Best Ways to Lose Weight After 50 According to a Doctor
Are you struggling with pesky weight gain after 50 and don’t know how to shed the pounds? Understanding what changes your body is going through during this chapter in your life and why it can make weight loss difficult is critical to starting your weight loss journey. In addition, we have some strategies on how to best go about losing weight after 50.
Obesity Is an Increasing Issue in the Aging Population
Adults over the age of 65 constitute 13% of the global population and are the fastest growing demographic subgroup; this group is expected to reach 2.1 billion people in 2050. Within this population, obesity has steadily increased in the United States. 38.5% of men and 43.1% of women are currently classified as having obesity.
In addition, as we age, we tend to also lose muscle mass and strength or physical function. This is known as sarcopenia, which synergistically worsens the adverse effects of obesity in older adults.
So as you can see here, the aging population is not only becoming more obese, but becoming more functionally debilitated. Together, this becomes a recipe for disaster as it will certainly affect one’s quality of life.
Why Is It So Hard to Lose Weight After 50?
We are essentially fighting an uphill battle against weight loss and weight maintenance as we age. We continue to gain body fat up until we reach about 70 years old, but we start losing muscle mass shortly after our 40s! In addition, our metabolism tends to slow down as we age as a protective mechanism to prevent too much weight loss. However, this would only be beneficial if we were still as active as our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
What is changing in our bodies as we age?
Muscle and fat related changes in our bodies as we age:
Naturally, our body fat increases until the 7th decade of life.
Muscle mass peaks in the 4th decade of life and declines after. The weight we then gain later if life will likely be fat instead of muscle.
Role of hormones changes in weight as we age:
In women, menopause increases body weight and fat mass, specifically around organs.
Medications to treat menopause symptoms tend to cause weight gain as well.
In men, testosterone levels decline about 1% per year and this negatively affects muscle mass and fat distribution.
How Do I Lose Weight After 50?
Now that we know how our bodies are changing with age, it’s important to talk about how we can still effectively lose weight! The first and foremost thing I want to impart on you all is that there are no shortcuts here. Losing weight over 50 should be less about just losing weight and and more about switching the mindset of supporting longevity and maintaining function. Once focused on these two things, the weight will take care of itself.
The goal is not to lose weight now and then be frail by the time your 70. Rather, it’s to start a consistent journey that is regimented, progressive and, ultimately life long. Our goal is to be those 90 year olds that are still fully independent!
Exercise:
We talked about how our hormones change while we age. Exercise has the ability to impact the hormone balance in our bodies, increase muscle protein synthesis, and effectively increasing our body’s muscle mass. In addition, it can reduce inflammation in the body, which helps fight against the processes that lead to weight gain.
What most physicians recommend is a combination of both aerobic exercise along with resistance training. The recommended exercise amount is about 150 minutes a week or 5 days of 30 minute sessions.
So what this can look like in a week is:
2-3 days a week of walking, cycling, swimming or even running.
2 days a week of resistance training that is focused on balance, strength and flexibility.
Diet:
Given that we naturally start losing muscle mass after our 40s, it’s important to gear our diet to help promote muscle synthesis. To do so, incorporating protein in your diet on a regular basis is absolutely essential. The literature has yet to determine an optimal amount, but it is generally recommended to aim for 1g of protein per kg of weight. So for reference, a serving of salmon is about 40g of protein. For those people that don’t normally eat meat or fish, it’s important to be intentionally about protein intake to meet this goal.
How Much Weight Is Safe to Lose in a Month?
The speed of weight loss is important as we know too rapid of weight loss can be both unhealthy and potentially dangerous. What is recommended is about 0.5kg per week, which would lead to an 8-10% weight loss in 6 months. This slower rate of loss tends to also lead to sustainability and a lesser likelihood of regaining what was lost.
How Do I Stay Motivated In My Weight Loss Journey?
My clinical practice primarily consists of patients over 55. I have seen what obesity and sarcopenia can do to one’s body as well as quality of life. It pains me to see my 60 year old patients already in wheelchairs or hardly able to take care of themselves safely. Yet on that other hand, I have also seen my 90 year olds that are dressed to the nine ready to take on the world every time I see them. I want our Mighty Family to be like those 90 year olds.
What I learned from them is that they were always thinking about the long game. They’re able to enjoy their lives well into older age due to discipline and consistency. They were able to make staying active a consistent part of their life not just for years, but for DECADES. For example, one of my 83 year patients says he has been lifting weight 3 times a week since he was 16 years old! And because of that, he has been free of falls and can do all the things he wants to do every day, pain free.
There really is no magic bullet for weight loss. Rather, the key is to think about how to be sustainable in the long term. Focus on building longevity and maintaining quality of life. The weight loss will surely come once you start a consistent routine of staying active and proper diet. We here at Mighty Health will be with you every step of the way!