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Avoiding weight gain
1. Avoid empty nester weight gain.
When most of us reach middle age, our kids are just going off to college. For parents this means that you'll no longer be running around, doing laundry, going up the stairs five million times a day or cleaning as much. This sudden drop in activity can lead to weight gain if you don't modify your diet. Try this simple technique to help you stay on track. Purchase a pedometer and wear it for one day. If you're not taking 10,000 steps or at least close to it, you're not getting enough exercise. By wearing that pedometer, you'll be able to see just how close you are to that goal and you'll be able to stave off the battle of the bulge.
2. Don't let your hormones get the best of you.
It is true that as women age their hormone levels start to go a little bonkers. Too much or too little estrogen can lead to weight gain that is hard to control. If you're on HRT some of the side effects may include gaining some weight. Don't be a passive victim! If you're finding that you can't eat like you used to, take action before it's too late. Change your eating habits and try to exercise more. While hormones do play a role in where we store weight, the old equation of calories in - calories burned still applies.
3. Address physical issues that may be holding you back.
It's perfectly normal to get a bit stiff and sore as we age. However, if you're finding that your activity levels are taking a hit due to pain, you need to do something about it. Talk to your doctor and see what they prescribe for typical joint pain and stiffness. In most cases, it will be an over the counter pain relief pill or cream that will help you stay active. You may also need to modify your exercise plan a bit or start one that will be more joint friendly. For example, instead of jogging, try water aerobics. You'll be doing a lot less harm to your joints.
Middle aged weight gain does not have to be inevitable and you don't need to sit around hoping for the best. By meeting the problem head on and addressing it properly, you'll be able to stay slim, toned and healthy throughout your middle ages and well into your golden years.
Middle-aged spread - 1
Physical factors
Bye-bye, estrogen: Starting as early as our late 30s and into our 40s, women go into perimenopause, in which estrogen levels begin to decline. Once in menopause, our estrogen levels drop sharply and even greater changes in our bodies begin to occur — including weight gain. Here’s why:
Bye-bye, estrogen: Starting as early as our late 30s and into our 40s, women go into perimenopause, in which estrogen levels begin to decline. Once in menopause, our estrogen levels drop sharply and even greater changes in our bodies begin to occur — including weight gain. Here’s why:
Our appetites change: When we eat, our stomachs sort the contents into proteins, carbohydrates and fat, which the body uses for different purposes. Both enzymes and hormones help the food break down. If the body is off-balance hormonally (such as during menopause), its ability to proceed with digestion is interrupted. If digestion is not taking place as it should, feelings of fullness do not register in the brain. This is because when estradiol levels drop, so does a hormone called cholecystokinin, which is produced during digestion. This hormone signals the gallbladder that it’s time to empty. In our body’s language, this tells our mind we are full and to stop eating. Instead, during menopause, the body begins tricking the mind into thinking it needs to eat more.
Our metabolism changes: Out-of-balance estrogen also causes insulin levels to go up and thyroid levels to go down. Diminished thyroid levels slow down the body’s metabolism. Thus, you are eating more and burning less as effective fuel for your body.
Our stress hormone increases … and so does our “pooch.” Belly fat is one of the symptoms of lower estrogen levels, along with a change in the overall shape of a woman's body. This can be due to cortisol, the stress hormone. This increase in cortisol creates the stubborn belly fat that women often gain as they age, and which is so hard to lose.
Our sleep patterns change: Many women start experiencing insomnia or other sleep disturbances as they age as a result of lowered levels of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted according to a person's biorhythms. Increased levels of cortisol during menopause can interfere with this sleep hormone. The loss of sleep leads to crankiness and lower levels of energy, making it all the harder to stay active (much less have the energy to do so!). Furthermore, research has shown that people who get five hours of sleep a night have 15 percent lower levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin and 15 percent higher levels of hunger-increasing ghrelin.
Emotional factors
As if our bodies weren’t doing enough to increase weight as we age, our emotions play a part as well!
The “What’s the point?” mentality: Body image is particularly delicate for women as we start to show the signs of aging and our bodies start to sag in places we didn't expect them to. In a society that values youth and beauty, it’s all too common to feel unattractive, old and undesirable. This depletes our motivation to exercise and improve our appearance.
