Have you noticed that as you get older, you gain weight easier and it becomes harder to get rid of it? Do you feel frustrated with your efforts and feel like you are going around in circles?
Do you feel that the effort you’re putting in should show you more results than you’re currently getting? If the answer is yes, then this post is for you!
There are scientific reasons why you’re finding it harder to gain weight, and once you know, you’ll be able to tweak your current health plan and start to get results again.
Weight Gain and Age: What is happening?
You’re experiencing age-related muscle loss
As you get older, your body loses lean muscle mass, roughly about 3-8% per decade. What does this mean for you?
Lean muscle mass uses more calories than fat, so as you’re losing muscle mass, you’re gaining weight, as your body is burning fewer calories than it used to. So your diet may not have changed, but you’re gaining weight, because your body is burning less calories.
So weight gain likely if you continue to consume the same number of calories as you did when you were younger.
You’re Undergoing Hormonal Changes
Menopause, which occurs in women between then ages of 45-55, cause huge hormonal changes in women. Levels of oestrogen drop a lot, leading to weight gain, particularly around the waistline. This is the time when your chances of higher blodd pressure, higher cholesterol and Type-2 diabetes significantly increase.
In perimenopause, fluctuations in oestrogen can cause mood swings, making it more difficult to stick to a healthy diet, which can also lead to weight gain.
It’s a tough ti and has a snowball effect. You lose lean muscle, you start accumulating more fat, you burn less calories.
You’re more sedentary
You’re much more likely to be more sedentary at this point in your life than you used to be. This leads to weight gain as you are burning much less calories throughout the day. Chances are you’re sitting so much more than you ever did.
You may also be much busier, meaning grabbing food on the go, longer gaps between meals and over-eating when you do sit down in the evening.
Science-Backed Ways To Lose Weight and Fit Well in Your Clothes At Mid-Life and Beyond
Give your major muscle groups a workout.
Build lean muscle while at the same time strengthen your bones. Body weight exercises and lifting weights will build lean muscle in your body. That will bring your metabolism right back up again, you’ll burn so much more calories at rest, and you’ll fit back into your clothes again.
Focus on Healthy Foods
Get rid of any processed foods you may eat, and focus in instead on a good mix of protein, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, fruit and good fats. Get rid of mid-week junk food and alcohol. Eat the high volume foods that fill you up but are no laden with calories like vegetables, beans, nuts, and fruit. Drink 2 litres of water every day.
Downsize your Portions
Slightly less on your plate can make a huge difference. Not as many carbohydrates at dinner, but filling your plate with more vegetables can really help, while eating dinner as close to 6pm as you can.
Move more
Exercise helps manage your weight so much. You build lean muscle, while burning fat, while it also being great for your mood too.
You’ll find it easier to lose weight when you exercise, and it’ll help counter act the fact that you’re moving less in the day. Brisk 30 minute walks or cycles throughout the week, along with some resistance training workout sessions would be absolutely terrific. You’ll feel much more in control and your weight will feel much more manageable.
I hope you enjoyed this article. You can read here my My Top 5 Tips To Staying Healthy and Feeling Good
To your success,
Jessica Cooke
P.S. You can download my free 30 day Fast-Track to #FEELGOOD Program here
