Remember when you used to eat what you wanted with no repercussions? Eating pizza, beer, and fries on a Friday night, then throwing on a bikini on Saturday morning without a second thought? ah, is this a distant memory? While we like to boil that down to metabolism, right? Or is it a mindset? We asked Sarah MirkinRDN, CPT, founder of cooking coachto cut to the chase, and he surprised us with some breaking news aha.
“Most people think we have a fast metabolism until we hit our thirties; that after that, everything is downhill; and that maintaining a healthy weight becomes more and more difficult each year as we age. But hold the phone!
“Investigation of a great to study made in 2021 suggests otherwise. Weight gain after the age of 30 is not necessarily linked to a slower metabolism. To clarify, your metabolic rate is the amount of energy (calories) our bodies expend on a daily basis. This also takes into account exercise and the thermic effect of food. Basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy our body uses when we are at rest. babies get burned fifty% more calories per pound than adults, and after the first year, the metabolism begins to decline about 3% each year until we reach our 20s. Then it doesn’t start to decline again until age 60!
“Obviously, as the child grows, so does the total calorie need. For every pound of lean body mass, fewer calories are consumed through age 20. Believe it or not, your resting metabolism doesn’t change during phases of life like puberty, pregnancy, and menopause.
Eat enough protein throughout the day, not all at once
“Of course, there are some things you can do to keep your metabolic rate up. Since muscle burns calories and fat does not, building muscle is key. What many people don’t know about protein intake is that it needs to be evenly distributed throughout the day. The average person can only use 20-30g at a time for muscle growth.
sleep well
“Another important factor is sleep. Research shows that inadequate sleep increases our hunger hormone, ghrelin, slowing down our metabolism and causing us to eat more.
Don’t heavily restrict your calls
“Finally, stop yo-yo dieting or try low-calorie diets. Your metabolism will respond by slowing down. When you diet, you also lose mainly muscle mass. When you go back to eating normally, you regain fat. Every time you diet, you are lowering your metabolic rate.
Simply put, it doesn’t matter how old you are. If you eat enough, and by staying healthy (with the right amount of protein!), staying active, and getting enough sleep, you should be able to maintain a healthy metabolism even when your thirties are far in the rearview.”
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