As individuals enter their forties, maintaining leanness becomes significantly more challenging due to a complex interplay of biological aging, lifestyle factors, and hormonal shifts, rather than solely a slowing metabolism.
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Once you reach your forties, you
might notice something strange. You eat
properly, you train
seriously, you move more than you did at 25,
and yet your physique is deteriorating. In the
morning when you wake up, you're flatter than
before. Your lower belly
sags, your buttocks show marks more
easily, and you also have much more grip
on your love handles. In short, you
feel less defined and at the
slightest deviation, your chocolate bar
disappears in 48 hours like snow in the
sun. The worst part is that even when you
do everything right, your results
are less clear than before. To get back to
your 20-year-old leanness level, you have to
put in twice the effort. The
most widespread misconception is that all of this
comes solely from a
slowing metabolism. So yes,
it's true, there is a slowdown,
but on its own, it doesn't explain everything.
Other factors related to
lifestyle, stress, sleep, and
diet quality often carry more
weight in the balance. So, in this
video, I'm not going to repeat
the basics of nutrition to you for the first time.
Today, we're going to go further. We
will focus on what most
people neglect, even though these elements
become crucial after the age of
forty. Because being lean, much to the chagrin of
bodybuilders, isn't just a
matter of calories and macros. It's
much more. Along the way, we will also see
throughout the video several mistakes that
many forty-year-olds make without realizing it,
which sabotage their
ability to stay dry. And for those of
you who want to go
beyond the theory, I have prepared a
bonus reserved for members with two
simple, concrete and
applicable protocols starting tomorrow that extend
exactly what we are going to see here. This is
the practical version of this video. This is
designed to save you time, avoid fumbling around,
and get straight to
So, as I explained to you in the
first part of this series, your
body does not age linearly
year after year, it ages in fits and starts
. Recent studies suggest that
our body goes through phases
of accelerated
biological aging. A first wave around
the age of forty and a second wave around
the age of sixty. Of course, these are
not dates set in stone
but averages. For some, the
first wave occurs around 38-39 years old,
while for others it occurs
rather around 45-46 years old. But the
central idea remains the same. Around the
age of 40, many systems become
more fragile, more sensitive, and you
quickly notice it in your ability to stay dry. Is
dry. Is
metabolism the sole culprit or the
scapegoat? The classic phrase from
forty-somethings is, "Is it
normal that I'm storing fat? My metabolism has
slowed down." Well, it's true, there is a
decline in metabolism with age, but
no, this decline alone doesn't explain
the little belly that develops or the
love handles that refuse to disappear
after forty. Large studies
that have measured total energy expenditure
show that, for equivalent height and
body composition,
daily energy expenditure remains
generally stable between the ages of 20 and 60.
The real drop occurs after
60. In other words, your
body doesn't go from a
nuclear reactor to an old electric heater
the moment you turn 40.
However, what really changes is that, firstly,
you naturally lose muscle
if you don't train regularly. Secondly,
you become more vulnerable to
insulin resistance if you accumulate
abdominal fat.
Thirdly, all your
physical activity outside of training tends to
decrease as you age because you spend
more time... Sitting for longer, spending more
time in the car, carrying a
heavier mental load, all
ultimately results in less movement.
But all of this adds up to one
thing: even the slightest calorie surplus is
less well tolerated than at 25 and is
more likely to be stored as
fat, especially around the stomach. The
problem isn't so much a
slowing metabolism as a
slightly less efficient one coupled
with a more sedentary,
stressful, and less restorative lifestyle. The
typical lifestyle of a forty-something. Among those in their
forties and older, you often find this
combination: more responsibilities, particularly
with work, children, and family,
resulting in less free time; more
chronic stress, especially related to
workload and lack of time;
less deep and
less restorative sleep;
more sitting time, particularly in the
car and at the office; and finally, a
diet that is often more convenient,
meaning more processed, higher
in calories, and lower in nutrients.
So, your body... reads it in a
very simple way. He says to himself "OK, we
are stressed, tired and exposed to
dietary fluctuations. So you know
what? "We secure it, I store it."
