This is a guest post by talented freelance writer Tarah Mills about the aging process for men and fighting back against it. Enjoy.
Pushing back against father time can feel like a fruitless task for men approaching middle age. Weight gain decreased mood, or just not retaining that youthful energy you once held are all inevitable signs of aging. Obviously, this is all a natural and unavoidable aspect of growing older; but it doesn’t mean you can’t fight back. Below we will touch on fitness, diet, and other supplemental adjustments you can make to regain that youthful feeling.
Diet and Fitness
With over 70% of adult men considered overweight or obese in America, combating a decline in physical health is a growing concern. As you become more comfortable with your career and relationships, stagnation with physical fitness can settle in. Combined with a slowing metabolism, your body shape can slip from muscular to mundane in a short matter of years. But what steps can you take to confront this?
Adjustments in the Kitchen
Between the ages of 20-40 your metabolism, on average, will slow down about 15%. A silent assassin when it comes to your physical fitness, this is one of the main culprits in absent-minded weight gain. Obviously a reduction in total calorie intake is necessary as you grow in age.
Easy calorie cuts such as decreased alcohol consumption, fewer “cheat meals” of fast food, or simply a reduction in overall meal size will help. Even something as simple as switching to water or diet drinks can lower your total calorie intake enough to combat a slowing metabolism.
It can be easy to become complacent with your diet as you become busier with all of life’s demands. Understanding where to cut small amounts of calories throughout your day will save you the sneaky weight gain with age.
Adjustments in the Gym
As mentioned above, your body composition will naturally change as you get older. Working 40 or more hours a week and trying to bench press the same amount as in college can seem like a daunting task. Knowing how to realign your expectations in the gym will prevent a complete disregard for exercise as a whole.
Introducing more cardiovascular exercise into your routine can have numerous benefits for aging men. With over a 20% reduction in heart disease among active men, aerobic exercise is also proven to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Aside from the direct health benefits, cardio will provide an overall increase in energy levels and fat loss.
When it comes to weight lifting, being conscious of your body’s limitations is important. Decreased joint health, lower strength levels, and an increased risk for injury can prove to be obstacles. Luckily, elevated protein levels of about one gram per body weight and consistent weight training can act to preserve and build muscle with age.
Hormone Levels
Not all effects of aging can be remedied by diet or exercise. Biological changes under the surface can rear its ugly head across a number of areas of life. Testosterone levels will naturally decrease with age, starting around the age of 30. Although there is a variance on a case by case basis, the effects can be mentally and physically stunting in extreme cases. The side effects of low testosterone can include but are not limited to sex drive, muscle mass, and fat distribution.
There are few truly effective ways to increase your testosterone levels to counteract these problems. Testosterone therapy is the most common treatment, replacing your natural levels with exogenous testosterone. With a return to normal or increased levels, muscle mass, energy, fat loss, and libido will all see an improvement.
Building a Strategy
Acknowledging that you are experiencing the side effects of age can be hard to admit. Whether it is a decrease in daily energy or an increase in fat around your midsection, it is a tough battle to win without the right tools. Understand that everyone faces limitations as they get older, so there is no shame in making adjustments to combat them.
If you have put on a bit of weight, take a look at your daily diet and make those small tweaks. Realign your gym goals to maintain your health and strength, and consult a professional to see if there are any medical steps you can take to help you along the process.
