As I get older, I have less tolerance for it. Kids these days and their boundless energy! Bah! ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/53 "2003-06-29T22:19:48Z")
“Kids these days and their boundless energy! Bah!” AND they’re NOISY!!! _grumble_ ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/54 "2003-06-29T22:28:59Z")
At 35 I noticed my knees hurt after dancing all night. Yes. Just dancing. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/55 "2003-06-29T22:58:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Enright3 \* > \*\* I had to get glasses for reading. I hated it! My distance vision is still good. I’ve always had perfect vision._\* Lord, me too - and it was the only thing that ever worked right in the first place. Oh, and just wait until all your rock star heros look like crosses between Falstaff and Santa Claus. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/56 "2003-06-29T23:20:18Z")
Ummm, _yes_. I used to be a senior editor; I’m now a copy editor. And after this job ends there is no way I’m going to get another magazine postion, at my age. Glad you’re amused by it, though! ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/57 "2003-06-29T23:22:01Z")
Oh stop already. Goodness. I was lol because it sounded like your “profession” was the oldest profession. ---
**Author:** ![plain\_jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@plain\_jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plain_jane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/58 "2003-06-30T02:24:20Z")
I already feel like an 80 year old woman and I’m not quite 30. My neck and back are often sore and if I stand too long my back seizes up, and my legs feel “heavy” and swollen. And when I’m tired my heart pounds like crazy. I’m going to be a mess at 40, I’m afraid. On the plus side, I’m often mistaken for being almost a decade younger than I am. As long as they don’t see me hunched over nursing my aching back, on the outside I should be okay for a while yet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/59 "2003-06-30T02:52:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pelleas \* > \*\*I know what you mean. Exercising at the gym and eating a healthy diet don’t seem to help much either. LOL. \*\* Maybe you are doing the wrong exercise? LOL 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048/60 "2003-06-30T12:06:22Z")
"On the plus side, I’m often mistaken for being almost a decade younger than I am. As long as they don’t see me hunched over nursing my aching back, on the outside I should be okay for a while yet. " See, Jane, that happens to me but I’m afraid … what will happen if I wake up one day and all of a sudden they both catch up to each other (my outside and inside) ?? O … M … G that could be preeeetttttty scary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-somethings/185048.md?page=4)