Why
Do We Gain Weight as We
Get Older - or - What is Sarcopenia?
By
Rich Fitter - Certified
Trainer, A.C.E.
Sarcopenia Sarcopenia is
the age related loss of muscle. Most people have heard that our
metabolism
changes after we hit the big 3-O. The reasons why, and what we can do
about
it is often misunderstood. After the age of 30, the average person
begins
to lose 1/2 lb. of muscle per year. One reason for this is related to
the
loss of nerve stimulation to the muscle and decreased protein synthesis
(a necessary process for muscle development). Other factors include
dietary
changes such as dieting, under-eating, poor nutritional choices,
hormonal
changes and decreased physical activity. Muscle is a very active tissue
much more active than fat tissue. In some instances one pound of muscle
may burn up to 500 calories per week. As we lose muscle and gain fat,
therefore,
we automatically gain weight, unless we do something different to
challenge
our body and improve our diets.
While it is possible through
proper nutrition and strength training to continue to build muscle well
into later life, Mother Nature requires we work at it. Let's say at age
30 a woman gets into the best shape of her life. Her diet is perfect
and
she exercises regularly. She then decides she will keep doing the same
things for the rest of her life, expecting to stay in perfect shape
because
of it. The following year, 31 rolls around and she loses 1/2 lb of
muscle.
The year after that, another 1/2 lb is lost, and so on. Even though
this
person is doing the same things she did at 30, by the time she hits 38,
she will have lost 4 lbs of lean muscle and her body will be burning
2000
calories less per week. One pound of fat contains 3500 calories.
Because
this woman's body is burning this many calories less every 10 days, in
a one year period she may gain approximately 30 lbs of fat!
Performing her same exercise
program over and over for years is not effective in halting this weight
gain because your body has not only adapted to it, but has also
increased
its need for greater challenges. Following the same eating patterns
also
is not logical because your needs for calories and nutrients are also
different
as you get older.
The Solution - Avoid Very
Low-Calorie Diets; Do Challenging Strength Training Programs
Overall, the factors that
most affect a person's metabolism are age, gender, size, body
composition
(fat to lean mass ratio) and physical activity. The above-mentioned
factors
minus our physical activity determine our resting metabolic rate. Our
resting
metabolism is the number of calories our bodies expend performing the
most
basic physiological functions such as breathing, temperature,
circulation
and respiration. Surprisingly, our body uses about 65% of our daily
calories
doing just these necessary tasks. This is one of the primary reasons
very
low calorie diets do not work well for losing body fat. You need to
provide
your body with adequate calories for energy and nutrients to perform at
the very least these functions. If you fail to do this, your body will
fear starvation and lower its heart rate, respiration and temperature
to
burn less calories. In the absence of proper nutrients your body will
feed
off of its own muscle and bones, further slow metabolism and contribute
to muscle loss. Depriving your body of calories and nutrients is not
the
answer.
A challenging and varied
weight training program, in combination with good diet, helps to
prevent
muscle loss as well as increase protein synthesis and metabolism.
Overall,
proper eating and increased physical activity is the answer to life
long
fitness and wellness.
Author: Rich Fitter,
A.C.E. Certified Trainer, Weight Lifting Champion, WNBF Body Building
Champion,
is an expert consultant to TheFitWoman.com,
a website of women's fitness and weight training equipment.
Posted
by Janet Ford.
Posted
on: Monday October 3, 2005 7:23
am
