Losing weight after 70 can be intimidating and hard to accomplish but it’s doable. Especially if your health is relying on weight loss, it’s something that has to happen. Losing weight at any age isn’t the easiest thing to do.
When you reach 70 and above, the body is not the same as it was when you were in your 20s. That said, losing weight at a senior’s age is still possible and has tremendous benefits on health. Here are eleven ways on how to lose weight after 70:
1. Diet
An important way to lose after 70 is through your diet. The food you take into the body count for a lot, when it comes to losing weight as a senior. Reduce the fatty foods you eat and take on a diet centered on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats.
You certainly don’t want to crash diet at an advanced age as it could bring some serious health consequences with it. Instead, adopt a diet you can actually keep. Work your way into it gradually and stick with it.
2. Protein
Older adults want to lose weight by losing fat – not by reducing muscle mass or bone mass. Increase protein intake, and ensure you’re getting enough calcium and vitamin D. These are the building blocks to a healthy diet, helping you build muscle which is key to long-term weight loss. Consider a diet of 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.
3. Carbs and sugars low
Say goodbye to the days of high-carb meals and sugar-packed desserts. Once in a while isn’t a problem. Done regularly, this will cause blood sugar to spike and increase insulin resistance. Insulin’s a notifier to the liver, muscle, and fat cells to pull glucose from the blood. Resistance to insulin is a serious health concern as it keeps more sugar in the blood than needed. High-fat, low carbs, and moderate to high protein is the way to go.
4. Structure
Dedication to a structure helps to improve the likelihood of weight loss success. Anyone pursuing an exercise or diet plan, stick to it. Consider starting a journal or something similar where you monitor everything you eat and do. By holding yourself accountable with a structure, it’ll show you what to do moving forward.
5. Water
Drinking water helps keep you full and equips your system with all the hydration it needs to work well. Consider drinking half your per-pound body weight in ounces of water. So for example, a person weighing 200 pounds should be drinking 100 ounces of water a day.
6. Portion control
When we eat less in a meal, that puts less stress on our system and ensures our bodies can fully process everything we’re giving it. As your body slows down, we can’t be eating the same as we ate in our 30s, 40s, or 50s.
Our bodies generally need 100 fewer calories a day for every decade which passes. Lowering your portions will also help to balance food intake while combining it with increased physical activity, allowing you to work on weight loss from both ends.
7. Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral boosting metabolism and weight loss, and that will also help synthesize proteins, carbs, and fats. Magnesium also helps to create energy in the body by activating adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the fundamental energy storage molecule of the body.
8. Start walking
If it’s been a long time since you did any sort of exercise, we might suggest starting with a walk. You don’t need to go out for a jog or a run – all it takes is a walk at a moderate pace. In fact, above 70, a brisk walk for one to 2.5 hours weekly lowers risk of death by as much as 25 percent.
Take the opportunity to find yourself a private place to take a walk every few days or once a week. Be it at the mall, in the city, forest, or wherever, your body will thank you.
9. Senior group fitness classes
If your body will allow and you feel like you’re ready to take the next step beyond walking, try a group fitness class. This brings together structure and an element of social communication, which makes it a very attractive way to lose weight after turning 70. It will give you more to celebrate about your weight loss.
For older adults who are nervous about going to a gym, this is a great alternative that gets your body moving. There are also many fitness classes and programs offered in retirement homes, which you can join as a senior citizen.
10. Resistance training
All adults, regardless of age, should get their heart rate up at least 150 minutes a week yet less than 8 percent of adults over 70 do this. Resistance training is important for seniors as it builds muscle and keeps bones healthy. Body weight exercises are an excellent place to start, such as push-ups. For those that do decide to lift weights, it’s important to start small and build gradually from there.
11. Patience
At the end of all these strategies to lose weight, it does take time so one must be patient. Successful and sustainable weight loss that is permanent requires months of consistently smart decisions.
