There are all types of myths in regards to aging and weight loss. Everything from the “freshman 15” to someone saying “if only I could eat the way I used to when I was 20.” This isn’t only held to diet. I have had many clients say, “if only I had youth on my side again.” This brings us to the question – Does age hinder weight loss & transformation.

The short answer? Yes, of course it does.  The long answer is more complex and detailed.

Case Studies

I could show you pictures and footage of senior citizens performing spectacular feats of strength, flexibility, and age defying looks. These days time is less of the enemy it used to be for those so initiated, educated and supplied. There is the 101-year old cowgirl who’s flexibility and strength is incredible. There are the 80-year old bodybuilders and 99-year old runners, out performing 22-year old couch potatoes.

However, me showing you some guy who is 70-years old that can do a 400lb deadlift isn’t going to help you do a deadlift at 70, if you don’t understand why he can do it. Sure, I can show you a client at 55 who is in a bikini for the first time in her life (and looking damn good I might add), but is it going to help you to look at pictures? Well, maybe it is a little fun.

Ultimately, what these people have on their side is education and emotional vitality. I am going to provide you that education so you can be strong and smoking in your 70’s and beyond.

Body Interest And Dividends

If you know anything about retirement and investment, you know that the earlier you start, the better. If you start putting away for retirement in your 20’s you could potentially hit early retirement. Start in your mid 30’s and comfortable retirement might be a hard thing to pull off.

Time is a true player. We can’t change it or defy it. You can’t cheat time or  negotiate with it. All you can do is play the game better. All you can do is make the most of it. Even when you realize that, there is the genetic card, the money card, the environment card…I think you get the picture.

Your return is going to depend on your investment. If you are 45 and think you can make up for all those years of ill-intent or deterioration, you can’t.  You can’t make up for it, but you can use it as a tremendously significant factor into the equation. You can create impressive advances. It is never too late to start, but you have to be realistic about your start.

Age And Weight

It is common happenstance that as we age, we also gain weight. This is for a variety of factors, most hardly ever due to physical health, but more lifestyle factors and physical adaption. Generally, stabilization of weight gain is high around 50 years of age. From there, weight is either lost or maintained until 70 years of age. If you take into account the lifespan of the obese, mixed with the number of succeeding population, it is practically an obvious conclusion.

Why do we gain weight?

The number one reason for weight gain as we age is due to decrease of lifestyle activity/exercise and increase of food. In short, we move less and eat more. Non-Exercise Adaptive Thermogenesis (NEAT) decreases dramatically by each decade in the general population. As the years go by, movement plays less of an important role in social activity and job earnings. We are going to see an increase in weight gain in children and adults if something doesn’t change.

Most weight gain is not dramatic or in quick spurts. More often it comes on slowly over time. Constantly studies and surveys are showing overweight and obese adults believe themselves to be thinner than they are. This is easy to achieve when the weight gain is 10lbs over the course of a year. In 7-8 years, it can easily reach 60-70lbs due to getting used to a higher scale number, or no scale at all.

Does age affect the ease of weight loss?

As I stated early, the reason we gain weight (or lose it) as a population is full of mixed factors. Gain or loss in the later years (>50) can have more variables than early years (< 50). Epidemiology research has tried to take into account as many variables as they can. For instance, emotional and physical problems like loss of spouse, illness, diet changes for health, etc. One such study looked at a variety of factors related to reasons beyond gain or loss and how it trended overall. The outcome showed as age increased, weight decreased.

Other studies point to the “Anorexia of aging” phenomenon. The take home point is, towards the closing of our existence, weight loss is “easy” to come by, physically. Why?

Often you hear “older people can’t lose weight due to hormones.” That is a pretty vague statement and makes little sense. To thoroughly understand the role of aging on weight loss and hormones, you have to look at the crucial players in weight loss at any age. As I said, the players of the game don’t change (nor their position). That being said, their effectiveness could be hindered, but does it have to be that way? Is this only in the face of mistreatment of your own body and could it be reversible to a point?

A 2010 study titled “Changes in food intake and its relationship to weight loss during advanced age.” Looked at leptin, neuropeptide Y, GABA, and CCK and its relationship to satiation and role in weight loss. Their conclusion shows satiation is better, not worse after your 30’s. So, it could be speculated that for the average population if you aren’t “fat” by 40, chances are you will never be fat (baring disease or disorder) because satiation and automatic caloric intake decrease naturally over the years.

Thyroid

In regards to thyroid hormone, even in the presence of true hypothyroidism, problems with weight loss should be little of an issue with the proper diet and medication. The American Thyroid Association states, “…the decrease in BMR due to hypothyroidism is usually much less dramatic than the marked increase seen in hyperthyroidism, leading to more modest alterations in weight due to the under-active thyroid. The cause of the weight gain in hypothyroid individuals is also complex, and not always related to excess fat accumulation. Most of the extra weight gained in hypothyroid individuals is due to excess accumulation of salt and water. Massive weight gain is rarely associated with hypothyroidism. In general, 5-10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid.”

When we look at the role of the thyroid hormone, it plays only a part in the weight loss game and should not be seen as the ultimate cure or sin to a weight loss journey. We also see that overtime decrease in function varies, as do other health issue.

