Your thirties should be a decade of significant progress. Tertiary study and training should be out of the way, career objectives should be clear and attainable, stupid juvenile mistakes should be behind you, and you should be firing on all cylinders. By your thirties, you should know who you are and what you stand for.
Many men in their late twenties will see a noticeable slowing of metabolism. Naturally slim waistlines may give way to thicker girths without any significant lifestyle changes, so you will need to keep moving. An amateur game of soccer or touch-football twice a week might be enough to maintain a healthy BMI, or it may be time to get serious and engage the services of a personal trainer. You should now be aware that hiring trained experts like accountants and contract lawyers is generally the most effective way to get shit done. A good personal trainer will lay out a plan to ensure you get the most out of short sharp bursts of high- intensity exercise that compliments your weekly schedule. Regular exercise will help you focus better at work, manage stress and cortisol levels, improve your sleep, keep your testosterone levels high, and imbue you with a physical presence that gets noticed.
If you hit 30 and are overweight, a bit flabby around the middle, the time to act is…now. Your life’s work is still in front of you. Don’t slide slowly toward a decade of untreated obesity. Decide to be in shape and get to work. Overweight men perform worse in every measure. They are less successful at work, attract lower quality sexual partners, they shuffle and struggle and wheeze when they should be bursting with youthful energy. Unfatten yourself. Do it.
By thirty, your days of poor, sporadic, and uneducated eating should be passed. You should be able to cook, understand the benefits of eating well, and only afford yourself the occasional junk food splurge. If you can’t cook at least 15 decent meals, get educated, watch some tutorials, read some books, take control of what goes into your body. Surviving on kebabs and take-away pizza is no way to live. It demonstrates laziness and incompetence, undesirable traits that will plague you forever unless eradicated. Learn how to scramble eggs, roast and barbecue meat, sauté vegetables, slow cook ragu, and how to grocery shop accordingly. Whether you are single or in a settled relationship, self-dependence and reliance are attributes that will carry you far.
By thirty your palate should have refined somewhat and be receptive to more complex flavours such as wine and whiskey. Binge drinking should be a thing of the past, and alcohol should be enjoyed rather than gorged. Hangovers are no longer a reason to brag. Half remembered nights of heavy drinking are not cool.
Your thirties are about taking control. Throwing off the shackles of parental dependence and forging your own path. It’s a decade of refining your tastes. It’s a decade of action – putting systems in place that will carry you through the middle phase of your life.
Grow up.
Get fit.
Learn to cook, and appreciate the finer things in life.