Weight loss can become more challenging for people once they hit 50, even if they’re exercising and eating well. Here’s exactly how to approach weight loss safely in midlife and beyond.
Our basal metabolic rate, the amount of calories we burn while resting, goes down as we age.(Image: Getty Images)
Losing weight gets increasingly harder as we get older.
Even if we’re exercising similarly and eating well, our ability to keep weight off just isn’t the same at 50 as it was at 20. Dr. Craig Primack, who is an obesity medicine specialist and Head of Weight Loss at Hims & Hers, tells the Mirror there are two main things we have to start thinking about in regards to our health as we reach middle age.
The first is physical and known as anabolic resistance, which continuously changes from our late-20s onwards.
“We become less efficient at using protein to build muscle,” Dr. Primack says. “So our basal metabolic rate, the amount of calories we burn just sitting at rest, goes down.”
For women, when they go through menopause and perimenopause, their oestrogen level goes down, and they start to carry fat in a different way. Men, who produce less testosterone as they age, find that they can’t maintain muscle mass as well.
The second part of the equation is that priorities change as we get older, such as spending more time with family, sitting down more at work or at home, and generally being less active.
Dr. Primack says he has seen many men and women feel discouraged when they see their bodies change. But it doesn’t have to be this way. He shared five pieces of advice for people in middle age and older for managing their weight safely while protecting muscle mass, energy, and long-term health.
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1. Push protein but keep calories in check
The first thing people should change if they want to see results is their diet, Dr. Primack says. That doesn’t mean just about cutting out sweets he said, but “boosting protein higher.” For years, diet culture has told people to eat less, Dr. Primack says. But that’s not sustainable.
“Protein first is a good way to think about it,” he says. “Get your protein in and then if there’s calories left in your day because you’ve been active, keep the other pieces small.”
2. Fix your sleeping routine
Sleep is incredibly important, Dr. Primack says, especially for women. Going through menopause “really messes up sleep,” he says, which in turn has an impact on appetite.
“Appetite is controlled by hormones called leptin and ghrelin — we want ghrelin to be low and leptin to be high, and when we don’t sleep, they do the oppohttps://gymforcestore.com/,” he says. This leads to more hunger pangs and more temptation to reach for treats with high sugar and fat content.
Dr. Primack recommends aiming for at least seven hours of restorative sleep to help your hormones and your motivation.
“When you’re tired, the last thing you want to do in the morning is get up and be active,” Dr Primack adds. “When we’re less active, we’re just sluggish. So sometimes we use food to pick up our mood or our energy and then it’s just a negative spiral.”
3. Prioritise strength training and gentle exercise
When working out, Dr. Primack warns you shouldn’t just focus on cardiovascular exercise to see results, but strength training to build muscle.
One hour for two to three days a week is a good balance, he says. You don’t need any fancy equipment, and can even train with a sack of flour.
“Trying to do something gently active every single day, even if it’s a 20 minute walk around the neighbourhood, especially after a meal, is always good,” Dr. Primack adds. “That movement helps the body digest. It helps bring the blood sugar down. It also helps with sleep in a couple of hours. There are so many good things.”
4. Consider weight loss medication if appropriate
Controlling appetite is something people don’t tend to be very good at on their own, and weight loss medications can really help quieten the “food noise” in people’s minds. For some, lifestyle changes will work. But many others struggle with losing weight for years, even decades.
Hims & Hers provides a comprehensive weight loss programme, including GLP-1 medications, which are provided for obesity management. They’re not approved and provided alone, but in addition to advice on dietary changes and regular exercise, Dr. Primack says.
“Weight loss has been hard when you do it on your own, let’s put it that way,” Dr Primack says. “Medications are the thing that now sets it apart.”
5. Set healthy expectations
There’s no expectation that people need to go to the gym every day to lose weight, Dr. Primack says. Weight loss isn’t a short term fix. It’s all about consistency.
“You don’t have to be perfect every day,” he says. “Let’s aim for 80% good every day. Some days it’s going to be 60%, some days it might be 100%.” Even on your worst days, it’s unlikely you’ll be giving 0%.
Longevity is about living a long, healthy, productive life doing the things that you want to do, Dr. Primack says.
“As we get into our 70s and 80s, that’s spending time with our grandchildren,” he adds. “It’s doing the things that we may have put off during our working years, and we’re now healthy enough now to do.”
