Why Is It So Much Harder To Lose Weight When You Get Older?
Do you find it harder to get in shape as you grow older than you did in your twenties? You are among the elderly crowd who face the same struggle with obesity. You might be curious to know the actual reason behind expansive obesity and leveraging difficulty to achieve weight loss goals. What’s causing this ruckus though? It’s your age that is coming your way in achieving weight loss goals. You may now want a solution to the problem; there are many. Let’s get through the process, know the actual reason, and hit the goals smartly.
What’s Actually Causing The Problem?
Let’s know the actual reason behind the problem so that you can learn more about your body and know how to manage it.
Muscle Loss
Muscle loss is the number one factor that is the most significant obstruction in your weight loss. As you age, your body tends to lose muscle, and the process is known as sarcopenia. This is an age-related process and happens naturally. The lean muscles in the body burn more calories than you consume. Burning more calories is related to weight loss; the higher the lean muscles, the faster is the burning of calories. Your age-related inactivity due to injury or disease like arthritis can also cause a plunge in lean muscles. Working out regularly can save you from the problem and help rebuild muscles.
Hormones
Hormones also start to work differently. Some tend to drop, and some tend to increase. The Pituitary glands that secrete growth hormone, which helps build up muscle mass, decline significantly. Women mostly observe a significant inclined in their weight after menopause due to decreasing estrogen levels. They may experience mood swings and become more vulnerable to disease as obesity sets in. The case is no different for men due to a drop in testosterone levels. The body starts losing muscle strength with a decline in testosterone levels.
Slow Metabolism
Slow metabolism obstructs weight loss no matter what age you are. Old age, sex, and genetic factors can affect your metabolism. But in older individuals, it is due to lesser muscle mass. Metabolism helps break down the calories in the body and turns them into energy. If the metabolism process is slow, it makes the rest of the breaking(calories) and converting(energy) process difficult. In such situations, the higher fat in the body reduces the burning of calories. The expert’s says that men and women can have different metabolisms and retain body fat to different degrees. Having a good metabolism will support your weight loss during eating, sleeping, or resting.
Stress
Experience and stress both increase with age so are the responsibilities. Stressing over things like family, job, and other matters can make you obese. It increases the hormones ghrelin and cortisol that pressures you to eat more. The hormone can make you hungry, forcing you to grab more calories and increase your fat reserves. The hormone cortisol now dwells in your body as fat reserves, which are hard to lose. Inactivity at this stage can further complicate the situation.
Lifestyle
A good lifestyle represents healthy living free from disease and problems like obesity. Lifestyle and healthy habits can help you through weight loss. A good diet with a bit of exercise every day can help you achieve good results. No matter how busy you are, you need to make time for healthy activities to improve your lifestyle. In this article Health Canal expresses that in combination with making some healthy lifestyle changes, women’s fat burners can offer some additional help in losing weight.
How To Help Yourself?
Here is what you can do to befriend weight loss with your growing age:
- Exercise: There shouldn’t be any excuse for this part. The daily routine will help you build lean muscles to solve obesity.
- Diet: Get a good diet every day. Include high protein foods that help your body and cut off high processed foods that make you ill. Take more fibers, vegetables, and whole grains. Watch how much you eat in a day, cut down your calories to a minimum. Avoid eating much while you are stressed; exercise instead.
- Hydrate: Dehydration in the body leads to obesity, leading to higher BMI. You can mistake your thirst for water with hunger. To avoid obesity, stay hydrated. Eat fruits rich in water and fiber; it will help you stay full and hydrated.
- Sleep: The best way to combat stress is sleep. Sleep repairs your body cells and the ongoing mechanisms inside it.
The Bottom Line
You might find it hard to accept, but it is the truth that as you get older, you will find it harder to lose weight. The problem is lower muscle mass, hormones, metabolism, and stress. A positive lifestyle change can help you quickly achieve weight loss results. Work on your diet and body with exercise every day; the goals are not that hard to achieve.
