54-year-old reveals 3 lifestyle changes that resulted in her having a metabolic age of 36

Your metabolic age shows how many calories your body burns at rest compared to others your age.

It’s a fitness term, not medical, helping you understand your metabolism for managing weight and health.

Annie Murray, a 54-year-old personal trainer from Brighton, has a metabolic age of 36.

She attributes this to three lifestyle changes she made after turning 50, which she shared on Instagram, garnering 2.3 million views.

“I am fitter now than I have ever been through food choices and exercise,” she told Newsweek in a phone interview.

Strength training can reduce metabolic age. A study found that adults aged 65 to 75 improved their metabolic health, regardless of training frequency.

Benefits included less body fat and better cholesterol. More frequent training led to more fat loss, with the greatest improvements in those with higher initial inflammation and blood pressure.

Any strength training helps, but more frequent sessions are better.

In the video, Murray stands in a gym, looking fit. In the caption, she shares three tips to help her “stay on track.”

Here’s what she says:

Getting enough sleep

Sleep is essential for muscle recovery and growth. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises adults to sleep at least seven hours per night to help the body release human growth hormone, which repairs muscles.

“Waking up early is part of my routine,” Annie said. “To balance this, I ensure I have a good bedtime routine and go early to get enough sleep. I used to stay up late, going to bed between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

These days, Murray goes to bed by 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m., falls asleep around 10:30 p.m., and wakes up around 5:30 a.m.

She has found that prioritizing early bedtime and adequate sleep leaves her feeling refreshed, energized, and ready for the day ahead.

Eating protein at every meal

Annie has discovered a winning formula for strength and fitness by eating a balanced diet of meat, fruit, and eggs to provide essential nutrients.

She enjoys eating more because muscle requires more calories to maintain strength than fat.

Protein plays a crucial role in building and repairing muscles. Annie now consumes 100 grams daily from various sources like chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, lean beef, cottage cheese, legumes, quinoa, Greek yogurt, seeds, and nuts.

She has been alcohol-free for six years and cut out sugar before turning 50.

Murray credits these changes for helping her cope with menopause and enhance her strength training.

Dr. Gareth Nye, senior lecturer of endocrinology at the University of Chester, discussed low-carb diets during menopause in Newsweek, cautioning against them despite not being Murray’s dietary approach.

“There isn’t any specific data showing that low- or no-carb diets are beneficial during menopause,” he said, adding that eating healthily and losing weight if needed can ease symptoms.

Low-carb diets can raise cholesterol and harm blood vessels. Since menopause already increases heart disease risk, this mix can be risky.

Strength training

Before transitioning to a personal trainer in her late 40s from a software and website design career, Annie believed that health meant being thin, doing lots of cardio, and eating fewer calories.

Currently, she exercises three times weekly, targeting all muscle groups and employing a progressive weight increase method with proper form and technique.

Strength training involves increasing resistance or weight, which stimulates muscle growth and is crucial for maintaining and building muscle strength and size.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nye confirmed the benefits of exercising as we age.

He described metabolism as influenced by factors that change with age.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) reflects calories burned during essential body functions, similar to energy expended while resting in bed.

He also said that our ability to repair cells decreases as we age, impacting calorie burning. Metabolism generally remains stable until around age 60.

Staying active and preserving muscle strength can support metabolism, though it naturally declines for everyone.

Exercise and a nutritious diet can help mitigate this decline.

Here’s Annie Murray’s viral video, sharing how she gets metabolic age of 36 at 53 and in menopause:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Annie Murray (@anniesfitnesssteyning)