For men, sedentary jobs, less time for sports and eating too much contributes to reduced muscle mass. For perimenopausal women, hormonal changes combined with the aging process can make the battle of the bulge seem overwhelming. As the ovaries' estrogen production slowly decreases, the abdominal fat cells take up the slack. The fat cells actually start multiplying to produce a natural supplemental source of estrogen. Your caloric need drops by 400 calories, and most of those extra calories are stored in your waist.
Strength training is the single most effective solution to increasing metabolism.
A study conducted by Wayne Wescott, Ph.D., at South Shore YMCA in Massachusetts examined the effects of different exercises on body composition. Seventy-two men and women were put on the same sensible diet and divided in two groups. One group did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week, and the other divided the same amount of time between strength training and aerobics. Eight weeks later, the aerobic exercisers had lost 3 pounds of fat and a half-pound of muscle, and the combination exercisers had lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle. Aerobic exercise builds cardiovascular health and burns calories, but does little to increase metabolic rate.