Home
Search 
Our lean muscle tissue naturally decreases starting by age 30, so our strength drops. We don’t move as much as we used to so our joints don’t move freely, as joints stiffen. Our flexibility is reduced and our reaction time slows; as a result our balance suffers which makes falls more common with more serious consequences.
When all this reaches a certain point and combines with the fact many of us have allowed our body fat to increase, therefore moving even less, this contributes to a reduction of bone density, adding to the already significant danger of falling.
Well, that wasn’t a very uplifting opening, was it? Don’t despair yet. There’s more.
For about half of us, menopause enters the picture with its less estrogen, reduced metabolism, more loss of lean muscle tissue, all combining to = yep, more body fat. About 10 to 20 pounds of it. And, it’s visceral fat (more about that in a minute), the most dangerous kind.
When all this happens, cortisol rises, anxiety sets in, so calorie restriction becomes a strategy which actually results in less fuel/lower energy, more hunger and cravings requiring more self-discipline and self-control.
The other half of us (that’s the men) have been adding our share of body fat too. Whereas women carry theirs on the back of their upper arms, their lower belly (especially if they’ve had children) and the back of upper legs, men develop bellies. They’re proud if that belly is still firm though.
Remember that visceral fat I said I’d talk about? This is it. If that big belly is proudly firm, it’s because the fat is deep. It’s under the firm muscles and all around the heart, liver, lungs and other organs. It’s the kind that kills us. It breeds low-level inflammation, high blood pressure, heart disease and many other serious risk factors.
OK, that’s enough. Please know there’s more, much more, but I’d rather talk about how we can deal with this deterioration. Sarcopenia is the natural loss of lean muscle tissue which will happen unless we do something about it. And we can. Prevention is preferable. Meaning if you happen to be someone who has exercised and specifically, has done weight resistance training most of your life, you’ve avoided most of those conditions mentioned. If though, you’re in the majority of folks who have not, the good news is it’s not too late. In fact, it’s never too late to start — and to benefit.
Adding more activity to daily life by walking, swimming, cycling will benefit just about everyone. But the number one way to avoid sarcopenia and to start addressing it is obviously to build new lean muscle tissue. Also, the number one way to reduce visceral fat volume is to build new lean muscle tissue.
Eating enough healthy protein is essential to allow us to build new lean muscle tissue. How much? About 75 percent of our body weight in grams daily. What is healthy protein? This is debatable and is being debated currently.
My position is Do Your Own Homework. It’s your life and in human nutrition, correlation is about all we’re going to get. There are too many different metabolisms and no way to control precise information over periods of time. Proof, solid measurable proof, isn’t going to happen. There’s a lot of information out there and it’s easily accessible these days.
I know you’ve heard stuff like this a million times, and if you’ve not been motivated to actually do something about it yet, simply, you are already dealing with the consequences. Please know you can actually reverse many of those negative conditions just by finding your path and getting started. You can. I see people every day like you and they are improving their lives day by day.
Physically and psychologically it feels great!