Let’s face it, getting older is the pits. Our hair grays and thins, our skin sinks and sags, our joints ache, our muscles weaken and our waistlines expand. From the amount of energy we have, to how quickly we can move and recover from exercise, it seems as though everything in our bodies is slowing down. And that’s particularly true for your metabolism.
According to the medical experts at Johns Hopkins, after we reach the age of 30 our metabolism slows at a rate of 2% per decade due to the gradual loss of energy-consuming muscle cells that help our body burn calories. In fact, between the ages of 20 and 90, the average person loses 50% of their muscle mass, while gaining 0.4 to 1.7 pounds per year. And women are particularly hard hit by these statistics. But the loss of muscle and therefore slowing of our metabolisms is not exclusively due to age alone—it’s also very much attributed to the lifestyle changes that also occur as we grow older, namely, a decrease in activity.
Contributing factors such as the sedentary routine of an office job, the time demands of a family and the natural decline in energy as a result of our busy schedules during our mid-lives, a reduction in physical activity is extremely common.
But the less active you are, the less muscle you retain; and the less muscle you retain, the fewer calories you burn—all pointing to the slowing of your metabolism and a jump on the scale.
Follow these five helpful tips to keeping yourself—and your metabolism moving in the right direction.
- Strength train. The best way to fight the loss of muscles and the subsequent slowing of our metabolism is to build muscle! Be sure to work a total body, light weight or resistance training regimen into your normal exercise routine, at least two or three times per week.
- Exercise frequently. Regular aerobic exercise keeps your metabolism in high gear by efficiently burning calories both during and after your workout. 60 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three to four times a week is best.
- Eat frequently. Eating six small meals a day, or once every three hours or so, will keep your metabolism working to process calories all day long and leave you feeling fuller than eating three large meals a day.
- Eat more lean protein. Because of the thermal effect of food, our bodies burn more calories processing lean proteins than they do any other type of food. Lean proteins also leave us feeling fuller longer, helping us to eat less altogether.
- Get enough sleep. It is while we sleep that our bodies heal themselves. Research shows lack of sleep makes us less likely to exercise and more likely to snack as a way to boost our energy levels. Try for a full 8 hours a night.
