The Hidden Metabolism Problem Nobody Talks About After 35: Less Movement, Same Routine

By Your Health Magazine

Your Health Magazine

. http://yourhealthmagazine.net

More Weight Control, Nutrition & Exercise Articles

The Hidden Metabolism Problem Nobody Talks About After 35: Less Movement, Same Routine

As much as we try to deny it, the fact is that our bodies start changing significantly after a certain age. You may be used to having a certain fitness routine and obtaining the same results during your 20s, and possibly even into your 30s. But after about the age of 35, things discernably start changing. You exercise the same amount, but start gaining weight and losing muscle mass anyway.

Something clearly needs to change. But what, exactly? How much do you need to alter your daily routine to maintain your prior level of health? Fortunately, the science on this is getting more and more precise all the time as an increasing number of women are hoping to join the “50 is the new 30” club.

Steps to take

The road to an amazing middle-aged body is manifold, but the goal is definitely achievable if you go about it right. As you’d expect, getting there requires three major components: diet, exercise, and sleep. And there are rules that you need to follow within each of them to maintain that youthful shape you want.

Diet

Let’s start with the rules of nutrition and diet. Maintaining a healthy weight and fat-to-muscle ratio depends on learning the right portions to eat of what. It would be to your advantage to pick up a calorie counter so that you have a better grasp on the total amount of calories you are consuming. 

Other nutrition-related rules you should follow include: 

• Significantly increasing your protein intake. You should aim to include at least two or three portions of protein a day, including fish, eggs, and nuts. Greek yogurt and certain cheeses also have good amounts of protein. And even red meat is acceptable once a week or so as the high iron and vitamin B12 content are important for maintaining muscle mass.
• Reducung–but not eliminating–the amount of simple carbohydrates in your diet. Some modern health experts claim that carbs should be eliminated entirely, but if you are exercising frequently (as you should), then a certain amount of carbs are called for to maintain your energy level. This can include whole grain bread, brown rice, beans, and whole wheat pasta.
• Taking certain supplements on a regular basis. In general, it’s not a good idea to go crazy with supplements as it is better to get the nutrients you need from food. But there are a few, such as fish oil, Vitamin D3/K2 (these often come together) and magnesium, that many people need. Talk to your doctor to see what your exact needs are.

Exercise 

The other major component of staying fit and healthy after 35 is exercising. And this means something different than it did when you were in your 20s. Exercising after 35 means shifting your priorities, just as you do with your diet. Specifically:

• Putting greater emphasis on strength training. As you get older, you start to lose more and more muscle mass through a process called sarcopenia. To stem the rate of this loss, you need to significantly increase the amount of weight lifting and other types of strength training that you do.
• Focusing more on your core. As we age, our core muscles (stomach, back, and glutes) start to weaken, and this causes us many different issues. Our legs become weaker, we develop balance problems, and we even make ourselves increasingly vulnerable to fatigue and chronic illnesses. Spending more time on your core can help to slow these problems significantly.
• Continue doing cardio, but not as intensely. Overdoing cardio after 35 can actually be a bad idea. Your hormones are changing during this time already, and you don’t want to further disrupt them by exhausting yourself in the gym. Moderate cardio combined with increased strength training is ideal.

Sleep 

Many people don’t consider sleep to be something they need to actively calculate into their daily routines, but evidence shows that lack of sleep can be just as bad for your health as poor diet or lack of exercise. If you don’t get enough sleep, it causes oxidative stress on your cells, which eventually leads to both physical and mental health problems.

Beyond making a concerted effort to sleep eight hours a day (which can be made easier by establishing a solid schedule and making sure to hold to it), there are other things you can do to ensure that your circadian rhythm is working properly:

• When you wake up in the morning, get outside and move around before eating or drinking coffee. The natural sunlight will increase your cortisol levels to where they should be in the morning and help regulate your system.
• Try to avoid looking at your phone early in the morning and at least two hours before you go to sleep. The blue light can trick your brain into thinking it is the wrong time of day.
• When you wake up, start the day with a big glass of water. This will help drive your body into action for the day.

A bigger challenge, but not an impossible one

Trying to stay fit after 35 can feel like an impossible task. Many people feel like as hard as they try, they don’t seem to get the results they want. But staying fit in middle age is not simply a matter of trying harder; it comes down to making specific, targeted changes that address precisely the needs that your changing body has. And with all the tools available to help you these days, a couple apps and some good old-fashioned discipline should do the trick.