When you're trying to lose weight, the last thing you want to think about are all the delicious foods you're trying to cut back on. Give yourself a break with calorie-slashing tricks that require little thought or effort...
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Millions of Americans read diet books and watch weight loss competitions on TV. It might come as a surprise to learn that undereating can also be harmful to your health because the subject receives much less attention. Sensible dieting or intermittent fasting can be safe for most adults. However, consuming insufficient calories on a regular basis often leads to chronic fatigue and other serious issues. Are you eating enough?
Find out more about how undereating affects your body and how you can overcome it.
Fitness involves both your body and mind. To keep pounds off, you may need to change the way you think. Use these suggestions to develop your long-term game plan for sustainable weight loss.
Changing the Way You Think about Eating
1. Choose foods you like. With so many nutritious foods to choose from, there are bound to be plenty that appeal to you. If lima beans make you want to gag, try chick peas instead.
2. Eat a balanced diet. You may be able to survive for a few days on grapefruit and red onions. On the other hand, you'll need to cover every food group when you're planning for the years ahead.
3. Know your caloric needs. Many factors determine how much food you need. Calculate the target calories for yourself based on your height, weight, age, and metabolism.
4. Evaluate the impact of weight fluctuations. You'll be less tempted to get sidetracked by crash diets when you understand what they do to your body. Dramatic weight changes can increase your body fat and weaken your bones.
Changing the Way You Think about Exercise
1. Befriend your body. Appreciate your body regardless of your current size. Be grateful for all it does for you. You'll take more pleasure in being active and treating yourself well.
2. Enjoy your workouts. Select physical activities that you'll look forward to doing. Maybe you'd enjoy getting together with friends after work to shoot hoops. Maybe your idea of a good time is volleyball on the beach.
3. Plan for all seasons. Summer heat and winter storms sabotage many workout schedules. Plan alternatives you can turn to when the weather changes. Flexibility will also see you through other obstacles, such as frequent travel or illnesses.
4. Avoid injuries. Overtraining and accidents derail exercise programs too. Get adequate rest and build up the intensity of your workouts gradually.
Changing the Way You Think about Living
1. Consider your future self. It seems harmless to slack off in the short-term, but the consequences add up. Multiply two hours a day of snacking and watching TV by 365 days in a year. Imagine how much better you'd feel if you spent that time walking and preparing salads.
2. Manage stress. Keeping stress under control will enhance your sleep and reduce emotional eating. This will likely help you stay trim. Develop relaxation practices that work for you, such as meditation or listening to instrumental music.
As you grow older, it often becomes more difficult to manage your weight. However, the reasons may be different than you think. A recent study challenges the conventional wisdom about metabolism across the lifespan.
Rather than slowing down in middle age, human metabolism seems to remain stable from 20 to 60. That’s according to a groundbreaking study at Duke University.
That means you could be wasting time and money on expensive supplements and magic foods that claim to help you burn more calories. Try these suggestions, instead, for taking weight off and keeping it off after 40.
Increasing Muscle Mass - While your metabolism may remain strong for decades, your muscle mass starts decreasing sooner. The average adult loses about 3 to 5% every ten years after they turn 30. While some change is inevitable, slowing the process down can help you stay lean.
Try these tips:
1. Use resistance. The key to building strength is contracting your muscles against external resistance. Experiment with machines, free weights, and body weight exercises to see what works for you.
2. Train heavy. For faster results, make your workouts more intense. Use a weight that allows you to just barely complete your last repetition.
3. Consume adequate protein. Current guidelines recommend getting 10 to 35% of your calories from protein, and many experts prefer the upper range. Some studies suggest that eating a protein-rich meal or snack within 2 hours after working out is especially helpful.
4. Schedule rest days. Your muscles grow while you’re recovering in between workouts. You can take it easy or do easier activities like hiking.
Other Tips for Losing Weight After 40 - Aging affects your body weight in other ways too. Increases in insulin resistance lead to excess sugar being stored as fat. Hormonal changes play a role too, especially for women after menopause. On top of that, your lifestyle may become more sedentary.
