Body Balance: Why Age-Related Weight Gain Doesn't Have to Happen to You

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 ,

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

Body Balance: Why Age-Related Weight Gain Doesn't Have to Happen to You

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

Body Balance: Why Age-Related Weight Gain Doesn't Have to Happen to You

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

Body Balance: Why Age-Related Weight Gain Doesn't Have to Happen to You

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.

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

Body Balance: Why Age-Related Weight Gain Doesn't Have to Happen to You

A healthy and balanced 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.”

 

Body Balance: Why Age-Related Weight Gain Doesn't Have to Happen to You

 

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.

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