10 Easy Ways for Seniors to Lose Weight
It's important not to fixate on weight and let it control our lives. But, sometimes, losing a few pounds is a necessary step to improving our overall health. Making this change in your life should be gradual, as shocking your body is never healthy. Moreover, any weight loss should come from healthy lifestyle choices, instead of fad diets or obsessive behaviours.
Here are ten handy tips to help you lose the weight healthily over time:
- A Balanced Diet—You should not consume nutrients in isolation. For example, while butter is not the healthiest choice, a piece of bread with butter is better than a plain piece of bread is. Simply put, butter contains protein, so it slows down the rate at which the carbohydrate (bread) breaks down and turns to sugar in your body.
- Regular Eating—There exists a ubiquitous misconception that you should not snack. In truth, you can improve your basal metabolic rate—the amount of energy your body uses when you rest—by eating three meals daily and snaking regularly. The latter provides your body with adequate fuel and also ensures that you do not overeat at meals. Just make sure that you choose a healthy snack.
- Avoid Calorie Snacks—First, balance and proper nutrient consumption is a lot more important than the number of calories that you consume. Second, eating a 100-calorie pack of junk food, for example, will not satisfy you. But, most importantly, it will just represent wasted calories, as your body will not have much use for it. Replace diet snacks, which are usually loaded with harmful chemicals, with more nutritious snacks, like yogurt and fruit.
- Water Aerobics—Water forces your muscles to work with a lot more resistance than they could handle on land. As such, water aerobics is a great way to burn calories, while increasing your muscle mass. In short, you reduce your body fat index.
- Walking—Walking for at least 45 minutes daily is a really simple way to shed calories.
- Golf—Live Strong notes that walking the course, instead of using a cart, is ideal. However, merely swinging clubs can tone your muscles and burn some calories.
- Strength Training—Putting on muscle is an important part of raising your metabolism. Adding muscle burns calories, so any growth in this department will lower your weight. Moreover, muscles do not need as much space on your body as fat does, so increasing your muscle mass will result in your body fat percentage dropping. However, before strength training, you should consult an expert in the field to make sure that your program and form are safe.
- Flexibility Training—Becoming more flexible will positively affect any other type of exercise or daily activity. Yoga and Pilates are great options here.
- Posture—Dr. James Emmetet tells Canadian Living, "If we can teach them about body posture, that can have a widespread effect. Because they’re carrying themselves better it takes tension off the whole body and everything starts to flow better.”
- Rest—After a hard day or a grueling workout, take a break. In short, if you do not rest sufficiently, your future exercise sessions will be less effective.
Regardless of how you choose to get active, these simple ways to lose weight can help you to effectively adjust your lifestyle for better overall health and wellness.
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What are some of your weight loss tips? Share them in the Comments section below!
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