When you’re in your 50s, a combination of factors makes it impossible to think about carrying on the pounds. If you’re like most women, your digestion has never been better, and hormonal shifts have welcomed menopause. You may be experiencing hot flashes, nocturnal sweats, a sleeping issue, and even weight gain. Unfortunately, most women’s weight gain during menopause is belly fat, according to a 2012 study. Furthermore, this is not something to overlook, as obesity around your midsection has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. “Your 50s are an incredible time to look at yourself and make adjustments that you might not have had the chance to do when you were younger,” says Sylvia Garcia, MD, a general practice doctor at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, California. It’s not too late to acquire good habits. Here are the top 7 techniques to get in better shape after 50.
Learn to enjoy strength training
Strength training is also essential, particularly for older adults, although cardio stands out sufficiently to be recognized for weight loss. Sarcopenia is a condition in which your body mass declines as you become older. This mass loss begins around the age of 50 and might cause digestion to halt, resulting in weight gain. After the age of 50, your muscle strength declines at a rate of 1.5– 5% per year. Your bulk decreases at a rate of 1–2% each year. In this approach, include muscle-building activities in your daily routine is critical for reducing age-related muscle loss and maintaining healthy body weight. Strength training, such as bodyweight exercises and weightlifting, may fundamentally increase muscle strength and increase muscle growth and capacity. Strength training can also help you get in shape by lowering your muscle-to-fat ratio and improving your digestion, both of which can increase the number of calories you consume throughout the day.
Get enough sleep
Several studies have suggested a link between a lack of excellent quality rest and obesity. They claim a connection between a short rest span, poor quality rest, and an increased risk of being obese. It is vital to ensure that one receives enough good sleep to avoid being overweight.
Fill up on high-fibre foods.
Consider them “excellent carbs.” Their beef takes up space in your stomach, making you feel fuller and allowing you to eat less. Beans, which contain 8 grams of fibre per 1/2 cup, are the highest-fibre food. According to research, people who increased 12 grams of fibre to their daily diet shed a fourth of an inch from their cushy layers without changing their eating habits.
Don’t skip meals
When you go for long periods without eating, your body goes into a catabolic state, which means it starts separating muscle tissue for energy—and saves fat. While intermittent fasting may be beneficial for weight loss, skipping dinners is inconvenient.
Don’t retire from exercise.
A massive majority of my patients, aged 50 and up, come to their sessions with similar reasons for not sticking to an exercise plan. These often include some form of joint pain, but this isn’t the decade to stop moving.
First and foremost, determine what you are capable of. Then, and only then, eliminate the “I can’t” expression from your language. Low-sway exercises include swimming, strolling, training on the curved machine, and trekking. You’ll also want to focus on bulking up to help with digestion. Finding a good mentor might be the first step in determining which opposition training activities would work best for you.
Plan ahead
“An objective without an arrangement is merely a wish,” Antoine de SaintExupéry once observed. You may wish for your 30-year-old physique to return, but it is unlikely to happen without clear targets and plans. It would help if you focused on meal planning now more than ever before, so you don’t have to depend on eating out all of the time. This is something I notice in a lot of my older patients, especially those over 50. Because their kids have grown up and moved out, they don’t cook as often as they used to. Plan ahead of time by harvesting new vegetables at the end of the week, freezing soups, and having healthy food options (such frozen quinoa, vegetables, and wild salmon burgers) ready when you need them.
Cook more at home
Various studies have indicated that persons who plan and eat more dinners at home follow a better eating regimen in general and weigh less than those who don’t. When you prepare dinners at home, you have complete control over what goes into — and what stays out of — your plans. It also allows you to investigate several options for extraordinary, long-lasting remedies that pique your interest. If you eat most evenings out, start by preparing a couple of suppers at home each week, then gradually increase this number until you’re cooking at home more than you eat out.