How to Lose Weight in Middle Age?
Time slips away and the younger years pass quickly. As you age, there are subtle changes that occur in your body that can lead to weight gain. It’s not easy for middle age people to lose weight, but it’s not impossible to do so. By understanding the changes that are taking place in your body and then taking targeted steps, you can effectively control your weight and improve your health.
Causes of Obesity in Middle Age
People will gain weight in middle age, especially in the middle section – waist and abdomen, hips and thighs – more fat can not be shaken off. A bloated body affects the figure not to mention, more importantly, it will increase the risk of various chronic diseases.
The main causes of obesity are generally of the following categories:
1, Basic Metabolism is in Natural Decline
This is the main reason for the body to become fat, according to relevant research shows that the human body’s basal metabolic rate will gradually decline after the age of 25, generally speaking, with an average reduction of 2-5% every 10 years.
With the growth of age, metabolism will also become slow, which will lead to the body burning and consuming calories less efficiently, so fat hoarding more and more, especially in the waist and abdomen.
2, Hormonal Changes
Hormones are the chemical messengers that control most body functions (from reproduction to hunger), and they are also the biggest factor in significant body changes after age 40.
After middle age, especially after menopause, the levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone fluctuate. Fluctuating hormone levels can leaseveraler of changes such as reduced bone density, decreased lean muscle mass, and changes in libido and mood.
3, More Likely to Suffer from Insulin Resistance
As we age and hormones fluctuate, the body’s ability to control blood sugar begins to weaken. The most important hormone that regulates blood sugar levels is insulin, and when the body starts to ignore it, it leads to insulin resistance, where cells are unable to absorb glucose from the blood for energy, with the result that you will often feel hungry and keep eating. This not only tends to lead to weight gain but also puts you at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
4, Less Activity
Compared to younger people, middle-aged people have significantly less strength and energy. Most people prefer a quiet and comfortable lifestyle, with fewer parties, exercise, and physical work. Certain age-related conditions, such as arthritis and back and leg pain, can also affect activity levels. The rate of calorie consumption does not catch up with calorie intake, so naturally, you will gain weight.
5, Lower Quality of Sleep
Many middle-aged people after the age of 40 feel that it is often difficult to sleep, and not as good as when they were young sleep, which is still caused by hormonal changes.
Poor sleep, the body does not get enough rest, and will lead to a further decline in energy, physical strength, and activity. On the other hand, chronic sleep deprivation also tends to lead to weight gain. The results of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Survey show that people who sleep less than 5 hours a night are almost twice as likely to suffer from obesity as people who sleep 7 to 9 hours.
6, Stress
People reach middle age, life, and work pressure will be greater. Research shows that when you are under pressure, your body will secrete cortisol, which is a “fight or flight” hormone. The continued secretion of cortisol causes blood sugar levels to drop, which makes you want to eat more, especially sweets. Stress can lead to an increase in visceral fat, the most obvious manifestation of which is the growing fat on the stomach.
7, Unhealthy Diet
High-sugar, high-carbon diets are unhealthy for people of any age, and even worse for middle-aged people. Metabolism slowed, hormonal changes, reduced activity, lack of sleep, all this plus often eating a high-calorie diet, will make it difficult for the body to consume the calories consumed.
How Can Middle-Aged People Lose Weight?
Middle-aged obesity is harmful to health in every way. Being overweight and obese can cause many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint pathology, etc. Then how can we control our weight and prevent obesity in middle age?
1. Change Food Habits
Starting with diet is the first step in solving many health problems, including weight loss. Gradually reduce the intake of carbohydrates and sugars and increase the intake of high-quality proteins and healthy fats, such as：
- Lean meat from livestock, fish
- Eggs
- Shrimp, crab, and other seafood
- olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Avocado oil
In particular, salmon, tuna, chia seeds, flax seeds, and other foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids are good for cardiovascular health. You should also eat more vegetables rich in dietary fiber and supplement vitamins and minerals. Another role of protein, healthy fats, and fiber is to prolong satiety, reduce appetite and help you control meal size and thus weight.
2. Exercise Properly
As you get older you become less and less active, but you still need to keep exercising regularly for your health and to stay in shape, even if it’s just doing daily chores and taking a walk helps.
As you get older, muscle mass will gradually decline and muscle relaxation and sagging will become more and more obvious, which also makes your whole body look bloated. You can do some appropriate resistance training as physical strength allows, such as plate support, push-ups, lifting dumbbells, and so on. Resistance training can not only rebuild tight muscles, but also help burn fat and restore metabolism, and keep bones and body healthy.
3. Ensure Sleep
There are many ways how to fall asleep quickly and improve the quality of sleep, such as.
- Counting sheep
- Deep breathing
- Meditation
- Listen to soft music
- Create a comfortable and quiet sleep environment
Yoga, meditation, music, etc. can also help you relieve stress and help control the secretion of cortisol, thereby reducing abdominal fat. In addition, as we age, the body in charge of the sleep hormone “melatonin” will gradually decrease, appropriate supplementation of some melatonin will also be a good help to sleep.
4. Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is the most effective and easy to stick to the weight loss method used by many people. For middle-aged people, intermittent fasting helps to increase metabolic rate, speed up fat burning, provide weight control and loss, and minimize the chance of developing age-related diseases.
During fasting, your blood sugar and insulin levels will drop to lower levels and your body will rely on stored fat for energy especially when intermittent fasting is done in conjunction with a low-carb diet for weight loss.
Conclusion
The main cause of obesity in middle-aged people is a slowing down of metabolism and basal metabolism and a decrease in exercise due to reduced physical strength and energy. If you still eat a diet high in sugar, carbohydrates, and calories at this time, it will be difficult for your body to burn off the excess calories.
To control and reduce weight, you should first change your eating habits to a low-carb diet, eat more healthy fats, proteins, and vegetables, do some physical activity, and get some sleep. If you can do these things, middle age is not “obese” can be achieved.