Despite this negative mentality, research has found that after just one workout, a woman’s body image can improve. Getting active even for a short amount of time can boost feelings of confidence and happiness. Women should try to get active at least 20 minutes every day, even if it is just a short walk around the block. Another bonus is that increased levels of activity may also help you to sleep better at night.
The empty-nest syndrome: Typically, as we reach our late 40s to mid 50s, we begin to experience numerous life changes. The kids may be going off to college, or even getting married and having kids of their own. Mothers may feel like they are useless or obsolete due to these life-changes. In addition, their partners may not be very supportive or understanding during this difficult physical and emotional time. Women may turn to food as a form of comfort and as a replacement for intimacy.
However, the empty-nest syndrome doesn’t have to get out of hand. Women in their 40s, 50s and beyond are more active and vibrant than ever before. Many of us grew up with moms who thought they were done once they hit midlife, but now that's changing rapidly. The more we continue to grow and challenge ourselves, the more active, healthier and happier we will be — and the better we look on the inside and out!Middle-aged spread - 2
Although middle age is becoming harder to define these days as we live longer, it is usually considered that our bodies start losing the youthful ability to remain in shape without too much bother around 35 onward. If you're lucky, you might make it to your 40s before you have to start being a little more concerted in your efforts. But everyone needs to pay attention to the potential for middle-age spread.
Steps
- 1Eat correctly from your youth. Always maintain a healthy, nutritious and optimal energy diet. By optimal energy, this means that you should avoid eating "empty calories" and should get the most nutrition and energy benefits from any food that you consume. The occasional pastry and beer is fine but not daily.
- 2Exercise for life. Exercise is not something you do in your 20s and then get bored with. Work may become more strenuous or dull as you age but that is no excuse for letting yourself get mired in self-pity and using food and drink as anesthesia instead of maintaining a good exercise routine. Find the exercise that works for you too. It might take a while but keep trying different things until you find the one that "fits" and keeps you "fit".
- 3Use your clothes as an indicator. Like the litmus test that shows a color change in the presence of new growth, you should use your clothes to assess new growth. Even a little tightness is a warning sign to cut back on food and drink and to up the exercise routine. Use this early warning sign to stop a lot of pain later.
- 4Eat raw foods a lot more. Consume raw vegetables, seeds and fruit for snacks. Especially the vegetables and seeds. These will keep you regular, provide nutrition and fill you up quickly. If you can't be bothered cutting them, buy them already cut from the grocery store. There is no excuse.
- 5Avoid fattening food. White bread, burger buns, burgers, fries, pastries, candies, sodas etc. are not food. They are treats. And treats can only be treats when eaten rarely. Rather than viewing this as "deprivation", view avoidance of such foods as the biggest treat of all - how much more memorable become birthdays when you can have cake and soda without a worry? The memory is great too! And no more afternoon slumps at work when you consume celery sticks with hummus in place of a cinnamon scroll and soda.
- 6Drink water. Water in place of sodas will ensure you remain healthy. Sodas contain much hidden sugar that increases middle-age spread. Avoid the trap and drink water. Spritz it up with a little freshly squeezed citrus of choice and some ice cubes. It tastes wonderful.
- 7Help your friends and colleagues lose middle-age spread too. It is much easier to justify stacking on the pounds when those around you look similar and everyone is mired in the self-conviction that "this is just what happens when you get older". Instead, set a challenge to all lose weight and keep fit together. That way, the norm that compels you will be average weight, not overweight.
- 8Banish the belief that older people get fatter and stay that way. This is nonsense. Older people justify being more sedentary and high caloried in their diets merely because they are "aging". Stop it now! You wouldn't be feeling so tired if you fueled your body with something a lot more healthy every day and you got out there and exercised. Go on! Cut this belief in half now and increase your chances at longevity.
Middle-aged spread - 3
1. Downsize meals
Don't be tempted to have massive meals. Eat small, regular meals to keep your metabolism rate up and don't forget to include 5 different types of fruits and vegetables every day.
2. Try Chromium
Chromium can help table unstable blood sugar levels so you avoid reaching for the biscuit tin after lunch.
3.Lift Weights
On average people over 25 lose 1 pound of muscle tissue every year and this slows down your metabolism. But gaining 1 pound of muscle increases your metabolic rate so that you'll burn an extra 50 calories a day.
4.Go Green
Green tea can raise your metabolism so you burn off extra calories. Research has found that men who drink green tea burn more calories than those who drink ordinary tea.
