Eating smart once you pass the magical 45-year mark takes some smart planning. Long gone are the days of pizza, ice cream and cheeseburgers not affecting your waistline, health or energy level. You are also a lot better informed than you were 20 or 30 years ago. Scientists, conventional nutritionists, and medical professionals haven’t made much progress in figuring out why our society is overweight, undernourished, and sick.
We know that diet and nutrition is the key to losing weight. What most people don’t realize is the WHY.
And because the why isn’t clear, millions of diets and weight loss programs have emerged over the years, promising you “instant and easy weight loss” by just doing XYZ.
Well, obviously XYZ is not working.
That explains a lot, especially when you realize how many hours over the years you spent sweating in a gym or aerobics class. Exercise is certainly a required component of proper fitness, but nutrition is much more important for weight loss after 45. Keep the following healthy tips in mind, and the next 20, 30 or even 40 years of living will be healthy, happy and full of energy.
Losing Weight After 45: Stop Believing the Low-Fat, Low-Calorie, and Low-Carb Myth
You will need to stop putting your faith in the low fat myth if you want to lose weight after 50. It is very vital that you follow a healthy diet plan, such as the Metabolic Factor Diet or The 3-Week Metabolism Diet, which will give your body all the important nutrients that it requires to function. Most of the information that you see all around will tell you that if you are intent on living a healthy life, you will have to make changes to your diet and only eat those foods that are low in fat.
This is a huge myth, and it can adversely affect you if you take heed of it. A losing weight after 45 diet with low fat will make you appear older. It can also cause great damage to your body. This is because of the body to absorb nutrients and vitamins it will require fat. Thus low fat diets reduce the body’s access to nutrients.
A certain amount of fat ought to be in your diet plan every single day, or else you will be facing numerous health shortcomings. Fat is important in the body for quite some reasons. The first and main reason is that fat does a lot of work in your body to maintain its strength and health.
It is used to assist other nutrients to perform their duties. Without fat, you cannot get what you require. This results in the immune system of the body not being at its optimal level. This is because it is one of the things in your body that can only work with fat consumption.
Another reason is that you require fats because you can get problems with how you feel if you do not. Having low-fat level in your body greatly affects the way you feel about yourself. Many will think that their sour mood is because of other things but in this case that is not true.
You will require fat in your body if you want to fight off feelings that may contribute to your sour mood. A diet with low-fat content will make you feel sad because you are depriving the brain of the food it requires to function in the right manner.
You should not go low on fat because consuming little fat increases the risk of getting some types of cancers. Sometime you find that a person eats healthy, does bodyweight workout training or any other exercises such as Yoga, efficiently and keeps his or her body weight normal but ends up still struggling with many kinds of health conditions. This could be because they are not consuming enough fat required to fight off some cancers. Similarly, diets with very low fat can be very dangerous for your heart.
Following a low-fat program brings about the drastic drop of your level of LDL. It, however, is not the only thing that reduces. Your HDL which consists of good cholesterol similarly drops. When HDL drops, your body becomes at risk to problems that involve the heart.
Many foods containing low fat come packed with additives that may cause your heath to go on the downside like large amounts of sodium. So that you may end up not looking or feeling older, you should look for other smarter ways which you can use to lose weight.
Eat More (Good) Fat, Smart Carbs, and (Usually) More Calories
Getting enough of the good fats will help you lose fat, build muscle, and recover faster from your workouts. Also, it has myriad health benefits, including being good for your heart.
Good fats include: saturated, such as those from coconut, organic/grass-fed animal products, and palm. As well as monosaturated fats, such as those from avocados, olive oil, olives, and nuts.
Some of the healthy fat sources you should focus on:
- Coconut Oil
- Olive oil
- Fatty Fish such as salmon, herring, and trout
- Walnuts, cashews, etc…
- Avocados
- Chia seeds
9 Tips To Lose Weight After 40, 50, and even 60 (It’s Never Too Late To Start These)
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #1 – Understand your lifestyle caloric ratio.
