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Why protein and exercise combo in your 30s can help you enjoy your 60s

Weight loss should come from fat tissue, not muscle loss

From the third decade of life, muscle strength and mass dropped dramatically for sedentary individuals as opposed to active individuals (defined as at least 150 minutes of activity per week) across one’s lifespan. (Representative Image)

We do not understand how sedentary living affects us till we hit the middle ages. As we age, we lose our muscle mass. But if we lead inactive lives, then that loss accelerates, making us prone to all sorts of diseases.

This has been proven by a recent research in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, which shows a massive decline in muscle strength and size among sedentary subjects, aged 60 and above, compared to active ones. From the third decade of life, muscle strength and mass dropped dramatically for sedentary individuals as opposed to active individuals (defined as at least 150 minutes of activity per week) across one’s lifespan. This means half of the strength and size from the peak of the third decade of life to the sixth decade of life is lost for sedentary individuals, affecting their daily activities and making them vulnerable to chronic diseases. Active individuals, on the other hand, retained almost all of their physical function even in their ninth decade of life. In other words, a better quality of life.

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With the loss of muscle mass and strength, we lose physical function (lack of independence to walk and climb stairs), loss of basal energy expenditure (muscle is an energy-hungry tissue; thus, less of it implies weight gain), loss of bone tissue and joint strength, increasing risk of fractures and disability from a fall.

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THE RIGHT WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT

The good news is that a drop in muscle and bone mass is a modifiable risk factor and exercise can take care of it. But that weight loss should come from fat tissue. A typical trend during weight loss is that the body also compromises on muscle maintenance because its first priority is getting energy for survival. So in a situation of an energy deficit created to lose weight, muscle protein synthesis is reduced and muscle protein breakdown is increased. How do we stop it?

TAKE PROTEINS THE RIGHT WAY

1) Keeping our overall protein intake to a higher range of 1.6-2.2 g/kg of body weight.

2) Consuming dietary protein sources rich in an amino acid known as leucine which promotes muscle protein synthesis.

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3) Doing resistance training at least three times a week.

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‎Doing all three things with 30 g of protein per meal vs. 15 g per meal maximises gains. Protein pacing involves eating about four high protein meals at regular intervals throughout the day, with three to five hour gaps. These lend satiety and kill hunger pangs and ensure even distribution of proteins. These should be from high-quality sources such as lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes and protein supplements (only for those who need it).

Higher protein intake in meals over time can have effects similar to diabetes and weight loss drugs. In most cases, the solutions to weight loss and diabetes are rooted in our nutrition. Unfortunately, many opt for costly medications instead of making sustainable diet changes.

(Thakkar is functional medicine expert)