Genetics Loads The Gun And Lifestyle Pulls The Trigger

I’m sure that most of you don’t weigh the same as you did when you were 25 years old if you are one of the fortunate few who do, I know it took a lot of effort on your part. But for the majority of the population who do find themselves heavier, most of that comes with getting older.

Now if you never had a problem losing or maintaining your weight before, but now you hate stepping on the scale there’s a scientific reason why: As we get older, our bodies don’t respond the same way to weight loss efforts. Pretty simple explanation.

As a matter of fact, as we age the average person will gain between 1-3 pounds per year. Now I know that doesn’t sound like much but multiply that by 25 years, that’s a lot of weight. Now Doctor  Craig Primack, MD, an obesity medicine physician at the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center in Arizona says, Not everyone will become overweight as they age because body weight is highly influenced by your genetic makeup, your level of physical activity, and your food choices, Dr. Primack says. “We sometimes say genetics loads the gun and lifestyle pulls the trigger,” he says. Still, everyone will find it harder to maintain or lose weight with each passing year. (I liked that quote so much I used it as my title.)

No matter how much we try there are some things we just have no control over such as:

Metabolism slowing down

That decrease in muscle mass is likely to slow your metabolism, a complex process that converts calories into energy. Having more fat and less muscle reduces calorie burning. What’s more, many people become less active with age, which also slows your metabolism.

Losing muscle

The amount of lean muscle we have naturally begins to decline by 3 to 8 percent per decade after age 30, a process called sarcopenia. Physically inactive people can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30 which lessens strength and mobility. When younger muscle cells get damaged, they’re quickly repaired. That’s not the case with older muscles.

Undergoing Normal Hormonal Changes

Women –  menopause which occurs most often between ages 45 and 55  causes a significant drop in estrogen that encourages extra pounds to settle around the belly and other areas of the body.

Men – Experience a significant drop in testosterone as they age, which begins to gradually decline around age 40 at a rate of about 1 to 2 percent per year. Testosterone is responsible for, among other things, regulating fat distribution and muscle strength and mass.

Genetics 

 Genetics play a role in determining your weight, in other words, if your parents were overweight there a good chance you will be as well. Environment, lifestyle and healthy choices still contribute a great deal to how much you weigh. So don’t use your genetics as an excuse for being overweight your lifestyle choices are a  big factor. How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m just big-boned that’s all.”

My mother was overweight and because of that, she wasn’t the healthiest person around. She had a whole slew of problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer just to name a few.

My father, on the other hand, took care of himself, he exercised on a regular basis and he loved walking, I remember when I was a kid he would always take us kids walking. Because of that, he remained the same weight into his Golden Years.

The bottom line is this, You have to watch what you eat and exercise regularly and make sure you get a good night’s sleep. Believe me, if you exercise on a regular basis and don’t sneak a nap in the afternoon, you will have no problem getting a good night’s sleep.