Is Weight Gain Related to Age?

You might be surprised to notice that despite living the same lifestyle as of your youth, you ended up gaining weight as soon as you crossed thirty. You are following the same lifestyle, eating the same foods, and doing the same workouts...then what went wrong? In this article I will discuss just that!

One of the reasons why people usually gain weight in their middle age is lack of activity; they tend to exercise less and eat more than they used to in their youths. This is one of the primary reasons behind middle age weight gain. However, even if you maintain a strict lifestyle, it is still possible for you to pack on some pounds! How? Read on to find out!

1.  Decrease in your resting metabolic rate: When you were young, you could burn fat even while sitting on the couch and watching your favorite movie. Why? This is because at that time your resting metabolic rate was quite high. However, as you age, your resting metabolic rate starts decreasing, right from the time you hit twenty.

From that point on, for every decade you survive, your resting metabolic rate will be lowered by at least 3 per cent. What does this mean? This means that you need to regulate your food intake because your body no longer needs the same amount of food that you used to consume in your youth!

However, if you keep eating the same amount of food as before, your body will naturally store the extra calorie as fat deposits. You may feel that you have the same kind of appetite as before, and that might be true, but since your fat burning capability has decreased over time, you need to reduce your food intake as well in order to maintain the balance; otherwise you will end up gaining weight!

It is easy to let hunger dictate your eating decisions, but if you want to remain fit and healthy all your life, you need to CONTROL your hunger!

2.  Decrease in body size: Your problems however, don't end here! As soon as you touch the age of forty-five, the weight of your brain is reduced. Your organs and muscles shrink. Unfortunately, the shrinking will happen only vertically instead of horizontally!

This further means that your body needs much less food than before. If you eat more than what your body needs, you will naturally gain weight! Just don't starve youself, what you need to do is avoid overeating.

Nevertheless, it IS possible to keep yourself fit even in middle age, despite the above shortcomings. It has probably already been clear to you that regulation of food intake is one of the first things you need to do to lose weight.

Another thing you need to do is to exercise regularly. Exercises is extremely effective for burning off all of the extra calories that you accumulate in your body after every meal. Remember that it is only natural to gain weight in middle age; however, with the proper steps, you can make sure that you are still able to live a healthy life and be the envy of your peers!