Why It s Harder to Lose Weight as You Age (Los Angeles, CA)

Why It s Harder to Lose Weight as You Age

Why It s Harder to Lose Weight as You AgeLift weights learn to cook and monitor your caloric intake to shed pounds. While you can t do anything to slow the passage of time there are steps you can take to lose weight as you age. Experts recommend these strategies In Your 30s 40s and 50s Learn to cook and plan your meals. Have you ever picked up a quick dinner of burgers and fries from the nearest fast-food outlet because you had to work late to meet a deadline Fast food is typically highly processed and poor in nutrients. It s also often high in calories sugar sodium and unwanted additives Adam says. Consequently eating meals from fast-food outlets won t help your efforts to shed pounds. If you learn to cook and to plan your meals out a few days in advance you can avoid impromptu stops at greasy burger joints Adam says. She suggests taking a cooking class to learn how to prepare healthy meals that focus on fresh vegetables and healthy sources of protein. Learn how to make enough food for more than one day at a time you can refrigerate the food so you ll have healthy meals prepared and no need to make a spur of the moment fast-food run.Lose Weight. Money Back GuaranteedMillions of pounds lost. Countless lives changed.It s weight loss perfected. Order today. Shop Plans> Do weight-bearing exercises. Lifting weights helps you maintain muscle mass which becomes increasingly important as you move from young adulthood into middle age Boling says. Maintaining your muscle mass helps you burn more calories. If you have less muscle mass you burn fewer calories she says. Maintaining your muscle mass also helps cut down the chances of sustaining injuries. She recommends doing exercise with free weights and resistance machines.Make physical activity a family affair. Having a spouse and children doesn t have to interrupt your exercise regimen Adam says. For instance if you re part of a pickup hoops game shoot baskets with your significant other or child before or after the contest. You can ride bikes with your partner or with your kids. Look for opportunities to make exercise a family activity. For example some triathlons also have a fun run for kids. Introducing your kids to exercise could also encourage them to adopt their own workout regimens that they ll continue into adulthood. In the long run this can lead to lower obesity rates Adam says. Monitor your caloric intake. You might be able to get away with not counting your calories in your 20s. But as you move into your 30s and 40s and the number of calories you need drops it s a good idea to keep track of your caloric intake says Audra Wilson a clinical dietitian with the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center. A typical sedentary 60-year-old woman should consume 1 600 calories daily while a sedentary man of the same age should have 2 200 calories a day according to federal government dietary guidelines. Your ideal weight range depends in part on your height. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has an online tool that you can use to calculate your BMI and check whether you re overweight for your height. To keep track of calories read food labels and check restaurant menus for calorie counts per item. Some grocery store hot bars and salad bars also post calorie counts for prepared items. There are free apps like MyFitnessPal that help keep track of daily calorie intake. Expert Who Recommend the Nutrisystem DietsMichael Greger (Physician author and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition food safety and public health issues) A founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Michael Greger M.D. FACLM is a physician author and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition food safety and public health issues. He has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs testified before Congress and was invited as an expert witness in the defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous meat defamation trial. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. His latest book How Not to Die became an instant New York Times best-seller. He has videos on more than 2 000 health topics freely available at NutritionFacts.org with new videos and articles uploaded every day.Healthy LivingView Menu > In Your 60s 70s and BeyondSplit entree portions at restaurants. Going out to eat remains a major part of socializing for people in their 60s 70s and beyond. Unfortunately many restaurant portions are large particularly if you re at an age where you need fewer calories Gomer says. Eating out is a disaster she says. Restaurants give us giant portions laden with salt sugar and fat. (They offer) lots of (highly caloric) wine bread fried foods and dessert. When you dine out split your entree particularly protein servings with a fellow diner she advises. If you re eating alone ask for a half-portion and take the rest home in a box. Servings of animal protein shouldn t be more than 4 ounces per meal.Don t dine out when you re (too) hungry. Hunger can sabotage the best intentions so before you go out for a meal eat something healthy Gomer advises. Munching on a piece of fresh fruit or a handful of nuts can help you avoid temptation while you re hungry. Or order something healthy as soon as you re seated such as a salad a crudit (a raw vegetable) or fruit as soon as you re seated she says.Order a healthy dessert. You don t have to abstain from dessert while your fellow diners order cake pie or ice cream Gomer says. Many restaurants have healthy dessert options like fresh berries a fruit cocktail or sorbet with fresh fruit. Order a healthy dessert option to avoid tasting from other people s high-fat and sugar-laden choices Gomer says.Remain active. As they move beyond middle age into their later years many men and women have to contend with chronic health issues such as diabetes high blood pressure heart disease and depression Adam says. In that phase of life you may not be able to maintain the same level of physical activity you did in middle age but you can and should keep moving Adam says. You can make adjustments like playing half-court hoops instead of full-court or walking vigorously in place of running. Take advantage of special discounts for older athletes. For example some ski facilities offer free lift tickets for skiers older than 70. And you should continue to do weight work.Maintain good eating habits. Whether you re still cooking or not you should keep a healthy eating regimen. That means consuming lots of fresh vegetables fresh fruits healthy carbohydrates (like whole-grain foods) and adequate amounts of protein Adam says. Don t give up on the idea of staying in shape. I ve seen lots of super-healthy 90-year-olds Adam says.Our healthy living team crafts healthier versions of your favorite foods.View Plans>