How To Get Rid Of Belly Fat Over 50?

 

Many Men and Women fight belly fat all their life and I want to talk about the stubborn kind of belly fat and how you can get rid of it over 50.

I, like many others have fought with my weight all my life. Now in my early 50’s means that watching my weight becomes a lot harder even though I eat healthy and I keep fit 6 times per week.

The problem lies in the fact that what we could get away with in our 30’s is not the same as we head into our 40’s and our 50’s.

I want to help you understand how you can help to get rid of that stubborn belly fat and generally become healthier and fitter.

What Is Adipose Tissue?

Adipose Tissue consists mainly of fat cells which is found under the skin but also deposits between the muscles, intestines, heart, and bone marrow.

Adipose tissue is formed of two types both White and Brown.

White Adipose Tissue is the most common and provides insulation and serves as an energy source.

White Adipose Tissue is also a source of different hormones which help in our metabolism and endocrine functions.

Brown adipose tissue generally decreases with age and helps generate heat and in doing so consumes energy.

In the main adipose tissue accumulates differently in men and women. In men, it accumulates around the waist whereas in women that accumulation occurs around the hips.

Ideal Body Weight Percentage

Our bodies are made up of Muscle, Fat, Water and Bone and depending on our age and different stages of our life this percentage changes.

Our body fat percentage is how we measure obesity levels which is set by the World Health Organization.

I try not to count calories but more look to eating well and combining with exercise. Therefore, you really need an effective way to measure your body in a more scientific way which can be done so through weighing scales measuring Fat, Muscle, Water which you can buy for not much money.

Your ideal weight depends on age and genetics and will usually sit somewhere around these figures.

Ideal Body Fat Percentages

Description Male Female

Athlete 6 – 13% 14 – 20%

Fitness 14 – 17% 21 – 24%

Average 18 – 24% 25 – 31%

Above Average >25% >32%

So how can we change our body fat percentage especially over the age of 50?

Exercise

It will come as no surprise that exercise plays a huge part in keeping us fit and healthy and stopping the increase of adipose tissue.

So, what type of exercise is best and why?

To stay relatively fit and healthy the World Health Organization state that we should be doing a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise. However, these are just to maintain a moderate level of fitness.

To really ensure that you are looking after your body for optimum fitness you should be combining your exercise with the following.

Cardiovascular

Helps to ensure that you look after your heart and blood pressure and means getting out of breath. This does not have to be for long periods of times and my suggestion is a minimum 10 minutes of your 30-minute daily exercise routine.

Strength Training

Important for maintaining tone and movement to our muscles. Strength training also enables us to burn more calories not just during our work out but also for many hours later.

For every 1% muscle increase another 50 calories can be burned.

Stretch & Mobility

It is so important to be kind to our muscles, bones, and our joints too. Our body works as one unit and to ensure that we can keep operating for our everyday life we need to ensure we have maximum movement in all areas which helps to stop injuries.

Increasing our flexibility will enable us to sit down, walk up and down the stairs, brush our teeth etc

I know what you are thinking.

If I only need to be doing 150 minutes of exercise every week, how can I possibly ensure that I look after my heart, muscles, and joints together?

Simple answer for me is to do High Intensity Interval Training and then adding in Yoga or Pilates.

High Intensity Interval Training needs only to be about 10 to 20 minutes per day. Try to mix up your workouts so that you can emphasize training your body in different ways.

Most HiiT Workouts use body weight for strength and high repetitions to get that cardio workout. Maximum results in short periods of time.

Add 20 to 30-minute Yoga sessions will help to keep your body supple as well as build up strength.

However, a daily workout will not work if you are managing to sit in front of your computer or on the sofa for many that 8 – 10 hours per day. For every hour that you sit down you should ensure that you move for a minimum of 10 minutes. Go for a walk and get some fresh air outside. Or if you are in the office walk to the coffee machine.

Eating Habits

I am sorry to say that you must change your eating habits to lose that stubborn belly fat.

Cut Out Sugar

Refined sugars are so bad for you and will only lead to an increased waistline. These bad sugars are found in

Cakes

Biscuits

White Starchy Foods such as Pasta, Rice, and bread

Increase Fibre

30 grams of fibre every day can make a big difference when it comes to getting rid of fat.

Most of us do not eat enough fibre which you can find in foods such as

Green Leafy Vegetables

Beans

Lentils

Whole Grains

Eat Protein with every meal

Ensuring that you are eating plenty of protein is important to help increase metabolism, skeletal muscle fibers, weight regulating hormones, and decrease body fat.

Protein is found in

White meat

Fish

Lean red meat

Beans

Soy

Seeds

Nuts

Water

You should be drinking 2 to 3 litres pf water per day. Our body is made up of 65% to 70% of water.

Water aids our digestion, regulates our body temperature, maintains our blood volume, and improves our physical performance.

Dry skin is never a good look and if you are continually replacing your water your skin will thank you by looking and feeling more youthful.

Limit Alcohol Intake

Unfortunately, alcohol is the worst culprit for you when you are looking to get rid of body fat. 7 calories per 1 gram with no added value to your body just pure excess calories.

The other bad thing with alcohol is that it increases appetite and usually leads to eating too many of the wrong calories.

It is better to limit your alcohol especially any that add extra beverages and increased sugar.

1 glass of wine with your meal is probably a reasonable amount but anymore is detrimental to your weight and health.

Sleep

Our bodies need 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night to enable us to recover and feel rested.

Restless sleep is detrimental for your health and well-being as well as stopping you from losing that fat.

Conclusion

Hopefully, I have been able to give you a few ideas about how to lose that stubborn body fat and increase your health now you are over 50.

It will certainly be the combination of small things done regularly that will give you the ability and determination to keep the fat off without too much interference to your lifestyle so that it will be easier to maintain.

Move More

Eat Well

Decrease Alcohol

Increase Water

Improve Sleep

If you have any further questions or comments please leave below and I will get back to help you.