This is fun -
How old was I here? (People tell me the beard makes me look older / never done any calorie restriction)
I can tell about the calorie restriction, you look built like a power-lifter. I'd say the beard plus the size ages your appearance. If you're trying to look particularly young, being slender and not having much facial hair is probably the best option. At any rate, you look tough, which has plenty of merit in its own right
LOL - I'm not trying to look young per se - actually I wanted to look older. People say I had a baby face (thanks mom - sigh) because that's where I carry extra fat. I think having a chubby face definitely makes you look younger (but people also think you are fatter). Most people assumed I was in my early 30s before the beard.
My friends joked that my body didn't match my head so I figured shaving the head and growing the beard would make me look more in sync. I'm married to an awesome woman who doesn't mind the look. She's used to it now.
About being slender, I have no interest in that - bigger is better for me. I'm cutting fat right now since a 6-pack is always nice. Years of lifting and being around bodybuilding have skewed my ideas of what "normal" men are supposed to look like. Anyone under 215lbs seems small/frail to me since I'm about 285 normally so when I see all these "buff" movie star hunks like Hugh Jackman or Brad Pitt it makes me chuckle. Yes I know that makes no rational sense, but long exposure to a certain aesthetic really does pull you in that direction.
I have not done a lot of sunbathing over my life (I work behind a computer) and I think tanning and smoking are the two biggest causes by far of premature visual aging. I see so many young girls darker than dark all the time and I just think to myself - you will be SO sorry in 25 years.
FYI I was 41 in that pic.
Edited by hypnotoad, 09 April 2010 - 09:50 AM.