Keeping down The Weight as You Get Older: Top Tips

Weight control is difficult. The difficulty levels increase even further as you get older for a variety of reasons.  One major one, is the fact that body metabolism slows down as you get older.  This makes it important to work even harder to maintain optimum fitness as you age.  Here are top strategies that can help.

Walk More

There is a lot of evidence supporting the importance of remaining physically active for anyone that wants to keep a lid on their weight. So if your physical condition allows it, you should commit to walking as regularly as possible. The universally acclaimed advice is to walk 5 miles a day or 10,000 steps. It is, however, not cast in stone. If you barely walk a mile or two daily, aiming for that target is a good start. If you already do 5 miles a day due to the nature of your daily routines or due to your existing fitness regimes, you will benefit more by upping the ante by another 30 to 50 per cent. Fortunately, powerful treadmills make it easier to walk at your own pace from the comfort of your home.

Spring Clean Your Fridge

It is painfully obvious yet many ignore this.  As you age, there are certain tempting food types that you have to cut back significantly on or even drop completely from the menu. You have to act as a disciplinarian for yourself by limiting your exposure to foods that contribute to your unhealthy weight. It doesn’t make any sense stocking your fridge with fatty foods. Even in shared living spaces, you need to find a way to cut down on the exposure or you will be dipping into the till to satisfy nagging cravings. The temptation is also highest just when you have burnt excess calories after an exercise session. Your wearable technology says you have burnt an extra 500 calories and you feel it is time to take in a few sweets and chips as reward. If you don’t have these foods around, you will be less likely to “reward” yourself. Stock up on foods that are rich in protein such as lean meat, beans, eggs and more. Don’t forget to have a stockpile of fruits!

Implement Subtle Changes

By simply making the shift to drinking more water instead of consuming sweetened beverages, you can cut off hundreds of calories even before they go into your body. There are many other simple changes you can make to reduce calorie consumption and simplify your quest for a lower waist profile. Some of these include keeping fruits and vegetables handy and in plain sight, eating in smaller sized plates or boxes and so on. If you are able to move your food packaging to smaller sizes, you can reduce your overall food consumption.

Weigh Yourself Regularly

Many experts agree that people who have lost weight are more motivated to keep losing weight or maintain their optimal weight if they get on the weighing scale regularly.  You should, check your weight weekly as it will help you see if you can increase the intensity of your workouts. If you hit your optimal weight and start getting heavier again by more than 3kg, it is time for you to get back on track or even better your previous efforts.

Embrace Strength Training

With resistance training, you can build metabolically active lean muscle mass. Your metabolism will slow down if you allow muscle atrophy. Fortunately, home gym equipment means that you don’t need to sign up for professional body building sessions. Regular strength training workouts at home or visiting your local gym is enough. If you can’t buy weights for lifting, consider resistance bands.  Exercises such as pull ups, push ups, squats, lunges and sit ups are all effective as well.  If you do several reps regularly and maintain consistency, you can retain and improve muscle strength and function. This not only helps to increase metabolism, you will be in better shape to incorporate more physical activities into your daily routine.

Sleep Regularly

If you don’t sleep regularly, you will increase the levels of ghrelin hormone in your body while decreasing leptin hormone. The former is responsible for the feeling of hunger while the latter is responsible for the feeling of satiety. This imbalance is one of the leading causes of overeating and weight gain. Sleep needs will vary on a person to person basis but you may trigger such an imbalance if you don’t sleep for at least seven to nine hours every night. You may not have thought of it, but your sleeping habit is vital to your weight loss process.

Talk to Experts

If after all your best efforts, you are still adding weight, you need to talk to specialists. Some of the professionals that can offer the best advice include behavioural weight-loss experts, personal trainers, registered dieticians, obesity medicine specialists and others. In some cases, you may be required to incorporate medication into your weight loss or maintenance efforts. In many cases, however, your weight loss routine will be rejigged by the professionals based on your personal circumstances.

At the end of the day, the first step to battling weight gain as you age is to accept the fact that you will indeed add weight. When you have accepted this fact, you will be more motivated towards fighting it.