Yes, You Can Preserve Muscle Mass and Keep Extra Pounds at Bay as You Age — Here's How

Age brings wisdom and experience, but unfortunately, it also brings several challenges for maintaining muscle strength and managing body weight. Thankfully, you can stay strong and fit at any age with the right strategies. 

The very strategies that help you preserve muscle mass and keep extra pounds at bay could double as your New Year’s Eve resolutions! After all, about 48% of people strive to improve fitness as a top resolution, including weight loss.

The Performance Rejuvenation Center team shares eight New Year’s Eve resolutions that help you build lean muscle mass and burn fat. 

1. Lift weights at least twice each week

Strength training can help prevent the muscle loss that often comes with age. Resistance exercises like weightlifting, bodyweight, and resistance bands help stimulate your muscle growth and strengthen bones.

During your sessions, target all your major muscle groups like legs, back, chest, and arms. Don’t worry about bulking up; regular strength training helps keep muscles toned and your metabolism running efficiently.

2. Exercise every day

In addition to strength training, log about 30 minutes of aerobic activities every day. Walking, swimming, or cycling can burn calories, boost cardiovascular health, and even help you sleep better at night. 

Everyday movements like walking, gardening, or standing more frequently prevent muscle atrophy and keep extra pounds away. 

3. Count your macros

Protein is the building block of muscle, but your body uses protein less efficiently as you age.  Once you reach your forties or forties, you need about 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day to stay in maintenance mode. For example, you should consume about 72.5 grams of protein daily if you weigh 200 pounds.

If you’re finding it challenging to reach protein targets, a protein supplement can also help. Besides chicken or beef, you can sneak more protein into your diet with seeds, nuts, tofu, quinoa, and tempeh.

4. Practice good sleep hygiene each night

When you sleep, your body is busy repairing tissues and building muscle. Poor sleep can lead to decreased muscle recovery, increased stress hormones, and potentially more weight gain, brain fog, and irritability that comes with deprived sleep!

Make it a point to go to bed at a reasonable time, avoid screens for two hours before bed, and sleep in a cool, dark room.

If you have a smartwatch, get in the habit of reviewing your sleep health data. 

5. Drink green tea every day

As you age, your metabolism naturally slows down, which can lead to weight gain even if you’re eating the same amount as before. You can boost your metabolism by drinking plenty of water, managing stress, and eating smaller, balanced meals throughout the day.

Green tea can also boost your metabolism. People who drink green tea daily burn up to 4% more calories each day.

6. Limit your sweets

It’s no secret that snacks high in added sugars and refined carbs can quickly make you gain weight, but the gain can be even faster when your metabolism is slow. These foods can increase fat storage and cause energy spikes and crashes that leave you feeling sluggish. 

If you’re craving a sweet, consider fresh berries or apple slices dipped into a combination of yogurt and peanut butter — a tasty dessert that provides some protein!

7. Get your hormones tested

As you age, hormone levels like testosterone and growth hormones decline, which makes maintaining muscle mass and a healthy weight more challenging. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may help, so make it a point to get your hormones tested to kick off the new year.

Hormones are checked easily with a blood sample, and because we offer telehealth in nearly every state, you can get your lab work done no matter where you live.

8. Ask for help

The best news is that you don’t have to enter 2025 fighting muscle loss and weight gain by yourself. The Performance Rejuvenation Center team can help you preserve your lean muscle mass, keep extra pounds at bay, and combat other signs of aging like fatigue.

Our team offers various anti-aging and wellness services to help you reach your goals, which include:

• Weight loss solutions 
• Peptide therapy, which uses small proteins to stimulate specific reactions in your body, such as growth hormone release that aids in muscle building and fat metabolism
• Testosterone replacement therapy to address muscle loss and weight gain due to low testosterone levels 

Make your health your number-one priority in 2025! Call 202-251-4472 or click here to request an appointment and find out which therapy can help you achieve your wellness goals in the new year.