a question for the educated crowd re metabolism

MSJ

MSJ

Cathlete
Hi everyone,

This question is kind of related to Intensitylisa's question about being predestined to gain 10 lbs per decade.

Here goes: As we age, does our metabolism drop only because our muscle mass decreases or are there other factors as well? I am 35 and on a major weight loss journey and I have been lifting as heavy as I can to offset muscle loss and decreased metabolism. Are there other factors in decreasing metabolism I can't control? Am I making sense?

thanks,
Maggie
16 down, 34 (or so--hope to gain more muscle:)) to go
 
Hi Maggie, as far as I know, the drop in metabolic levels is due to the decrease in muscle mass as we age. But there are other things that can contribute to this drop, such as lack of exercise/physical stress or harsh dieting in which the body cannibalizes itself and breaks down muscle to get by.

You're doing the right thing by building muscle. Nutrition is also important. Eat the right kinds of foods in reasonable amounts, smaller meals and more of them.

Congratulations on those lost 16 lbs.:)

Pinky
 
I agree 100% with Hippahips / Pinky on this question. Gaining weight as we age is not an inevitability, but instead, for the vast majority of us, a very natural consequence of increasingly sedentary living. I also agree 1000% with Pinky that lifelong self-abuse of the body through radical dieting, and other habits such as continual alcohol consumption, smoking, etc., can contribute to harmful metabolic changes.

Congratulations from A-Jock as well on your progress! Keep up the good work! For what it's worth, I spent my formative years as an alternating butterball and bulemic, and now, at the ripe old age of 42, I'm in better shape than I ever have been in my life in terms of vital signs, physical performance capabilities (cardiovascular AND strength) and body composition in terms of lean muscle mass to body fat ratio.

A-Jock
 
I would be willing to wager that there are many women on these forums who, like A-jock, abused their bodies during youth and are now in the best shape of their lives. Count me among them. In my case, I alternated between butterball and anorexic. All those decades of rigid dieting and counting calories now seem like sheer insanity to me at the wise old age of 47! :)

As for metabolism, MSJ, don't worry about it yet. I'm 47 and haven't noticed any significant differences yet. When you get to menopause you can worry about it then. Just keep doing what you're doing, losing weight the sensible way, and congratulations and lots of good luck to you!

If it helps, my stepson lost 100 lbs. last year and he said it wasn't that hard! He developed a love for broiled salmon and steamed broccoli, and gave up all those sugary beverages. He took up cycling and joined a gym and voila! He looks like a whole new person, got himself a lovely girlfriend, and his dad and I are soooooooooooooo happy for him!

:D

-Long-winded Nancy
 
I had mentioned in the other thread that I had gained weight as I got older and lost lots of muscle and I have always exercised. What I forgot to add was that I did not have this muscle loss until I tried a low carb diet at around age 37. Until age 35 I loved the way I looked. I had great muscle tone and wore a size 5 junior. I'm very short and a junior size 5 has always looked best on me than say a 4 or 6. Anyway, at around age 37 is when I heard the low carb craze. Even though I didn't look bad, I thought I could look better. BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!!!! I lost 12 pounds low carbing in a very short amount of time. The holidays hit and I gained it all back. This put me at the same weight as before, but with a ton of extra body fat and lost muscle. I have never looked the same since. Ever since then I have tried more exercise, Weight Watchers, Ediets, etc. with not a loss of any weight or inches. As a matter of fact, I gained weight on Weight Watchers. So no I do not believe we are destined to gain weight and lose muscle mass. I did because I followed diets that I shouldn't have instead of just sensible eating.
 
