By age 50, most people have experienced weight loss programs
and diets. Despite a sincere desire to lose weight and
improve our health, momentum from the other direction seems
overwhelming. All that health and fitness stuff just doesn't
seem possible with all the other responsibilities we have.
The problem is that maintaining the status quo doesn't allow
us to maintain our clothing size. Our patients tell us, "I
eat the same as I have all my life, no more, no less, and yet
I've begun to gain weight every year." It is very
frustrating, not to mention unhealthy.
For one thing, periodic dieting has sent a danger signal to
our brain and it may not trust us anymore. Our bodies were
not designed to lose weight. When a doctor sees a patient who
is losing weight, it is a sign of illness or disease. The
frail do not survive as long as the stout. When the body
senses famine, it slows down, reserves energy, lowers the
metabolic furnace and hoards fat. That is called survival.
Dieters can attest to the truth of the yo-yo dieting
syndrome. Drastic changes in eating habits eventually result
in weight loss, but it gets more difficult every time. It
seems that the minute we return to our normal lives, the
weight returns and brings a little extra with it. The big
problem is that we lose fat, water and muscle while dieting,
but then we regain only fat!
The best way to outsmart our fat cells is to exercise
consistently and eat frequent healthy snacks or meals, thus
establishing a new version of normal. To accelerate this
change, we need to turn to our best friends — our
muscles.
Most people do not realize what has been changing behind the
scenes all these years. Unless we have been physically active
(exercising, shoveling snow, chopping wood or tending a large
garden, etc.), the muscles in our bodies have begun to
atrophy. In our early years, with a baby on one hip and a bag
of groceries on the other, women did plenty of weight
lifting. But today?
Most of us lose half-a-pound per year due to atrophy, after
the age of 25. This must be where use-it-or-lose-it comes
from. Muscle is metabolically active and each pound burns 50-
70 calories per day. From age 25-45 we normally lose 10
pounds of muscle and that alone lowers our metabolism by 500-
700 calories per day.
Our engine has gone from a sports car to a sedan, and the
high-octane fuel we've been enjoying is now a lot more than
we need. Perhaps we could eat 2,500 calories a day at age 25
and never gain an ounce. But what are the odds that we have
reduced our diet to 1,800-2,000 calories to compensate for
our plummeting metabolism? Not great!
From age 45-65 we lose another 10 pounds of muscle, and our
sedan becomes a subcompact car. Who wants to live on 1,200-
1,500 calories a day to compensate?
Are we doomed? Not at all! But realizing the physiology of
the problem is not enough. We need to take action. Resistance
training is the only type of exercise that can slow, and even
reverse, declines in muscle mass, bone density and strength
that were once considered inevitable results of aging.
Adding healthy muscle is a safe and simple self-improvement
project that will be a cornerstone to outsmarting our fat
cells and revving up our metabolic engine. The good news is
that our muscles do not know the difference between a
dumbbell and a soup can. All they know is they have to work
harder than usual to raise our hands. When that happens, they
get a little stronger.
Daily cardiovascular exercise is another way to reassure our
bodies that activity is normal and that converting fat to
energy is safe.
Many still think that a walk or bike ride must last 30
minutes or more to be beneficial. Fortunately, that is not
true! A recent study of nearly 40,000 health professionals
reported that among women age 45 and older who don't exercise
vigorously, those who walk at least an hour a week have about
half the risk of coronary artery disease compared with those
who do not walk regularly. This study could even apply to
men.
With just 10 minutes a day, 6 days a week, we can reach that
level. Our experience has been that when we create a habit,
we will choose to walk a little longer some days. That's even
better. As we become fitter, we will feel stronger mentally
and physically.
What will these changes mean to our health and longevity? It
could mean that we stop gaining the 2-5 pounds a year and
even reverse the weight gain trend. It could make us more
energetic to live life more fully with a positive attitude.
Most of all, it could provide a future of independent living
without illness and pain.
We must remind ourselves often that either our lifestyle
determines our body or one day our body will determine our
lifestyle.
(c) 2005 Dr. Reuven Bruner. All Rights Reserved.
Contact him at: POB 1903, Jerusalem, 91314, Israel; Tel: (02)
652-7684; Mobile: 052 2865-821; Fax: (02) 652-7227; Email:
dr_bruner@hotmail.com
