Does Our Metabolism Slow Down With Age?

As I was talking to a client the other day, she mentioned that she's had difficulty losing weight as she got older. She said that before, as soon as she eats less, she can lose her extra weight pretty easily in just a matter of weeks. But now, the weight just would not come off no matter what she does with her food. Even if it does, her results are not as good as they were when she was younger.

This has led me to the question of whether slower metabolism really is inevitable when people get older. We've all heard it before; people say that their metabolism has slowed down with age. They may be right and they may be wrong.

There is an occurrence called muscle wasting or muscle atrophy which everyone goes through as we age which is basically the loss of muscle mass due to inactivity. For example, if you or someone you know has broken a leg bone and had to have the injured region placed in a cast, the muscle in that part of the leg would be a lot smaller compared to the muscle on the other, un-casted leg. This is where the saying, "use it or lose it," applies. The less you use the muscle, the less muscle you'll have.

As most people are aware, muscle burns more calories than fat cells so when we lose muscle mass later in life, we also slow down our metabolism. Many studies have been done on aging and the co-author of an aging study at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Holly Van Remmen, says that,"Age-related muscle atrophy in skeletal muscle is inevitable. However, we know it can be slowed down or delayed."

So, how do we delay muscle atrophy? The only answer is exercise. But, I'm not talking about cardiovascular exercise. I'm talking about strength training exercises where you lift weights like dumbbells and barbells to either maintain your muscle mass or increase it. Muscles burn 4 calories more per pound compared to fat. That number doesn't sound a lot but having muscles will increase your average daily metabolic rate which ads up in the long run. This means that just by adding a few pounds of muscle, you will automatically increase your metabolism thereby by figthing age related muscle wasting.

Another benefit of having muscle is thicker bones which will help prevent injuries later in life. Basically, your bones have to support the muscles that are attached to them so they have to adapt by getting thicker. So, not only does increasing muscle mass help you burn more calories, it also helps you get stronger bones. Having stronger bones is also great for people who are prone to bone diseases like Osteoporosis.

So, now we know that the medical doctors were actually right when they recommend regular diet and exercise. But, we should also know that lifting weights will specifically help us if we want to prevent having slower metabolism as we age. Usually, lifting weights 3 times a week for 30-45 mintues is sufficient for most people who want to maintain their muscle. Besides what a lot of people think, gaining muscle mass actually takes time so it may be a good 3 months to a year before you see significant changes to your body and your metabolism.

We can look forward to aging if we age well. It doesn't have to be this gloomy event that we all try to avoid. We can look and feel great and still feel free as a bird even when we get older. But, we have to realize that we need to act on things now such as go to the gym now (and more often) so that we can reap the its benefits later on.