One day, seemingly out of the blue, your pants don’t button up as easily, or you notice that the scale creeps up faster than it used to.
AND … it’s much harder than it used to be to get those pants to fit the way they once did (or return the scale to its former spot).
It’s not your imagination! The truth is your metabolism can slow down as you get older. But the reasons for it have much more to do with lifestyle and nutrition than with age itself.
The latest research indicates that age-related metabolic slow-downs in adulthood don’t occur until the age of 60!
So what gives?!! If you’ve hit 40, and feel like it’s harder than ever to lose weight, I do have some good news for you. There are things you can do to offset a “slow metabolism”.
And the sooner you start, the better!
Here are some of the top reasons your metabolism begins to slow:
- You’re less active (this is the biggest factor)
- You’ve lost muscle (this is the second biggest factor)
- Your body’s metabolic processes slow down after the age of 60 (but it makes hardly any difference compared to the first two)
I’m going to outline a few key things you can do to keep your metabolism revved up as you get older.
1) Your activity level. This is a sneaky one, because you might not actually notice you’re moving less each day!
How active you are each day (including your workouts and your normal activities of daily living) normally makes up about 10% to 30% of your daily calorie burn. Very active people can actually burn up half their daily calories from activity!
BUT … studies show that as we get older, we tend to move less, both in terms of exercise AND our general daily living. And with more people using food delivery services, living in the suburbs and driving everywhere, shopping online, and sitting all day, we’re moving even LESS than ever before as a society.
More than 25% of people over 50 don’t exercise, and by the time we reach 75, that number jumps to more than 35%.
Plus, studies show we also move less in general, burning almost 30% fewer calories through non-exercise activity.
(Think way back to your 20s. Those days when you danced on the speakers are long gone, right?)
That’s like HUNDREDS less calories burned each day.
There is a way to avoid that slowdown!
A study comparing women aged 21-35 with women ages 50-72 showed that when the older women engaged in regular exercise, they avoided the dreaded age-related metabolic slowdown. Which basically means blaming your metabolism on getting older is a misunderstanding that can often become an excuse.
→ The takeaway: Start a regular exercise habit you enjoy NOW, and find active hobbies! Having these habits in place will set a strong foundation for continued movement as you get older.
2) Muscle loss. This next major cause of a slower metabolism is called sarcopenia – age-related muscle loss!
It’s tied in with your activity level, since being less active is one reason you can lose muscle.
On average, adults lose between 3% and 8% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. But most of this is due to a sedentary lifestyle.
One reason this matters – beyond your general strength and ability to move easily – is because muscle burns slightly more calories (even at rest) than fat.
You can help maintain and build muscle as you age with consistent strength-training workouts: free weights, machines, and even water fitness classes can help!
The most important part is to create some resistance for your muscles to work against.
→ The takeaway: get in at least 2 strength-training workouts a week that work all of your body’s major muscle groups.
3) The aging process. Once you hit 60 years of age, the actual process of metabolism in your cells slows down or becomes less efficient by as much as 20% in some cases.
There isn’t a lot you can do about this – but here’s some good news. While these slowdowns do happen, studies show they have a very minor impact compared with lower activity and muscle mass!
→ The takeaway: concentrate on living a healthy lifestyle and on more activities to offset the metabolic slowdown.
→ BONUS takeaway: Make sure you eat enough protein. As people get older, they often tend to eat less protein. Aim for 15% to 35% of your total daily intake.
Tip: to boost absorption, spread your protein intake out over the course of the day, since studies show that to be more effective.
Actions you take today can have a BIG impact on your life into the future.
References:
- Forget what you know about metabolism — a ‘pivotal’ study says it doesn’t slow down until age 60
- Myth: As you get older, your metabolism inevitably slows down.
- Daily energy expenditure through the human life course
If you’d like some specific guidance on getting leaner and stronger, let’s talk! Check out our NEW You Program where we provide completely customized personal training programs and flexible dieting plans. You can learn more about it here. https://www.thenewyouprogram.com/register-here.
Need help with reaching your wellness and fitness goals? Comment below and maybe we can send you something that can help you right now!
