Age causes some health-related problems. One of those is your metabolism slowing down. There is very little that you can do about the natural slowness of older metabolisms, too. While you still enjoy the diet, you did when you were younger; your body doesn’t need the calories. A slower metabolism means that your body burns …
Age causes some health-related problems. One of those is your metabolism slowing down. There is very little that you can do about the natural slowness of older metabolisms, too.
While you still enjoy the diet, you did when you were younger; your body doesn’t need the calories. A slower metabolism means that your body burns fewer calories throughout the day. Where you may have once burned 2,000 calories a day, you could now burn just 1,600. When you eat 400 extra calories a day, your body has to store them instead of expelling them. You end up larger than you want to be.
At the same time, age causes the cells to die. Our health deteriorates, which further affects that metabolism. Age-related obesity is a growing concern. You need to look at the food you’re eating, the activity you do, and so much more.
The good news is that while you can’t do much to aid the resting metabolic rate, there are some things that you can do to avoid obesity. Here are 12 proven ways to control and manage age-related obesity, so it doesn’t cause future health problems.
Focus on a Healthy and Balanced Diet
This seems to be the focus whatever your age when it comes to managing your weight. It is far more important as you get older due to the changes to your metabolism and other age-related problems. Your cells are dying. Your body doesn’t react the way it once did, the skin suffers, and the blood doesn’t flow around the body as easily.
So you need to do everything you can to prevent a major health problem. Focus on foods that are low in calories but high in nutrients. You want to get more vegetables and whole grains in your diet.
If you haven’t already done this, you need to get rid of the saturated fats and simple carbs in your diet. Switch your pasta for brown pasta and rice. Choose brown bread instead of white bread and opt for avocados and olive oil instead of vegetable oil and junk food.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have any sweet food. You want to cut down and not completely cut out. Rather than enjoying three meals and two snacks, opt for five or six small meals a day of healthy and nutritious food. You’ll feel less need to snack, as your energy levels will be sustained throughout the day.
Opt for a Good Exercise Routine
Exercise is good for you as you get older. It will help to keep the muscles strong and prevent osteoporosis and arthritis. If you currently suffer from a health condition, you will need to talk to your doctor about exercising regularly.
The start of slow if you haven’t exercised much in the past. You don’t want to shock your body and cause an injury. Stick to just two days of moderate exercise and then build your way up to five or six days.
Doctors recommend that you get 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise to remain healthy. If you want to lose weight, researchers recommend around 300 minutes of moderate exercise. Do what is right for you, especially when you start. Aim to get those 150 minutes minimum first and then build your way up.
When you are exercising, listen to your body. If you’re in pain, you should stop. A little ache in your muscles afterward is normal, but you shouldn’t experience pain or dizziness while exercising. Try swimming, fast walking, and cycling to start with and add a little strength training, such as squats and lunges, to boost muscle mass.
Make Sure You Eat Fewer Calories than You Burn
The only way to control your weight gain is to keep track of your calorie intake. It needs to be less than some calories you burn.
While there are recommendations to eat 2,000 calories a day as a woman, the actual amount of calories you burn per day will depend on your weight, height, age, and level of activity. The more activity you do during the day, the more calories you will burn. So, you’ll need an online calorie calculator to get a rough idea of some calories you burn during the day.
This will give you an idea of some calories to eat. If you want to keep the same current weight, then you should eat the same amount of calories you burn. The odd day you can go a little over or under, but you want the average for the week to be the same.
If you want to lose weight, then you’ll need to reduce your calorie intake. Dropping your calorie intake will mean you create a deficit, so your body must burn the calories you’ve previously stored. By decreasing your calories by 500 per day, you will lose 1-2lbs per week, which is a healthy and sustainable amount.
Know Your Trigger Foods
There will be some foods that make you want to consume more. Make a note of anything that you know triggers your hunger. Do you find it impossible to stop eating just one cookie? Do you find the whole packet is done without realizing?
By cutting out the trigger foods, you change your mindset. You don’t need that specific food to survive. You can even go a week or a month without it and forget that you had it daily. You’ll find it easier to stick to a healthy diet and create that necessary calorie deficit.
If you’re not sure about your trigger foods yet, you’ll need to eat more conscientiously. It’s time to make a note of the food you eat and how you feel at the end of the day. As you find bad behaviors, make a note of things that you need to change.
Write It All Down
Research shows that when you write something down, you become more aware of it. This is especially the case when it comes to age-related obesity.
You will have all types of reasons not to track everything you eat. There are all types of excuses, such as not enough time, too intrusive, or no ability to plan. The truth is you’re not tracking because you don’t want to be honest with yourself. It’s time to face the truth. By not tracking, you’re just cheating yourself. Whatever diet you follow isn’t going to work if you don’t track and make sure you stick to the plan.