5.Do Yoga
Middle aged men or women who practice yoga for at least 30 minutes once a week gained less weight than those who don't practice yoga.
6.Change your snacks
Swap sugary snacks for a small handful of unsalted Brazil nuts, pumpkin sunflower seeds or dried fruit.
7. Count on Calcium
A recent study in the American Dietetic Association showed that women in their 50s who took a calcium supplement every day put on less weight as apposed to 45 than women who did not.
8. Work on your waist
It's important to combine sit ups with a healthy lifestyle as stomach muscles are often hidden below a layer of fat. Activate your stomach muscles by doing 10-15 slow sit ups a day.
9. Eat Healthy Fats
The University of Southern Australia found that people who took daily doses of fish oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids and did moderate exercise 3 times a week lost more weight than those who exercised but took sunflower oil supplements instead.
10. Drink Water
People often mistake dehydration for hunger. Try drinking a glass of water and then wait for half an hour to see if you are still hungry.
Mike Toal is the author of many articles on dieting and healthy weight loss. For more information on this and other weight loss plans visit his website http://www.weight-loss-programs.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Toal
Middle aged spread - 4
In your 20s
What’s happening to your body
You can do anything. Your ability to recover from injury is at its peak and you can take on tough exercise. But remember, you’ll pay for how you live now in later years, so look after yourself.
Make sure you play sport a couple of times a week. Martial arts are a good idea to work off that testosterone. At the gym, try supplementing weights work with a yoga class once a week, because men have a tendency to tighten up. We’re not as flexible as women because we don’t have as much of the hormone relaxin in our system (in turn, because of their increased relaxin, women need to make sure they do weights work to stabilise their joints). If you’re worried that real men don’t do yoga then you’re clearly not a real man.
In your 30s
What’s happening to your body
You need to start looking after yourself, not just by exercising, but with good nutrition and by drinking lots of water. If you’ve been abusing your body since your teens, you’ll start to look like a woman. I’m serious: man boobs and a fat butt are common consequences of alcohol, bad food and toxins creating more oestrogen in the system and causing a more feminine body shape. Beer is probably the worst offender — recent research from Oregon State University found beer hops to be the most powerful substance in terms of oestrogen replacement for post-menopausal women.
How to keep in shape
Towards the end of your thirties your muscle strength starts to diminish, so make sure that you do resistance work (lifting weights, preferably free weights) backed up with some cardio, maybe a bit of boxing or a light run a couple of times a week. Taking up jogging will not be the answer to all your problems. It’s not a good idea to do just cardio work because the increased respiration speeds up the rate of oxidisation in the body’s cells, which ages you. Those dumbbells matter — the more muscle you have the faster your metabolism will be and so you’ll maintain a better body composition with less fat.
Start thinking about taking some supplements — a couple of fish oils and multivitamins — to make sure that your system is well nourished.
In your 40s
What’s happening to your body
You need to be much more conscious of what you eat because it will start to show on your body more. Eat fruit, vegetables and especially fibre, not least because there’s an increased chance of colon cancer in your 40s. If you’re not eating enough green vegetables, try a fibre powder (available in health food shops). Your metabolism starts to slow down, your testosterone production slows too, but remember — if you still challenge your body, your body will do it’s best to keep up.
How to keep in shape
Believe it or not, you should be aiming to exercise six times a week — the standard three days won’t be enough if you want to look and feel good. Don’t worry if you’re new to exercise. Start with a brisk walk and take it from there. If you can walk into a room, you can do a simple squat and lunge — there’s no excuse for not being able to do these basic movements. It doesn’t have to be an hour’s slog in the gym — run around with the kids, teach them to surf, go to the gym and don’t dismiss Pilates or yoga. As you get older you develop faulty breathing patterns from being stressed at your desk, so breathing is a huge part of being healthy and lots of men find that Pilates and yoga help. I’ve had clients get up to 90 per cent more oxygen per breath. As a result, they find they have much more energy and less stress. A tip for feeling instantly less stressed is to breathe like a baby — breathe right into your tummy, then push the breath out using your tummy muscles, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
In your 50s
What’s happening to your body
Think of your body like a creaky door — you’ve got to keep it oiled and moving. Exercise is less about intensity and duration and more about doing something little and often. Look at exercises to replicate your daily activities so that you can do them more safely. At my gym, for example, if you’re a lorry driver, loading deliveries, we’ll get you to do squats and twists.