Your system has slowed down considerably from 10 or 20 years ago. If you are not very active, your body will function properly on around 1,700 calories each day. If you are moderately active, roughly 1,800 or 1,900 calories is what you want to target daily. If you enjoy a very active lifestyle, you will probably need 2,000 to 2,300 calories to maintain your current body weight and stay healthy.
Remember, these calorie requirements are averages and the fact is, the older you are the LESS calories you need, BUT you shouldn’t go on a calorie restrictive diet. I know, confusing.
Here’s more information on how to drop weight with a metabolism-focused approach
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #2 – Make sure you are getting enough calcium and magnesium
As you age, your bones become brittle. It is simply a natural part of the aging process. However, doctors and fitness experts now understand that you can get 100% of your required daily allowance of vitamin D through diet alone.
Just be careful about drinking a lot of milk and eating dairy products for your calcium. In recent years, it has been found that drinking cow’s milk causes your body to steal calcium from bones in order to regulate a healthy pH level. Vitamin D strengthens your bones and immune system, and you want to aim for about 1,200 mg per day.
Adequate Magnesium helps improve circulatory health, detoxes toxins and heavy metals from our cells, improves nervous system efficiency and function, helps body regulate insulin, reduces the stress response and overall inflammation in the body and improves digestion and bowel function.
During the first phase of The Flat Belly System I have you take epsom salt baths to relieve the symptoms of stress and assist with weight loss.
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #3 – Get plenty of protein.
Just 5 to 7 ounces of protein each day is all you need to regulate healthy bodily functions. Eat protein at every breakfast, as this causes you to eat fewer “bad” calories throughout the day. Soybeans, nonfat yogurt, kidney beans, organic eggs, nuts and wild caught salmon are all excellent sources of protein, and also versatile in the kitchen. Protein is needed to build bones, muscles, skin and blood, and helps regulate a healthy body weight.
Food sources which are high in protein:
- Eggs
- Grass-fed beef
- Chicken breasts
- Turkey breasts
- Fish (tuna, salmon, shrimp cocktail, swordfish, shellfish)
- Organic Protein bars
- Organic/grass-fed cheese
These are real meats, not sandwich meats filled with unhealthy additives like nitrates.
Studies show that protein is by far the most filling. It helps you feel more full, with less food. If you need to lose weight or belly fat, then consider replacing some of the carbs and fats you are eating with protein. Protein also helps increase lean metabolically active tissue (i.e. muscle), which is the only tissue that efficiently burns off fat.
If your goal is to have a flat belly, adding more protein into your diet is the first step to accomplishing your goal.
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #4 – Eat more frequently.
We now know that the “3 meals a day” recommendation by the USDA and other major health organizations around the world is not the healthiest. You should be eating 5 or 6 times a day.
Refer to your daily caloric intake in our first healthy eating tip. Then spread those calories over three meals and 2 or 3 snacks each day. Every time you eat, your metabolism is boosted. This is great for fat and weight loss. A side benefit is more energy since your body is not processing so many calories at any one meal.
In my programs, specifically The 3-Week Metabolism Diet, I use a “macro-balancing” approach to eating, which makes eating for balanced hormones, stable blood sugar, and a fat-burning metabolism easy and sustainable.
Crystal, a 47-year old Texas woman lost 10.5 Inches and 12.2 Pounds in 3 Weeks, here’s how she did it ==> The Macro-Balancing Approach To Fat Loss
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #5 – Limit PUFA, soy, refined sugar, and white flour.
At any age, limiting your intake of these deadly three white food products can have an immediate and positive impact on your health. Eating fat does not cause you to become fat – eating sugar does.
The chemical process that occurs in your brain when you eat sugar is the same that happens to a drug or alcohol addict when they get the drug of their choice into their body. Refined sugar is that addictive, and is linked to a long list of illnesses, ailments, and diseases. Flours are likewise absolutely unnecessary in your diet and contribute to multiple health problems as well.
