YOUR METABOLISM CHANGES WITH AGE

By the time you’re in your mid-forties, you may be wondering, “what happened…how did I gain this weight and why can’t I lose it?” Well, starting in your 20s, your base metabolic rate (BMR) or, the pace at which your body uses energy when you’re at rest, slows down by two to three percent each decade. That’s why. And this is how…

Changes in body composition (muscle loss) due to inactivity as we age is a key factor to this slowing effect. Left unchecked, muscle is replaced by fat. And because muscle is far more active metabolically than fat, the rate at which you burn energy slows down significantly. “Muscle burns calories while fat stores them,” says Peter D. Vash, MD, director of medical and scientific affairs at Lindora Medical Clinic in Costa Mesa, California.

In addition to changing composition, your body also goes through a general slow-down due to lessened metabolic demand from organs such as the heart, liver, brain, and kidneys; less energy is required.

According to Nick Flynn, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, “Metabolism can also be slowed by natural changes in hormone levels, such as estrogen and testosterone.” He notes changes associated with menopause may cause an increase in body fat and slowed metabolism as well.

SO, HOW DO YOU “SPEED UP” YOUR METABOLISM?

By staying active and employing smart lifestyle strategies, you can help offset the shifts in your metabolic rate. First, exercise more. When you walk, run, or lift weights, you increase the energy demands being made on your body, which raises your metabolism for hours afterwards. In addition to the 30 minutes of daily exercise recommended by all health authorities, weaving small changes into your day, like parking farther away from the mall so you walk more, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, can increase your metabolism by as much as 20 percent.

In addition to increasing your cardio, strength training helps offset age-related loss of muscle mass, which provides a metabolism boost. Focusing on exercises that engage large muscle groups like squats and lunges for legs, rows and pull-downs for back, provides maximum metabolic benefit.

Increasing your metabolism includes nutritional changes as well. Check out some of our resources on fat loss here.

BREAK THE CYCLE

Instead of settling for muscle loss and fat gain, break the cycle and start moving. Success Studio is the perfect place to start your functional fitness lifestyle change so you can show your metabolism who’s boss! All you have to do is click the button below.