Why Losing Weight After 50 Is Different
Is it harder to lose weight over 50? While it may seem harder, it’s actually just different. The things you did when you were in your 20s or 30s aren’t as useful anymore when it comes to dropping those pounds and keeping them off. That doesn’t mean losing weight can’t be part of a healthy aging plan, though.
If you find you have a few extra pounds, then know you are not alone. An estimated 15 million older adults meet the qualifications for obesity. It is one of the top leading and most preventable causes of death in the United States.
Being overweight after your 50th birthday increases your risk of developing chronic illnesses such as diabetes. A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who are already obese at age 50 or who gain 20 or more pounds after that birthday are five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Other chronic illnesses to worry about include:
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Certain cancers
It’s not clear why obesity is a contributing factor to chronic illness. One possible explanation for this increased risk is inflammation. Some scientists believe that inflammation is at the heart of most disease processes. Overeating can trigger inflammation.
It might also be that there is an association between being overweight and unhealthy habits like eating lots of sweets and fat. These same things are contributors to the high cholesterol and high blood sugar that put you at risk in the first place. Eating processed foods and going through the drive-through increases your risk of both weight gain and conditions like colon cancer, too.
Losing weight, even as little as 10 percent of your body weight, can reduce your risk significantly, but is that possible? Yes, you just may have to do things a little differently as you work to drop those pounds.
What Does It Take to Lose Weight?
There is one thing that doesn’t change no matter what your age -- weight loss is a math game. In order to lose one pound, you must burn 3,500 calories more than you eat. In other words, if you burn 500 more calories each day than you eat, you will lose one pound of weight in a week.
The opposite is true, though, too. If you eat 500 more calories a day than you burn, you will gain one pound in a week. And not all calories are created equally. Fat calories count as nine calories. So, when you see fat calories on a nutrition label, what you are actually getting is nine times that number of those calories. A product that lists 25 fat calories means you are eating an additional 225 calories and not just what they are showing on the label as the "calories per serving."
All that is true no matter how old you are, so what changes after you turn 50? It’s how your body burns calories.
Why is Losing Weight After Age 50 Different?
There is no single answer to this question, but there are changes in the body that mean you must approach weight management differently as you age.
Decrease of Muscle Mass
One of the biggest problems is people tend to lose muscle mass as they age at a rate of 1 percent each year — that’s 10 percent in just ten years. Muscle burns more calories, so if you have a low muscle mass, you have a lower metabolism.
That’s not inevitable, though. For most people, the loss of muscle mass occurs because they slow down. They simply don’t move as much as they used to for whatever reason. They may have achy joints, so they spend less time at the gym. Maybe they traded their physically active jobs out for something behind a desk.
Whatever the reason, the fix is pretty straightforward. Get moving again. Strength training becomes even more important as you grow older because it helps you retain some of that shrinking muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more efficiently your body burns calories.
It’s important to do the right kinds of exercise, though, ones that are friendly to your joints. Ideally, you want low-impact exercises that will help build muscle mass but keep your joints safe.
Fewer Daily Calories Burned
The body burns fewer calories as you get older, so your diet should reflect that, as well. If you keep eating the same diet as you did when you were 20, then you will gain weight as you get older, especially if you become less active.
What you eat is just as important as how much. Individuals focusing on over 50 health need a low-carb diet that is rich in protein and vegetables. Protein is the building block for muscle, so it plays a vital role in protecting muscle mass.
The Gender Gap
Although both men and women struggle with their weight after age 50, women do have an extra challenge. They go through hormonal changes at this time associated with menopause, and the body making much less of key hormones like estrogen. The decrease in estrogen levels can shift fat distribution, so it seems like women gain more weight than men.
An increase in abdominal fat ups your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, as well. This is why doctors focus more on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, as opposed to weight. BMI is how much you weigh compared to your height. Maintaining a healthy BMI is a better indicator of overall health. Waist circumference indicates how much of your fat is around your belly.
Healthy Aging Strategy
Now that you know why losing weight after 50 is different, what can you do about it? Another thing that doesn’t change with age — being healthy means eating right and exercising. The first step is to take a hard look at your diet.
Diet Changes
When it comes to making necessary changes in your diet, start slow and build. It is important to eat foods that release hunger-suppressing hormones that will help keep you satisfied. Choose to eat high quality foods like protein, vegetables and natural fats.
Your diet should consist of extra protein and low carbs. The average American diet consists of about 16 percent protein which is a great source of vitamins and minerals. That will help build back muscle that you have lost and maintain what you have at the same time. A 2017 study out of McGill University Health Centre found that consuming equal parts protein in each meal can mean more muscle strength in older adults.
It’s not always easy to manage a healthy diet plan. Finding an app like Mighty Health, a fitness app for older adults, makes it possible, though. The app does more than just keep track of your calories; it also gives you a customized grocery shopping list. A dedicated health coach will work with you to make sure that you are eating right and enjoying your meals at the same time. They provide one-on-one guidance that can keep you motivated and teach you how to eat low-carb. It is a great source of motivation, too.
Drink Plenty of Water
With aging, the signals the body uses to let you know when you need to drink water get weaker. It’s important that older adults keep track of their water intake and make sure they are getting fluids even when they are not thirsty.
Thirst is not the only indicator that you need to drink water. Instead, watch for some other telltale signs like:
Dry skin
Decreased urination
Dizziness
Dehydration is widespread in people over age 50, so make sure you add some extra water to your diet plan as well as healthy meals.
Exercise Regularly
Your exercise routine should consist of both low-impact aerobics and strength training. It is easy to let those achy joints convince you to stop working out, but the truth is that pain gets worse the more you sit. Building up muscle to help support those joints takes some of the pressure off them and eases your pain.
Look for any opportunity to build muscle, too. You can do resistance training with resistance bands or weights. Low-impact workouts such as swimming or walking also help to create muscle. And it doesn’t take much to see and feel the benefits. Lifting weights just twice a week could add up to three pounds of muscle in 10 weeks.
If you are not sure of how to approach exercise, then, once again, turn to a healthy fitness app like Mighty Health for guidance. Mighty Health works with some of the top-rated certified trainers. They can provide you with exercises that you can do anywhere at any time of day. They are easy to follow and will make staying active a little more fun.
How to Maintain Weight After Weight Loss
When you do manage to lose some weight, how can you keep it off? The changes you make to how you eat and exercise plan need to be lifestyle choices, not just dieting. If you start getting an appetite for unhealthy foods again or stop exercising, the pounds will come back. There are things you can do to make these lifestyle changes more enjoyable, though. These are your golden years, so have some fun with them.
For example:
Take a healthy cooking class - When you learn how to cook well, you will be inspired to do it, which means eating more at home and less out. Taking a class is an excellent way to meet people who also want to maintain a healthy lifestyle too.
Find activities you enjoy - It’s essential to enjoy the activities you do, so you keep doing them. If working out starts to feel like a chore, you are more likely to stop. Walking, swimming, bike riding — find something you love to do to keep yourself active. Also, add some variety to your routines. If you bike twice a week, then do something else on the other days, so you don't get bored.
Get enough sleep - Sleep has a lot more to do with maintaining a healthy weight than many realize. Studies show that poor sleep may lead to weight gain. It’s a kind of vicious cycle because excess weight can interfere with sleep, too. Make sure you are going to bed and getting up at the same time every day to help improve your quality of sleep.
Most likely, it will be a combination of things that has you losing weight over 50. Mighty Health can be part of that strategy. We offer heart-healthy nutrition plans, an online health coach, and low-impact exercises that will keep you motivated and feeling good about growing older. Try the app free today!
