Urologist reveals 3 common mistakes women make that age them faster: ‘Cardio helps your heart but…’

Women age differently from men, making it more important to adopt healthier habits. Expert sheds light on the common mistakes and how to counter them.

Ageing brings about a loss of strength and energy. Men and women age differently due to a variety of factors. If you are lenient with your lifestyle and don't follow healthy habits, you are likely to age faster.

To understand the mistakes women might be making when it comes to ageing, Dr Tarek Pacha, a Michigan-based urologist, shared in a November 23 post what contributes to faster ageing in women, along with some helpful suggestions that can help counter it.

Common mistakes women make

1. Under-eating protein

“Your body can't build new tissue on scraps. Low protein is the number one reason your metabolism feels slow and sluggish,” he reiterated the demerits of low protein intake.

2. Fasting too long

With the advent of fasting-related diets, like intermittent fasting or OMAD (one meal a day), where the entire focus is on calorie deficit, fasting too long can cause unintended consequences on your body. The urologist remarked, “Fasting way too long. When fasting goes too far, your body starts burning muscle for fuel.”

Moreover, he even raised doubts regarding the very popular intermittent fasting, as women's bodies may respond differently because they are sensitive and have a complex hormonal system compared to men. “And yes, intermittent fasting affects women much differently than men,” Dr Pacha added.

3. Skipping resistance training

Sometimes women prioritise cardio over resistance training, skipping the latter, which the doctor warned is not good for health. “Cardio helps your heart, but only lifting says keep this muscle. You cannot maintain strength without a heavy load,” he said. Especially those whose fitness goal is to lose weight, cardio may appear to be sufficient to drop kilos. But fitness is more than sweating or losing weight. Resistance training retains muscles which has protective benefits.

The urologist described what happens as women grow old, especially after menopause when their bodies stop producing estrogen, “As estrogen drops, when women get older, its muscle protective effect goes down with it. And what about that chronic stress, high cortisol breaks down muscle in the same way under-eating does. Stress melts your strength from the inside out.”

Dr Pacha called it a double whammy, as two major forces affect women at the same time as they age. Low estrogen levels reduce the muscle's protective effect. As a chain effect, this pushes cortisol up, which breaks down muscle.

What to do?

So how do you age with grace? Dr Pacha shared some powerful lifestyle changes that contribute to muscle strength, improved metabolism and overall wellness. They are simple and everyday habits that make you strong inside and out. The tips he outlined cover both physiological and psychological aspects of healthy ageing.

Here are the urologist's recommendations:

• Eat enough protein (at least 100g/day):
Stop nibbling. Stop picking.
Your body needs real building blocks. It means actual meat.
If you want muscle, you have to feed it.
• Lift something heavy: Muscle doesn’t grow from sitting. Strength training is the signal your body listens to.
Cardio supports your heart, and weights protect your entire future.
• Recover your nervous system: Scrolling is frying your brain and draining your resilience.
Meditate. Breathe. Slow down.
Give your body the calm it needs to rebuild.
• Sleep well: Sleep like your life depends on it.
Because it does.
Sleep is where hormones reset and muscle repairs.
• Stress management: Live with purpose and get outside.
Nature lowers stress, sharpens focus,
and reminds your body what ‘healthy’ actually feels like.

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.