Move More Once You Hit Midlife Say Experts
Weight gain may feel like its inevitable once youve entered your fourth decade, but the truth is, it doesnt have to be. Natural hormonal changes mean you may start to notice symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings, but you dont need to idly accept that the number on the bathroom scale will steadily creep up, too.
RELATED: Weight Gain Around Menopause Is Linked to Lack of Sleep
Heres whats going on with your body if elastic-waist pants are now your go-to fashion staple: Weight distribution changes as you hit menopause, with the added pounds accumulating right around your belly. I named the extra fat that collects around your middle the menopot, says Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, author of Body for Life for Women.
RELATED: Women Who Reach Menopause Before Age 40 Face Higher Risk for Future Heart Disease
What we did when we were 30 and what we do when were 60 is very different, says Kathryn A. Boling, MD, a family medicine physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. We have to adjust our exercise some as we get older. If youve lost some gusto, create incentives for yourself to stay moving. I have an Apple Watch, and I like to see that circle closed, she says. Peeke says you dont have to go to a gym, but you do need to do enough strength training to keep your muscles strong and your metabolism revved. Try activities that have you lifting, pushing, and pulling, she says.
How To Flatten Your Stomach If You Are Over 50 Years Old
After 50, you’re facing an uphill battle in losing the fat around the middle of your body — largely in part due to the physical changes you’re going through. You’ve probably heard that post-menopausal women will tend to gain more fat around the middle, but it happens to men, too. Male menopause, or “andropause,” can result in increased body fat, as well as sleep disturbances and emotional changes, says MayoClinic.com. Losing belly fat is going to be more challenging than it’s been in the past, but with a solid exercise and diet regimen, you can achieve success.
1
Determine how many calories you should be consuming daily, based on your gender, age and your weight, using an online calorie estimator. Losing fat means reducing the number of calories you’re consuming, so reduce the number you get by 200 to 300 calories to achieve a caloric deficit.
2
3
4
References
Keep Whole Grains In Your Diet
You don’t have to go low-carb to ditch those extra pounds around your waist in a short period of time.
To get rid of belly fat, ditch refined grains like white bread and white rice, and eat more whole grains such as:
- Oatmeal
- Barley
- Farro
In fact, opting for more whole grains might just get you there faster. Researchers at Tufts University have linked eating three or more daily servings of whole grains to as much as a 10 percent reduction in visceral body fat, the kind that ups your risk for chronic diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Read Also: Why Do I Only Gain Weight In My Stomach
Flavor Your Food With Garlic
A little garlic in your meals could mean a lot less weight around your middle. The results of a Korean study found that mice given a high-fat diet supplemented with garlic lost significantly more weight and abdominal fat than those who just ate fatty foods. Even better, they also improved their liver health, making it easier to stay healthy and burn off that excess fat in the long term. For more flavorful ways to make your food more enjoyable, turn to the metabolism-boosting spicy recipes and watch those pounds melt away.
Reducing Belly Fat After 50
Does the size of your mid-section impact how long you will live?
Read on here for the answer and also to learn tricks that are effective in reducing belly fat after 50, whether you are a man or woman.
The good news first: reducing even just two inches of your waist size can effectually improve your overall health a lot. And here is shocking news: the risk of dying rises nearly 25% for each additional 4 inches of waist size. Now dont think that you cant lose belly fat after 50. Yes, you can shed pounds & get rid of belly fat even after 50, but really it just takes more exercise & dietary diligence than it did when you were younger!
You May Like: How Can You Cure Stomach Cancer
Shrink Belly Fat With Tai Chi Or Quigong
Maybe youve never tried it or perhaps youve seen a group of people practicing tai chi together in a public park but a recent research study from Hong Kong showed that this Chinese discipline of low-impact meditative movements could help trim waistlines in middle aged and older adults. This study, published in the June 2021 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, found that people age 50 and older with central obesity who practiced tai chi for 12 weeks shrunk their bellies as successfully as those who participated in aerobic exercise and strength training for the same amount of time. The study authors wrote that tai chi health benefits similar to those of conventional exercise and thus provides an alternative and more amenable exercise modality for middle-aged and older adults to manage central obesity.
With Extra Effort You Can Lose Belly Fat
Around the time of menopause, estrogen levels drop and fat redistributes away from the lower body, where it served as a fuel reserve for childbirth and breastfeeding, to the abdomen. This fat that expands your belly is likely visceral, or intra-abdominal fat, surrounding internal organs. It increases the risk of disease.
You may think you can’t lose belly fat after 50, but really it just takes more exercise and dietary diligence than it did when you were younger. As you age, your energy expenditure lowers because you naturally lose lean muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat. Sarcopenia, this natural loss of muscle, begins in your 30s and continues throughout your later years you lose about 1 pound of muscle every year.