Chronic stress and cortisol promote
the storage of excess calories
in your belly, especially if
accompanied by very sugary and
fatty foods. Lack of sleep, meanwhile, disrupts
your leptin and ghrelin, the hunger hormones
. You therefore have a greater appetite,
more cravings, and less ability to
self-regulate. In short, in addition to a
slightly less forgiving metabolism,
it's the whole combination of lifestyle,
biology, and recovery that makes it
harder to stay lean than before.
But that doesn't mean your body
is ruined, far from it. It's simply
more demanding. It's less forgiving of
lapses and
accumulated slip-ups in your
lifestyle. However, if you adjust the right
levers, you can stay lean for a
long time. I'm living
proof of that. In 2023-2024, despite
training that was still just as intense and Despite
eating regularly, I felt I was finding it harder
to stay as
lean as before. But by
carefully analyzing my diet and
lifestyle, I realized that
age wasn't the problem, but rather
several small mistakes I was making
here and there. I corrected them
and returned to a
stable body fat percentage below 12%, which I
maintain year-round without making
extreme sacrifices. So what you'll see
in this video and the bonus section isn't just
abstract theory. It's what
actually works, even after
40. Chapter 2. Eat better, not
less. When people talk about getting lean after
40, many think it's
enough to simply lower calories and
optimize macros. But after
40, that's no longer sufficient. The real,
sustainable way to lose fat
and stay lean isn't just about
eating less; it's about eating better—the
basics: calories and
macronutrients. So Yes, calories
matter, and yes, macronutrients
matter too. That said, the
classic mistake people in their forties make is
devoting 95% of their energy to 1.
reducing their calories, 2. weighing every
meal, 3. tracking every macro, while
forgetting that after 40, their bodies no
longer react the same way to those same
calories. At 30, you could get away with
a heavy night out or a
full cheat day and compensate in two
days with a tough workout and a
lighter meal the next day. But at 40
and over, the same indulgence will leave you with at
least a hangover, water
retention, a more pronounced lower belly,
and several days to
recover in terms of performance. So here are
a few simple rules to follow. One,
avoid big indulgences. A 1000-calorie cheat day,
OK. A full cheat day? No. Try
not to have two big indulgences in a row
, or three a
week. 2. Avoid
extreme variations. Keep your surpluses and Keep your
calorie deficit within a
reasonable range of -15% to +15% of your
weekly maintenance intake. 3. Ensure you get the
minimum protein. Aim for at least
1.6g of protein per kilogram of body weight
per day, and increase it to 2.2g if you
want to get lean. So far, nothing
revolutionary, but this is where
it gets interesting. The details
that matter more and more with age. There
are details that
19-year-old influencers, obsessed with
macros, never talk about simply because they haven't
experienced them yet.
But for you, as you pass 40, these
details become crucial.
Nutritional density. You can reduce
your calories and optimize your macros. If
what you eat is low in
micronutrients, your body will run at a
slower pace. Let's take a concrete example:
magnesium. This mineral is involved in
several hundred
enzymatic reactions within the body,
notably in the production of ATP, the
molecule that provides immediate energy
to your cells. If you eat few
magnesium-rich foods and
are also stressed, you end up with a
chronic deficiency, or hypomagnesemia.
As a result, you produce less ATP, and
therefore less energy, so you feel more
tired, you move less, you
expend less energy, and consequently, you have
more difficulty losing fat. This
reasoning applies to all
key micronutrients, especially those
involved in
energy metabolism, which notably includes
all the B vitamins,
iodine, zinc, iron, and selenium.
