Weight loss is personal to everyone.
As people age, losing weight inevitably becomes much more difficult. Don’t panic, though. There are ways to lose weight, no matter how old you are.
While your weight loss may take a different shape or path than another person, here are some key strategies for achieving success.
It’s important to understand why it’s tougher. A recent study shows the conventional wisdom about metabolism isn’t always true.
This means you could be wasting time and money on expensive supplements and magic foods that claim to help you burn more calories. Try these suggestions, instead, for taking weight off and keeping it off after 40…
Increasing Muscle Mass
Your body starts losing muscle mass faster than you’d expect as you get older. As an adult, you lose about 3 to 5 percent of your muscle mass every ten years after age 30.
You’ve seen it in the mirror: those extra pounds that don’t seem to budge. You’re not alone. About 80% of adults over age 40 have excess body fat. The good news is that you can make a difference in your weight.
With these simple strategies, you can start shedding pounds quickly and easily. The key is to eat fewer calories than you burn, which we grant is easier said than done.
To help you make healthy food choices, we’ll show you how to choose the right foods and portion sizes that will give you the best results.
Try these tips:
1. Use resistance. Developing strength involves using your muscles to push against resistance. Use equipment to experiment with different muscles in your body, free weights, and body weight exercises.
By exercising the muscles that use the most energy, you can burn more calories than by exercising the same amount of muscle mass but without resistance. To develop your strength, do not rely on other people to provide resistance.
You must use a method that allows you to push against resistance.
2. Train heavy. For faster results, make your workout more intense. Use a weight that will allow you to complete just one repetition of your last exercise.
You may be able to lift the weight once and rest for two or three seconds before trying again. A great way to help you is to do squats. Squats are very helpful because it helps strengthens your core.
3. Consume adequate protein. Recommended guidelines for your protein intake are between 10 and 35 percent of your total daily calories, and many experts recommend increasing that to the upper range.
Some research suggests that eating a protein-rich meal or snack within two hours of working out helps you recover more quickly.
If you find this difficult to do, try having a low-fat, high-protein shake as soon as you finish exercising. For example, an athlete might want to eat 4 ounces of chicken after a long run, or 3 cups of pasta with 4 ounces of chicken after a strength workout.
These meals will provide the right amount of protein for an athlete who is training hard. You can also eat protein-rich foods throughout the day. Some people like to have protein-rich snacks such as peanut butter on whole wheat bread or turkey jerky.
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4. Schedule rest days. As you rest and recover from your workouts, your muscles grow.
Some easier activities, like hiking, take your mind off the pain.
Other activities are more strenuous, like weight training or jogging.
Muscle growth is a slow process that takes time to develop. However, you can speed up the process with cross-training of activities and resistance training.
Aerobic exercise burns calories and builds endurance. It’s also important for cardiovascular health. You can choose from various aerobic exercises to burn calories and improve your heart and lungs. Examples include brisk walking, running, swimming, biking, and dancing.
Other Tips for Losing Weight After 40
Aging causes your body to store sugar as fat. This extra fat stores as ugly belly fat. Hormonal changes also play a role. Especially after menopause, hormone production changes
If you’re not active, you’ll store more fat and look older faster. The DASH diet plan is designed to help you lose weight in the safest way possible. The best part is that you will have plenty of healthy options throughout the day. You won’t be bored or miss out on anything!
Using these strategies can help:
1. Choose whole foods. Satisfy your hunger with natural foods, rich in nutrients and fiber, and low in added sugar and salt. Healthy food options include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
A healthy diet can help you manage certain chronic conditions. It can also help you lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, and improve your overall health.
2. Drink water. Staying hydrated will make you feel full and increase your energy. Water is the most essential nutrient for humans, and we need it every day. We all know that staying hydrated is important.
But it’s also important to eat small meals every three to four hours. The combination of eating frequently and drinking plenty of water keeps blood sugar stable.
Eating frequent, small meals also helps to maintain a healthy weight.
Currently, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends that women consume 2.7 liters, or 91 ounces, of water every day—that’s from food and drinks combined.
3. Limit alcohol. When it comes to alcohol, practice moderation. If you’re watching your weight, order a diet soda or sparkling water instead of an alcoholic beverage.
Alcohol is an empty calorie because it doesn’t contain any nutrients.
4. Sleep well. Sleep is important for your overall well-being, especially for someone your age. Stick to a regular bedtime that allows you to wake up naturally feeling rested. Getting adequate, quality sleep is an important part of a healthy weight loss plan.
Most importantly, research has shown that losing sleep while dieting can reduce the amount of weight loss and encourage overeating.
5. Weigh yourself. Use a scale or a tape measure to accurately measure your weight, don’t give up. It may take some time to lose weight, but it’s not a race. Stick with it.
6. Move around. Do you spend much time sitting in front of your computer, watching TV, or doing other sedentary work activities? Take a few minutes every half hour to stretch and walk around.
It can be as simple as taking a brisk 10-minute walk around the block or going for a few laps around the office. You don’t have to do it in the gym—just do something that gets your heart rate up and gets you moving.
Stretching is an important part of maintaining good health and flexibilty. A number of studies have shown that stretching helps prevent injury.
7. Seek support. Invite your family and friends to join you for healthy dinner. You may have to be the one to lead the way, but your family and friends will be more likely to follow if they see that you’re serious about leading a healthier lifestyle.
Set up a monthly budget that allows for healthy food purchases. Get creative with your grocery shopping. Instead of just grabbing the most inexpensive foods, try to find foods with high nutritional values.
8. See your doctor. If you need more help, talk to your doctor about your situation. For example, a thyroid screening can catch issues that cause weight gain, fatigue, and depression in many adults over 35. Seeking preventative screening can also help identify the early stages of disease that contribute to your weight gain.
Talk with your doctor about your risk factors and symptoms and what you can do to help prevent or treat them.