Rapid Aging at 44 and 60: What To Do

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Have you ever wondered why aging seems to accelerate at certain points in life? Join me, Amy White, on the Simplicity of Wellness podcast as we unravel the mysteries of rapid aging periods, particularly around ages 44 and 60, and their profound effects on our bodies. I’ll share personal insights, including observations from my husband's dynamic lifestyle in his 60s, to illustrate how embracing fitness, adventure, and brain health can lead to a fulfilling life. Learn how to take charge of your story by understanding these crucial transformations and adapting your exercise routines to support a vibrant, active future.

Our exploration doesn't stop with physical activity—we'll also navigate the intricate world of nutrition as we age. Discover how changes in metabolism can affect the way we process fats and carbohydrates, and how prioritizing protein can combat muscle deterioration. I'll guide you through the logic of separating carb and fat intake while offering practical advice for those with busy lives, including a list of healthy snacks to keep you on track. Empower your aging journey by making mindful dietary choices that cater to your evolving nutritional needs, ensuring you age with grace and vitality.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast.
I'm your host, board-certifiedholistic nutritionist and
professional life coach, amyWhite.
The purpose of this podcast isto share information that you
can use to become leaner,stronger and healthier by losing
weight, shedding inches,maintaining muscle and managing

(00:21):
your mind, all while living yournormal busy life in this modern
, sugar-filled world.
Hello simplifiers, recentlythere have been news stories
talking about two periods in ouradult human lives when our
bodies go through a period ofrapid aging.
The first is around age 44, andthen again at age 60.

(00:46):
The changes happen on themolecular level and with
microbes in your body.
At 44, the molecular changesthat happen within the body
impact cardiovascular health,skin, muscle and how we
metabolize alcohol, caffeine andfat.
If you're listening and you'reover 40, I bet you're thinking

(01:06):
yep, the research suggests age44 and 60, but I wonder if those
are averages.
I'm wondering this because Ifeel like this age 44 change hit
me earlier than that, more like37.
Anywho, these molecular changesat 44 seem to track with some
of the more common complaintsmade by aging women Cholesterol

(01:27):
concerns, lines, wrinkles,cellulite and dry, itchy skin,
less muscle tone and weight gain.
At 60, the molecular changesappear to be similarly related
to cardiovascular disease, skinissues, muscle loss and caffeine
metabolism muscle loss andcaffeine metabolism but we get

(01:47):
some extra things like issueswith the immune system, kidney
function and our ability tometabolize carbs.
I recently put up a sillyInstagram reel that highlighted
the three big complaints ofwomen over 40.
No energy, body aches and pains, and weight gain.
The point of this reel wasn'tto make you feel bad.
It was to point out that theseare red flags your body throws
to get your attention.

(02:08):
It's your body asking forassistance.
While many of us thought thatsomething was different in our
40s, there's now research thattells us we were right.
The thing that's important toremember life is a
choose-your-story adventure.
What happens to you tomorrow,next week, next month or next
year isn't written.

(02:29):
You get to choose what yourstory will be.
You're given some facts.
Let's call them the facts oflife.
Shout out to my younger years.
One fact is we're getting older.
When you turn 44 or 60, that'sa fact.
There's documentation to provethis.
How you think about that agefact and respond to the

(02:49):
circumstance of your life istotally within your control and
how you choose the story youwant to tell.
Some people will choose tobelieve their circumstances or
life.
Facts dictate their story.
These are people who believethey have zero control.
Facts dictate their story.
These are people who believethey have zero control.
These are the people who sawthis new research about big body
changes at 44 and 60 and feltvalidated for how awful they

(03:13):
feel In their mind.
They don't have a choice.
It's just what happens when youget older.
Then there are other people whosee facts for what they are
just facts, no drama.
They look at facts as somethingthat they can manage by how
they think about those facts andthen the behaviors they make in
relation to those facts.

(03:33):
The women who hit their 40s andrealize they don't feel right,
that their body's off and theydecide they're going to do
something about this this arethe women who are choosing to
control their story.
They're not looking at theirlife facts and just throwing in
the towel.
They're making an effort tofigure themselves out so that
they can follow the story.