How to keep in shape
Make sure that you drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruit and veg. A simple way of looking at it is that you want to get clean (avoiding foods that are processed and full of additives) and lean. Stay away from high-impact sport because your powers of recovery are slower. Most guys are at the peak of their careers now and it can be a stressful decade — to release tension, try boxercise or pad work with an instructor.
In your 60s
What’s happening to your body
Your body processes are slowing down. Muscle mass declines, connective tissue deteriorates and your bones are a little more brittle. The good news is that you can still turn around some of the damage.
How to keep in shape
Keep up the swimming and golf and take fish oils to help with joints that may be deteriorating. It’s not too late to pick up weights but do talk to a professional first if you are new to fitness. Don’t be afraid to try your local gym and ask for a bodyweight programme incorporating squats and lunges. Your goal is to build up or maintain joint and muscle strength so that you can remain independent.
What’s happening to your body
You can do anything. Your ability to recover from injury is at its peak and you can take on tough exercise. But remember, you’ll pay for how you live now in later years, so look after yourself.
Make sure you play sport a couple of times a week. Martial arts are a good idea to work off that testosterone. At the gym, try supplementing weights work with a yoga class once a week, because men have a tendency to tighten up. We’re not as flexible as women because we don’t have as much of the hormone relaxin in our system (in turn, because of their increased relaxin, women need to make sure they do weights work to stabilise their joints). If you’re worried that real men don’t do yoga then you’re clearly not a real man.
In your 30s
What’s happening to your body
You need to start looking after yourself, not just by exercising, but with good nutrition and by drinking lots of water. If you’ve been abusing your body since your teens, you’ll start to look like a woman. I’m serious: man boobs and a fat butt are common consequences of alcohol, bad food and toxins creating more oestrogen in the system and causing a more feminine body shape. Beer is probably the worst offender — recent research from Oregon State University found beer hops to be the most powerful substance in terms of oestrogen replacement for post-menopausal women.
How to keep in shape
Towards the end of your thirties your muscle strength starts to diminish, so make sure that you do resistance work (lifting weights, preferably free weights) backed up with some cardio, maybe a bit of boxing or a light run a couple of times a week. Taking up jogging will not be the answer to all your problems. It’s not a good idea to do just cardio work because the increased respiration speeds up the rate of oxidisation in the body’s cells, which ages you. Those dumbbells matter — the more muscle you have the faster your metabolism will be and so you’ll maintain a better body composition with less fat.
Start thinking about taking some supplements — a couple of fish oils and multivitamins — to make sure that your system is well nourished.
In your 40s
What’s happening to your body
You need to be much more conscious of what you eat because it will start to show on your body more. Eat fruit, vegetables and especially fibre, not least because there’s an increased chance of colon cancer in your 40s. If you’re not eating enough green vegetables, try a fibre powder (available in health food shops). Your metabolism starts to slow down, your testosterone production slows too, but remember — if you still challenge your body, your body will do it’s best to keep up.
How to keep in shape
Believe it or not, you should be aiming to exercise six times a week — the standard three days won’t be enough if you want to look and feel good. Don’t worry if you’re new to exercise. Start with a brisk walk and take it from there. If you can walk into a room, you can do a simple squat and lunge — there’s no excuse for not being able to do these basic movements. It doesn’t have to be an hour’s slog in the gym — run around with the kids, teach them to surf, go to the gym and don’t dismiss Pilates or yoga. As you get older you develop faulty breathing patterns from being stressed at your desk, so breathing is a huge part of being healthy and lots of men find that Pilates and yoga help. I’ve had clients get up to 90 per cent more oxygen per breath. As a result, they find they have much more energy and less stress. A tip for feeling instantly less stressed is to breathe like a baby — breathe right into your tummy, then push the breath out using your tummy muscles, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
In your 50s
What’s happening to your body
Think of your body like a creaky door — you’ve got to keep it oiled and moving. Exercise is less about intensity and duration and more about doing something little and often. Look at exercises to replicate your daily activities so that you can do them more safely. At my gym, for example, if you’re a lorry driver, loading deliveries, we’ll get you to do squats and twists.
How to keep in shape
Make sure that you drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruit and veg. A simple way of looking at it is that you want to get clean (avoiding foods that are processed and full of additives) and lean. Stay away from high-impact sport because your powers of recovery are slower. Most guys are at the peak of their careers now and it can be a stressful decade — to release tension, try boxercise or pad work with an instructor.