Polyunsaturated vegetable oils are probably the worst food to consume, as they can destroy your thyroid function.
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #6 – Ramp up your intake of antioxidants.
Natural antioxidants fight dangerous free radicals in your body that can cause cellular damage to your organs. Raw foods, fruits, and vegetables that are high in healthy antioxidants like beta-carotene and selenium include kale, bananas, apples and other whole, raw fruits, romaine lettuce and other dark, leafy greens. To get the most antioxidants in your diet, vary the range of colors on your plate.
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #7 – Make sure you are eating enough soluble fiber.
Did you know that doctors believe at least 70% of all disease starts in your digestive system and gut? Soluble fiber improves your ability to digest and process foods properly, flushes your body of dangerous toxins and other unhealthy chemicals, and also helps regulate your natural body weight.
A healthy digestive system can ward off most of the diseases and health problems you encounter as you age. Soluble fiber is found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, oats and berries, and foods like beans, nuts, cucumbers and lentils.
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #8 – Eat more raw foods.
This may be tough for you after a lifetime of eating processed, packaged, cooked food products. However, it is absolutely essential to eat raw foods as you age. Aside from the benefit received by not ingesting a lot of additives, nitrates and preservatives not meant to be in your body, raw foods deliver enzymes that are important for healthy maintenance of your metabolism and other important physiological processes.
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #9 – Make sure you are getting all the vitamins you need.
A smart diet full of unprocessed foods, fruits, vegetables, whole foods and whole grains can provide everything your body needs to function properly and deliver a long, healthy life. Unfortunately, not all of us get all of the vitamins and nutrients we need in our diet.
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly in 2008 noticed that adults past the age of 50 were frequently deficient in calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Schedule a checkup to see if you are mentally deficient in any particular area, then target your diet and supplement if needed.
Most people get this tip wrong, because they automatically think they need to buy a ton of supplements. Supplements may be needed, but you should establish a FOOD foundation first.
You might think it’s impossible, but that’s only because you haven’t taken a METABOLISM and HORMONAL approach to eating, exercise, and weight loss.
The 3-Week Metabolism Diet will help you overcome your rebound weight gain from years of damaging your metabolism. (click here to see the many success stories)
Weight Loss After 45 Tip #10 – Don’t trust the word “natural” on a food label.
Food manufacturers have led us to believe that when you see “natural” listed on a food label, it means you are eating a healthy product. That may or may not be the case.
The consumer advocate organization and magazine Consumer Reports has done research on foods labeled natural, and the results are pretty scary. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has no definition for the word natural. Anything and everything can be labeled natural, whether it is healthy, processed, natural or not. Do your due diligence before you purchase any “natural” food product.
Bonus Over 45 Healthy Eating Tip – Learn How To Balance Your Macronutrients
Why is this tip included in a resource for eating smart past 45? It’s simple. Proper rest helps regulate many physiological functions. That means your body can use the carbohydrates, minerals, nutrients, fat and protein that you eat in a healthy manner. Your digestive system processes foods more efficiently when you regularly receive 7 to 9 hours of sleep each and every night.
Losing Weight Over 45: Learn How These 30 Women Lost Over 11-19 Pounds In 3 Weeks
How Can You Lose Weight If You’re 45+
Eating healthy once you surpass the 45-year milestone may be difficult. You might have eaten a less than healthy diet for much of your adult life. But the process itself is very simple – eat more raw foods and fewer processed foods. Replace animal proteins with protein-dense vegetables and fruits.
Figure your healthy daily calorie count, and spread it across 5 or 6 meals. Make sure you are getting enough calcium (especially women) in your diet, avoid refined sugar, salt and white flour, and eat protein at every breakfast. Enjoy this healthy “over 50” recipe while staying hydrated, getting plenty of rest and staying physically active, and your golden years can be just that. If you not only want to lose weight, but also want to get in shape, then go and download my program The 3-Week Metabolism Diet, here’s what other people are saying about it:
And check out Crystals results using The 3-Week Metabolism Diet…
