Shave Your Head, Get a Tan, and Get Your A** to the Gym

[BigThinker]

Ex gf is complimenting my face a lot but doesn't like my hair.

This is the problem with hair loss.

Tell that trick to keep her negative comments to herself.

[Fixed by 35]

Fixed by 35, you really don't have 3 or 4 hours to become healthier? In a 168 hour week? No one said become a "meathead." Fit, healthy, overall happier. I'd recommend it to anyone, bald or not. If less than 2% of your time is too much to part with, you should still find some other strenuous activity to keep you healthy, preferably one that you enjoy.

And anyone that says there's nothing healthy about a tan is tragically uneducated about the health benefits of sun exposure. If you quit being a **** for a second, you could look into it. Though I know your time is too precious for that.

Yeah, cool your jets, man. You act like a discussion about an option is a personal attack on you. You know what you need? Some exercise, a little sun, and a shave.

Gee, thanks, Mr. Broken Record!

I don't think I'm getting my point across so I'll start again. First of all, let's deal with time. What impact would four hours at the gym have on my quality of life? Well, let's start with the time I already have no control over in a typical 168 hour week:

Sleep: 56 hours
Work and commuting: 60 hours
Study: 20 hours
Meal times inc. prep & washing up: 12 hours
Getting ready in the morning/going to bed: 5 hours
Laundry & ironing: 2 hours
Shopping: 2 hours
Cleaning: 1 hour

That leaves me with 10 hours per weekfor myself. In other words, 10 hours to define myself with my free time. If I follow the advice above, I will need to spend 2 hours a week shaving my head, an hour a week getting a tan and 4 hours in the gym. That would leave me with 3 hours a week for myself. And you say you can go bald, follow society's idiotic conventions AND have a life? Presumably you would have me give up my study or work fewer hours so I can get some 'looking like Mr. Clean' time.

I advocate an alternative which I will call 'choice.' When you go bald, a lot of people start insisting you follow a lot of their shit rules. It's quite belittling and restricts our freedom to choose. We MUST be a chrome dome. We MUST give up our free time to the gym. We MUST go orange.

But you know what? We don't have to do any of this crap if we don't want to. We can carry on being ourselves instead of desperately trying to please a society which is, at it's core, constructed by vain, selfish and ignorant people. That's why I made my own choice, to refuse to conform, in preference to becoming another muscly orange egg head.

[yeahyeahyeah]

Tell that trick to keep her negative comments to herself.

Tbh a lot of girls are calling me handsome now. Inc ex.

So I guess my op was success.

Annoys me that my ex doesn't want to be with me

[ravegrover]

Gee, thanks, Mr. Broken Record!

I advocate an alternative which I will call 'choice.' When you go bald, a lot of people start insisting you follow a lot of their shit rules. It's quite belittling and restricts our freedom to choose.

YES to that! While I agree with the staying in shape part, shaving and tanning is not for everyone.

[fred970]

Building muscules (healthily, without steroids or proteins) is not for everyone either, but you would have to be in the shoes of someone who is ectomorph like me to understand.

[Kayman]

Building muscules (healthily, without steroids or proteins) is not for everyone either, but you would have to be in the shoes of someone who is ectomorph like me to understand.

You need protein to build muscle. To try and build muscle without adequate intake of protein is wasted time.

[NotBelievingIt]

You need protein to build muscle. To try and build muscle without adequate intake of protein is wasted time.

amen. The whole FDA RDA of ~50g protein per day is nonsense. My breakfast this morning was about 44g.

Building muscules (healthily, without steroids or proteins) is not for everyone either, but you would have to be in the shoes of someone who is ectomorph like me to understand.

Without protein? Lets live without water. Breath without oxygen. You first.

Body style as an excuse is one of those sort of default catch-all excuses for people who don't want to actually put the correct effort in. Yes, certain body styles and genetics can simply look at weights and put muscle on (with the right diet) and certain leverages are more favorable (shorter arms will have an easier time at bench for example) but ultimately body style is not a barrier. The barrier is the mentality that believes it is.

I will give you that it takes a lot more for an ectomorph bodystyle to achieve the same bulky look that mesomorph can achieve more easily and ultimately the mesomorph "default" will likely have the better V shape in the long run, but that isn't the point...

[fred970]

Maybe, it's just not worth it I think. Why would you ruin your health to look like a meathead? Anything below that is useless, at least in my country (Belgium) where it rains 250 days a year and you are always covered by clothes.

