Two types of exercise may be needed to preserve muscle mass during weight loss

While obesity presents a number of health risks for older adults, weight loss is often accompanied by a reduction in muscle tissue and loss of strength. A team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine set out to determine whether more exercise or specific types of exercise would help preserve muscle during weight loss.

The researchers randomly assigned 103 obese women and 57 obese men over age 65 to one of four groups. Three groups participated in a reduced-calorie diet plus one of three exercise programs — aerobic training, resistance training, or combined aerobic and resistance training — while the fourth, a control group, only received information on healthful eating.

After 26 weeks, people in each of the exercise groups had lost an average of 9% of their weight, while those in the control group had no change. Performance scores — a measure of ability to do daily activities — increased more among the people who did a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise than among those who did only one type. However, all three exercise groups had better performance scores than the control group did. Aerobic capacity — the ability to metabolize oxygen — increased more in the combination and aerobic groups than in the resistance group. However, the people in the combination and resistance groups showed a greater increase in strength and retained more muscle mass, compared with those in the aerobic group.

The results, published May 18, 2017, in The New England Journal of Medicine, add to evidence that resistance exercise, in addition to aerobic exercise, is essential as we age, especially when we're losing weight.

Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/two-types-of-exercise-may-be-needed-to-preserve-muscle-mass-during-weight-loss

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Weight and Metabolism - The Crucial Link

There is a lot written about the importance of the metabolism. There is also a lot of misunderstanding about what it is and what it does. To be able to lose weight and maintain your weight loss, there are one or two very basic facts about the metabolism that it would be good for you to know. They are not the least complicated, but once you know what they are, you will be able to run your life, as far as your weight is concerned, much more efficiently. 

Weight and Metabolism - The Crucial Link

The metabolism is a biomechanical process that breaks down food and turns it into energy. Your 'metabolic rate' is the rate at which your body converts your stores of energy into 'working energy'.

What is important to you if you want to lose weight is to make your metabolism work as efficiently as possible. It obviously depends on what you eat and drink, on the calories you consume. Your metabolic rate depends on the amount of exercise you take and on the amount of muscle mass you have. Muscle mass is important because muscle burns calories. The more you have, the more efficient you will be at burning calories. It's interesting to note that your muscle mass deteriorates at the rate of 0.5 per cent every year over the age of 40. You can combat this by doing regular resistance exercises and help to keep your metabolism healthy.

The other thing your metabolism needs to work efficiently is water. Water is needed to drive the metabolism's chemical reactions. If you don't drink enough water your metabolism will not be helping you to lose weight.

There is a crucial link between weight and your metabolism. If you compromise your metabolism you will find it very difficult to lose weight, far less maintain your weight at the right level.

Exercise is an important factor as is keeping yourself properly hydrated. Having a good diet that contains lots of fresh fruit and vegetables that give you the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs is important to. Look after your metabolism and keep it functioning well and your weight will cease to be a worry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christine_King/400515

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