Winning the battle of the mid-life bulge
March 22, 2005 | 12:00am
It is extremely difficult to age with Hollywood icons like Brad Pitt, who is turning 42 this December, and the material girl Madonna, who is only three years shy of 50. They look so fit and fabulous while most of us can just sigh and reminisce when we used to look great.
Many say that celebrities rely heavily on botox and liposuction, but there are still no shortcuts to a firm and toned body. I have not heard of an abdominal six-pack implant, for example.
Madonna has a 17 percent body fat, much lower than the 25 percent normal average. You can’t fake that, too. That is a clear evidence of sensible eating and lots of exercise. Brad, on the other hand, though a smoker, spends two hours daily doing weight training, yoga, running or for the movie Troy, sword-fighting.
Weight and fat, especially in the mid-section, seem to compound when we reach our mid-30s onwards. Women are more prone than men. And there is a biological explanation for that.
Although both men and women have 30 billion fat cells, the latter’s fat cells are more stubborn. A woman’s fat cell is five times larger than the male fat cell. Propensity to store fat is also increased because the woman has more than double a man’s fat-storing enzymes. Fat burning is also slower in women who only have half the men’s fat-releasing enzymes.
The above explains why a woman in mid-life easily gains weight. Her fat cells are also resistant to dieting and exercise. Men have greater success with dieting and they respond better to exercise. To begin, they have more muscles (40 pounds more), 30 percent faster metabolism and less muscle loss with age.
On the exact opposite of the pole is the mid-life woman with more fat mass and slower metabolism that results in more weight gain with age. The only blessing, perhaps for us women, is that the estrogen that endows us with the functions of pregnancy and breast-feeding also provides us a longer life span than the testosterone-rich male.
The easiest thing for any of us to do when we couldn’t even look at ourselves naked in the mirror is to starve ourselves to death. That is why the diet business is a multi-billion enterprise. Through the years, we have been flooded with all the fad diets – Atkins, Pritikin, South Beach, Blood Type, Zone, etc.
But diets have never worked, especially in the long term. Plus there are many more negatives, according to celebrated dietician Debra Waterhouse, author of Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell.
"Dieting thins your hair (and you already lose a lot in midlife). Dieting thins your muscle. You already lose half a pound of muscle a year. If you starve yourself 10 pounds in a month, you age your body six years! Dieting thins your skin and causes tissue to sag. It also decreases skin tone and elasticity, making lines and wrinkles apparent. Dieting thins the bones, making them porous and fragile. (Most importantly) dieting thins your thinking. It dulls the memory, decreases mental acuity, concentration, reaction time, attention span, and productivity," clarifies Waterhouse.
Dieting thins everything else except you! It also starts a vicious cycle. A dieter will take weight-loss aid supplement, restrict fat and sugar, skip meals and then at night, when the body can’t take anymore the abuse of starvation, one overeats, and feeling guilty the next day continues to starve. Energy is depleted in the process and none is left to motivate the inclusion of exercise.
And since one’s favorite foods are eliminated when you diet, there is a lot of stress created. One is never fully satiated. And soon enough, one gives in. May I remind everyone as outlined in a previous article of mine in STAR, stress makes you fat. It is a surefire way to thicken your mid-section.
The message of Waterhouse in her book is clear: Give up the notion and practice of dieting. Eat a variety of foods, regardless of fat and sugar content, when you are hungry. The key is to know the difference between real hunger and a psychological one. In midlife, it is also more advisable (and here all experts agree) to eat five or six small meals a day. That is about 400 calories per meal every three hours. But Waterhouse also encourages eating different amounts of calories, depending on how hungry one is. The standing rule though is that the biggest meal of the day should be at the onset (breakfast) or midday (lunch) and not at night.
Make your plate colorful by including a serving of fruits and vegetables in every meal. Eat a variety of foods from all food groups to make sure you’re eating a balanced meal. Don’t forget to incorporate your favorites. Waterhouse says that most of the time, the reason why we crave food is because we need a certain chemical or nutrient from that food.
Exercise is most crucial at the half-time of our lives. Waterhouse gives these reasons:
"Exercise to fight fatigue, to recharge metabolism (exercise can boost metabolism by 8 percent, allowing one to eat at 50 what he did at 30), reduce mental sluggishness (a fit 60-year-old can think better and react more quickly than an unfit 30-year-old), sleep soundly, and stabilize your moods (exercise releases serotonin and endorphins, brain chemicals that positively affect moods)."
"Exercise also diminishes food cravings, strengthens bones (it prevents bone loss and reverses damage already done), stabilizes blood sugar, reduces risk of heart disease and breast cancer, allows one greater mobility, balance and agility, and promotes a longer life."
Strive to achieve a balance in your life. For your exercise, do four hours of aerobic activity (brisk walking, cardio, group exercise, dance, etc.) a week and complement that with one hour of weight-lifting and strengthening exercise. For your diet, eat five or six small meals with a serving of fruit or vegetable in each meal. Incorporate calcium and soy as well as two servings of protein. Drink enough water.
Manage life’s stresses by learning to relax and meditate. Pray, stay happy and indulge in mind-body activities. Also, don’t forget to subject yourself to important and prescribed medical tests.
Waterhouse tells us what could be the only advice we need to win our battle with the mid-life bulge: "Don’t diet, eat! Don’t eat less, move more! Don’t eat less frequently, eat more often!"
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