Preventing Weight Gain As You Age

Time brings more than just experience and wisdom. Over the years, it is inevitable that some extra pounds will appear. No matter how healthy your habits were or what mistakes you made in your diet, you will always experience some weight gain as you get older.

If you’ve always worried about your weight, we can assure you that after your 40s, you need to pay even more attention to your weight. At this stage, factors begin to appear that alter how your body functions every day.

If you never worry about your weight, you should also start paying attention. The extra pounds can show up when you least expect it. The strategies you used before no longer work. Exercise and healthy eating will no longer be enough.

More complications and weight gain as you get older

A sedentary lifestyle, hormones and the wrong diet throughout your life will make it difficult to maintain your ideal weight. After your 40s, things get a little more difficult.

The American Council of Exercise  says your metabolism slows down at this age. That’s why you burn 300 calories less than when you were 20 when your body was still in its prime.

Add:

• the complications of life.
• lack of time to devote to your personal care.

• family obligations.
• work.
• in many cases also the lack of interest in being healthier.

That’s why you need to use other strategies in addition to your diet to avoid uncontrolled weight gain as you age.

Sarcopenia: less muscle, more fat

There are several reasons why people experience weight gain as they age. We want you to understand that it is not your fault if this happens. Nature itself causes this. Once you know the cause of this condition, we’ll give you some tips that you can apply.

In general, this happens because sarcopenia begins to occur over the years. It is a process where you experience a significant loss of muscle mass.

With this condition, you can lose between 3 and 5 percent of your muscle mass per decade from the age of 30. This means that when you are forty, you burn 200 fewer calories than when you were thirty. As you know, more calories means more fat and weight gain.

However, there are other reasons, which we will discuss below. So read on quickly to discover which factors play a role in this.

Hormone decrease

Hormones change over time. In both men and women there is a decrease in hormone production.

• Women reach menopause at age 50.
• Around the age of 35, there is an imbalance between the production of estrogen and progesterone. 

Estrogen produces fat cells and progersterone counteracts this process. After age 35, women lose more progesterone than estrogen. Therefore, this causes an imbalance that leads to a high possibility of gaining a few extra pounds.

In men over the age of 30, testosterone levels drop by 1% each year. This hormone protects them from gaining extra weight. However, if their level decreases, it’s hard not to experience weight gain as they get older.

Lack of exercise

As time goes on, people often stop doing physical activities. With that, weight gain is inevitable because fat has more opportunity to accumulate. That said, you should just continue with your usual exercise routine or make sure you keep getting enough exercise.

Tips to prevent weight gain as you age

Below we show you some tips so that aging is not synonymous with weight gain. In any case, we recommend that you seek advice from a specialist in this field to guide the process.

• You have to maintain your muscle mass. Remember that fat burns fewer calories than muscle. That is why it is essential that you perform activities that challenge your muscle tissue. This is to develop and maintain them.
• Make sure your diet contains enough protein. This will help you repair and grow your muscles.
• Pay attention to the total amount of calories you consume. Every calorie counts. You get more of it through candy and refined products. Avoid these foods or eat them in moderation.
• Don’t forget diets. The goal is to maintain a healthy diet. So look for healthy recipes. When dining out, ask for dishes with lots of green vegetables. It is a matter of educating yourself and having good habits.

As you can see, the solutions are not that complicated. If you’re on a good diet, you should just keep going, but with more control and effort.

If you already exercise, add more strength training. Over the years, weight gain becomes easier. That’s why you need to take better care of yourself. After all, your health comes first.