Metabolism Fallen Off a Cliff at 39- Any Supplements that Work?

[Anonymous]

Peloton

Do 10 min light arms high rep (3lbs weight max)
Do abs and glutes workout
Switch it up with yoga and Pilates

If you are a try hard to hard core on the floor (google it)

[Anonymous]

I'm about to start it, but I've heard some great reviews about Carolyn Girvan's Iron series (free on Youtube). Slow, heavy weights, and focus on form.

Listen to podcasts like Hit Play Not Pause for good science-based information about how our hormones change as we go through perimenopause and menopause. Lights weights, starving yourself, and only doing cardio will be counterproductive. Heavy weights, HIIT and tabata style cardio, plus lots of protein and fruits/veggies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Right, which is why many serious lifters go through bulking and cutting cycles.

Still not sure what "lean muscle mass" is.

Most 39 year old women wanting to tone up aren’t going to be “serious lifters.” That is practically a part time job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Peloton

Do 10 min light arms high rep (3lbs weight max)
Do abs and glutes workout
Switch it up with yoga and Pilates

If you are a try hard to hard core on the floor (google it)

Is there any research at all that supports this as an optimal approach? I’ve never seen any. Also - exactly zero female athletes train this way. What is this meant to accomplish other than wasting time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Right, which is why many serious lifters go through bulking and cutting cycles.

Still not sure what "lean muscle mass" is.

Most 39 year old women wanting to tone up aren’t going to be “serious lifters.” That is practically a part time job

So much misinformation. You can lift heavy, build muscle and get stronger without it “practically being a full time job.” Sure you won’t be competition ready, but you can see real results lifting heavy 3-4 days a week. The issue is most people, especially women don’t lift heavy enough to build real muscle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peloton

Do 10 min light arms high rep (3lbs weight max)
Do abs and glutes workout
Switch it up with yoga and Pilates

If you are a try hard to hard core on the floor (google it)

Is there any research at all that supports this as an optimal approach? I’ve never seen any. Also - exactly zero female athletes train this way. What is this meant to accomplish other than wasting time?

+1 eff this Fonda workout nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Have you received an official diagnosis of a slow metabolism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Right, which is why many serious lifters go through bulking and cutting cycles.

Still not sure what "lean muscle mass" is.

Most 39 year old women wanting to tone up aren’t going to be “serious lifters.” That is practically a part time job

So much misinformation. You can lift heavy, build muscle and get stronger without it “practically being a full time job.” Sure you won’t be competition ready, but you can see real results lifting heavy 3-4 days a week. The issue is most people, especially women don’t lift heavy enough to build real muscle.

Sorry, disagree. Building a noticeable amount of additional muscle mass while simultaneously losing fat takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication- both inside the gym and dieting. It is far more work than just hitting the gym for a few days per week. Sure it can be done, but it doesn’t side like OP is looking for that level of fitness and commitment. She wants to lose 5 lbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Right, which is why many serious lifters go through bulking and cutting cycles.

Still not sure what "lean muscle mass" is.

Most 39 year old women wanting to tone up aren’t going to be “serious lifters.” That is practically a part time job

So much misinformation. You can lift heavy, build muscle and get stronger without it “practically being a full time job.” Sure you won’t be competition ready, but you can see real results lifting heavy 3-4 days a week. The issue is most people, especially women don’t lift heavy enough to build real muscle.

I agree that the three pound weights are ridiculous, but I have done more endurance-focused lifting as a serious athlete (rower). My coach at the time had been on the US National Team, so he knew his stuff. We used that style as a complement to Olympic lifting we’d done earlier in the year, and as we got closer to race season.

People are ignoring the fact that women’s bodies are different, and some do indeed build muscle more easily than others. I used to do solidcore and people thought I did CrossFit - it’s just how my body responds to resistance training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stope blaming age and metabolism for weight gain. Metabolism doesn't change overnight when you turn 39 or 40 or whatever you are telling yourself. Yes, we lose muscle as we age, but this is a very slow decline that again doesn't change anything overnight.

Now what does change as we age- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) or rather the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise, that is calories burned through non exercise specific activities. When I was in my 20's I lived in the city and walked a lot, went out dancing with friends and so forth. In my 30's I had 2 young kids so I walked a ton with them, spent a lot of time at the playground and had to physically care for them. In my 40's I still exercise/go to the gym but my job is more sedentary, I spend more time in my car driving my kids around than I do talking them on walks and physically caring for them.

