I’m 53 and I’m losing muscle fast. Any suggestions on how to regain muscle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say it but if you want to increase muscle at your age you need to eat more red meat.

Oh the horror

this would be horrible for me

[Anonymous]

I’d recommend the book Next Level by Stacy Sims. I think she’d say to make sure you eat the protein within half an hour of lifting and take 3-5 mg of creatine. But I’d read the book or listen to a podcast interview with her.

[Anonymous]

How did you figure out your vitamin deficiency? Which vitamins?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did you figure out your vitamin deficiency? Which vitamins?

It was a B1 (thiamine) deficiency. It was the third neurologist I saw who sent me for the lab work almost as an afterthought, having told me I was probably just suffering bad perimenopause. Essentially I think she thought I was malingering, because multiple MRIs and other tests had ruled out all the zebras they were looking for - initially suspected to be rrMS but MRIs were clear then I was tested for every kind of autoimmune disorder they have tests for all negative. The whole experience was a huge revelation about how middle aged women are treated in our healthcare system, even by many women doctors - I got a lot of condescending and dismissive attitude.

Thiamine deficiency is called beri beri, and comes in wet version which damages the cardiac system not infrequently resulting in death, and dry version which damages the neurological system and can also eventually result in death. It is considered rare in western countries, or at least that is what they tell medical students and the info online says the same - that in the west it is typically a disease of alcoholics who drink their calories and have very poor nutrition. Since this happened to me I did a boatload of research and found medical journal articles on recent research that establishes around 20% of very well nourished - e.g., obese - are presenting with thiamine deficiencies, so it is quite clearly not so rare.

I was obese and only drink 4-6 glasses of wine per year, 2 each at Thanksgiving, Xmas and Easter. I had suffered digestive issues for years following gallbladder removal and had developed an absorption disorder- thiamine is water soluble so it washes out quickly and even if you get enough from thiamine rich foods if your body cannot absorb you will quickly become deficient. Because I would sometimes have better absorption I experienced the symptoms on and off, which is why rrMS was first suspected. I am grateful that it wasn’t worse because I had the deficiency for half a decade before it was diagnosed and had my gut been even worse I probably would have died from it.

Vitamin deficiencies in middle age and beyond are actually fairly common, not because we don’t have access to good foods but because unhealthy guts don’t function as well at absorbing nutrients and many standard American diet consumers have very unhealthy guts by middle age.

[Anonymous]

Here’s an article about the critical role of thiamine in muscle function: https://www.sportivetricks.co/articles/nutrition/19/vitamin-b1-thiamine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

That advice is not always applicable, poster.

See: https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/advise-me/can-you-burn-fat-and-gain-muscle-at-the-same-time

For people who are overweight, it is possible to build muscle in calorie deficit if you take care to eat the proper diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

That advice is not always applicable, poster.

See: https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/advise-me/can-you-burn-fat-and-gain-muscle-at-the-same-time

For people who are overweight, it is possible to build muscle in calorie deficit if you take care to eat the proper diet.

PS I know this because I am the formerly vitamin deficient poster who is still obese, eating at calorie deficit and building hella muscle with my kettlebell, hand weight and body weight workouts. But I am eating a really healthy diet with a focus on all the right nutrients to facilitate muscle growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

90g is not enough. We need more protein as we age. Bring it up to at least 125. Fix your sleep, get into a slight calories surplus (100 calories a day over maintenance is enough) and make sure you have a good lifting program.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is all very informative. I am definitely not at a calorie surplus, so there’s that. Thanks for the vitamin info!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

I learned this over the holidays. I did a challenge at my gym which involved body scans before and after the holidays. I ate and drank everything in sight (lord know how many calories) and kept up on my workouts. I stayed the exact same weight but lost 4% body fat and gained 4% muscle. I found it fascinating. The downside was I gained a few inches in my waist but overall was able to build muscle. I'm 51. Guess I need to start eating more. Not holiday season more but a bit more here and there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

I learned this over the holidays. I did a challenge at my gym which involved body scans before and after the holidays. I ate and drank everything in sight (lord know how many calories) and kept up on my workouts. I stayed the exact same weight but lost 4% body fat and gained 4% muscle. I found it fascinating. The downside was I gained a few inches in my waist but overall was able to build muscle. I'm 51. Guess I need to start eating more. Not holiday season more but a bit more here and there.

Sorry, but you did not gain that much muscle. Women gain a pound a month if lucky. Those scales are complete BS and very much depend on hydration levels. I would not pay any attention to those results.

[Anonymous]

This recent study on protein is interesting.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/pdfExtended/S2666-3791(23)00540-2

Make sure you are hitting the leucine threshold, OP. It is higher as we age.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848650/

Be sure to get high quality bioavailable protein.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-beef-meals-result-higher-muscle.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

That advice is not always applicable, poster.

See: https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/advise-me/can-you-burn-fat-and-gain-muscle-at-the-same-time

For people who are overweight, it is possible to build muscle in calorie deficit if you take care to eat the proper diet.

Did you read? OP is 125 lbs, likely normal weight of under weight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you sleeping and how are your stress levels? Chronically elevated cortisol from insomnia and stress will prevent your body from building muscle no matter what you eat or how much you lift. If you are a female, other hormonal changes at this time of life could also be a factor/obstacle.

My sleep is awful. I’m trying everything I can. I eat enough protein. 90g a day at 125 lbs.

Are you eating enough calories? If doesn’t matter how many grams of protein you eat if you aren’t in calorie surplus. You need to have a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass

That advice is not always applicable, poster.

See: https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/advise-me/can-you-burn-fat-and-gain-muscle-at-the-same-time

For people who are overweight, it is possible to build muscle in calorie deficit if you take care to eat the proper diet.

PS I know this because I am the formerly vitamin deficient poster who is still obese, eating at calorie deficit and building hella muscle with my kettlebell, hand weight and body weight workouts. But I am eating a really healthy diet with a focus on all the right nutrients to facilitate muscle growth.

OP isn’t obese and doesn’t have enough excess body fat to burn like you do. She is 125 lbs