Getting older is a natural part of life.
But, just because it’s “natural” doesn’t mean it’s easy.
When we get older, recovery slows, hormone production declines, and energy levels drop.
To top it off, metabolism also tends to decline steadily as the years tick on by, due to a combination of reduced activity levels and the natural aging process.
Due to this, it can be harder for older individuals to lose weight and/or maintain their weight loss results achieved during a 1UP transformation challenge
Today, we discuss 4 tips for losing weight as you age.
Let’s get started!
4 Easy Weight Loss Tips as You Age
#1 Track Your Calories
In years past, you were likely able to eat to your heart’s content and never have to worry about watching what you ate or tracking how many calories you consumed each day.
You were moving about, burning calories left and right, all the while maintaining a lean physique.
But, as time goes on, metabolism can slow down, which means you might not be able to eat as much as you previously were able to while maintaining the same bodyweight.
If you find yourself in this predicament, it can be helpful to start tracking calories.
This way you know how many calories you’re consuming each day, and then when you begin to track your body weight consistently, you’ll know if you’re eating the right amount of calories to lose weight.
If the numbers on the scale are going down, then you are in a calorie deficit. If they are staying the same, then you are eating the right amount of calories to maintain your weight.
And, if heaven forbid the number on the scale is going up, you’re consuming too many calories.
Consuming a diet with hight protein will help you burn more calories and stay fuller longer.
Protein is a macronutrient that is essential for recovery and muscle building. Protein Shake is a very convenient and a fast way to get your protein in. Drink it immediately post workout to start the recovery process. Also helps with sweet cravings while dieting.
If you need assistance estimating how many calories you need to eat each day to lose weight, click here.
#2 Keep an Eye on Portion Sizes
This tip mostly applies to those times when you’re not cooking and eating your own meals -- dining at a restaurant or someone else’s house (e.g. holiday dinners).
To put it bluntly, society has wired itself for fat gain as portion sizes and calorie contents of restaurant dishes have steadily climbed higher and higher over the decades.
Whereas a typical restaurant dish may have only contained 500-750 calories a couple decades ago, dishes today easily contain upwards of 1000+ calories.
What this means is that you need to be hypervigilant when it comes to dining out if your goal is weight loss.
If you are going out to a restaurant, plan on eating only half of what you order and saving the rest for another meal. You can also opt to split an entree with another member of your dinner party.
To prevent overeating, take 1Up Appetite Suppressant 60 minutes before your meal. This will also help with those late night carb cravings.
Doing either of these will help save you hundreds of calories (literally)!
The main reason why people fail to lose weight is because they go over their daily calorie intake by overeating. Weight loss is a fairly simple process. All you have to do is be in a caloric deficit by burning a significantly amount of more calories than you intake by eating and drinking.
Two main ways to create a caloric deficit are working out and eating Less. There is only so much working out you can do, so the amount of calories you intake daily matters a lot.
After working with tens of thousands of clients, we realized it is extremely hard for clients to intake a substantial calorie deficit without constantly feeling hungry. This constant feeling of hunger can lead to overeating, which leads to slower or no weight loss
You needed something to help you control and suppress you appetite, so we created a Non-Stimulant AM & PM formula to help clients support reduced appetite, reduced cravings, increased fullness, improve their mood, and supports healthy blood sugar levels. As a dietary supplement, take 1 serving of 1UP Appetite Suppressant 1 hour before a meal in the AM or PM whenever seeking to curb appetite cravings
Bonus tip: most restaurants these days list the calorie counts on their websites and/or menus. Do some homework before going out to eat and find which dishes fit into your nutrition program. This way you won’t be caught off guard when it’s time to order.
#3 Be Mindful of Eating & Movement Patterns
As we get older it becomes commonplace to move less and eat more -- the exact opposite of what’s needed to lose weight.
We sit more, we mindlessly munch while watching tv, and this leads to unwanted (and unexpected) weight gain.
To be blunt, as you age, you need to be cognizant of your activity levels and eating patterns during the day.
Now, this doesn’t mean you need to adopt any whack-a-doodle fat diet that drastically cuts your calories, but you do need to keep an eye on how much you’re eating (see point #1).
Meal planning can help take care of the latter, but maintaining higher levels of physical activity can be challenging for individuals, especially those in demanding jobs.
This is when getting in movement of any kind can be a real help.
Going for walks intermittently during the day (taking a 5-minute stroll around the office for example), taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and parking at the very back of the parking lot all help you to increase your movement during the day and burn more calories without it actually feeling like exercise.
And, speaking of exercise, this brings us to the final tip for losing weight as you age...
#4 Perform Resistance Training
The final tip for losing weight as you age is one that isn’t nearly emphasized heavily enough across all age groups -- resistance training.
When it comes to losing weight, cardio is often touted as the “best” exercise for fat loss. The truth is that while this may help to burn a small amount of calories during the day, it does little to build or maintain muscle mass, which actually helps keep your metabolism higher.
Resistance training provides a powerful, robust signal to your body to build and maintain its lean muscle when in a calorie deficit.
The more muscle you have, the more calories you can eat while still losing weight, and it also gives your body those aesthetic, defined curves in all the right places!
Make it a goal to lift heavy weights three to four times per week.
If you need help determining a good resistance training program, we offer a customized training plan with every entry into our transformation challenge.
Takeaway
Aging is a part of life, and with it comes a natural slowing of your metabolism.
This means that you’ll be more likely to gain weight, or have to eat a lower number of calories in order to maintain your weight compared to your younger self.
Being mindful of portion size, tracking your calories, maintaining high levels of physical activity, and lifting heavy weights can help you lose weight as you age.
And, if you need help sticking to your diet or seeing results from your efforts in the gym or in the kitchen, 1UP Nutrition offers an extensive line of premium-quality supplements to aid you no matter if your goal is weight loss, muscle building, or general health & wellness.
