Are you one of the many women who feel that it is your fate to be out of shape and overweight? Do you feel like you are doing your best to keep your figure but success is never seen? If only we could get that 25 year old body back. But the truth is it isn’t going to happen any time soon unless we put some serious effort into our exercise program and eating plan. And the longer we wait and put it off the greater the stakes.
After age 30, the number one fitness problem that women face is the loss of muscle tissue. This diminishes as each year passes if not enough muscle building and maintaining exercise is being done Although you cannot see this happening it is a serious health issue which can rob you not only of your muscle and bone strength but lowers the metabolism (your body’s engine) and drains your energy and vitality.
This is also where the soft flabby bits come in that you are not happy about. Your muscle tissue is highly active tissue and has high energy demands (calories) even at rest. By the time you are forty you will have lost around 10 pounds of muscle and lowered your metabolic engine size by about 10%. You may have also gained at least 20 pounds of body fat but also with the loss of 10 pounds of muscle loss it means you have actually gained 30 pounds of fat.
This leaves you with a very different shaped body. The midsection will be larger and the upper legs smaller and thinner which reflects the loss of muscle mass from the largest group of muscles in your body – your quadriceps. The bathrooms scales cannot accurately tell you what is happening as the fat increase largely hides the muscle loss.
The way to reverse this is to enlist the help of a fitness professional to quickly get you started on a strength training exercise program. This is the only type of exercise that will rebuild lost muscle and help you get your old body back. By rebuilding and recovering this lost muscle your fat burning machinery – your metabolism will be increased and will slowly burn up the excess body fat for fuel.
If you eat 5-7 small meals each day with around 20 grams of protein at each meal you will support your exercise program by being able to put some intensity (effort) in to your program so you make good progress. These small meals should also contain lots of raw and cooked vegetables and be eaten every 2-3 hours throughout the day. This keeps your metabolism stoked and provides you with lots of energy so you can be active.
There is no need to put up with losing your youthful body and looks. If you do nothing to stop it happening yes you will definitely see it go down the gurgler. As you get older your once nice figure and looks can no longer be taken for granted. That period has gone and now it is going to take some effort with your exercise and eating plan to hold on to them.
But hey, it is well worth it. Consider the alternative – a soft flabby body that you are certain does not belong to you. That is way worse than having to exercise two or three times each week. The choice is a no brainer really, isn’t it?
