The Middle Age Spread And How To Combat It

Photo: bark

The reason so many people gain weight as they enter middle age is no mystery: if, as an example, you only eat 50 extra calories per day over a period of twenty years that you don't burn off by exercising, it will result in a weight gain of 104 pounds. (Here's the math: 50 extra Cal/day x 365 days/year=18,250 extra Cal/year. 18,250 extra Cal/year x 1 pound/3,500 Cal=5.2 extra pounds/year. 5.2 extra pounds/year x 20 years=104 pounds.)

Here are some examples of foods that are about 50 calories:

• 12 strawberries, 48 calories
• 6 dill pickles, 48 calories
• ½ grapefruit, 39 calories
• 1 cup of air-popped butter-free popcorn, 31 calories
• ¼ cantaloupe melon, 48 calories
• 10 grapes, 35 calories
• 1 small pack raisins, 42 calories
• 1 kiwi fruit, 47 calories
• 1 rice cake with 1tbsp sugar-free jam, 45 calories
• 7 carrot sticks with 1tbsp low-fat ranch dressing, 45 calories
• 1 slice fresh pineapple, 45 calories
• 1 small green apple, 50 calories
• 10 cherries, 42 calories
• 7 celery stalks, 45 calories

You get the point. It takes almost no effort whatsoever to overeat by this small amount, which, if done consistently—as most of us do—will over time turn a 150 pound 20-year-old into a 254 pound 40-year-old. I'm not suggesting these are the exact numbers that apply to everyone equally—or that will apply to you—but this is what accounts for the middle age spread.

Now, keep in mind that these are 50 extra calories per day beyond what your body uses. (If you're an Olympic swimmer and burn, say, 12,000 calories per day in exercise (as Michael Phelps was reputed to have done), and you only eat 50 calories above a standard diet of 1,800-2,500 Cal/day, you'll actually die of starvation in less than a month.) The reason this is important is because as we age, if we don't exercise (specifically, if we don't engage in some kind of strength training) our muscles atrophy. And that matters because our basal metabolic rate (the number of calories we burn just sitting around doing nothing) is directly related to our lean body mass, meaning our muscle mass. Developing a lower lean body mass as we age because of inactivity means we burn fewer calories just sitting around as we age, which makes it easier for any calories we consume to be "extra."

Just how many total calories per day you have to eat to exceed your basal metabolic rate by 50 calories varies tremendously, which explains why not everyone suffers from middle age spread. Some people with a genetic tendency toward obesity, for example, can overeat by 50 calories on just a 1,200-1,500 Cal/day diet.

On the face of it, this seems quite discouraging. But hidden inside this unfortunate state of affairs lies the very solution to the problem it creates: consistency. Consistency may be what gets us into this mess (meaning consistency in overeating by a small amount), but consistency can get us out of it.

Our body weight, it turns out, isn't correlated to our daily calorie intake. It's correlated to our calorie intake over time. Thus, we don't need to avoid eating those 50 extra calories every day. We need to avoid eating 50 extra calories/day on average. In other words, if you overeat by 50 calories/day three days a week, you only need to under-eat by 50 calories three days that same week to avoid a positive calorie balance. This means, in essence, you need to be consistent in controlling your calorie intake, even by small amounts, not on a daily basis, but on a weekly basis. Which means you can still indulge in a few brownies on Saturday night if on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday you skip the cream cheese on your bagels.

Of course, you can have the cream cheese too if you exercise daily, which we should all do as well. The point I want to make here is that vast sums of weight are gained over time not by a few large indiscretions, but by consistent small ones—and that the only way to combat this is by using consistency in your favor. By making sure that, over time, your calorie balance is neutral, not positive. And because this must be done over time and not daily, there's still ample room for you to enjoy yourself by indulging in mild amounts of overeating—as long as you are consistently inconsistent in doing it.

Image: flickr/barkbud