[Kayman]

Maybe, it's just not worth it I think. Why would you ruin your health to look like a meathead? Anything below that is useless, at least in my country (Belgium) where it rains 250 days a year and you are always covered by clothes.

I think you may be misinformed about body building, its not an unhealthy lifestyle, certainly not when paired with a good cardio routine. I also wouldnt let the weather put me off training either, its more to me than just taking my shirt off in the summer, its about staying active and being / looking healthy. I do it for me, i enjoy it as an activity and i get a buzz seeing my body develop and trying out new routines. Obviously any compliments i get are a welcome bonus and are always well received.

[fred970]

I don't like it anyway. I think it is boring, unfulfilling, useless.

I do exactly the opposite of what's advised by the OP. I'm as white as an ass, I don't shave my head, I just buzz it really short and I'm pretty thin. As someone else said, I don't see why you would have to look like an orange chromedomed meathead to look good bald and feel better about your baldness.

[NotBelievingIt]

Nobody said you have to. But for a lot of guys it is the liberating change needed and most just don't realize it - they want
If you're fine being scrawny and happy with yourself, hey man, more power to you. Live long and prosper.

For the longest time I thought lifting weights was pointless. Now at 33 I wish to god I'd started 10-15 years ago when my Test levels were likely way higher. But then again even 5 years ago I never thought I'd start losing my hair.

[Kayman]

I don't like it anyway. I think it is boring, unfulfilling, useless.

I do exactly the opposite of what's advised by the OP. I'm as white as an ass, I don't shave my head, I just buzz it really short and I'm pretty thin. As someone else said, I don't see why you would have to look like an orange chromedomed meathead to look good bald and feel better about your baldness.

That's absolutely fine too I've always said if you don't enjoy something you wont stick to it. I buzz my hair down short also, You don't have to look like an orange chrome domed "meat head" to feel better about yourself, it's not a look I aspire to, then again I've never seen anyone turn orange from the sun, perhaps its different in Belgium, I personally don't know any orange men either. However I'm not entirely sure being a pale thin bald guy is preferable but what I do know is I get the health benefits that come with weight lifting which makes it far from useless.
It's just an option that might make some feel better about themselves, it did with me but I also know its not for everyone and if you don't enjoy it there's no point in doing it.

[Aames]

I don't like it anyway. I think it is boring, unfulfilling, useless.

I do exactly the opposite of what's advised by the OP. I'm as white as an ass, I don't shave my head, I just buzz it really short and I'm pretty thin. As someone else said, I don't see why you would have to look like an orange chromedomed meathead to look good bald and feel better about your baldness.

No one is saying that you have to. But there can be no debate; it is pretty much the only way to look good with a shaved head. If you're too lazy to spend a few hours a week at the gym, you'll have to accept the fact that you won't look nearly as good.

[fred970]

Scrawny, that's a way to look at it. I like the way I look, even if I can be considred skinny. I just can't gain weight without putting myself at the edge of throwing up. This is how I am and there's nothing wrong with it. Many surveys showed 9 out of 10 women prefer just normal/skinny looking guys. And I know it pisses off a lot of guys on the bodybuilding forums who are often there to prove something, or to compensate for something (balding, short stature, etc.).

I don't know if it's the same elsewhere, but I don't see a lot of Vin Diesel types with pretty girlfriends here in Belgium.

[Kayman]

Scrawny, that's a way to look at it. I like the way I look, even if I can be considred skinny. I just can't gain weight without putting myself at the edge of throwing up. This is how I am and there's nothing wrong with it. Many surveys showed 9 out of 10 women prefer just normal/skinny looking guys. And I know it pisses off a lot of guys on the bodybuilding forums who are often there to prove something, or to compensate for something (balding, short stature, etc.).

I don't know if it's the same elsewhere, but I don't see a lot of Vin Diesel types with pretty girlfriends here in Belgium.

If you're happy with the way you look then by all means stick with it, that's ultimately what it comes down to. I agree that many women will prefer an athletic toned slim type body over a muscular or overly muscular physique, but then again if you're lifting weights for the chicks you're doing it for the wrong reasons to begin with.
If you do decide to try put on a little weight in the future but are having trouble due to the large intake of food making you feel uncomfortable, an easy way to get those extra calories is to drink two pints of whole milk a day and eat a handful or two of walnuts, on top of your regular food intake. You'll get an extra 1000 calories a day doing that and its cheap and walnuts are full of beneficial dietary fats and it wont make you feel ill.