I offer one challenging and two easy steps to achieve these two health, fitness, and lifestyle goals.
This story offers three practical solutions.
I present two comfortable practices and a challenging one for you. They include only lifestyle choices and cover the fundamentals of our metabolic health. So, building and maintaining lean muscles at any age with healthy lifestyle habits is possible.
If you do the easy ones, you can prevent muscle loss and even might burn visceral fat. They might give you an 80% improvement. But if you want a defined body which I consider 20%, you will undoubtedly need to do the challenging one, as there is no metaphorical free lunch on this planet.
However, the good news is even the challenging one does not require too much work. All you need is around 20 minutes of your time daily. If you make it a habit, you might even enjoy it, and it will never look like a chore. I know this by heart because I did it myself and observed it in others.
Like millions of people, I am obsessed with muscle health for valid reasons. Muscle health is crucial for mobility, wellness, life satisfaction, and longevity. First, I’d like to explain why I wrote this article.
Here’s why I wrote this piece.
Previously I wrote about muscle loss for mature people as sarcopenia is a severe health condition for an aging population. The previous story about sarcopenia focussed on both health and lifespan.
As the focus of the story was on mature people, some subscribers asked whether those suggestions might apply to younger people. If so, what do they need to do to prevent muscle loss and have a better physique?
Muscle loss is a critical issue at any age. It can happen to both young and older adults. Steadily losing visceral fat is excellent. But gradually losing muscle can be detrimental to our health and well-being.
In my experience, three metabolic factors affect maintaining lean muscles with a desired fat percentage at any age. They are insulin sensitivity, leptin signaling, and anabolic sensitivity. The solutions I summarize in this post cover these three metabolic factors.
As a longevity organ, muscle plays various critical roles in our metabolism. Muscle is also crucial to keep a better lipid profile in the body. For example, by building more muscle mass, we can burn more calories and lower visceral fat accumulation. Let me summarize key metabolic factors.
Summary of 3 Metabolic Factors for Muscle Health
Insulin sensitivity means cells respond to insulin signals for the blood glucose to be utilized as an energy source. In an insulin-sensitive body, muscle cells can use blood sugar and grow naturally. So people with insulin sensitivity can lower visceral fat and keep lean muscles.
Leptin signaling means the brain recognizes leptin signals and creates a satiety feeling. If the body is leptin resistant, we don’t feel the satiety signals and consume more calories than we need. In addition, a leptin-resistant body also becomes insulin resistant affecting fat and muscle profiles.
Anabolic sensitivity refers to the cells being open to growth stimuli from amino acids and exercise, such as resistance workouts like weightlifting and calisthenics. The opposite of this concept is called anabolic resistance. This condition is a catabolic process for muscles.
It means that anabolic resistance might lead to severe muscle loss eventually. Aging is the most common cause of anabolic resistance. Nevertheless, lack of bioavailable proteins in the diet and sedentary life are also known causes.
In combination, insulin, leptin, anabolic resistance, and elevated cortisol levels might cause visceral fat gain and lead to muscle loss or weakness. When insulin, leptin, and anabolic resistance continue for a while, people might start experiencing sarcopenia. Progress of muscle loss and muscle quality can be checked via MRI or DEXA scans.
Sarcopenia is muscle wasting as we age, causing weakness and preventing us from performing daily tasks. “Skeletal muscle plays an indispensable role in metabolic health and physical function. A decrease in muscle mass and function with advancing age exacerbates the likelihood of mobility impairments, disease development, and early mortality.” Source
Although some people consume a significant amount of protein and perform resistance workouts, their muscles cannot grow and maintain strength. I see this as an exceptional situation that requires medical intervention.
It is beyond lifestyle choices. For example, there might be hormonal issues, such as a lack of growth hormones or autoimmune conditions. Thus, dealing with underlying health conditions requires support from healthcare professionals who can diagnose and treat them.
In addition, metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and neurodegenerative disorders, might cause anabolic resistance and lead to muscle loss. Therefore lifestyle choices need to combine with medical intervention for some people to prevent muscle loss.
Here are the three steps to prevent muscle loss at any age, obtain a defined body, and improve metabolic health.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, you might check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting on my reviews, observations, and decades of sensible experiments. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease and Strokes, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Major Diseases.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, zinc, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients for metabolism and mental health.
Disclaimer: Please note that my posts do not include professional or health advice. I document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information and create awareness.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on metabolic, cellular, mitochondrial, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
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