workouts – the weight does not go down. How do you beat it?
Many of us, men as well and especially women, feel that over the years the body “changes the rules” – weight goes up much more easily, and losing weight becomes a harder task. True, there is a “decline in metabolism” with age, but what does that actually mean? Is it even possible to overcome this with physical activity? New studies reveal surprising data.
Let’s start with the main factors behind the decline in calorie burning with age, and the tangible numbers behind the change.
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1. The Disappearing Engine: The Decline in Muscle Mass
The most well-known reason for the decrease in metabolic rate is called “sarcopenia.” This is essentially a natural loss of muscle mass. The most important thing to understand: Muscles are a very active tissue that requires a lot of energy for existence and maintenance, even when we are at complete rest. Even when sitting, sleeping, or watching television, we burn calories according to the amount of muscle we have.
If we have a lot of muscle – we burn more, if we have less muscle – we burn less.
So what happens with age? Pay attention to the impact in percentages: Starting at age 30, the body loses on average 3% to 8% of muscle mass each decade. And worse than that – after age 60, the rate of loss jumps. By age 80, an average person may lose about 30% of the muscle they had in their youth. The meaning is ultimately that the “engine” that burns calories simply becomes smaller and weaker.
2. Slowing of Burning Within the Cells Themselves
The less good news is that even if we managed to maintain exactly the same muscle mass, calorie burning would still decrease. Groundbreaking studies published in the journal Science discovered the unfortunate fact that after age 60, there is a real and unavoidable slowdown in cellular activity itself.
There is something called the “mitochondria” inside the cells, and these are essentially like small power stations within the cells responsible for producing energy, and they, it turns out, become less efficient with age.
A study in the journal Healthline notes that among older adults, the mitochondria may be up to 50% less efficient at utilizing oxygen to produce energy compared to younger people.
And another thing: The basic chemical actions in the cell, such as “sodium-potassium pumps” that maintain cellular balance, also slow down by about 18%. This small change alone is responsible for a decrease of about 100 calories per day from our basal burn.
3. The Estrogen Crisis: Women and Menopause
Women experience a “double hit” due to the dramatic hormonal changes, what is now called “menopause.” Estrogen also has a crucial role in regulating fat burning and its distribution in the body.
First of all, it affects a change in fat distribution: With the decline in estrogen, the body shifts from storing subcutaneous fat (in the thighs) to storing abdominal (visceral) fat, which is not very metabolically active and even makes weight loss more difficult.
And not only that, estrogen also affects a decrease in fat oxidation and in the body’s ability to burn fat. The body’s ability to use fat as fuel decreases in women after menopause by about 32%.
The Specific Number: How Many Fewer Calories Are We Talking About?
The question that occupies many women is how much really “disappears” from the caloric budget during menopause. A study published in AJP Endocrinology and Metabolism followed women throughout the transition to menopause and provided clear numbers:
At rest: There is a decrease of about 103 kcal per day in basal burn (RMR).
In activity: There is an additional decrease of about 127 kcal per day due to a decline in spontaneous physical activity and a change in lifestyle.
Where does this number reach at the stage when there are already hot flashes, sleep problems, and other menopause symptoms or after this stage?
On average, women burn about 230 to 300 fewer calories every day from the beginning of menopause until the end of the appearance of symptoms. This is a significant gap, and if no adjustment is made in diet or activity, it may lead to a gain of one kilogram of fat every month or two.
Do the math – 300 excess calories per day, multiplied by 30 days, that is 9000 calories per month. That is 1.2 kg of pure fat gained each month, and that is only if you continue to eat as before – without exaggerating and without deviating with binges or restaurants.
Is More Activity the Solution?
Well, not necessarily. There is the “constrained energy expenditure” theory (in Science), which shows that in very active people, the body becomes “economical” and begins to offset calories from other systems in order to maintain balance, which may lead to fatigue and a slowdown in cellular renewal processes.
In other words, if we start exerting ourselves very, very much with intense daily aerobic exercise in order to burn calories, the result may be exactly the opposite. Increased conservation by the body.
Research Recommendations for Bypassing the Metabolic Slowdown
According to the studies, resistance (strength) training is the only way to fight sarcopenia. Preserving and building muscle increases resting metabolism.
They also talk about non-exercise activity: Instead of “tearing yourselves apart” in one hour of intense training and then sitting all day, try to increase daily standing time and everyday walking. An addition of 2.5 hours of standing and light movement can add about 350 calories to daily burn.
In addition, they emphasize again the need to take into account “cellular fatigue”: Moderate and consistent physical activity is preferable to extreme efforts that may push the cells into a state of “hyper-metabolism” that accelerates their aging.
And toward the end I add that none of this will work without dietary adjustment: Since the body needs less energy but more protein to preserve muscle, the key is high protein intake alongside a moderate and calculated reduction in total daily calories.