It is perhaps the biggest source of frustration as we get older:maintaining our weight. Our Santé expert explains why and what you can do about it.
In the past 1.5 years you have slowly felt and seen your body change. And somewhere you also know that you have started to eat differently and that you no longer have three, but sometimes six eating moments in a day. But maybe you don't feel like you eat and/or move any differently, even though the kilos have been added.
There are several reasons why we have more trouble maintaining a healthy weight as we get older. One of these is the change in resting energy expenditure, the basal metabolic rate. That is the energy your body needs for breathing, digestion, heart rate and recovery.
As we get older, we burn less energy at rest. So if you continue to eat and exercise the same amount as you always did, you will gain weight.
To find out how many kilocalories you burn at rest, you can use the following formula, where G stands for your weight, H for height and L for age.
447.593 + (9.247 x G) + (3.098 x H) – (4.330 x L)
The following applies to men:
88.362 + (13.397 x G) + (4.799 x H) – (5.677 x L)
So the outcome you get is the number of kilocalories you burn per day with no further effort. If you get more energy (nutrition) and if you are at home all day (like many of us at the moment), you will gain weight.
If I take myself as an example:I work from home and I follow my yoga classes and training digitally.
For the few social contacts I have, I get in the car.
Add to this (in my case) a fluctuating hormone balance (transition) with therefore different eating behavior and you understand:this has consequences for my weight if I continue to eat the same as in the period before the pandemic and lockdown.
I use the Food app to keep track of what I consume in kilocalories per day, but also whether the ratio between the macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fats) is in balance.
I record everything I eat and drink in this app. And that was very enlightening in the beginning. Not only did I eat too little protein per day (one of the causes of my sleeping problems), but I also saw that the snacks (a handful of nuts, hot vegan chocolate, piece of cheese at the end of the afternoon) ensured that I entered a positive energy balance. In other words:more energy (food) came in than was consumed.
I no longer use the app on a daily basis and I would not advise anyone to do so, but to gain insight it is advisable to do this for a few weeks.
As we age, the functioning of the thyroid gland slows down. This is partly due to the decrease in the female hormone progesterone. A deficiency of iodine or selenium can also play a role.
Because the thyroid gland is responsible for the metabolism, among other things, a positive energy balance can also be the result of an underactive thyroid.
A simple test to do yourself is the Barnes test. Measure your body temperature immediately upon waking up for three days in a row. With a normally functioning thyroid, this is between 36.6 and 36.8 degrees. If the body temperature is below this, this could indicate an underactive thyroid and it is wise to investigate this further.
For women of childbearing potential, it is best to start the test on the third day of the menstrual period.
A day flies by and time for yourself, exercise or sports is often missed.
At the moment I make sure that I have been active in the open air before breakfast.
With this I kill a number of birds with one stone:
Moving sober also enables my body to burn the stored energy (in the form of sugars) and then switch to the more sustainable burning of fat. And we stay slim at that!
One of the most heard statements in the past year is that all days are alike. Consciously choose change and feel the positive energy flowing again:
Sleeping poorly and waking up tired? This will surely result in a day with more eating moments and the feeling that you have earned something delicious. Are you a bad sleeper? Find the cause and tackle it! With the latest Fitbit 5 you can automatically track your sleep rhythm. In the morning you can read in an app how long you slept exactly, how long your deep sleep was and what the quality of your sleep was.
This is now my number one tip when it comes to a healthy hormone balance, but also to keep control over your weight.
This is not for everyone; I'll say that right away. Give yourself two weeks to experience it and let it go if it doesn't suit you.
My day starts with an hour of cycling, after which I shower and eat my breakfast between 09:30 and 10:00. I have the last meal around 6 pm.
Because my breakfast has come closer to lunch in terms of time slot, I have halved my breakfast. I noticed a positive effect on my energy management almost immediately, which is really reason for me to follow this for a longer period of time. Do you want to know more about Intermittent Fasten? Maybe then this four week program, including recipes.
And finally:we now know that only calorie restriction and more exercise is not a solution for maintaining a healthy weight. Environmental factors, but also genetic and psychological factors play an important role. If this is an issue for you and you want to get started, it is a good idea to do this together with a specialized coach.
Text:Sandra van Leeuwen, Image:GettyImages
