Youth is Overrated: Why Sex is Better with an Older Man

You may sometimes fantasise about having sex with a much younger man, but young guys may not be as good for your sexual wellbeing as you think. According to sexual health and wellness expert Aaron Traister, author at The Good Men Project, ‘Twenty-something dudes today have no idea how easy they have it when it comes to sex, what with their “hook-up culture” and their fancy “smartphones” that “sext.” I once walked five miles in a blizzard because a girl called me up (on my house phone) and asked if I wanted to listen to the new White Zombie CD.’ But does that mean older men crave the casual hook-up, or are the young ones missing out on some sexy monogamy? When all is said and done, there are three reasons why you should favour experience over youth:

 

1. Older Men Have Seen it All: Traister notes, ‘When guys are young, we’re surprisingly uptight about sex: It’s all about looking cool, trying to re-create the sex you’ve seen in movies. Nakedness is still an uncomfortably real experience. By now, I’ve seen everything my wife has to offer, physically: the good, the bad, the sexy, and the scary. During Karel’s C-section, they let me look over the partition before everything was back to normal, so my first image of my daughter includes a nurse holding my wife’s innards. For her part, Karel’s had to take care of me during a severe case of stomach flu (enough said). While those trials might seem like permanent mood-killers, the reality is they’ve only loosened us up in the bedroom. Plus, we’ve reached a point where Karel is no longer a vending machine for tiny humans, and this has made me appreciate her body more than ever. I think she appreciates my appreciation.’

 

2. Older Men Want to Be Your Trophy Husband: ‘It’s a rare man who can avoid the weight gain that comes with starting a family,’ says Traister. ‘First there is the “newlywed 15,” and then there’s the “new baby 50″ (at least in my case). I’ve looked into the void: I’ve seen myself as a bloated, out-of-shape, middle-aged father of two. I don’t like that guy. In an effort to banish him forever, I started busting my ass in the gym. Now, instead of being all about doughnuts, cheese fries, and whiskey, I’m all about crunches, plank positions, and the dreaded side-plank positions. I love fatty food, but I love athletic sex even more—and I’m not alone in finding myself at a point where I can do things that I couldn’t do in my 20s. Also, I’m pretty sure the plank and side plank will eventually come in handy during intercourse.’

 

3. Older Men Are About Quality, Not Quantity: Traister comments, ‘Say what you will about how hard it is to have a decent sex life during the baby years—at least you can plop your kid in the Superyard XT, flip on an episode of Thomas & Friends, and escape upstairs for a quickie. But there is no containing a six-year-old to one room. You think you have the all-clear, and the next thing you know your kid is standing in the middle of the bedroom trying to show you his Lego White House. (How the hell did he get through a locked door?) On the other hand, after-school activities and dinners at friends’ houses mean the kids are gone for longer periods of time. And when they’re gone, you can be louder, you can use multiple locations, and you don’t have to stop every two minutes because you think you hear little feet on the stairs. Most of all, you have enough time to fully appreciate intimacy. For instance, do you remember foreplay? Foreplay is back! So buckle up, because soccer practice lasts two hours.’

Categories: Experience, karel, nbsp, older, older men, Plank, plank positions, quality sex, traister

The Science of Weight Loss: New Proven Ways to Shed Pounds

A lot of research has gone into the best ways to lose weight and take care of your wellness, so why do you still feel in the dark about the whole thing? Some of the findings have been, to put it mildly, counter-intuitive, even suggesting completely new ways of dieting. So, if you’ve struggled to lose weight in the past – and, let’s face it, who hasn’t? – then have a go at some new methods, based on the latest research, that work with your body rather than against it.

 

1. Eat on alternate days: The problem with cutting calories on a daily basis is that you’re constantly hungry and miserable. However, you can still lose weight and protect your wellbeing against health concerns without being in a permanent state of semi-starvation. A few years ago, a study at the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore revealed that giving rats very little food one day and allowing them to eat plenty the next showed virtually all the benefits of a permanent calorie restriction diet. According to Dr. James Johnson, who has set up a website with information on how to do it, the same goes for humans. In fact, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have just published the results of a ten-week trial on obese patients, which showed that those on the alternate-day diet lost ten pounds to two stone.

