You can still look fit and fabulous at 50 just like you did when you were 40. Some living proofs of this who are just going to turn 50 this year are Taraji P. Henson, Tina Fey, and Kelly Ripa. Although stars do have their own personal trainers and nutrition coaches, once they reach this milestone age in their lives they will still have to work a bit harder to lose the extra weight.
Why you need to put in extra effort? Well, this is because as you age your body composition changes. After 35 years, you begin losing muscle mass at an average of 3-5% for every 10 years. This also has an effect on how your body burns fat. Your middle age sore muscles, metabolism shifts, and stiff joints can all be countered with the help of these low-impact workouts and diet tweaks where you can finally lose weight after 50
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After celebrating your turning of a half-century, the next stop should be the doctor’s office. Luiza Petre, M.D., a New York City-based weight loss and management specialist and assistant clinical professor of cardiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine says that your doctor will be able to assess your current state of health and address any health problems that could be affecting your weight such as sleep apnea or pre-diabetes. Moreover, your doctor will also help in making a plan for exercise and your diet. Your doctor might recommend a physical therapist or personal trainer for you.
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Have your doctor also check your hormone levels because when we age, our hormones like testosterone, progesterone, and others begin declining. This in turn makes our body more inclined towards storing fat rather than losing it. If you just get your thyroid, adrenal glands, and other hormone levels checked out, and then take the appropriate steps to bring them back into balance, you can reverse this and make your body continue losing weight even at 50.
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When trying to lose weight after 50, it would really hard to believe if you come out and openly declare that you are going to lose 20 pounds before going on your next beach vacation. According to Dr. Petre, being honest with yourself and making life changes takes courage and mental fortitude. Make your goals more achievable by breaking the big goals into smaller ones. If you focus on the positive changes and how you are feeling you will stay motivated and persistent in reaching your goals. Small triumphs will boost your courage and will eventually amount to larger achievements.
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You will find dozens of different eating plans all over the internet which claim to help you in shedding those extra pounds without feeling deprived of food. The Mediterranean Diet, the DASH Diet, and WW Freestyle have been considered as some of the best weight loss diets in 2020. Consult your dietitian to find out which one will work best for your lifestyle, as a dietitian will only be able to break down the pros and cons of every diet and help you in choosing the one most suited for your nutritional requirements and goals. You can also get ideas from an RD on how you can overcome the obstacles in the way of your goals such as food sensitivities, meal-prep fatigue, emotional/stress eating, and nutritional deficiencies.
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When you try to lose weight after 50 you already know that fad diets don’t exactly work as well as they claim they do. Instead of cutting out fats, proteins, or complex carbohydrates, and crazy fasts, or cleanses, simply follow a medically supervised and clinically proven plan. As per Dr. Petre’s explanation, such weight-loss plans or programs have a success rate of more than 75%, and more so if personal support and weekly check-ins are involved.
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If you are new and have never picked up a dumbbell in your life, then it would be wise to have a trainer guide and supervise our exercises to avoid injuring yourself. The secret to losing weight when you are over 50 is by building muscle mass which will help to increase your metabolism, since at his age you have 20% less muscle mass as compared to when you were 20. However, with a well-structured weight-training routine, you can find a way to counter this. It will help your body regain its ability to lose weight as you did when you were 20. Lift weights at least twice a week. Regardless of whether you use your own bodyweight, free weights, or machines, it won’t harm you to lift every day either. Just remember to work out all the different muscle groups or to train differently each day.
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A Los Angeles-based persona trainer named Janna Lowell, has said that she gets the best results from her clients who are 50-something, especially when she makes them do some cross training in the pool. You cannot get a great workout when you are having tired joints, since some people can give up on exercising completely due to aches and pains. Since water exercises are easy on the joint, it is the best for them. It even boosts range of motion. In the water, your caloric expenditure is also much more about 30% greater than on land. This is because of the water resistance. If there isn’t a pool at your gym then do cycling, dancing, kayaking, or yoga as these are all effective low-impact cardiovascular exercises.
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Don’t let your exhaustion or aching joints stop you from making the effort to take time out and squeeze into your sports bra and head to the gym. But, one of the biggest pet peeves among 50-year-olds is that they think that just by showing up they are working out, and thus don’t give it their all. At 50, you will really have to be more focused on whatever exercise you are doing. You need to push yourself harder to break a sweat, or at least complete the full range of motion of certain exercises. If you aren’t sure whether you are doing a move properly then ask your trainer to oversee your movements. In doing so, it will actually make a difference in making the most of your exercise time to achieve your weight loss goals.
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Your body is not the same as it was when you were 30, which is why your metabolism has changed as well. Now, you will be burning about 250 calories lesser, each day. If you continue eating like how you did when you were 30 without exercising more then you will gain weight quicker than before. To avoid this, eliminate all junk foods from your diet and replace them with more fruits vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains which can cut calories without making you feel deprived.
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When you are 50, you don’t exactly have to be mindful about staying out late. However, hormonal changes from menopause can keep you awake at 2 a.m. staring at the ceiling/ Still, do your best to at least get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep every night as this is the key to helping you lose weight. According to Dr. Petre, the two hormones responsible for regulating appetite- ghrelin and leptin tend to go into overdrive if you don’t get sufficient sleep regularly. This will lead you to poor food choices as it triggers excessive hunger in your body thereby making you gain weight at any age.