Using these strategies can help:
1. Choose whole foods. Satisfy your hunger with natural foods rich in nutrients and fiber and low in added sugar and salt. Smart choices include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
2. Drink water. It’s easy to confuse thirst with hunger. Staying hydrated will enhance your digestion and help you feel full.
3. Limit alcohol. Many cocktails contain a lot of empty calories and any alcohol can lower your resistance to junk food. If you drink, practice moderation.
4. Sleep well. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night is important for your overall wellbeing. Stick to a regular bedtime that allows you to wake up naturally feeling refreshed.
5. Weigh yourself. The average adult gains 1 to 2 pounds each year. Using a scale or tape measure at least once a week gives you a chance to make easy corrections before the doughnuts add up.
6. Move around. How many hours a day do you spend sitting? In addition to regular exercise, take a break to stretch and walk around each half hour anytime you’re at your desk or watching TV.
7. Seek support. Changing your habits is easier when you have your family and friends on your side. Invite your loved ones to join you in preparing nutritious meals at home and sticking to a workout program.
8. See your doctor. If you need more help, talk with your doctor about your personal situation. For example, a thyroid screening can catch issues that cause weight gain, fatigue, and depression in many adults over 35.
Staying slim after 40 takes a little effort, but the benefits are huge. You lower your risk for many serious health conditions and increase your chances for living a long and active life.
Achieving your weight loss goal feels so good! There’s nothing like seeing and feeling the unquestionable results of your hard work. Now, if only you could maintain that accomplishment.
Sometimes the challenges you face with maintaining achieved weight loss goals boil down to simple changes in your diet.
Certain foods are deal-breakers when it comes to staying at your healthy weight, so it’s smart to avoid them. So which foods fall into the category of pesky weight gainers?
These foods are some of the most notorious deal-breakers:
1. Soda. Most sodas, including some of the "sugarless" ones, have so many calories it’s alarming! As you know, excessive sugar intake quickly contributes to weight gain.
- A typical 20 ounce can of soda contains an average of 16 teaspoons of sugar, which is way more that you’d want to consume in your day to day eating.
- Choose less toxic options like water, coconut water and naturally extracted juices.
2. Snacks with hydrogenated oil. Not only does hydrogenated oil result in a buildup of fat in the body, but it’s also known to increase risk of heart disease. Most snacks, whether sweet or salty, contain hydrogenated oil. From potato chips to chocolate chip cookies, you’re bound to pump this oil into your body by eating them.
- Choose healthier snack options like nuts, which consist of healthy fats. Other great choices for snacks include veggie bites, fruit salads and granola.
3. Whole dairy. One cup of whole milk contains 5 grams of saturated fat, which can wreak havoc in your body.
- Because dairy does have benefits like high protein and calcium, you might opt for low fat versions like 1% milk and low fat yogurt and cheese.
- Remember that some prepared foods contain dairy, so be vigilant with those options as well.
4. Refined grains. Refined grains are found in foods like white rice, and they cause drastic sugar spikes, which result in weight gain. Since there are so many alternatives to refined grains, you may be more than comfortable in getting rid of them altogether.
- Opt for brown rice instead of white rice. It goes through less processing and has the fibrous benefits associated with whole grains.
- Other products like quinoa and couscous are great substitutes for rice.
5. Processed food. You can basically define processed food as anything “unnatural.” These foods are filled with preservatives to extend the life of the product. They’re also usually full of sugar, fat and carbohydrates – all elements which contribute directly to weight gain.
- Eliminate packaged foods as much as possible to lessen your exposure to unwanted fat and sugar.
- Replace processed foods with options found in natural food stores or organic farms.
- If processed food somehow ends up in your home, read the label diligently and ensure the listed sugars, fats and carbohydrates don’t exceed your daily allowance.
Within weeks of getting rid of these foods, you’ll see a marked difference in your weight loss maintenance. Give yourself the chance to really enjoy the fruits of your labor.