As a result, your body becomes less efficient at burning fat and calories. Your metabolic rate reduces by about 2 percent per decade after age 25. At 50, your metabolism is approximately 5 percent slower than it was when your were 25. Physically inactive women will see the greatest effects of sarcopenia, but because it’s based on factors of aging, even active women will notice its effects slightly. For these reasons, it takes extra calorie-burning efforts and calorie trimming to get results.
Don’t Miss: What’s Good For An Upset Stomach To Eat
Evaluate Your Family History
In her practice, Dr. Comite conducts tests to help her patients target and treat issues that affect their health and vitality as they age. But simply knowing your family health history is the next best thing. “If you know that there is a history of diabetes in your family,” Dr. Comite says, “then you know to ask your doctor to screen for that condition.”
If possible, talk to your family members to get a better understanding of health issues that may run through your bloodline. For family members who are deceased, obtaining their death certificates can provide some additional insight as to whether they died from a specific disease.
Medical issues that can have a genetic or family-related lifestyle component include:
New Research About Waist Size For People Over Age 50
Slimmer waist size increases odds of a longer life, says new research.
A recent New York Times article revealed the connection between waist size and longevity in the results of a research study by epidemiologist Dr. Eric Jacobs.
The doctor and his research team tracked 48,500 men and 56,343 women, over age 50, from 1997 to 2006.
What they discovered is fascinating.
The upshot is: having a large waist size doubles the risk of dying.
The results from the research establish that its important to your lifespan and vitality to have a tight waist.
Read Also: Does Laser Skin Tightening Work On Stomach
Ways To Lose Belly Fat Fast And Keep It Off For Good
Its pretty common for men to pack some extra poundage around their midsection. In fact, the average man is about 24lbs heavier today than men in 1960, according to stats from The State of Obesityand the figures are rising. Weve seen slimmer days, but dont think this is a grim sentence, dooming you to eternal chubbiness. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of ways for you to burn belly fatfast.
The fact of the matter is battling the bulge takes different strategies and approaches depending upon your genetics, your metabolism, your willpower, etc. What works for your buddy wont necessarily be your be-all and end-all solution. To simplify things, we compiled plenty of tips to help rev your metabolism, lose your love handles, and unsheathe your abs. Youll have to do some trial and error to deduce which ones work best for you . But if you put in the work , youll be well on your way to a smaller waistline. Who said your glory days were in the past?
The 20 Best Ways To Lose Weight After 50
For many people, maintaining a healthy weight or losing excess body fat can become harder as the years go by.
Unhealthy habits, a mostly sedentary lifestyle, poor dietary choices, and metabolic changes can all contribute to weight gain after the age of 50 .
However, with a few simple adjustments, you can lose weight at any age regardless of your physical capabilities or medical diagnoses.
Here are the 20 best ways to lose weight after 50.
Don’t Miss: What Is Pain In Right Side Of Stomach
Add More Lean Protein In Your Diet To Lose Weight
Including plenty of good quality protein in your diet will not only help with weight loss but will help slow muscle loss.
Older women have higher protein needs than those of their younger counterparts and it is shown that eating a protein rich diet can not only prevent but reverse muscle loss that occurs at this time in your life.
A bonus of eating protein is that it keeps you feeling fuller for longer meaning you are less likely to snack.
Stress Builds A Big Belly
During your middle years, stresses from work, financial, family and social issues may increase, leading to greater production of the stress hormone cortisol. You may find yourself mindlessly eating more often or snacking on high-fat, high-sugar foods to appease your worried mind. This stress eating has dire consequences, as these extra calories go straight to your belly, which is rife with cortisol receptors that stimulate fat production. Stress makes it more likely that youll develop belly fat, instead of those pounds appearing elsewhere on your body.
If you are stressed, look for non-food ways to soothe yourself such as yoga, meditation or mini-vacations. When you do find yourself stress eating, choose healthy snacks such as woven wheat crackers with low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt or hummus with cut-up vegetables.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Severe Stomach Cramps
Never Forbid Yourself A Favorite Food
Heres a shocker: When a group of U.K. researchers told 30 women to avoid chocolate, then packed them into a room filled with the stuff the women were much more likely to sneak a bite than individuals who hadnt been given the order. Blame the allure of the forbidden: The more you tell yourself you cant eat something you love, the more youre going to want it.
Proven Ways To Lose Stubborn Belly Fat After Age 50
There is good news about life after age 50:
- losing even just two inches off of your waist can dramatically improve your health overall.
Now, for the startling news:
- the risk of dying increases about 25% for each additional four inches of waist size.
Its shocking and scary, I know, but there you have it.
