When we are in our twenties, we can basically eat anything we want without having to deal with any consequences. Most young people are able to eat a bunch of candies every day, have a moderately active lifestyle and manage to remain skinny. However, as you begin to age, it becomes more and more difficult to do that. Also, the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight once you gain it.
Why does this happen? Is it something that cannot be avoided? Do we need to attribute it to the fact that we are going to start gaining a layer of fat around our stomach when we hit 30? Not necessarily. Here are some important things that you need to know about your body and your metabolism.
We Become Less Active As We Age
When you’re in your twenties, you need to study, go to college, hang out with friends, and deal with a lot of stress. All this makes your body and your mind almost constantly active. You are also more concerned about your physical appearance, so you are more likely to go to the gym or do some other form of exercise.
However, when you reach your thirties, all this starts to change, at least for the majority of people. We settle in a stable job position, we have less stress in our lives, and fewer friends as well. We don’t go out or do stuff with our friends as much as before. Therefore, the number of calories we burn throughout the day is much lower and it becomes easier to gain weight.
We Lose Muscle As We Age
The percentage of muscle mass in our body decreases as we grow older. Muscles are responsible for using the calories we consume for energy, so having a lot of muscle mass means that you can eat more food and stay lean. Since we lose muscle as we age, we cannot eat as much food as we could before. We blame it on metabolism, but metabolism is just a set of metabolic processes in the body which are influenced by our habits and our daily routines.
What Can We Do About It?
In order to increase your metabolic rate and prevent it from slowing down, you need to negate the factors that we have mentioned above. After turning 30, try to stay as active as possible. If you were not active before, you should consider joining a gym or a local cycling club and going for group rides. This will help you stay lean and fit well into old age.