The 30-something Metabolism - Diet, Weight Training and Competition!
By: Lauren Jacobsen
After age 30 a woman's metabolism begins to naturally slow down, although staying fit and lean can help you to achieve a competition ready physique! Metabolism decreases are not just an effect of age, but also the effect of muscle wasting. As a woman ages her lean muscle mass levels begin to decrease and her body fat levels increase, especially in sedentary woman. Since muscle burns more energy than fat, this means a woman's metabolic rate will begin to decrease and it will take longer to burn off energy. It also means that a woman's caloric requirements decrease, however this doesn't mean her appetite or activity levels will increase to accommodate this change. The result can be increases in predominantly fat weight. The ideal way to combat muscle wasting is of course to weight train and follow a diet that supports increases in lean muscle, which of course a competition diet does.
If that isn't bad enough, women also have to deal with the hormonal effects of estrogen, which has a direct effect on cognition and mood. Hormonal effects on mood are apparent across a woman's normal menstrual cycle. Monthly fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone can have a direct effect on the activity of the mood enhancing neurotransmitter serotonin and the catabolic hormone cortisol. It is generally agreed that, decreased levels of estrogen result in decreased serotonin activity. When serotonin levels are low, the result can be a decrease in overall sense of well-being and an increase in craving for carbohydrate rich food to ease the depressed mood. The hormone cortisol competes for receptor sites with progesterone, as a result, during the menstrual phase women may experience higher cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone involved in the body's stress response, and excess of this hormone can cause protein degradation and increases in blood sugar levels, which may also lead to an increase in insulin response, causing storage of sugar, not to mention water within cells. Once the sugar is cleared, the temporary good feeling brought on by the sugary foods subsides resulting in low feelings and an energy crash, not to mention added calorie up-take!
There you have it the combination of metabolism and hormones can have a direct effect on
weight loss, fat burning, mood and the dreaded water retention and not just as a woman gets into her 30s, but basically from the time she begins menstruating! The good part is that a proper diet and exercise program can help to combat hormones and work with the metabolism to deliver the best weight loss goal possible! Be sure to follow a high protein and moderate carbohydrate diet. Proteins should mostly come from lean sources such as poultry, fish and egg whites. Carbohydrate should come from complex sources to optimize blood sugar levels and keep energy levels sustained throughout the day. Complex sources can come from quinoa, oatmeal or brown rice. In addition, fat also becomes an important part of the diet. Hormonal pathways are affected by the fat sources in our diets. In fact, supplementing with the fat gamma linoleic acid or GLA has been found to have an effect on an enzyme involved in fat oxidation. And when it comes to training, to build up muscle and keep the metabolism firing be sure to change up your program on every 6 - 8 weeks, sticking with a building rep range of 8 - 12 reps!
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