Ignite Your Inner Furnace: Metabolism & Menopause Secrets

The social media messages are loud and clear! Many of us would like to reclaim our 20-year-old fat-burning potential to look and feel like ourselves again. 

Keep reading because you might like what the latest research shows! We can stop blaming a fluffy muffin top on our metabolism and start believing that we can keep our calorie-burning engines running well at any age! 

A new study shows that metabolism doesn’t slow down as we age nearly as fast as we first thought. This is good news for many hormonal women who are fed up with belly fat and low energy levels. Let’s take a closer look at the research to understand the encouraging findings better.

Results of the Study

The study used 6,400 participants between the ages of 8-95, 64% female, and measured the amount of calories they burned throughout the day, also known as TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). The researchers concluded that it remained steady from the ages of 20-60 and only dropped by .7% per year after that.

What Do the Results Mean?

Let’s back up a minute to understand some important terms related to metabolism and how they affect our health and body composition.

Metabolism: All the chemical processes in your body at the cellular level that give you energy and keep you alive, such as breathing, digestion, body temperature, circulation, and brain activity. Metabolism is measured by calculating Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), a combination of resting and non-resting calories used.

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): The total amount of resting (BMR) and non-resting (NREE) energy your body uses throughout the day. 

Basal metabolic rate (BMR): The minimum energy required to stay alive while at rest (also known as resting metabolic rate - RMR, though slightly different). Factors such as age, weight, height, and sex influence individual resting energy calculations. BMR accounts for about 60-70% of the average person’s daily energy expenditure.

Non-Resting Energy Expenditure (NREE): A combination of physical exercise, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), and thermic effect of food (TEF). 

Hang tight - you’ll see how this all works in your favor!

Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): These are the calories burned during everyday activities like shopping, cleaning, playing with the kids, and even fidgeting! NEAT accounts for about 15% of the average person’s daily energy expenditure. 

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): This is the energy required to eat and digest your food. TEF accounts for about 10% of the average person’s daily energy expenditure. Helpful hint: Protein requires more calories to digest than carbohydrates and fats, so throw in some extra powder to your morning smoothie)!

That leaves us with the last NREE component, physical exercise. This is where intentional movement comes into play to keep our metabolism churning. Even though it only accounts for about 5% of energy expenditure, we now know it is the driving force behind a faster engine. 

Why is Physical Exercise an Excellent Tool to Fight Metabolic Dysfunction and Weight Gain? 

Because as cellular processes start to change, we can offset the slow-down by picking up weights and building muscle tissue, which burns more calories than any other tissue in your body! That’s right, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’re using while sleeping and sitting at the computer. The key is to work muscles to failure; meaning lift enough weight or volume to struggle with your final reps (the number of repetitions you do at one time while working a muscle). 

Now, I’m not talking about throwing around random 3-pound weights with little to no effort. Working your muscles to failure is required to set the metabolic magic in motion. Of course, proper nutrition is part of the equation. Still, newer studies highlight the benefits of developing lean muscle mass to fight sarcopenia (3-8% age-related muscle loss every ten years after 30) and insulin resistance.

How Does the Metabolic Magic Work? 

• Energy is required for cells to work and muscles to move. That energy comes from the glucose (sugar) in your food or the conversion of stored glucose (glycogen). 
• Glucose is stored primarily in your liver and muscles, with the excess going into fat tissue. Consider these storage containers as emergency fuel reserves for your body. 
• If too much glucose is floating around, insulin is set free from the pancreas to save the day, sending glucose into storage. This process keeps blood sugar levels stable and ensures ample energy to survive. 
• Your muscles need glucose to perform, so insulin unlocks the muscle storage container first (then the liver), the glycogen is converted to glucose, and the container is emptied when working hard. This means that there isn’t any extra glucose that needs to be stored in fat tissues. 
• When you exercise and build muscle mass, you have more containers to fill and empty with glucose instead of storing it as fat. 
• It’s a triple win: Bigger muscles, better insulin sensitivity, smaller belly bulge.    

Don’t take my word for it; the research is prolific and shows that physical exercise is the best tool to fight weight gain and enhance metabolic health. The timing and type of exercise that benefits menopausal women is what needs to be addressed more accurately because we are conditioned to believe that more, more, more is the answer. But that is wrong, wrong, wrong when our hormones are out of whack. 

That’s another conversation altogether (check out this blog about cardio activity), but intense and prolonged exercise increases cortisol levels, which decreases insulin sensitivity and results in more visceral fat (belly bulge) because estrogen is too low to help balance the flood of cortisol.  

What Can We Do?

Based on the research and personal experience, here are some steps to take proud ownership of your metabolic age:

1. Shift your mindset. Quit blaming birthdays on slow metabolism and begin making lifestyle changes that honor your body and mind. 
2. Track your food for two weeks to be aware of your protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake. An RD (Registered Dietician) or nutritional coach can help you get started on a healthy plan that prioritizes protein.  
3. Manage Inflammation and Stress: Whether it’s decreasing processed foods, increasing quality sleep, taking a break from workaholism, or setting aside worry by meditating on God’s promises, stress reduction is vital to help counteract the downward spiral of hormonal imbalances! Take a walk in nature, keep a prayer journal, schedule a date weekend, or belly laugh with your best friend. Whatever floats your boat and keeps you steady, put it on the calendar.
4. MOVE smarter, not harder. If your exercise routine wears you out instead of energizing you, it’s time to slow it down. On the other hand, if exercise is not part of your daily routine, it’s your sign to take more walks, stretch your limbs, and lift some weights. Small steps make a big difference. 😁 

I understand the frustration with all the mixed messages about menopausal metabolism and how to thrive in midlife, which prompted me to create The Well Stretched Life program. Our specialty at Full Well Fitness is integrating science and scripture to address the challenges of keeping a healthy body, mind, and soul. I’d love to help you create a safe movement plan to increase mobility and strength for an active lifestyle at any age! Send me a message [email protected], and let's get started.

Believe and Begin…you’ve got this!