I agree with Nancy. And of course, it's never as simple as a reduction in muscle mass due to inactivity. During menopause we decrease the production of both estrogen and testosterone. It affects the muscle mass and it also affects appetite. We may actually feel more hungry but need less calories. So even if you continue to workout, your BMR will decrease but much less so if you do cardio and strength. And of course, metabolsim varies greatly from individual to individual. But not to worry. It's all controllable through exercise and diet. We may end up slightly heavier as we get old but it's hardly a given! My moter at 81 has remained strong and at 4' 11" weighs about 98 pounds. She has always had an active lifestyle. My mother-in-law who is primarily concerned with her looks, has decreased her calories and remains slim but could stand to add muscle mass and could eat more. Keep lifting and you'll become a fit old lady and you'll be as slim as you need to be!
http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/yellows/lookaround.gif Bobbi
 
Maggie, I have to agree with everything the others have aleady said on here. At 46 I don't have any less energy than I did at 26, although losing the weight last year definitely helped! And of course, I firmly believe staying fit and working out keeps your energy level up. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you'll consume just to keep the muscle alive, and the higher your metabolism will be. If you have no thyroid problems (which can slow someone's metabolism down), then it's not an invitability you will slow down as you age. Just keep doing what you're doing! Congrats on those 16 pounds!! It sounds like you're doing a great job!!

Carol
:)
 
Most of us know that SUGAR and STARCHES are a big factor, as the little quote I always read on these forums, the best abs start in the kitchen .. we also have to pay attention to what we drink, sodas are a big problem. ..... So anyway ....... Rhonda :7
 
Thank you, Everyone!

Thanks to everyone who answered my question. I knew I would get good answers and encouragement. I will continue to build that muscle. I, too, was bulemic and experienced a lot of weight fluctuations as a teen ager and in my 20's. So anyway, this time, I have mostly watched portion sizes, made substitutions, added more fruits and veggies. Also, it used to be that when I "blew" it, I would just think I blew it so I might as well just eat everything in sight for the rest of the day. I realized that that kind of behavior adds tons of extra calories to my diet, so now if I feel like I've blown it, I just watch very carefully what I eat for the rest of the day.

Anyway, I am totally stoked by the encouragement, because today I really feel like having a binge, because we are having an ice storm here and the power has a real possibility of going out and my husband is stuck in another city and can't get home and we can't even open our front screen door because of all the ice on the porch, so the only way to get out to the front of the house to check the mail (which has not been coming anyway) is to squeeze through a crack by the gate in the back yard (which also will not open due to ice) and wander around that way and our five kids and I are feeling just a wee bit stir crazy because even if we could get into the ice coated mini van (we can't), we couldn't get up our ice coated hill to get anywhere. So anyway, all the food in the house in which I am stuck is calling me, so I could not have recieved encouragement at a better time:7 :7

Thanks for listening to me rant and thanks again for all your answers.

Maggie
 
RE: Thank you, Everyone!

Excellent, Maggie! I do the same. When I blow it, I clean it up the next day. In fact, using http://www.fitday.com, I often record food overeaten the on the next day so my calories balance out. That is, if I wolf down a doughnut at 9:00 pm Saturday, I record it on Sunday and then keep my Sunday intake at the daily level it should meet. I feel less guilty for some reason. I just ate a Sunday treat a day in advance. Does that make sense?
Bobbi:D
 
RE: Thank you, Everyone!

Yes, makes good sense, Bobbi. I do have a fitday account, but I only really use it when my weight loss seems to stall. I'm sure if I plateau, I'll be using it a lot more often.

thanks,
Maggie
 
RE: Thank you, Everyone!

As we age our metabolism does slow down, plus we lose about 1 – 2 pounds of muscle a year after the age of 30, which doesn’t help. However, weight training adds muscle mass to our frames, so if we weight train effectively we should lose, but gain muscle, hence increasing our metabolism. Good nutrition, good exercise habits, I think favouring weight baring over aerobic and rest and I think we can remain lean and strong thought the most part of our lives…x
 
RE: Thank you, Everyone!

Don't take this personally, Wayne, but did you know you stinckin', rotten men not only don't have to produce large amounts of estrogen in your fat cells but you have something like 40% more lean body mass? I am forever seeing couples out and about and there's a woman with a couple of small kids and a little padding followed by a slim man! My own stinkin', rotten husband is nearly as slim as he was when we met with only a slight redistribution of body weight from lean to fat. He has a little less muscle and a little more belly but not much. And he doesn't work out. The nereve of him! :)
http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/yellows/lookaround.gif Bobbi
 
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