Fortunately, there are solutions for reducing your waist size, even if youre over age 50. What follows are proven solutions for shrinking stubborn belly fat and also a motivational video lower within this article.
Read Also: How To Heal Your Stomach Lining
Drinking Too Much Coffee
If you’re someone who depends on that second, third, or fourth cup of java to fuel you through your workday, listen up: overdoing it on the caffeinated drinks can not only make you jittery but also potentially promote visceral fat.
“While a serving of coffee or tea can give someone a dose of energy in the morning, excess amounts can spike the cortisol, the stress hormone,” says Victoria Coglianese, RD. “Too much cortisol over time signals your body to store visceral fat.”
Try to stick to one cup of coffee in the morning, says Coglianese, and then reach for less caffeinated alternatives like unsweetened iced tea when you need another mid-morning boost.
“95% of Americans miss the mark on the 25 to 38 grams of fiber recommended per day,” says Harris-Pincus.
So, why is this a problem? Jinan Banna, PhD, RD and professor of nutrition, points out that when you don’t get enough fiber in the morning, you don’t stay full for very long. That increases the likelihood that you’ll reach for potentially unhealthy snacks that promote visceral fat once those inevitable hunger pangs kick in.
Soluble fiber, in particular, helps slow down the movement of food from the stomach to the intestines so you stay fuller for longer. And a 2012 study in Obesity found that increasing daily soluble fiber intake by 10 grams reduced the risk of gaining visceral fat by up to 3.7%.
How I Got Leaner After Age 50 In 3 Steps
Many years ago, on a pleasant weekend afternoon when I was 40 years old, my friend Kirsten took a picture of me sitting on the floor playing with her toddler.
Later, she mailed me a print of the photo within a greeting card.
When I opened that envelope and looked at the photo, I was stunned!
In the photograph, I looked like I was carrying a few bowling balls under my polo shirt or like I was pregnant!
I had no idea that things had gotten so out of hand. I guess all that pizza had caught up with me.
Has that ever happened to you, where you see a photo of yourself or your passing reflection in a window, and you dont even recognize yourself?
As alarming as that photo might have been at the time, it was one of the best things that could have happened. It encouraged me to see my health more realistically and inspired me to begin the journey of getting more fit.
Read Also: Can You Lose Weight By Rubbing Your Stomach
Stay In The Moment And Stop Rushing Off To Do Things
Focusing on just one thing seems so 1980! Who does that? We have texts to read and send, emails to check, selfies to take, and a whole host of other things that take us away from the moment at hand. This one. Now this one
Stay in the moment, and youre likely to have less belly fat, according to a study from the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Focus on the moment at hand, breathe, and take in your surroundings instead of constantly rushing off to do things. Unconsciously, you may find yourself slipping into a smaller pair of pants.
Say Goodbye To Belly Fat After Menopause With These 7 Effective Exercises
| Listen to this article |
During menopause, one common thing most women notice is the accumulation of belly fat. Yes, it can have a significant impact on your confidence and make you feel frustrated. The fact that the belly is the toughest area in the body to tone up only makes the problem bigger.
Its important to remember that with regular exercise, it is possible to get rid of all that belly fat. Apart from a good diet and proper sleep, you will need to workout on a regular basis to tone up the tummy.
Here are 7 easy and effective exercises to help you deal with belly fat during menopause:
1. Jumping rope
Rope jumping is a fairly efficient type of cardio exercise! In fact, it is the best way to burn calories and belly fat. It helps to tone your calves, tighten your core, build stamina and improve your lung capacity. Whats more, it also strengthens the muscles of your legs, butt, shoulder, arms, and belly.
Tip: Do it for 15 minutes daily.
2. Pilates
Pilates is known to strengthen muscles and tone up the body. The best part is that it is specifically designed to build core strength and improve flexibility. Hence, it helps to reduce belly fat by increasing the fat-burning efficiency of the body and at the same time, toning up the area.
3. Boat pose
4. Bicycle crunch
5. Plank
6. Leg raise
7. Steady-state cardio exercises
So, ladies, try these exercises to cut down that stubborn belly fat!
Aayushi Gupta
Recommended Reading: What To Eat After Stomach Ache
Swap Ketchup For Salsa
Sure, ketchup is tasty, but it’s also a serious saboteur when it comes your weight loss efforts. Ketchup is loaded with sugar up to four grams per tablespoon and bears little nutritional resemblance to the fruit from which it’s derived. Luckily, swapping out your ketchup for salsa can help you shave off that belly fat at home without a diet. Fresh tomatoes, like those used in salsa, are loaded with lycopene, which a study conducted at China Medical University in Taiwan links to reductions in both overall fat and waist circumference. If you like your salsa spicy, all the better the capsaicin in hot peppers, like jalapeños and chipotles, can boost your metabolism, too.