subject: Do You Feel Your Metabolism Is Slowing - Or Could It Be You That Is Slowing Down? [print this page] We hear a lot these days about how our metabolism and how important it is to our health and well-being and even how it relates to our body weight. It can be confusing to understand exactly what it all means, what it really is and how do we know if it is healthy and we are treating it right.
Metabolism is the amount of fuel/calories (energy) our body burns to maintain itself. It could be called the engine of our body and our metabolic rate is the speed at which this motor is running.
As we get older (past 30 years) our metabolism tends to slow down. We used to believe that was because of the aging process but we now know we cannot blame it all on that as most people as they get older are the ones that really slow down. We become less active and tend to spend more time seated or doing other sedentary or low activity tasks.
One of the many consequences of a slower metabolism is the tendency to become overweight. This occurs because with less activity muscle tissue is lost at a much faster rate than someone who in very active or does manual labor tasks as part of their work.
We then burn less fuel and store more as excess body fat.
Often the muscle tissue loss is not really noticeable as the body stores fat in the spaces left by the decreasing muscle tissue. Often even the bathroom scales do not show the loss as excess fat keeps piling on hiding the missing tissue.
You might think "so what, why should I worry about it?" Well for starters this change in body composition (muscle/fat ratio) does a whole lot more than make your body soft, flabby and over-fat. It literally sucks the life force from its victim not only lowering the metabolism but draining energy and strength. Over a period of time you become a downgraded version of your youthful self, and it is not the passing years that cause it.
And the very worst bit is that you become more susceptible to 'chronic lifestyle diseases' such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes and dozens of others. Many people get to mid life and can have multiple conditions that they have to try and live with. These ticking health bombs are called 'lifestyle' diseases because they are caused by the way you live your life. They are diseases you give yourself.
A no proper exercise lifestyle is the number one reason the immune system weakens and becomes vulnerable to these terrifying villains. But it does not have to be like this. How easy is it to go to your local gym or fitness center 2-3 times each week and do a proper strength training program so you can keep your strength intact so you do not have to go down this dead end road to poor health (or worse)?
That is all you need to do to stop almost all of the muscle tissue loss and the downward spiral that follows it. You have this power and control over your health. Never believe that your health is down to 'Lady Luck' or in the 'lap of the Gods'.
It is squarely in each of our hands, and all we have to do is stay strong. Strength means a higher metabolism which means a stronger, leaner, slimmer healthier body which will be a much nicer place to live for your lifespan.
