5 Myths About Metabolism At 40

Fitness is not a race, it’s a journey to be enjoyed — and don’t blame your metabolism

- Deep Malhotra

The time reads 2:00 am on the corner of his mobile screen, as he is frantically typing on his phone at this wee hour of the night. The mobile screen lights up his determined face in the darkroom, as he frantically types into his Whatsapp group with his friends, who are all going to be turning 40 this year. The situation looks tense, which it usually is, when the members are debating about the coronavirus or politics, but this one looks much more intense than usual.

The discussion in the group is about fitness, which can be a touchy topic, for these friends in their late thirties, have just woken up to get fit in the last few months, before they soon hit their 40th milestone. These conversations can get really touchy when the credit of a fast transition is given to the metabolism of the person, instead of the hard work one puts in to get there. And this seems to be the core of the argument for these soon-to-be-40 dudes. This touches upon some popular beliefs, experience with metabolism, and the fitness challenges of the ’40s:

THINNER PEOPLE HAVE HIGHER METABOLISM RATES THAN OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE

Let’s address the elephant in the room with the most popular argument first. The poor, thicker people have to give up so much in the diet to get there because they aren’t as blessed with the metabolism of those that are thin. Now, this is a convenient excuse. Actually, the bodies of larger people require more energy than smaller people. That means, as you lose weight, you’ll need less food to fuel your body. And after weight loss, if you return to old eating and exercise habits, the weight will come back, because you’re providing more fuel (food) than your body needs. So the key is to keep active, and eat only how much you need to, to keep those pounds away.

EATING LESS IS GOOD FOR YOUR METABOLISM