By Wen Liu • November 13, 2019
Getting older doesn’t mean that you have to lose strength and vitality. With the right diet and amount of protein, you can rest assured that you won’t.
Imagine being 97 years old and feeling better than those decades younger and living a life so active that you keep winning one athletic competition after another.
Sound impossible?
Well, it’s not, as this is exactly what Charles Eugster’s life looks like.
At 97, he’s the world champion in 200m indoor and 400m outdoor sprints. He also holds the British record for 60m indoor, as well as 100m and 200m outdoor sprints.
Eugster is debatably the world’s fittest senior. Not only did he manage to slow down his aging process, but completely reversed it. His secret? There are a few of them.
First of all, he follows the low-carb diet religiously. He eats as few grams of carbs as he possibly can. He says that this is the key to his incredible fitness.
One time, he stumbled upon low-fat yogurt and said he couldn’t believe his eyes.
‘Can you imagine a hunter-gatherer enjoying a low-fat yogurt?’ he said. His old-school approach to dieting is what resulted in his outstanding athletic achievements. Paired with rigorous exercise, it makes him feel decades younger and healthier.
But that’s not all. Eugster says that he starts his mornings with a protein shake to boost the benefits of his diet even more. In his opinion, taking enough protein in your diet is the essence of staying in shape.
He explains that this is because your body synthesizes protein much slower as you get older. There are also fewer and fewer collagen peptides that act as building blocks for your tissue. As a result, building muscles is much harder.
But thanks to Eugster’s lifestyle choices, this isn’t a problem for him. He’s doing it all – bodybuilding, rowing, wakeboarding, and even writing and public speaking.
There’s no doubt that he’s living the life that every senior dreams about. But this dream can become a reality for you as well. If you want to live an active life and not let aging slow you down, keep reading to see what you can do to achieve this.
The Role of Protein in Senior Sports
As we age, many of our bodily functions deteriorate. It just the way it is. But does this mean that you should give in? Not at all. There are all sorts of things that you can do to slow down or even reverse many negative processes that come with aging.
But to do it, you must first learn the way that the body works.
As your body ages, skeletal muscle mass and strength decline. This reduces your body’s ability to synthesize protein. And when your protein levels drop, muscles deteriorate even faster. It’s a vicious cycle.
The result of all this is weakness and inability to exercise. Levels of vitamins and minerals drop faster as well, resulting in poor health. When this happens, exercise is the last thing on your mind.
However, it’s vital that you keep exercising as much as your body allows you to. As you do, you increase your muscles’ ability to absorb protein that you get from food. This breaks the negative cycle and helps you build muscle tissue again. You’ll feel stronger and will be able to withstand a more demanding exercise. As you keep building on this, you’ll feel much healthier and more vital.
So what kind of exercise should you do?
According to research, resistance-type exercise is your best choice. It will help you stay in shape and prevent age-related muscle loss. Your strength and functional performance will improve, and you’ll feel younger than you have in years.
Now, of course, it’s not all about exercise. What you eat also plays a massive role in your ability to live an active lifestyle regardless of your age. This is why more and more seniors are adopting ketogenic diets. Whether you want to lose weight, feel more energized, or even deal with some health issues, this diet can do wonders.
Aside from eating plenty of healthy fats, the ketogenic diet requires a sufficient protein intake. Plant-based proteins and those coming from grass-fed cows and other animals are crucial to reaping all the benefits.
But not everyone can get enough protein from the foods that they eat. And this is where low-carb protein powders come into play.
Why Supplement with Protein Powders?
To understand why protein powder is a great choice for those following the keto diet, you must first learn how it works.
In a nutshell, you need to kick the carbs out of your body so that it can’t use them as a source of energy. As a part of its defense mechanism, your body will them turn to fats. Your liver will start producing ketone bodies that will burn stored fat and fuel your body.
Not only is this an amazing way of losing weight, but it also helps battle many health conditions that seniors often face. These include:
With this in mind, following the keto diet the right way is important if you want to reduce or reverse the effects of aging.
One of the most serious issues that seniors face while following this diet is the lack of protein. And since 20-25% of their entire calorie intake should come from protein, this can stop them from staying in ketosis.
This is why many seniors decide to take protein supplements like whey protein isolate or collagen protein powder. These supplements help them make up for the proteins that they can’t get otherwise.
This is especially important for vegetarians and vegans, as animal protein plays an essential part in the keto diet. If this is you, you need to find the best sources of plant protein such as bean quinoa, or pea protein. But if this isn’t enough, protein powder can be a great meal replacement that gives you all the protein you need the easy way.
Just ask Monica Petith, who uses protein powder regularly. She says that it doesn’t only make her healthier, but it’s also quite easy to use and doesn’t impact the taste of her smoothie.
So if you still haven’t had a chance to give it a try, many seniors couldn’t recommend it enough. The right supplement can make a world of difference, so it’s definitely worth considering.
But how much protein do you need to reap all those keto benefits?
Protein for Active Seniors
According to the RDA, adequate protein intake is 0.8 grams of protein per kg of your body. However, there’s an important difference between sufficient and optimal levels that you need to understand.
Studies suggest that active seniors need 1-1.2g of protein per kg of body weight. But you must pair this amount with the right exercise. Only then will you be able to gain all the benefits from the supplement and the keto diet as a whole. As a general rule, it’s best to use the supplement post-workout, as this can speed up muscle building.
Lastly, it’s imperative to distribute your protein intake equally throughout your day. This helps your body use amino acids more efficiently and supports tissue growth.
Age Is Just a Number
As you saw in Eugster’s example, aging doesn’t mean that your body needs to suffer. You can influence this process and do many things to enjoy your golden years to the fullest. And the keto diet is the most effective way of achieving this.
Paired with the right protein supplement, it can make you feel younger. Many seniors who gave it a shot achieved incredible results, so you can expect many improvements as well. Your health and overall quality of life will get a big boost, and you’ll see that aging doesn’t have to limit you in any way.
If you want a great source of high-quality, pure protein, make sure to check out this unflavored whey protein isolate.