 

2. Turn the heating down: If you’ve been dieting for a while, you may remember a dieter’s dream that went by the name of brown fat. In mice, brown-fat tissue was shown to burn off excess energy to keep you warm – unlike the undesirable white stuff that stores excess energy as fat. Because researchers couldn’t find much brown fat in humans, it kind of fell out of the scene. However, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has put brown fat back on our radar by exposing people to cold temperatures. If you’re cold, your body makes more brown fat and your weight drops. Women kept at 22˚C used up 27 more grams of body fat a day than those at 27˚C – cool!

 

3. Check your testosterone levels: Sorry, this one’s just for the lads. Middle-aged men with a spreading middle area may be producing too much oestrogen. Both men and women produce testosterone and oestrogen – using the former to make the latter – and this is particularly significant for older men. The ageing process causes older men to make less testosterone, as well as turning more of it into oestrogen. This encourages your body to lay more fat around your middle area, which is the place of fat storage that is connected to a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease. Exercising can give you the energy and muscle you need to boost your testosterone and you can also get a prescription for testosterone supplements if your level has become very low. Drinking too much makes your liver less efficient at getting rid of the extra oestrogen, so you might want to consider cutting back at the pub.

 

4. Get more vitamin D: Whether you get out in the sun without sun block, eat more fortified foods or start taking supplements, vitamin D is a superstar for lowering your risk of heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatism, as well as your weight. In 2008, a University of Minnesota researcher conducted a small trial which showed that those with more vitamin D in their blood lost more weight. For every extra nanogram per millilitre (ng/ml) they lost an extra half-pound.

Categories: alternate days, body, brown, excess energy, heart disease, Lose weight, middle area, older men, Testosterone, Vitamin D, weight

Could Testosterone Therapy Help You Feel Younger as You Age?

There are many enticing prospects with testosterone therapy. Not only does the therapy enhance your sexual health with a boosted libido and bags of energy, but other areas of your wellbeing can also improve thanks to testosterone’s ability to increase your muscle mass and sharpen your memory and concentration. Put it that way, and testosterone therapy seems like the ultimate formula for your anti-ageing wellness, but testosterone’s benefits in preventing age-related decline aren’t as clear as they may seem. So what do we know, and not know, about using testosterone therapy for normal ageing.

 

Men produce testosterone primarily in the testicles. This hormone helps to maintain your bone density, fat distribution, muscle strength and mass, red blood cell production, sex drive and sperm production. Your testosterone production peaks during your teenage years and early adulthood and, as you get older, these levels gradually decline – typically by about 1% every year after you reach your 30s. It is important to determine in older men if a low testosterone level is simply due to the decline of normal aging or if it is due to a disease, such as hypogonadism. This occurs when your body is unable to produce normal amounts of testosterone, be it due to a problem with the testicles or with the pituitary gland that controls the testicles. If you have this disease, testosterone replacement therapy can improve the signs and symptoms of low testosterone.

 

Some people assume that a naturally declining testosterone level causes the signs and symptoms of ageing, but this isn’t necessarily the case. As a man, you can experience many signs and symptoms of ageing, only some of which occur as a result of lower testosterone levels. The signs of ageing related to waning testosterone include:

 

• Changes in sexual function: You might find that your sexual desire is reduced, you have fewer spontaneous erections — such as during sleep — and you’re less fertile.


• Changes in sleep patterns: Sometimes low testosterone can cause you to experience insomnia or other sleep disturbances.


• Physical changes: There are various possible physical changes when your testosterone levels decrease. You might have more body fat than you used to, less muscle bulk and strength or decreased bone density. It’s also possible to have swollen and tender breasts (which is known as gynecomastia), hot flashes, hair loss and less energy.


• Emotional changes: With lower testosterone levels, you can feel less motivated or self-confident, have trouble concentrating or remembering things and/or be sad or depressed.

