With regard to body composition, one is either maintaining (eucaloric), losing (hypocaloric), or gaining (hypercaloric). For most in their 50s, hypercaloric is a pattern that leads to progressive fat gain. It doesn’t take much. A hundred excess calories a day, after all will lead a gain of about a pound of fat a year. Most are creeping up in weight at a faster rate. So, for many, it is an endless cycle of restricting calories (hypocaloric) and falling back in to old habits (hypercaloric) to gain the weight back again—usually more than where the “diet” started. So, why would I suggest massing (i.e., gaining weight) in one’s 50s? Because our activity levels depend upon muscle mass.
Weight isn’t just a number on the scale. In fact, we should only use the scale to track our progress. Our goal should not be a weight (a number) per se.
Our body weight is essentially fat, bone, muscle, and other lean tissue (as well as water). Over the years, inactivity and caloric cycling decreases our muscle mass. Weaker muscles mean less work capacity. Diminished work capacity means less energy expenditure and more fat and less muscle over time. A goal as we age should be to minimize fat stores (to healthy levels) and to optimize muscle mass. Unfortunately, many are focused on weight and tend to be perpetually hypocaloric. The thought of “gaining weight” is lunacy. However, when we think with regards to body composition, an intentional massing phase might be warranted.
First, let’s understand that the goal is to increase muscle mass and lose fat. For the beginner/novice exercisers, this might come easy—providing the right training stimulus is applied. Certainly, losing fat is the easiest. Cut calories by 500 kcal per day and you lose a pound a week, right? Well, maybe. Sorta. In fact, one might still gain some muscle in the early stages of a hypocaloric exercise program because they are getting sufficient protein and carbohydrates to fuel the exercise and muscle growth, and fat can supply the other energy needs. Unfortunately, most who are trying to lose weight do excessive cardio (cardio favors the loss of fat and muscle). The weight drops, but so does the muscle—and the capacity to do cardio. It is a vicious cycle that leads to fragility in old age. Instead, one should focus on lifting weights and doing cardio (generally, favoring the former over the latter as we age). As the weight goes down on the scale, if be the result of a more significant fat loss.
So, again, why would I suggest massing in one’s 50s? Understand, I am not suggesting “bulking,” which I’d consider to be adding appreciable fat and muscle weight. I am suggesting, instead, a dietary cycle in which the calories are carefully increased with a proper focus on macro balance to facilitate muscle gains. Muscle increases best in a hypercaloric state. I’ll dispense with the physiology lecture on insulin, mTor, hormones, etc. and hope you will just accept that muscle grows best when it is fed. Consider that muscle is a luxury tissue and that energy will go first to where it is most needed. So, it behooves us to not always be in a state of “dieting” (i.e., in a hypocaloric state). On occasion, we should eat and train to gain muscle. Don’t worry about “big, bulky muscles,” because most of us are not willing to put in the effort to build these (it takes a lot of work!). Don’t go excessive the caloric intake. It doesn’t have to be much. Lift intentionally and eat intentionally. Try to add 5 pounds or so over a 2- to 3-month period. Do so by maintaining protein at roughly 1 g/lb BW and fat at around 0.3 g/lb BW and increasing carbohydrates—quality carbohydrates—slightly above what is required to be eucaloric. Then, exercise! Let the mirror—rather than the scale—be your guide.
If you still have quite a bit of fat to lose, spend a bit more time in a eucaloric state (“maintenance” phase) while ramping up the weight training. Don’t actively try to lose (or gain) weight. Focus on building muscles with higher volume hypertrophy training. More than likely, you will see changes in the mirror that aren’t reflected on the scale. After a 2- to 3-month cycle, if you want to lose more fat, cut calories slightly and perform another “cut” phase.
Weight management is cyclic—not is the sense of “yo-yo dieting, but rather in the sense of cut-maintain-cut-maintain. The goal is to get healthy-lean, but never at the expense of lean muscle. Don’t be afraid to gain muscle—even if it comes with a little bit of fat gain. Fat is easier to lose than muscle is to gain, and muscle mass is an important tissue (albeit luxury) to maintain.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!