Weight Loss and Men

The average American male in today's society is 28% body fat. Male body fat percentages above 20% start to increase the risk for morbidity and mortality due to excess body weight and fat. However, just like with women, men have unique physiological reasons why they gain weight as they age and things they should focus on with nutrition and exercise to prevent this age-related weight gain.

Men and Metabolism

While men are at a greater metabolic advantage to women due to naturally larger amounts of lean muscle mass, as men hit the age of 50, their lean muscle mass decreases by 1-2% per year. Because of the greater calorie burn that men have, they tend to consume more calories than women and do not change their intake as they age, which is a major reason for age-related weight gain. 

• Focus on large muscle resistance training
• Typically, men are more inclined to participate in a resistance training program than women, but sometimes neglect some of the most important muscles to train. While training the upper body is great for maintaining muscle mass, including things like squats, dead lifts and lunges are also very important to keep a well-balance training program and lean muscle mass.
• Balance high and low-intensity aerobic training
• In order to maintain a fat-burning state and metabolism, it is important for men to alternate with high and low-intensity workouts, rather than just high intensity all the time. Doing so will help with recovery as well as maintaining a fat-burning metabolism. 
• Put the ego aside at the dinner table
•  A lot of times, men are known for cleaning off their plate and then some, at the dinner table. While this is OK while they are growing, extremely active in sports or an intense exerciser, as they begin to age and become less active, they need to be less active at the table as well. So, put less amount of food on your plate, eat slower and try not to go back for seconds. If you are full and there is still food on your plate, it is OK to not finish all of it. 
• Find an accessible means for measuring body fat
• Knowing where your body fat is and if it is changing, is a good way to gauge your exercise and diet efforts are working or not. However, it can be difficult to find a device that works and is accurate, so do your research and get something that has good reviews and that is reliable.