How to Speed Up Metabolism for Over 50 Weight Loss

Understanding Your Metabolism

You may often hear people complaining, “My metabolism just isn’t what it used to be.” But what is metabolism, and how does it affect our health and weight? Mighty Health physician, Dr. Eric Tam, is here to answer all your metabolism questions.

What Is Metabolism?

Medical professionals define metabolism as a set of chemical processes that maintain our body. These chemical reactions take energy. For example, our cells work together to keep our body temperature in the optimal range, break down the foods we eat, repair cells, and build muscle. 

Anabolism and Catabolism

Metabolism is a dynamic balance between two processes that work in opposite directions: anabolism and catabolism.

Anabolism

Anabolism refers to processes that build new things, such as creating new cells or building new proteins. Anabolic reactions require energy to create the new molecules.

Catabolism

Catabolism refers to processes that break things down. For example, digestion involves breaking molecules in food into smaller parts. This process releases energy. 

How Anabolism and Catabolism Work to Form Metabolism

Metabolism is the difference between energy consumed (by making new things- anabolism) and energy produced (by breaking things down- catabolism). This is sometimes called metabolic rate.

Metabolic rate is the amount of energy used by your body at rest. It is affected by genetics, gender, age, body size, activity level, and other factors.

What Causes Metabolism to Slow Down?

Metabolism gradually slows as we age. This slowing metabolic rate means that the body requires less energy to meet its basic needs. Slowed metabolism is often a reason that people notice weight gain in middle age and beyond. 

Aging

Our metabolism naturally slows as our bodies age. This is a function of having older cells and tissues.

Loss of Muscle Mass

Muscle tissue requires a greater amount of energy to maintain. Aging and inactivity leads to lower muscle mass, which results in a lower metabolism.

Hormonal Changes

Hormones are important for regulating your metabolic rate. Changes in hormone levels due to natural processes like menopause can decrease metabolic rate. So can medical conditions like hypothyroidism.

Many women notice a slower metabolism during perimenopause and postmenopause. This slowing metabolism means that you may gain weight even when eating fewer calories.

Burning calories through exercise can help, as can diet changes.

Lack of Physical Activity

Regular physical activity, particularly strength training, helps to boost metabolic rate. In contrast, a sedentary lifestyle can cause metabolic rate to slow.

What Can You Do to Improve Metabolism?

The good news is that there are several things you can do to improve your metabolism. Some of the most effective ways to increase your metabolism include:

Get a good night's sleep.

Sleep is critical for a variety of processes, including cell maintenance, repairing tissues, detoxification, and consolidation of new memories. People who are sleep deprived have higher levels of the hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin is produced in the gut and is important for regulating hunger. Higher ghrelin levels lead to food cravings and excess food intake, especially in the evenings. This often results in weight gain that further increases metabolic rate. Aim to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night to help your metabolic rate stay high.

Diet changes.

When we eat food, our body uses energy to break the food molecules down into a usable format. Fat molecules are the easiest to break down, requiring about 1-3% of the energy found in the fat. Carbohydrates are intermediate, requiring 5-10% of the energy to break down a molecule. Protein is the most energy-intensive nutrient for your body to break down. About 20-30% of the energy content of protein is expended to break it down. That means that a high protein diet effectively increases your metabolic rate, because your body needs to expend more energy to perform basic bodily processes. Spicy foods also boost metabolism and help you lose weight.

Strength training.

Regular strength training increases your muscle mass and decreases fat. Because muscle is more metabolically active than fat, your basal metabolic rate will increase. We naturally lose muscle mass as we age. Strength training not only combats this loss of muscle mass, but it also helps to maintain everyday functioning. 

What Is Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that often cluster together and signal a disrupted metabolism. Metabolic syndrome increases your risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke. To be considered metabolic syndrome, you must meet at least 3 of the following 5 criteria:

1. Central obesity. Central obesity refers to excess body weight carried around the middle of your body. For men, this means a waist size greater than 102 cm. For women, this is a waist size greater than 88 cm. 

2. Hypertension. Hypertension refers to a systolic blood pressure (top number) greater than 130 mm/Hg and a diastolic blood pressure (bottom number) greater than 85 mm/Hg.

3. Fasting blood sugar. Elevated fasting blood sugar is a sign that your body is not processing sugar the way it should be. A fasting blood sugar higher than 100 mg/dL is a sign of metabolic syndrome.

4. HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is the “good” cholesterol that protects against heart disease. An HDL cholesterol level of less than 40 mg/dL for men and less than 50 mg/dL for women places you at risk for metabolic syndrome.

5. Triglycerides. The final criterion for metabolic syndrome is your triglyceride level. Triglycerides greater than 150 mg/dL is a possible sign of metabolic syndrome.

If any of these metabolic syndrome criteria apply to you, it is worth discussing your health with your primary care provider. Taking action through lifestyle changes can help to reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other major health problems.

Better Weight Loss Tools with Mighty

Looking for accountability and consistency in your health journey? Mighty Health offers easy to follow, personalized guidance for your unique health goals. Each exercise, lesson, and nutrition plan is designed specifically for those over 50, so you can thrive in these years of your life. Try it out today for more energy, weight loss, improved balance, better mobility, reduced joint pain, and the strength and stamina to spend time with those you love.

Find more great exercise routines for healthy aging and joint mobility on our website. Download the app to match with your very own health coach, who is a real person here to guide, support, and encourage you every step of the way. We can help you regain and maintain your flexibility so you can increase your mobility, reduce pain, decrease your risk of falls, and improve your overall quality of life.