38 is middle age? Say it ain't so!

I too have noticed that, especially with the growth (no pun intended) of feederism communities online having much younger members.

I suspect that's because broadband (high speed) 24/7 Internet became mainstream a little over 20 years ago, along with the "smartphone," a term that didn't really enter the American consciousness until '07, when the original iPhone was released. I had a smartphone well before then, but it was actually a combo PalmPilot with a mobile phone built-in. Also because in the 90s, Dimensions was pretty much the only game in town. Anyway! I digress.

It's certainly more difficult, I think. It can be harder to figure out when to eat and to get enough calories in. I think that's more because of life responsibilities like full-time jobs, perhaps family responsibilities, and whatever else you may have going on. But it's certainly possible.

I find my body doesn't really agree with HFCS (a truly vile ingredient) so I minimize consumption of it, which basically means no soda in the U.S. Not that's the worst possible thing - too much of it makes me sleepy, and soda also seems to cause water retention and bloating, and even decreases my appetite. Also not the worst thing since HFCS is a major, perhaps even the #1 contributor to diabetes, which is why many countries have banned it.

One thing you have though... if your profile is correct, you're already 264 lbs, which is already pretty chunky. This probably means it wouldn't seem that weird if you end up gaining even more, and you might already have a pretty good appetite already so perhaps it wouldn't be that hard to eat a bit more to gain.

The main thing I think is to not just eat junk food all the time like that hyper processed packaged stuff. There's plenty of "real food" that's high in calories. Even a burger typically has vegetables on it, and those toppings are unlikely to impact your appetite much. You can also have salad that's drowning in creamy Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese, and optional bacon bits.

Another thing to maybe try to watch out for is sodium (often from salt and seasonings). While you do need to have some, odds are you'll probably have way more than enough.

So to recap:

- Some junk food should be okay but it shouldn't be the primary staple of your diet. You'd regret it if you do.
- Minimize HFCS consumption to almost nothing.
- Don't have to avoid vegetables and should probably have some.
- It can be really easy to go way overboard on the sodium so try not to do that. Some canned goods can have a lot of it.

A multivitamin pill or some sort of nutritional shake like Ensure Plus, Equate Plus (Wal-Mart knockoff of Ensure Plus), Fortify Plus (Kroger knockoff), or Boost may be worth doing too.

Let's hope we can keep this thread on topic.

To answer the original question, no it's certainly not weird. That's one of the big reasons why FF is even here.

No, can't say that I do. Already, I pluck out the stray white hair, here and there. I fear this means I will have to start using hair dye, eventually.

I'm not happy about frown lines.

I expect to start using Botox if that's what it takes. The world, but especially the working world, is not kind to anyone who looks too old.

I'm kind of curious what Cher and Demi Moore have done.

I wouldn't read into it too much if I were you.

Sometimes, I'm motivated to look at a profile simply because that person looked at mine.

Sometimes, I'm looking for something suspicious or following up on a report (not applicable in your case).

Sometimes, even just posting a thread can garner views.

Sometimes, some might even be curious about your pictures as kind of a guideline for what they themselves might look like eventually.

One thing for sure that I can say, is that initial physical attraction is NOT a requirement for me, and probably for most others for that matter, to look at a profile.

I get views from all sorts, even a lot of men, even mostly straight men, sometimes not even the same country. 99%+ of the time, it probably doesn't mean anything.

Sometimes I wonder if my avatar on here is slightly misleading, but I've never had anyone complain about it. It might even be because of being featured on the featured profiles page, or the mod/"meet the team" page.

I've considered that on occasion, though perhaps not in the context of what you're thinking. But, more of a practical concern, and when I'd have to get more. It's kind of a hassle to get clothes at a reasonable value, though JCPenney runs decent sales at the right times. Suits and overcoats are particularly annoying, since higher quality ones can be spendy, so I hope you don't have to buy those often.

Although yes, the thought of eventually filling out a 3XL shirt being close to, or even slightly snug is somewhat thrilling. But I also don't know if I really have a clothing size goal. However, it can be an interesting psychological thrill, much in the way of crossing the threshold of a certain BMI score, or numbers on a scale (e.g. 300 lbs or 332 lbs (150 kgs)).

Another possible thrilling fault is having to give up certain clothing brands because they don't go big enough. For example, I don't think Express goes higher than 18 or 20/2XL in ladies and 2XL/44" waist in men's.

In a way, I guess I do think of XL and the measurement equivalents as kind of a minimum starting point, with the ideal of being always at least a 2XL.

Although, at stores I have noticed that higher than 2XL, longer than 18" neck, longer than 44" waist, and wider than 52R in suits (or sport coats) starts to become uncommon, and at that point you will probably have to start shopping online a lot more often, maybe even exclusively, eventually.

If you ever travel, there may even come a point where you might even have to start thinking in terms of backup sets of underwear and clothes well in excess of your anticipated needs, because the odds of finding that size locally on short notice might be difficult or impossible. Amazon is pretty good about 1 day, but that's only in the US (and maybe the UK?), only really available in the large cities, and I'd say about 95-99% reliable (not 100%).

This is also my opinion but you might want to give up thrift stores, at least for clothes. Unless you're exceptionally lucky, there's usually a reason a clothing item ended up there. They're often very tacky; items the original buyer likely regrets getting in the first place, only to then not wear them often if even at all, because of the tackiness. It's how they're still in reusable, saleable condition. The clothes that aren't tacky are often reused and worn down to tatters and thus, can't be resold.

It's also kind of like a "treasure hunt" experience. Some may genuinely enjoy this, but it can be very time consuming for a trip that might not be productive at all (you don't find anything you're looking for and is suitable).

Thrift stores are good for some things though - new glasses and stemware for the dinner table, and some cooking implements. Sometimes even furniture if you want something functional and you don't care much how it looks.

If cost is an issue, there's Amazon, and JCPenney does run decent sales at certain times. I can't recommend Temu at this time because of excessive reports of false charges, misrepresented items, and items that never show up at all. The risk of knockoffs being sold on E-Bay is also very high - the other day I bought shoes off of E-Bay that were knockoffs. They hurt my feet bad and were falling apart within the month.

Sure, you could buy some clothes that are way too big as kind of a goal to aspire to, but be careful. Sometimes there are plateaus or it might take longer for you to finally fill them out. Or the weight could settle in places that you don't expect.

But, clothes that are slightly too big can serve as a nice, subtle psychological reminder that you are still too skinny and need to keep eating.

Also, 34" inseam? Either you have unusually long legs for your height (which I'm not sure if I have ever seen), or maybe you prefer to roll up the ends? At 5'8"-5'9", I'd have expected a 30" inseam.

Really? I've never heard of this before. What's this disorder called?

While I'd never wish health problems on anyone, it sounds like a perfect excuse to pretty much always be eating.

What kind of oil and about how much?

Can you estimate the amounts or ratios?

Customs doesn't give problems and thus confiscate it all?