Track the calories that you eat. This will help you stick to a calorie deficit, while you spot your trigger foods. You should also track the amount of exercise you do and the drinks you consume throughout the day.
There are plenty of free apps to help you track your food on a daily basis. All you must do is find the food and hit thetrack. It does the calorie counting (and even nutrient counting) for you. There’s no reason anymore not to track the food that you eat.
Keep Track of Your Weight
If you want to shed the excess pounds, you need to know that your diet is working. There’s no point following a particular eating plan, only to find out that you’re not losing the excess pounds. It’s important to monitor your weight on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Create a graph to see how well you do.
Small gains will happen. However, tracking weekly will help you spot when the gains happen. You can curb your eating and change your plan, taking control of your weight sooner. Tracking helps to prevent larger gains, leading to more health problems. As you see the figures on the scale drop, you’ll gain more motivation to stick to the diet.
The scales don’t tell you everything. While tracking your weight weekly, you want to track waist, chest, hips, thigh, and arm measurements on a monthly basis. This will help you see how you are changing shape. It’s not theoverall weight that you want to lose, but fat. You can also track by dress size.
Turn It into a Habit
A diet isn’t just for the short term. It needs to be a lifestyle change that you focus on for the rest of your life. Sure, you won’t always want to lose weight, but you will want to control it and keep it off once you have lost it. You can’t go back to your old eating habits. You need to create a habit and lifestyle that is healthy for you.
Creating a habit will also make it easier to stick to your diet. You’ll set up a habit of tracking and exercise becomes second nature. Soon you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it all on a daily basis anyway.
You’ll also find vacations, birthdays, and other special occasions aren’t a problem to your weight management.
Avoid the Empty Calories
While we tend to eat food for enjoyment, our bodies only need it for fuel. One of the best ways to tackle obesity is to focus on a diet where you eat for the sake of fueling your body with the right food. Get rid of the empty calories and opt for nutrient-dense foods.
This means to scrap the junk food. Cheeseburgers have 1,000 calories but only give you energy for 30 minutes. They have no other good nutrients. Instead, you could eat low-calorie fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and healthy oils that will sustain you for hours. You get to create a calorie deficit without feeling hungry and week.
Don’t Forget to Build on Your Muscle Mass
As you exercise, it’s common to focus on the extra calories you’re burning. The truth is you don’t want to just think about this. You’re not just burning calories but building muscle mass. At least, you should be doing.
While you want to start gently with exercises, you’re usedto. Eventually, you want to move into some strengthening and conditioning training. You want to work on building the muscles in your legs, back, chest, stomach, and legs. Not only will you improve your overall health, but you’ll make it easier to manage your weight.
Many people don’t realize that strength training can be better for weight loss. When you work the muscles directly, you force them to rebuild. This takes time, so your body is burning extra calories for up to 48 hours after the exercise. If you just work on cardio training, you’ll only burn calories while you’re doing the exercise.
Muscle also burns more calories naturally than fat. If you have more muscle mass, your metabolism will naturally speed up. One of the reasons our metabolism slows down is because we lose muscle mass as we get older. Don’t make that a problem.
Be Committed to Make This Work
There’s something to be said for commitment. Preventing, controlling, and managing your obesity is something that you need to do. There’s no point doing it for other people around you. The mindset won’t be right to keep you on track. You’ll find every excuse possible not to track your food and stick within a calorie count.
Get yourself in the zone. Find a reason why you want to manage your weight and tackle your obesity.
One of the best things to help with commitment is to have a goal. Decide what you want to achieve, and the time you’ll give yourself and work your butt off to get to that.
Find Your Positive/Negative Reinforcement
Both positive and negative reinforcement can help you lose the weight. You can either focus on what you don’t want to be like or on something that you want to gain. Find the method of reinforcement that will keep you on track best.
Research has shown that positive and negative reinforcement can be beneficial. Dieters used photos of themselves when they were at their largest as motivation to stick to their diets. They don’t want to go back to that. Others will look at photos of when they were a smaller size or a dress that they want to get into. That’s their motivation and goal to reach.
When you find yourself wavering, you can look back at the reinforcement. This is your chance to acknowledge you’ve fallen off the wagon and that you need to get back on track.
Get a Support System
Finally, a support system is something you need. Researchers have found that plans like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Slimming World are effective because of the support system they have. There is a leader there to hold you accountable to your weight loss goals, helping you stay on track throughout the week.
Some of the systems also have group programs. You sit in a group of other dieters with similar goals. There you can celebrate your losses, commiserate your gains, and tackle the problems you’ve faced. Research does show that this helps to keep more people on track.
It’s time to tackle obesity. Age-related obesity isn’t something that you just must put up with. When you follow the above 12 proven tricks, you can create a calorie deficit and see the weight drop off. What is your excuse? Are you ready for the challenge?
Source: 12 Proven Ways To Control And Manage Age-Related Obesity
