It is a common assumption that our bodies will add a few extra pounds as we get older,
as a result of factors such as a slowing metabolic rate as part of the aging process and
perhaps just good living and less exercise than we used to do.
Those fundamental reasons for weight gain will have struck a chord with many of us but
the fact of the matter is that age-related weight gain is not something that is set in stone and
doesn’t necessarily have to happen to you.
If you are looking to get a better body balance and fight back against the effects of time on our
physiological features, you can find some excellent diet and fitness advice online (anewode.com),
amongst others.
Meanwhile, here are some tips and ideas that might help you adjust your body balance in the
right direction.
“As part of the natural aging process many of us
experience a decline in the level of physical activity
that we do each week and this leads to a fall in our
metabolic rate.”
Why We Gain Weight
Understanding the basic science that leads to age-related weight gain will help you to formulate
a plan to tackle what is happening to your body and redress the balance.
As part of the natural aging process many of us experience a decline in the level of physical activity
that we do each week and this leads to a fall in our metabolic rate, which is the measurement of the
amount of energy used within a specified period.
The reason we tend to exercise less as we age is that physiological changes to our body that accompany
the aging process affect our heart and lung function, which in turn diminishes our ability to exercise
and be as active as we used to be when we were younger.
As a general rule, our bodies start to show signs of decline from the age of 30 onwards and continues
on a downward trend until we reach about 70, when it tends to level out after that.
Considering that you can experience as much as a 50% decline in muscle and bone mass during this
40 year period of your life between your 30th and 70th birthday, it becomes clear that the lack of
exercise capacity will almost inevitably lead to weight gain.
Resting Metabolic Rate
It is often helpful to be aware of the task that you are facing and by understanding what your resting
metabolic rate is and what happens to it as you age, will give you the opportunity to try and slow the
rate of decline.
Your resting metabolic rate is the measurement of the number of calories your body is able to burn
through on a daily basis and as a general guide, your body will lose its capacity to burn calories by
as much as 150 calories per day for every decade that passes.
Your metabolic rate is mainly determined by how much muscle mass you have in relation to the
amount of fat you are carrying.
As muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, the result is a loss in muscle mass as we
get older and a subsequent drop in your resting metabolic rate at the same time.
“Exercise needs to be a regular feature of your
weekly routine and because muscle tissue burns
calories at a greater pace than fat can, it should be
clear that trying to maintain muscle mass needs
to be one of your main priorities.”
Tackling Weight Gain
Once you have a clearly defined understanding why weight gain tends to increase with age, you
can formulate a strategy to counteract this natural aging process and take steps to keep your
weight gain under control.
Exercise needs to be a regular feature of your weekly routine and because muscle tissue burns
calories at a greater pace than fat can, it should be clear that trying to maintain muscle mass
needs to be one of your main priorities.
Remember that if you are in relatively good health and have not medical or physical limitations,
you are more than capable of being able to build muscle throughout your lifetime, so try to develop
an exercise plan that allows you to build and maintain them.
A good regular intake of protein will help support your physical attempts to build and maintain
muscle repair and growth, so consider foods like soy, peas and beans and get some nutritional
advice if you want some help in getting a balanced and healthy diet.
Every Calorie Counts
A healthy and balanced diet will help to reduce the rate of age-related weight gain and
promote better wellbeing, so be wary of every calorie you consume.
You are undoubtedly aware that sweets, alcohol and fatty foods are packed with calories,
so try to consume these foods sparingly so that you don’t undo any good work you are
doing elsewhere in trying to keep your metabolic rate at a good level.
“Use these tips and ideas
to help you adjust your
body balance in the
right direction.”
About the Author:
Lisa Torres works in public health services and is always keen to share her experiences with an online audience on how to stay healthy throughout the various stages of your life. She writes for a number of different lifestyle and healthy eating websites.
Have you experienced age-related weight gain?
What have you done to address this issue?
What worked for you?
Share your favorite tips, thoughts and comments with us.
Great post! I have to admit that I have suffered from weight gain since turning 30 and it doesn’t seem to want to go away, it doesn’t come off as easily as when I was in my 20’s. I can’t help but think my metabolism has slowed down as my activity level is the same or even increased. I think I need to work a little harder at a healthy, balanced diet =)
Great post as I am over 40 and can feel myself getting a little bigger – Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
I have found that to be true. Every calorie does count. Sometime we cannot always eat like we used to eat, instead eat less and better quality foods.
I would have to agree that every calorie counts, although I do like my wine! I’ve been pretty good at working out regularly in the past 2 1/2 months. Hopefully I can keep it up and build more muscle. It’s especially important to build muscle and bone mass as much as possible at my age! Thanks for linking up at the Balanced & Healthy Living Link Up Party! We have another party starting tonight at 9PM if you have any other healthy living post you’d like to link up. Hope to see you there!
I’m glad you relate to this post! I hired a personal trainer for a while to help me build more muscle properly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it.
Great Post!
As a person dealing with some weight gain due to hypothyroidism lately, I really know I got to make some changes before it effects my health even worse. Not old yet, but being in my early 40’s means, I should prepare – blessings!
Hi Claudia,
I’m so glad you shared your personal experiences with weight gain. I sincerely ppreciate it.
I’m 99% sure you’re problem lies with your caliroe intake. You can gym 7 days a week until you’re blue in the face but if you don’t eat enough caliroes you’re gonna have little to zero results.If you are of average height and weight, you need to eat 5-6 meals per day with 500 caliroes each (medium to big size meals).Go to this website and use the calculator to determine the amount of caliroes you need to maintain your weight. Then add 500 to that number that’s the amount of caliroes you need to eat everyday (even on your rest days) if you want to build muscle.You don’t need to go to the gym more then four days a week and you don’t need to shock’ your muscles, you need to supply your body with sufficient nutrients. It’s amazing how many people spend months in the gym without getting this basic thing right. Your muscles aint gonna grow if you don’t feed em!Check out the second link for a 15 other reasons why you might not be building muscle.