Middle-aged weight gain has nothing to do with metabolism! If you want to get rid of your "fat belly", follow these 3 dietary recommendations!

After entering middle age, "gaining weight" becomes a major problem facing every middle-aged person.

After you pass the "hurdle" of 29 years old, maintaining a slim figure will gradually become a hard mode... People who used to eat anything without gaining weight now gain weight even by drinking water; people who used to have three bowls of rice in one meal now feel full with just half a bowl.

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01

Why does middle-aged weight gain come so quickly?

In the past, we always believed that the blame for gaining weight should be borne by basal metabolism. The declining body metabolism makes it impossible for us to consume the energy we take in, which accumulates in the body and converts into large amounts of fat.

However, research in recent years has broken this perception - in fact, our energy consumption is stable between the ages of 20 and 50, and does not drop sharply after crossing a certain threshold.

The most obvious decline in metabolic levels actually occurs after the age of 60, when the human body has entered aging. After the age of 60, metabolism will decrease by about 7% every 10 years. When people are in their 90s, their daily energy consumption will be 20% to 25% lower than that of people in their 50s. As people age, their weight decreases, especially their muscle mass decreases, and their metabolism decreases more significantly.

Obviously, people in their 30s are far from having a reduced metabolism. Why are they still gaining weight when their metabolism is not reduced and they are not eating more?

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The reason is simple: people move less. In one study, people found that people over 30 move about 20% less than people in their 20s. [1]

Looking back, we were full of energy at the age of 20, we could stay up late to sing karaoke and take walks, and we could go anywhere at any time, just pack up our bags and sit all the way to Tibet. But at the age of 30, we are exhausted by life, let alone exercising every day, even leaving get off work an hour later is enough to make us exhausted.

Unconsciously, we move less and less, and are welded to our workstations by heavy work. Although we don’t eat much and our basic body energy consumption has not changed, the extra exercise consumption we originally had is gone. Overall, energy can still be easily accumulated, becoming the swimming ring around our waists and the double chins on our faces...

Not only that, after entering middle age, we are also faced with "fattening agents" such as stress, staying up late, emotional problems, etc., as well as a series of obstacles such as overtime work and taking care of children that make us have no time to exercise even if we want to; plus we are busy with work and can only eat high-fat and high-calorie takeout or processed foods, and have no time to make a delicious and healthy meal for ourselves...

In short, the reason why we gain weight in middle age is not that we don’t want to lose weight, but that we are so oppressed by life that we have no time to lose weight! No wonder, the trend that the middle class pursues nowadays is no longer luxury cars and watches, but who has money and time to exercise every week or even every day.

02

How to slow down the rate of weight gain in middle age?

In fact, middle-aged weight gain has nothing to do with metabolic levels, but is mainly determined by our lifestyle: the decreasing amount of exercise, the increasing stress, and the unhealthy food that we consume in order to relieve stress are all driving factors for middle-aged weight gain.

After reading this, you might be thinking: If I had money and free time, of course I could exercise every day!

Indeed, obesity is also strongly related to personal economic conditions: income level, occupation type, and education level will all affect a person's body shape. In addition, gender will also affect the body shape of people in the same age group. For example, in middle age, highly educated men will be fatter than less educated men. Interestingly, in the female group, it is indeed the other way around, with highly educated women being slimmer than less educated women. This is obviously related to differences in personal concepts caused by personal experience and occupation.

However, for those of us who have already entered middle age, it is obviously too late to change these external conditions through struggle. If you want to fight against middle-aged obesity, you still have to rely on the most classic saying: "Control your mouth and move your legs."

For middle-aged people who lack time, it is no longer realistic to spend several hours every day doing high-intensity aerobic exercise like when they were young. However, it is still possible to take out ten minutes or half an hour from work and housework every day to do short-term and efficient exercises such as HIT. It can increase your daily energy consumption in a very short time.

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Of course, it is equally important to control your diet. After all, we only exercise a little bit, and every extra bite of high-calorie food we eat contributes to our weight gain. How to control your diet? It is not difficult, but it requires long-term persistence.

First of all, you need to consider the overall nutrient density when taking food. It is best to eat less high-sugar desserts, beverages, alcohol, fried foods, biscuits, instant noodles and other foods. Yes, it is also best to quit your favorite milk tea, which not only helps you lose weight but also saves money. After all, a cup of milk tea that costs dozens of yuan will only bring you short-term happiness, and the rest is the pain of gaining weight.

Secondly, we must pay attention to the total calories we consume and the structure of our diet. We should consume high-quality protein, carbohydrates, and lipids in moderation. We can optimize the structure for weight loss purposes. We can add some whole grains to white rice, such as oatmeal, brown rice, buckwheat, and even beans. There is no need to starve ourselves to lose weight. After all, we still need plenty of energy to cope with the busy days.

Finally, eat more vegetables and eat some fruits to ensure that you get enough vitamins and minerals, and also increase your dietary fiber intake. If you don’t eat enough, you can consider taking multivitamin tablets to prevent insufficient vitamin intake.

References:

[1]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353854210_Daily_energy_expenditure_through_the_human_life_course

Author｜Hydra Science Author

Review｜Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutritionist, health manager, public nutritionist

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