We don't want to admit it but our habits do change over time.

Supplements are a joke and literally just pissing your money away. Instead focus on your diet (eating healthy is not enough, even healthy food has calories, watch portions) and work on getting more activity into your day.

Finally someone else who gets it. You have to move more, eat less. Move a lot more than you think! One thing I do disagree with here is the comment about supplements. Now I agree supplements for weight loss or to increase your metabolism are a crock. However in daily life due to the quality of our soil which has been grossly depleted over the years, we don't get enough natural sunlight, and also because of all the stress coming our way, I do believe you sometimes need to supplement. I take Vit D3 +K2 for my bone health. I also take Zinc and Magnesium. Daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peloton

[b]Do 10 min light arms high rep (3lbs weight max)
Do abs and glutes workout
Switch it up with yoga and Pilates[/b]

If you are a try hard to hard core on the floor (google it)

Is there any research at all that supports this as an optimal approach? I’ve never seen any. Also - exactly zero female athletes train this way. What is this meant to accomplish other than wasting time?

This is a good starting point for someone just starting out, it will make you feel good and has good psychological benefits, but for anyone who needs to build muscle and endurance this is not going to get you there. You need to lift HEAVY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stope blaming age and metabolism for weight gain. Metabolism doesn't change overnight when you turn 39 or 40 or whatever you are telling yourself. Yes, we lose muscle as we age, but this is a very slow decline that again doesn't change anything overnight.

Now what does change as we age- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) or rather the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise, that is calories burned through non exercise specific activities. When I was in my 20's I lived in the city and walked a lot, went out dancing with friends and so forth. In my 30's I had 2 young kids so I walked a ton with them, spent a lot of time at the playground and had to physically care for them. In my 40's I still exercise/go to the gym but my job is more sedentary, I spend more time in my car driving my kids around than I do talking them on walks and physically caring for them.

We don't want to admit it but our habits do change over time.

Supplements are a joke and literally just pissing your money away. Instead focus on your diet (eating healthy is not enough, even healthy food has calories, watch portions) and work on getting more activity into your day.

Finally someone else who gets it. You have to move more, eat less. Move a lot more than you think! One thing I do disagree with here is the comment about supplements. Now I agree supplements for weight loss or to increase your metabolism are a crock. However in daily life due to the quality of our soil which has been grossly depleted over the years, we don't get enough natural sunlight, and also because of all the stress coming our way, I do believe you sometimes need to supplement. I take Vit D3 +K2 for my bone health. I also take Zinc and Magnesium. Daily.

What is the purpose of the zinc and mag?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stope blaming age and metabolism for weight gain. Metabolism doesn't change overnight when you turn 39 or 40 or whatever you are telling yourself. Yes, we lose muscle as we age, but this is a very slow decline that again doesn't change anything overnight.

Now what does change as we age- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) or rather the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise, that is calories burned through non exercise specific activities. When I was in my 20's I lived in the city and walked a lot, went out dancing with friends and so forth. In my 30's I had 2 young kids so I walked a ton with them, spent a lot of time at the playground and had to physically care for them. In my 40's I still exercise/go to the gym but my job is more sedentary, I spend more time in my car driving my kids around than I do talking them on walks and physically caring for them.

We don't want to admit it but our habits do change over time.

Supplements are a joke and literally just pissing your money away. Instead focus on your diet (eating healthy is not enough, even healthy food has calories, watch portions) and work on getting more activity into your day.

Finally someone else who gets it. You have to move more, eat less. Move a lot more than you think! One thing I do disagree with here is the comment about supplements. Now I agree supplements for weight loss or to increase your metabolism are a crock. However in daily life due to the quality of our soil which has been grossly depleted over the years, we don't get enough natural sunlight, and also because of all the stress coming our way, I do believe you sometimes need to supplement. I take Vit D3 +K2 for my bone health. I also take Zinc and Magnesium. Daily.

What is the purpose of the zinc and mag?

I take Zinc for immunity, and magnesium for muscle support, sleep and "regularity". But there are different types of magnesium that all focus on different things - ciratate, glyconate, oxide