I considered my wife’s looks & body incredible when we first married.
She’s a little older now and after the birth of our child she thinks her butt’s a little bigger and her breasts aren’t as perky due to breastfeeding. I look at those same breasts and hips, realize they’re responsible for our beautiful, healthy daughter, and think my wife’s never been more gorgeous.
A lot of how you’ll view your mate in 30 years lies in your values and within your own mind.
What does it matter what your loved one looks like in 30 years? So much can change…illness, medications, accidents, childbirth among other things. Sure, a person can take care of themselves - but life happens. Every line in a face tells a story, tells you something about character. Added weight? Food eaten together as a family and shared with love; weight gain because she gave birth to the children you cherish. Appearance may have a lot to do with why people get together, but it shouldn’t be the reason you stay.
I’m quite overweight myself, Earthling, so I guess I’m damaged goods as well. But I gotta ask these questions . . . What do you look like now and how will you look in 30 years? I realize that men are visual creatures and everyone likes to look at pretty people, but your post gave me the impression that you are looking for a woman to keep her value up, much like wondering how long a car will remain pristine and shiny. I hope you are not one of those men with a pot belly, broken teeth and tobacco stained dirty fingernails who disses women who don’t meet his exacting standards.
I like lieu’s response - changing bodies/appearences are natural and only add to the beauty. If you think your mate will look the same in 20 years, please don’t get married. God help us, there is SO much more to life than “wrinkle-free” or “tight butt”. You can do things to keep yourself healthy and running properly, but the ever changing face is only a natural part of life. Too bad that men have a harder time accepting this… believe it or not, one day even Ms. Britney Spears will have saggy breasts and crow’s feet. You just wait 
How will she look in thirty years?
I don’t care.
What I do care about is that Lola will be healthy and happy and by this time we should be bouncing scores of grandchildren on our laps. I seriously doubt that I’ll have any hair left on my head by then and the rock hard abs just won’t be there.
Will she care what I look like when I’m 65?
I hope not.
Have you a single brother?
-Another
Primate - If I had a quarter for every time someone asked me if I had a single brother I’d be retired.
The truth is, I do have a single brother.
He’s six feet tall, blue eyed, blonde haired, and gorgeous according to many women I know. We don’t look alike except for the fact that we’re both fine looking men
Speaking of fine looking men, my brother would like to find one of his own.
I know, what a waste.
I have nothing to add about beauty except that I’m hotter than white lightning…
but I do want to step in and offer a little defense for the OP.
While he was a little insensitive in his wording, I see absolutely nothing wrong with inquiring about someone’s looks or what IN YOUR OPINION contributes to better aging.
I love good looking people. Old or young. I love to see good looking people. Good looking people are attractive. Male or Female, and I work hard to stay looking as good as I can, because it makes me feel better about myself. I don’t think it makes me shallow or less loveable.
Can’t someone admit they like good looking people without being ridden out of town on a rail as being insensitive? I sense and undercurrent of bitterness here that’s decidedly UNattractive.
Just MHO
jarbaby
Call me insensitive, call me a racist, call me late for dinner, I don’t care: If jarbabyj can go on and on about her German welders, then I will unabashedly offer the following opinion:
Asian females are (generally speaking) the most beautiful on Earth. And they tend to age very, very well. I’ve met Asian women in their forties and fifties who easily looked twenty years younger.
They seem to go gray much later than other folks, too.
Now, that said, assuming I ever meet my soulmate (assuming she even exists), I’m certain I won’t care a whit when the years pass and she starts to take on the middle-aged spread, the crow’s feet, the laugh lines…
…The laugh lines in particular will be a delight, because I’ll know I helped put them there.
Yeah, most are pretty nice, except for that Rae Dong Chong gal… 
jarbabyj writes
Sure. But comments like “All Twinkies all the time turns hottie to fattie in no time,” isn’t the most sensitive comment I’ve ever seen about overweight women. Some of us gain weight because we stop exercising so much or pick up on our snacking, and changing the behavior back immediately drops the weight. Others just go through metabolic changes or irreversible lifestyle changes, and hearing someone characterize that as “from hottie to fattie” is pretty cruel. Of course, everyone knows that all fat people are jolly, so there’s no need to spare anyone’s feelings.:rolleyes:
I dunno, I read the hottie–>fattie comment as “eating junk food is the only cause of becoming fat and unattractive.” Every woman I know who mysteriously put on some weight she couldn’t lose got it from being pregnant. I guess pregnancy is caused by Twinkies.
Corr, who’s having second thoughts about that box of Hostess snacks in the cabinet :eek:
Well, doggone. Actually, I’m not searching for a fine-looking man. It’s your outlook I like. Of course, combine that attitude with handsome, I wouldn’t complain!
-Another
Eeee-yow. Sure looks like I hit on a raw nerve there. For all of you who mentioned that it’s the internal qualities that make one attractive, please allow me to say that I realize appearance is not the full measure of a person, and I appreciate your opinions. I actually thought about putting that in my OP but decided to leave it out because the original intent of the thread was basically just idle curiosity about random strangers who cross our paths[sup]1[/sup] (or not, in the case of celebrities) and not about finding a mate or getting to know a person one-on-one, although many of the responses interpreted it that way.
Now, to address some of the specific replies:
The Twinkies Comment: OK, that was probably a bit insensitive, but I did not say that a fat person (however that’s defined) must be fat because of sloth and bad eating habits. In other words, I don’t go around thinking that if a woman has more body fat than an acupuncture needle, then she must be a junk food junkie or is unworthy as a person. Or that thin people are all healthy eaters - I grant that some people can have the worst eating habits and stay thin. Still, A -> B is not B -> A.
What about men? You bet, I’d like to hear what women think about men’s looks. Y’know, for all the huffing and puffing about men’s fixation on women’s appearance, I’d bet that a lot of women (and men) would be turned off - at least initially - by some guy with a full rainforest sprouting from his nostrils.
What do I look like? No pot belly. Have all my teeth. Keep my nose hair trimmed.
Is this a shallow subject? Of course it is, but the mind (mine, anyway) doesn’t remain rigid and alert at all times, and I’d hope that we’re all allowed a few such lapses once in a while. A gracious thank-you goes to jarbabyj for coming to my defense.
[sup]1[/sup] Yes, every friend starts as a stranger, but I’d daresay that most of the strangers we meet will remain that way.