In your 60s
What’s happening to your body
Your body processes are slowing down. Muscle mass declines, connective tissue deteriorates and your bones are a little more brittle. The good news is that you can still turn around some of the damage.
How to keep in shape
Keep up the swimming and golf and take fish oils to help with joints that may be deteriorating. It’s not too late to pick up weights but do talk to a professional first if you are new to fitness. Don’t be afraid to try your local gym and ask for a bodyweight programme incorporating squats and lunges. Your goal is to build up or maintain joint and muscle strength so that you can remain independent.
10 best health sites
1 NHS.uk
The excellent companion site to the NHS’s phone line focuses on in-depth information and topical guides: hay fever and swine flu are now top of the list. It’s easy on the eye, ad-free and simple to use. It’ll either put your mind at ease or tell you to call a doc, pronto.
America’s top health site boasts 17m users a month and is easy to use — equal parts potential lifesaver and hypochondriac heaven. A great feature is the review of prescription medicines by other users.
This long-established site packages videos, forums and advice, as well as the malingerer’s best friend: a description of every ailment (and its symptoms) known to man.
Particularly recommended for its photo slideshows, which can, for example, help you identify insects and their bites and give you a masterclass in birthmarks.
Many sites try to charge for their workouts, but you can get them free here. ExerciseTV is tailored towards, but not exclusively for, women — there are plenty of videos aimed at men wanting to look good in a T-shirt.
You need to register (free) and dodge the occasional question designed to sell you stuff you don’t need, but once you get going this site lets you input personal data before it gives a verdict on how old you “really” are, based on your lifestyle. You need info on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels to hand.
This claims to be the world’s largest
health “community”, and its forums are among the liveliest online, with topics on almost anything you can think of. Once registered, you can send a question to the site’s resident doctors.
The electronic bookings and referrals system for England promises a choice of at least four hospitals or clinics for any medical appointment. A useful jumping-off point for investigating the statistics of local hospitals.
Mislaid your prescription leaflet and need to know if that swelling on your ear is a known side effect or not? Search the EMC database of 6,500 medicines, all with downloadable PDFs of the original sheets. Also searchable by active ingredient and dosage.
A good site run by a charity, the Men’s Health Forum. We dare you to read the vasectomy diary without involuntarily crossing your legs.
Fitness links
Nike+ is a sensor that fits inside Nike trainers and wirelessly sends running data to a paired Apple iPod Nano, Touch or iPhone 3GS. Smart. Even smarter is the fact that your times and distances can then be uploaded to this site, on which you can view goals, share running routes with friends and challenge them to beat your time. The long-distance runner doesn’t have to be lonely any more.
Bored of slogging down the local canal towpath? Just type in the area where you’d like to ride and Bikely tracks down a wealth of maps posted by fellow pedallers to help get your cycle fitness regime back on track.
The website of Britain’s top-selling men’s magazine is easy to get into and features training tips for everyone — not just the buff types who adorn its cover month after month. The 15-minute workouts are especially good.
4 djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html
For any fitness fanatic who has yet to assemble a decent workout playlist, this Californian DJ offers free, downloadable dance mixes at everything from 130 to a furious 180 beats-per-minute.
A networking site for healthy, active types that lets you blog, form groups and more. Sharing your fitness woes and triumphs proves surprisingly motivating.
DailyBurn claims that, on average, its 300,000 members lose 6.2lb of fat. Download its app for the iPhone, and nutritional data for 200,000 products are at your fingertips.
The satellite TV channel is upbeat and fun, and is streamed live on its website. There is also a searchable archive of programmes, but you’ll have to register to watch them.
A brilliantly simple website that loads a map of where you intend to run, then lets you use a mouse to draw your route and see how far it is. Then, once you’ve done the run — or any of the 12,000 routes already uploaded — key in some timing details and it will tell you your speed, pace and calories burnt.
Spun off from the eponymous book, Wild Swimming allows you to add your favourite stretches of water, complete with photos, to maps of rivers and beaches. Regional Facebook groups bring in a community feel to the whole enterprise.
If your gym has wi-fi, Gymtechnik lets you use your BlackBerry, iPhone or Android handset as a workout journal. Access pre-planned workouts; keep track of progress; phone for a doctor when you’ve overdone it.
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