 

So where does testosterone therapy come in? While testosterone therapy has been shown to help reverse the effects of hypogonadism, it remains unclear as to whether testosterone therapy would have any benefit for older men who are otherwise healthy. Some men believe that taking medications containing testosterone help them to feel younger and more vigorous, but few studies have been undertaken in this area, meaning that we do not know whether this feeling of youth is anything more than a placebo effect. Plus, the research that has been done has come back with mixed results. For example, in one study healthy men who took testosterone medications increased muscle mass but didn’t gain strength.

 

Moreover, there are risks to take into account when considering testosterone therapy:

• Sleep apnoea: This is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts, and testosterone therapy is thought to contribute to this.


• Polycythemia: This is a condition in which testosterone therapy encourages your body to make too many red blood cells, which can increase your risk of heart disease


• Acne or other skin reactions


• Benign prostatic hyperplasia: Testosterone therapy can stimulate non-cancerous growth of your prostate, and even stimulate growth of existing prostate cancer.


• Enlarged breasts


• Limited sperm production or testicle shrinkage

 

If you wonder whether testosterone therapy might be right for you, talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits.

Categories: anti-ageing, bone density, Feel Younger, muscle mass, older men, red blood, Risks, sperm production, testosterone level, testosterone levels, testosterone therapy

Is Male Menopause Something to Worry About?

Everyone ages, and with this they experience hormonal changes which lead to numerous bodily changes. Where women experience dramatic hormone shifts, thought, men experience theirs more gradually over a period of many years. This has been coined as the ‘male menopause’, which is something of a myth but refers to genuine hormonal changes which men may notice as they age. The term usually refers to the decline in testosterone levels, or the reduction in the bioavailability of this hormone in relation to ageing. However, it is important to recognise that the female and male menopauses are very different processes. In women, the hormones plummet dramatically, but men suffer far less intense shifts. Most doctors prefer to use the term andropause, as this better describes the age-related changes in male patients. Of course, everyone is different, and testosterone levels vary from man to man. Older men, though, have lower levels than younger men. As you age, the testosterone levels decline by around one percent each year after the age of 30. By the age of 70, they can have declined by as much as 50 percent.

 

You can spot the symptoms of a low testosterone levels in the body with a variety of symptoms. Your sexual function may be affected, including erectile dysfunction or fewer spontaneous erections. Some men notice that there are changes to their sleep patterns, leading to insomnia or increased sleepiness. Physically, men sometimes complain of an increase in body fat, reduced muscle and strength, and decrease bone density. There may even be a loss of body hair and swollen or tender breasts, which is known as gynecomastia. Much like women experience in menopause (thought far rarer in men) you may have hot flushes, and less energy. Lastly, hormones affect our emotions so it’s natural that with a shift in the levels, you may notice some emotional changes. This might lead to a decrease in self confidence, feelings of sadness or depression, or trouble concentrating. These are all natural processes with age, but some may be an underlying issue relating to a separate health problem – it’s worth speaking to your GP who can advise why you’re experiencing certain symptoms. You should be honest with your GP – work with them to identify any health issues which may be contributing to how you’re feeling, so that they can determine what the best course of treatment is. Don’t keep any information back, even if you think it isn’t related – it may help with your diagnosis.

 

You should also choose healthy lifestyle choices, such as more exercise and a better diet. Your lifestyle can help you to maintain energy and lean muscle mass, as well as building strength. Regular exercise can also affect your mood, balancing out any emotional problems you’ve been experiencing as a result in the testosterone shift. If you’re feeling down regularly, speak to someone about it – you may be suffering with depression, which can make you irritable, isolated and withdrawn. These are issues which are best dealt with early, before they develop and become harder to treat. Therefore, if you’re noticing that you’re feeling lonely or withdrawn more than usual, you should consult your GP who can refer you to a counsellor if need be, or prescribe medication to combat the issue. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the treatment of testosterone replacement therapy, as the benefits aren’t clear, particularly for older men. It could potentially increase the risk of prostate cancer and lead to other health problems. It’s best to speak to your GP to ascertain if it is the right choice for you.

Categories: Experience, feeling, levels, male, male menopause, men, Menopause, older men, Testosterone, testosterone levels, women experience