BLA 135: Why We Gain Weight As We Age

Building Lifelong Athletes

You're doing everything right, but the weight keeps creeping on. It’s frustrating, but you're not failing; your body is just playing by a new set of rules. In this episode, I pull back the curtain on the science of midlife weight gain. We'll skip the unhelpful "eat less, move more" advice and dive deep into the real physiological shifts—from a slowing metabolism and muscle loss to key hormonal changes—that happen as we age, and I'll give you an evidence-based, actionable plan to fight back.

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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - Do You Always Gain Weight As You Age?
02:41 - The Calorie Creep
04:07 - Metabolic Slowdown
06:04 - Muscle Loss
07:43 - NEAT Decline
10:05 - Compounding Effect of All Three
11:06 - Hormone Changes Intro
13:56 - Estrogen
15:20 - Testosterone
16:53 - Growth Hormone
18:13 - Cortisol
19:27 - Insulin Resistance
21:12 - What Weight Gain Does Does to Your Health
22:17 - Importance of Body Composition
23:44 - Health Conditions Associated With Weight Gain
25:40 - Impact on Quality of Life
27:59 - Action Plan
28:34 - Dietary Strategies
31:04 - Exercise
33:07 - Hidden Hurdles
33:55 - Adaptive Thermogenesis
35:30 - Medications
36:41 - Key Takeaways
40:21 - Outro
SELECTED REFERENCES:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6089223/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6058072/

https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/10/1648

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8978023/

Disclaimer This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only. The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition. The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate. Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.