These nutrients influence the
internal reactions that allow your
body to properly use the
calories and macronutrients you
give it. So remember this: Calories
determine your weight,
macronutrients determine your
body composition, and
micronutrients determine your ability
to remain in homeostasis, that is, to
burn fat and gain muscle
efficiently. The quality of your
carbohydrates. When you want to lose fat,
carbohydrates are your
adjustment variable. Once you have
Locking in your protein to preserve
muscle mass and your fat to
produce hormones and protect your
immune system, your
calorie deficit then hinges on the amount
of carbohydrates you consume. But it's not just a
question of the quantity of
carbohydrates ingested; it's also a
question of the quality of the carbohydrates
you consume. As we've seen, around the age of
forty, your tissues
gradually become less sensitive to
insulin, especially your
skeletal muscles and liver. When your
insulin sensitivity decreases, each
rise in blood glucose forces
your pancreas to produce more insulin
to distribute that glucose to your
various tissues. This constant
insulin surge facilitates the
storage of excess glucose as
abdominal and visceral fat and
disrupts your hunger and
satiety signals, leading to more sugar cravings.
So no, it's not just about
eating fewer carbohydrates; it's
also about choosing them better. Specifically,
prioritize carbohydrates with a
low glycemic load in moderation, such as
vegetables. Legumes,
whole grains, and low-sugar fruits. These
carbohydrate sources have three
major advantages: 1. They have a low
insulin spike. 2. They are very rich in
micronutrients. And 3. Their fiber
enhances satiety, a crucial advantage during a
calorie deficit. The
calorie density to
nutrient density ratio. A good food
for your post-40 weight loss is
primarily one with high
nutrient density, meaning a food
that offers maximum nutrients for
minimum calories. Personally, I
call this a "
useful calorie" food. Let me give you a
simple example. On one hand, you have snack B
with a handful of berries,
cottage cheese, and a few almonds. It
provides plenty of fiber, many
nutrients, and has a good appetite-
suppressing effect for a
limited calorie total. On the other hand,
snack B consists of a
chocolate bar and a sugary drink, which
provides many calories but
almost no nutrients. And it
has a ridiculously low-calorie effect. So,
as you can see, when you
optimize this
nutrient density to calorie density ratio, you
end up eating less without depriving yourself.
Simply because your body
finally receives what it needs. The more
nutrient-rich and
calorie-controlled your food is, the fewer
calories you need to feel full and
function properly. Without
having to weigh everything down to the gram
, or panic as soon as you exceed
your 5g carb quota. That's why
I often tell my
clients, don't count every calorie,
but rather make every
calorie count. And that's where
a concept that many people and
influencers ignore comes in: homeostasis.
Chapter 3. Homeostasis: The
Forgotten Key to Getting Lean After 40. In
the previous chapter, we talked about
calories, macros, carbs, and
nutrient density. But even if you eat
perfectly, it One crucial point remains
. Your body only burns fat
when your internal environment
tells it, "OK, that's it, we can
release stored fat." Until it receives this
green light, it conserves its fat tissue, and
this internal environment is
homeostasis. Without this
homeostatic state, you can have the
best diet in the world. Your body
will remain in precautionary, storage mode,
especially after 40. And this is
precisely where many people get
lost. They understand why it's
blocked, but not how to get
their body to finally
release fat. In this case, the problem is
n't your genetics, your
broken metabolism, or your
insufficient calorie deficit. No, your problem
is your internal system refusing
to open the door to lipolysis. And this
internal system depends primarily on
four pillars, namely pillar number
1: sleep. The number one saboteur,
sleep, is probably the
most underestimated factor for those who
want to get lean and stay that way. Just one
short night can... Indeed,
increasing your ghrelin, decreasing your
leptin, and reducing your
insulin sensitivity the very next day promotes
visceral fat storage,
instinctively lowers your blood sugar, and
explodes your cravings for sugar and fat.
In other words, if you sleep poorly, you eat
more, move less, and store
more fat. As they say,
no perfect workout can
compensate for a crappy diet. Well,
no perfect diet can compensate for
terrible sleep. If you want to stay
lean, you must therefore protect your
sleep, give it the same
priority as your diet and
training. Period. Pillar number 2:
stress and allostasis. The
invisible brake. Stress isn't just about
being tense. It's also a
biological signal that tells your body:
"Yo, man!" We're stressed. So go ahead,
keep it safe, secure it, be careful, stockpile it.
When you are stressed, your cortisol levels skyrocket