Sexual Hormones

In regard to hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and androgen,  they aren’t likely to impede weight loss with age, but will alter the ease of body recomposition and appearance. Meaning, you can lose weight with low test or high estrogen, but your appearance being optimal may be another story. This is why it is necessary to incorporate training, specifically resistance based training as your age. Diet and supplementation could also play a small role. The next level would be hormone replacement, but in general I prefer to look at natural research solutions.

Aging And Training

The ability to maintain muscle and performance is theorized to be in large part due to the number of motor units one possesses. It is said that 1% of motor units are lost after your 30’s and can increase in loss rate after your 60’s in the average population. The question is – can the rate of motor unit loss be deterred by physical activity? The answer seems to be yes. While most research has been done in rats, this study shows, “These results demonstrate that lifelong high-intensity physical activity could potentially mitigate the loss of MU associated with aging well into the seventh decade of life.”

Even in untrained subjects, there is a benefit to “starting late.” This 2007 Buck Institute study shows that untrained elderly saw a dramatic increase in strength in a short period of time with only a 2-day a week program.

Adding one more log to the fire, bone strength is constantly seen to decrease in age and can be halted or possibly reversed on small levels with resistance training.

Training Adjustments

The biggest question I get is about training progression and those over the age of 40. We know from research that intensity of injury increases with age and with it comes slower healing times. Again, the decrease of this is going to depend on a lot of the factors discussed above. That being said, there is a lot of data to suggest a particular focus on quality over quantity, specifically with a heavy load. There is also argument for this being the way anyone should train, but that is another conversation.  Lastly, you have to take into account the role of nutrition and supplementation on recovery.

To put it simply, people >50 can train the same way people <50 can train, but frequency shorter and recovery time may need to be longer.  <50 year olds can do squats, deadlifts, push up, jump, and press till their hearts content. But, that doesn’t mean the movements are right for you yet. The same rules apply and if you mess yourself up, you are going to pay for it longer.  That being said, recovery in trained individuals is markedly better than untrained.

In a higher age bracket, flexibility and mobility can decrease. The same is true for strength. Again, you have to play your cards right, but it doesn’t mean you have to be fearful. Walk before you run, in a matter of speaking.

The big problem comes because there are people 25 who aren’t capable of doing certain heavy load movements. At 25, screwing up may not mean so much. At 50, screwing up may put you out of commission for a while. A more intelligent based training system is going to be the better route to travel.  I will be discussing programming for this in a later article called “The Jacked-Up Program.” Basically, it will be a program anyone can do, and with the aid of myself and other experts in the industry. Stay tuned for that.

From a Vanity Standpoint

If you didn’t get the health/looks connection, then take the following for a spin. As age increases, collagen and skin elasticity decreases. Skin tone changes, marks and scars increase as do veins.

What can you do to battle that? Maintain a healthy circulation status and muscle base. There is nothing like sagging discolored skin over no muscle. This may become unavoidable in your 70’s, but there I no reason it has to be there in your 40’s. Training also increases circulation and can improve skin tone and appearance of inflammation/marked definition.

Lastly, The Role Of Perceived Vitality

I believe heavily in the role of perceived vitality and extending your longevity. There is some research that looks at this, like Rowe and Kahn’s 2002 study in combination to physical activity. In short, it is their belief that the combination of physical and spiritual vitality is the key to a long-term life. It may seem like a “no shit” conclusion, but the diamond is in the details.

In most research, we see that movement continues to slow as age decreases, not as much due to illness or physical dysfunction, but by decreasing social behavior.  As the Buck study pointed out, untrained individuals achieved incredible gains of strength in a short period and literally reversed time with resistance training. There honestly is a fountain of youth if you want to open up your mind to it.

It may seem like an odd parallel, but this is the reason I like TV shows like Dancing with the Stars or seemingly cheesy community social activities. While you still need to push things at a proper pace, you can push them. I know people in their 50’s denouncing almost all physical activity because they can’t do it anymore, when physical activity is just what they need. It is such a waste of life and it begs the question, “Are you just waiting to die?”

Take Away

  • The younger you start, the better chance you have at making impressive strides. Don’t put off health.
  • The same problems you could have with health in your 20′s can exist in your 60′s. Weight loss related health issues are going to be the same as age increase. In fact, things could be easier.
  • Movement decrease is the prime problem of weight loss difficulty at any age, but especially difficult in the later years. Small calorie burn with even a moderate diet = lackluster results. Increase activity.
  • Resistance training is a true fountain of youth.
  • Weight loss doesn’t seem to be largely affected by age, but body composition does. As you age, there is no room for sub-par dieting and training. Specificity to your body and needs are key.
  • The rules are still the rules at any age in regards to physiology, hormones and thermodynamics. However, your personal level of strength in these areas can be degraded due to health issues. This can have nothing to do with aging.
  • Attention to details and the “simple” things is your best line of defense towards aging and body composition. This includes (not limited too) sleep, vitamins and exercise and a variety heavy diet.
  • As we age, sometimes things don’t work to their optimal level anymore. Keep a regular check on your physical status. You can use this article as a terrific starting point.
  • It is never too late to change your life and body. As you can see, it is a pretty miraculous thing. Don’t check out before you actually check out.
  • Don’t look at aging as an excuse anymore. Instead, look at aging from a technical standpoint to make the smartest decisions about your training and diet programs.
  • I hate to use such an unoriginal quote, from one of the greatest movies of all time, but it still stands true. “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

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