The amount eaten stays the same, but the "age fat" keeps increasing... How to completely eliminate it?

As people age, many notice their body shape changing in strange ways, which they find bothersome. Especially in their 20s, they could eat a lot without gaining weight, but after their 40s, even with diet control, losing weight becomes difficult. I looked into the causes and solutions for age-related fat gain.

 

◇Decreased sex hormones lead to age-related weight gain

When sex hormone levels decrease, age-related fat can develop. In women, estrogen, a female hormone, decreases during menopause. Estrogen plays a role in suppressing visceral fat accumulation, but when estrogen decreases, fat naturally accumulates in the body. Generally, women's weight is known to increase by about 0.8 kg within a year after menopause begins. Since menopause typically lasts 4 to 7 years, during this period, women tend to gain about 3 to 6 kg of "old age" fat. In men, testosterone, the male hormone, decreases with age. Testosterone helps in muscle formation, and when this hormone decreases, muscle mass reduces, leading to a decrease in basal metabolic rate. Ultimately, this results in a body that is more prone to gaining weight.

 

◇If fat breakdown ability decreases, it becomes easy to gain weight

The aging of fat cells is a major cause of age-related weight gain. Fat cells not only store fat but also actively secrete stored triglycerides as fatty acids to supply energy when needed. Therefore, when fat cells age, their ability to break down fat also becomes impaired. In fact, Professor Mikael Rydén's team at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden collected fat cells from healthy women aged 30 to 35 and then re-collected the same cells 13 years later to compare their fat breakdown ability. As a result, they found that the fat breakdown capacity of the fat cells had significantly decreased compared to 13 years earlier. The ability to store energy as fat remained unchanged, but the ability to use the accumulated fat as an energy source declined.

 

◇Adjust your intake and increase your basal metabolic rate

To improve night fat, it is important to control your intake. As your basal metabolic rate decreases, your intake should also be reduced to lose night fat. The daily nutritional intake standards for Koreans are approximately 2,200 to 2,500 kcal for adult men and 1,700 to 2,000 kcal for adult women. To lose night fat, it is advisable to consume at least 200 to 500 kcal less. Additionally, frequent protein intake is necessary to build muscle strength.

▲Lean meat with less fat ▲Beans ▲Tofu are good. Carbohydrates should also be from resistant starch rather than refined carbohydrates. Resistant starch, unlike refined carbs such as white rice, flour, and snacks, is absorbed more slowly by the body, preventing rapid spikes in blood sugar and reducing fat accumulation in the body. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, legumes, whole grains, and bananas are representative examples.

 

In addition, increasing basal metabolic rate can be helpful. You should burn body fat through aerobic exercise. If setting aside separate exercise time is burdensome, increasing daily activity levels is also an option. Use stairs instead of elevators for lower floors. However, caution is needed because exercising excessively in the presence of underlying conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, or skeletal muscle disorders can actually worsen symptoms.

 

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It feels like the scene in the picture is looking at me from the morning.

I am shocked.

Although I was told I gain weight just by drinking water, there was a reason why I gained weight.

Exercising less and increasing my appetite...

Reduce intake and increase basal metabolic rate.

Since I've been doing it for over two months, the diet has become effortless.

It is done.