I had one of those doctor’s comments the other day that always gets my back up. You know, it began with “at your age.” My age?
Apparently at my age weight and weight loss isn’t as important as maintaining muscle. And as you age, when you lose weight, it’s more likely that it’s muscle that you’re losing.
“You might be relieved to hear that the creeping weight gain of middle age – a pound or two (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a year starting in your 20s, on average – eventually grinds to a halt. By the time you’re in your 50s, you’ll typically start slowly shedding weight. Don’t celebrate yet, though. There’s a good chance that the weight you’re losing is muscle – precisely what you need to hang onto to stay metabolically healthy and independent into old age. “
You need to be sure you get enough strength training in and make sure you’re eating enough protein.
Okay, my doctor might be on to something but still the “at your age” comment rubbed me the wrong way. Lol.
I’ve written lots about this in the past. Maybe I could have shown him some of my posts!
This post revisits a FIFI blog post from November 4, 2013.
Ten years ago
On November 4, 2013, Sam blogged about what she described as My New Challenge. At the time, she was doing the Precision Nutrition Lean Eating program to gain muscle strength while maintaining a vegetarian diet. Sam reported that to achieve her goals she needed to build a habit of increasing her daily protein intake.
Taking cues from a Nutrition News post, Sam calculated that she should consume about 144 grams of protein daily, twice the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for her weight. Sam also referenced a post by Tracy about getting enough protein on a vegan diet, who noted that while she eats plenty of protein, tracking intake isn’t great for her.
Image from Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada. Did you know protein can come from plants? Where do vegans get their protein? Pie chart with two sections. Dark green section: Plants. Light green section: Plants, but in light green
I’ve been vegetarian (with minimal dairy) for about 8 years now, and I am sometimes asked, “do you get enough protein?” On one hand, this line of questioning seems more about justifying animal-based diets than supporting my health and nutrition. Plenty of research published since 2013 suggests that a) there are many protein-rich plant-based foods, b) there are benefits and drawbacks to both plant and animal proteins, and c) plant and animal proteins are about equally effective in developing muscle strength (Meng et al., 2021).
On the other hand…do I get enough protein? Looking at Sam calculated ratios and Tracy’s intake tracking, I suspect my protein intake does not meet the DRA, even without strength goals. Never have I tracked my protein intake since becoming vegetarian, as I struggle with maintaining habits of any kind. This includes the habit of learning about food, as I am reluctant to wade through complex nutrition research, salesy fads, and sometimes contradictory advice.
In reading Sam’s post from 2013, I realized that the habits of building muscle strength, eating enough protein, and taking the time to learn about nutrition are all distinct but perhaps important challenge goals for me.
Rather than see upping my protein as a means to and end, I could focus on forming one habit at a time. For example, after forcing myself to read around online for this post it appears that some foods I like (like peas, sundried tomatoes, guava, and nutritional yeast) are “surprising” high-protein plant-based foods I didn’t know about. They don’t exactly sound delicious together…but maybe I can try them in a smoothie sometime.
FIFI readers: How important is protein intake for achieving your nutrition and fitness goals? How do you approach this challenge?
“You might be relieved to hear that the creeping weight gain of middle age – a pound or two (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a year starting in your 20s, on average – eventually grinds to a halt. By the time you’re in your 50s, you’ll typically start slowly shedding weight. Don’t celebrate yet, though. There’s a good chance that the weight you’re losing is muscle – precisely what you need to hang onto to stay metabolically healthy and independent into old age. “
Why does this happen? Partly because we exercise less but that’s not the whole story. The article talks about ‘anabolic resistance.’ Our bodies no longer, as we age, respond the same way to strength training and protein. Like insulin resistance in diabetics our bodies no longer respond as effectively to protein and to exercise. We need more of both, not less, as we age.
There’s also a concern about the kinds of protein and when we eat them.
Writes Hutchinson: “It’s not just how much you eat. There’s some evidence that spreading your protein across three meals triggers more muscle growth than just downing a massive steak at dinner. And protein quality matters too, with certain amino acids such as leucine playing an outsized role in muscle growth. That means animal proteins such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy tend to pack a bigger punch than plant proteins, although Oliveira emphasizes that variety is also important.”
It’s a challenge to eat the 1.0 to 1.5 g of protein per kg of body weight per day that’s recommended.
What about exercise? What should we do to stave off muscle loss?
“The overall picture from existing research is that full-body resistance training with loads that get progressively harder over time, two to three times a week, is optimal for older adults. One study published last year found that two harder workouts plus one easier one produced the best results, perhaps because older strength-trainers simply couldn’t recover quickly enough to do three hard workouts each week.”
See you at the gym! Maybe we can go for a protein shake after?
Bitmoji Sam in a purple tank top and shorts frolicking under the sunshine in a field full of flowers with bonus butterflies and mountains in the distance.
I’ve been seeking out nutrition advice again, trying to manage what I can in a messy, unhappy situation with my left knee.
One of the interesting bits of research to come out in recent years is that as we age our need for protein goes up even as our need for calories goes down, if we intend to maintain muscle mass.
It’s as if, as with diabetics and insulin resistance, with age we’re protein resistant. We need to eat a lot more to get the same effect. When you add to that the need to eat fewer calories, that makes for a protein heavy diet.
Here’s an excerpt from a summary of the research published by MacMaster University:
“People who would like to become physically stronger should start with weight training and add protein to their diets, according to a comprehensive scientific review of research at McMaster University. The review finds that eating more protein, well past the amounts currently recommended, can significantly augment the effects of lifting weights, especially for people past the age of 40,”
A summary of the research from MacMaster University is here. The study itself is here.
I’ve blogged about this research before here, It’s striking both for the results and how they were obtained. The research doesn’t just look at young people, in particular it doesn’t just look at young men. It’s interesting that the research actually included middle aged men and women.
What the study shows is that there’s a sweet spot for protein consumption and it’s higher than many of us thought, 1.6 g of protein per day per kg of body weight. For me that’s a lot more protein than I currently eat. Eating more as a vegetarian is challenging. I’m working on it.
You can read the New York Times account of this study here.
Is this something you worry about? Think about? Track? How much protein do you aim to eat each day?
Researchers at nearby MacMaster University set out to do a meta analysis in search of an answer to the question of whether protein consumption made a difference to ordinary adults over 40 who set out to gain muscle.
What’s nice, from this blog’s perspective, about the studies is that many of them included women.
Gretchen Reynolds wrote about their research in the New York Times.
“They wound up with 49 high-quality past experiments that had studied a total of 1,863 people, including men and women, young and old, and experienced weight trainers as well as novices. The sources of the protein in the different studies had varied, as had the amounts and the times of day when people had downed them.
To answer the simplest question of whether taking in more protein during weight training led to larger increases in muscle size and strength, the researchers added all of the results together.And the answer was a resounding yes. Men and women who ate more protein while weight training did develop larger, stronger muscles than those who did not.”
How much protein? 1.6 grams per day per kilo of bodyweight. That’s well over the recommended daily amount of protein.
When? It didn’t matter when in the day people are the extra protein. So you don’t need to fuss about before or after workout or other special timing.
What kind of protein? That didn’t matter either. You can eat it in the form of animal protein or vegan protein. You can drink protein shakes. It’s all good.