(03:54):
They want the best part.
I truly believe if you make theeffort to figure yourself out in
your 40s, those molecularchanges at 60 won't hit as hard.
I'm not yet 60, so I can'tspeak from personal experience,
but my husband is in his 60sactually late 60s and from what

(04:14):
I've observed, his 60s have beensome of his healthiest and
fittest years.
He's the person I'm trying tokeep up with.
I'm his sidekick.
Adventure trekking in Nepallast year to Mount Everest Base
Camp was his idea.
Hiking the Grand Canyon rim torim last month was his idea, and
I can tell you that there's abig trek for next year already

(04:34):
in the works.
Figuring my body out in my 40swasn't a one and done deal.
Your body my body is alwayschanging wasn't a one and done
deal.
Your body my body is alwayschanging.
My goal is to continue tounderstand the changing needs of
my body so that I can continueto support those needs, no
matter what my life facts are.
Everything I do for my body isto manage how my story unfolds.

(04:57):
I know how I want to age, how Iwant to feel, how I want to
look and what I want to be ableto do.
I'm choosing my story byfocusing on specific goals and
then making sure my behaviorsupports my ability to achieve
those goals.
For example, I want to be fitand active as I age.

(05:17):
I want to continue to have theability to say yes to adventure
travel, one of the behaviorsthat I focus on for my fit,
active goal is exercise.
I lift weights to maintain andincrease my muscle mass, to
maintain bone health andstrength and to maintain and
increase my balance.
I've exercised for most of mylife.

(05:37):
As I've aged, my exercise haschanged and adapted so that I
could support my body properly.
In the past I was a cardioqueen lots of aerobics, running
and spinning.
That worked until it didn't Ishifted to weightlifting and
then, when I turned 50, Istarted powerlifting.
This was fun until it wasn't.

(05:58):
My body eventually got reallystiff and sore and I realized
that putting a heavy barbellacross my shoulders and
squatting was actually holdingme back from my goal of being
active.
I was too stiff and sore tomove.
My weight lifting has shiftedto strength training and muscle
building.
This type of exercise makes itpossible for me to enjoy

(06:19):
adventure trekking.
I can easily hike up and downhills, climb over obstacles,
lift and carry a heavy backpackand quickly find my balance if I
trip.
Another goal is brain health andthe avoidance of Alzheimer's
and dementia.
My diet and behavior with foodis what I do to increase the
likelihood of achieving thisgoal.
As you can see, your goals andyour behavior.

(06:43):
Write the story of who you are.
Don't settle for facts.
Embrace the facts of your lifeand then create a plan to manage
those facts so that they workinto the story you choose for
yourself.
When it comes to managing yourbody and your story, I believe
the best place to start is withyour food.

(07:03):
Rapid aging at 44 and 60 had onething in common a change in our
ability to metabolize food,specifically fats and carbs, the
way our younger body used to.
Start by prioritizing yourprotein intake.
This will help offset themuscle changes that happen with
aging and crowd out more of thefatty, carby foods that our

(07:26):
bodies don't handle as well asthey used to.
When it comes to carbs and fats, keep these things separate as
much as possible.
Avoid the foods that combinefats and carbs Donuts, cake,
cookies, ice cream, pizza,buttered popcorn.
Healthy carbs are vegetablesand fruits, whole foods that
come with a built-in fiber.

(07:48):
Healthy fats are fats that comewith animal protein, as well as
coconut oil, olive oil, avocadooil, grass-fed butter, avocados
and olives.
If you need help rewriting yourstory, click the link in the
show notes to set up a freeconsult.
Enjoy your week and I'll beback in the next episode.
Life is busy and when we'rebusy, sitting down to a meal

(08:12):
often isn't realistic, whichmeans we're grabbing snacks.
If you're eating on the run,more often than not, click the
link below the podcast to grabmy healthy snacks list.
You'll find lots of ideas formini meals at home and easy
on-the-go travel snacks.