Men Over 30 Are Sabotaging Their Fat Loss Without Realizing It
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
One of the most common reasons men over 30 discontinue their weight loss journey isn’t because it’s too hard or that they lacked the work ethic, but that they’ve been doing everything right, yet the weight was still going up. The majority of the time, it’s things that they have no control over, and at other times, it’s 100% something they could have controlled.
As in most conditions affecting men, some of the reasons behind unwanted weight gain are totally natural and out of our control, meanwhile, others are totally our fault that should be addressed. Let’s talk about it and what you can do to prevent that unwanted weight gain.
Hormonal Shifts
As we get older, testosterone levels are going to decrease, beginning in your early to mid-30s. A huge reason why lower testosterone leads to unwanted weight gain (Kelly & Jones, 2015) is that it contributes to increased fat mass (namely in the midsection), reduces insulin sensitivity, and decreases energy levels. Testosterone replacement therapy may be an option that you might want to discuss with your doctor (this is usually reserved for those with really low testosterone), or adopt a weight training program, which can help maintain and slow down the loss of testosterone levels (D’Andrea et al., 2020).
I’ve worked with hundreds of folks who thought they needed longer workouts or stricter diets—they didn’t. If you want a realistic starting point, I have a free 5-day sustainable weight loss email course that breaks this down step by step. No extremes, no BS. You can sign up by going to this link.
We all know that insulin sensitivity plays a major role in blood sugar levels within our bodies, but it can also affect weight management for a lot of men (Buscemi et al., 2024). Being overweight or obese can produce insulin resistance, in which appetite is increased, as well. Because of this, adopting a weight loss program that requires a man to eat less can make the process more challenging, but with a well-designed program that provides him with an adequate diet that helps to maintain satiety and a good exercise and support system, this can help to lose that weight and normalize insulin sensitivity.
Let’s talk about cortisol — cortisol is often referred to as the “stress hormone” because it’s what gets pumped out in stressful situations, most notably when in fight-or-flight. When a person is chronically stressed, elevated cortisol levels are prolonged, which can lead to overeating, desiring palatable and high fat foods, and increased visceral fat (the dangerous form of body fat). You can level out the cortisol levels back to normal with consistent exercise and 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Also, if you feel stressed out during the middle of the day, try taking a break and taking a few deep breaths to calm yourself down.
Training Too Hard
One of the most unexpected causes of weight gain in men over 30 is that they’re training too hard. We live in a world where hard work is glorified, and training hard is often seen as the most sensical way to successfully lose weight, but there are limits to how hard you should be working out. Muscles need to recover after a challenging workout, which takes place on your rest days and, most importantly, while you’re sleeping. When you cut short your recovery time, this can affect sleep quality, blood pressure, stress levels, and cause you to gain weight.
Because cardio is effective at burning a lot of calories, men can easily fall into believing that doing more cardio means losing more weight. It’s important to know that burning a lot of calories while doing a lot of cardio can also mean increases in your appetite, which can inadvertently lead one to poor eating decisions and overeating. Unless you’re training for a marathon or half marathon or some other endurance event, remind yourself to keep your cardio workouts under an hour.
Men over 30 that are new to working out are some of the most likely to believe that the more often they train, this would mean the most muscle growth and fat loss. Remember that training hard creates micro damage to the body (this is totally normal and you shouldn’t freak out about this), but when you’re going to the gym so often that it’s not giving your body enough time to repair itself, this increases your risk of injury — injuries are the kryptonite to a successful weight loss journey.
Inside the Body
Water retention after starting a workout program is normal, and it might be the reason behind the weight gain experienced by men over 30. Essentially, the micro damage occurring in the body after working out is going to cause some inflammation and have you retain water, which is what happens during muscle recovery. The good news is that this is just a temporary weight gain that should go away in a day or two.
You’re probably going to think I’m crazy when I say that weight gain is sometimes good and men over 30 would welcome it with open arms— I’m talking about gaining muscle. If your weight loss program involves weight training, this is going to send signals to the muscles to produce greater force (aka gain strength) and also leads to increasing in size. Along with increasing muscle size, lifting weights also increases bone density so the skeleton is able to support the added mass you’re having to carry during resistance training workouts.
Were you aware that gut health can lead to weight gain in men over 30? In your gut, you have trillions of microbes (this is good bacteria that you need), which assists when digesting foods, helping the immune system, and controls appetite. Dysbiosys is when there’s an imbalance of gut microbes, usually when there’s a decrease in microbial diversity. Recent research has shown that this imbalance can mean increased body fat. You can return gut health back to normal with a consistent exercise routine and increasing fiber intake (men should aim for about 38 grams per day), and adding more berries to your diet for their polyphenols. If considering probiotic or prebiotic supplements, consult with your doctor.
Conclusion
Gaining weight can be an uncomfortable thing, even for men over 30. It’s at this stage in your life where your body is beginning to undergo huge changes, which can contribute to gaining unwanted weight, such as lower testosterone. Lucky for you, with some lifestyle changes, such as adopting a well-designed weight training program and nutrition plan, you can avoid some of that weight gain. It’s also important to know that weight gain doesn’t always mean something bad is going on, but, rather, totally natural things are going on in your body, which benefits you in the long run.
About the Author
Julio Lopez is a Navy Veteran, former collegiate athlete, and personal trainer with a Master’s degree in Nutrition. He is the founder of 365 Physique Personal Training and Nutrition, where he specializes in helping busy people build a healthy lifestyle into their schedule. You can find Julio training his in-person clients at Versatile Fitness in east El Paso, Texas and sharing practical tips on social media.
Want a plan that actually fits your life? Click here to schedule your free consultation
Buscemi, C., Randazzo, C., Barile, A. M., Bo, S., Ponzo, V., Caldarella, R., Malavazos, A. E., Caruso, R., Colombrita, P., Lombardo, M., & Buscemi, S. (2024). Factors associated with body weight gain and insulin-resistance: A longitudinal study. Nutrition & Diabetes, 14(1), 21.
Chao, A. M., Jastreboff, A. M., White, M. A., Grilo, C. M., & Sinha, R. (2017). Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 25(4), 713–720.
D'Andrea, S., Spaggiari, G., Barbonetti, A., & Santi, D. (2020). Endogenous transient doping: physical exercise acutely increases testosterone levels-results from a meta-analysis. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 43(10), 1349–1371.
Kulkarni, D. H., Rusconi, B., Floyd, A. N., Joyce, E. L., Talati, K. B., Kousik, H., Alleyne, D., Harris, D. L., Garnica, L., McDonough, R., Bidani, S. S., Kulkarni, H. S., Newberry, E. P., McDonald, K. G., & Newberry, R. D. (2023). Gut microbiota induces weight gain and inflammation in the gut and adipose tissue independent of manipulations in diet, genetics, and immune development. Gut Microbes, 15(2), 2284240.
Kelly, D. M., & Jones, T. H. (2015). Testosterone and obesity. Obesity reviews : An Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 16(7), 581–606.
Comments