The Middle Age Spread - is it Inevitable?

"It's your hormones and there is nothing you can do about it"

"It's because you drink beer and eat carbs"

"My parents both have it so I will too"

"It's your metabolism slowing down"

"It's your body post child bearing morphing into a male figure to make you less desirable"

None of the above can be held responsible alone for mid life weight gain, despite even medical professionals handing out this reasoning. Some of these explanations are wildly inaccurate, some are based on a little truth, but used as lazy throw away excuses.

We can extract pieces from above however to create the real picture to blame for middle age spread, for example - yes hormones play a part, as do genetics (but it is not your destiny) and of course if you are drinking beer and carbs that put you into a calorie surplus, then that will also have a part to play.

Is it inevitable?

Although there is a strong association between weight gain (particularly around the mid-section) and midlife, it is not your destiny!

If you are under the belief that it is out of your control, then it is far more likely to happen as the bad habits associated with the “nothing I can do about it” mentality creep in.

There are multiple studies designed to test the hypothesis that age does not directly influence body composition or regional body fat distribution throughout middle age, most arrive at the same conclusion - weight gain may be a result of other variables rather than an inevitable consequence of the aging process.

For men and women there are hormonal changes that affect weight in mid life, and women’s are more pronounced due to the menopause, but it is the changes in lifestyle that have a very significant role to play.

Fortunately, these changes in lifestyle offer us with the most opportunity to prevent the likelihood of it happening in the first place or taking steps to improving your health.

So why does it happen?

Your metabolism does not slow down as you age - you do.

It really hit home to me this concept in the supermarket car park the other day when I saw someone use the "click and collect" parking spot, which goes like this;

Stay in drivers seat - boot opens automatically - shopping loaded for you -boot closes automatically - drives away.

Now don't get me wrong - things to make life easier sometimes are invaluable; when you're a parent of little ones or when you are sick or injured for example, BUT often we rely on these things because we are time poor because we spend more and more time SITTING at desks or sitting on a commute. Every year movement is taken away from us and replaced with another technology that does it for us, we are moving less and less as we age and the less we move, the less we WANT to move.

The problem is as we move less , we consume the same or more and this happens gradually over time, we often don't notice until you look back at a picture of yourself 5 years ago, or catch your reflection or perhaps your GP tells you that you need to lose weight, it can come as a bit of a shock.

Just think back to how you used to socialise - we would walk or ride over to see friends, we would catch up outdoors to throw or kick a ball around, going out often involved dancing for hours and some of us would be playing sport.

Some of real middles agers even had to wind their car windows manually and walk over to the TV to change channels.

As you enter adulthood, cars get you from A to B, socialising becomes more about sitting down eating and drinking, jobs often become more desk orientated, life can get more stressful which can lead to poor lifestyle choices such as eating and drinking more and more time on the couch. Sport often becomes considered a "luxury", "me time" that has to be earnt as long as the rest of your life is "busy enough" to justify it or even worse, you have written yourself off from any activity because you believe there is nothing you can do with your "older and broken body".

How are hormones involved?

For the guys declining Testosterone is to blame. Aging males are prone to loss of muscle mass and a gain in fat mass, especially in the form of visceral or central fat, a study showed that for men aged between 24 and 85 the total and free testosterone levels are inversely correlated with waist circumference and that testosterone levels are specifically related to this measure of central obesity rather than general obesity. Also studies have shown that testosterone levels predict future development of central obesity and correlate with age related declines in MPS (muscle protein synthesis). As well as being catabolic, falling testosterone levels can also cause tiredness, lack of energy, reduced strength, frailty, loss of libido, decreased sexual performance depression and mood change, undoubtedly this will have an impact on activity levels and food choices.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? GEEK OUT HERE:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544367/

For females, the complexity of the menopause undeniably affects weight gain. The falling levels of estrogen and progesterone having the biggest impact. Estrogen regulates energy balance by regulating food intake and energy expenditure and it has been linked to a number of physiological features of fat tissue form and function, including limiting total body fat and fat tissue distribution. The decline in these hormones also causes a decrease in insulin sensitivity and MPS.

This is a complex combination of factors that still needs to be better understood, the hormonal changes also bring about changes in energy levels, mood, motivation and mental clarity, all of which will influence our activity levels and food choices.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? GEEK OUT HERE:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24734243

We may joke about Dad bods and Mum tums but it is actually really important this weight gain is prevented and / or managed, it can very easily accumulate and become a serious threat to your health.

The decline in testosterone and estrogen is linked to metabolic disease such as diabetes and there is direct association with central obesity and CVD (cardio vascular disease), the leading cause of death in post menopausal women!

Decline in muscle mass and bone health also puts us at risk of osteoporosis so you can see why this is an important topic to discuss and not something to ignore or accept, but something we should be preventing in the first place.

Things that won't help

10 home stretches that burn fat
Yoga
Pilates

These will help with other elements of your wellbeing, this will not reduce body fat or increase muscle mass.

Neither will;

Intuitive eating
Detoxing
Fasted cardio
Keto
Eliminating entire food groups

Why not?

A Keto diet dramatically reduces the amount of carbohydrate we ingest, which has major effect on your endocrine (hormonal system). Your endocrine system requires carbohydrate for healthy function so why, at this time in our lives, would we subject the whole system to more stress?
Just because we can become more sensitive to Carbohydrates post menopause, this does not mean we need to eliminate them!

Fasting increases Cortisol (stress hormone) and your catabolic (muscle breakdown) state, especially for those exercising. Remember, when you are not fuelling what you are doing – you are increasing a negative stress response.
Add the stress of mid-life / menopause and you’re adding more layers of stress.

What Can You Do to Help?

If you feel that you are becoming more sensitive to carbohydrates during middle age, being more selective with your choices of carb can help.

Choose fruit and veg as your main sources – carbs that contain fibre – this will also feed your “good” gut bacteria which we know with the evolving science that a healthy gut microbiome is linked to mood, immune system and fatigue.

Increasing your protein intake is one of the most powerful things you can do to help prevent weight gain.
When we don’t consume enough protein, you will be missing a vital component of MPS and therefore will start to lose muscle mass.

We often hear about loss of bone density around middle age, but don’t hear often enough about the loss of lean mass – the retention of lean mass is integral for health and longevity, plus those with higher muscle mass usually have lower body fat and find it easier to stay lean.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

We become more resistant to the two major triggers for MPS as we age: resistance training and protein intake

If you do not get these two fixed - you are swimming upstream!

The type of training you do at this time of your life can have a significant impact;

Plyometric training for bone strength and densityStrength training for muscle strength and growthHIIT training isn’t necessarily the best option as it doesn’t provide enough plyometric stress for bone health or enough resistance stress to stimulate MPS.

Recovery is very important as well! We need more as we age because we need longer to adapt, one day on / one day off can work as we require 24/36hrs to get out of the catabolic / stressed state.

Looking for support in taking control of your health as you age? Book in a consult today with one of our experienced MTMM coaches.