The Best Ways For Women Over 50 To Lose Belly Fat

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Once you hit 50 it is not as easy to lose weight as it was when you were younger. And back then the weight didn’t hang around your middle like an overly clingy child. It’s a little more difficult to get rid of now and there are a few hurdles to navigate before that child is happy to be seperated from you. Read on to find out the best ways for women over 50 to reduce abdominal weight.

When you hit midlife seemingly overnight, your once flat belly took on a mind of its own and the very expensive jeans you bought in the sales last season no longer fit. In fact the scales aren’t showing much difference but as lean muscle is shrinking, body fat is expanding and usually around your middle in what we horribly call, middle aged spread or if you want to get technical, visceral fat.

See below for some quick help with losing belly fat after 50:

Answers To Common Questions About Ways For Women Over 50 To Lose Belly Fat

What exercise is best for burning belly fat over 50?

It’s important to include a good mix of aerobic activity and weight training. Your aerobic activity can be exercises that you enjoy. Try walking, swimming, cycling, and running there should include bursts of high intensity interspersed with lower intensity. Strength training is about making it hard enought that it’s you almost struggle to do it. Then when you feel your not being stretched step it up a notch. This will keep you muscles strong and metabolism fired up.

How can I lose belly fat over 50 fast?

Top 7 things to do:

• Cut out sugar
• Move more
• Lift weights
• Sleep 7-8 hours
• Reduce Stress
• Eat healthy wholefoods
• Intermittent fasting

What foods are best for losing belly fat over 50?

The best foods to include in your diet that help you lose stomach fat in your 50’s are:

• Plant based food such as vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.
• Lean good quality protein or plant protein such as lentils, legumes and chickpeas.
• Healthy fats such as olive oil and avocado.
• Plenty of soluble fibre eg: phsyllium husk, lentils, ground linseed and brussel sprouts.
• Insoluble fiber eg: berries, spinach, cocount and peas

You’re doing the same exercise and eating …

the same healthy diet of whole foods you always have so why does the weight still go on?

The thought of having to starve and flog yourself as you did in your 20’s is crushing. Back then your diet consisted of lettuce leaves and low fat cottage cheese on a cracker and at least 4 times a week you wrestled your way into a leotard to do jazzercise!

Fat loss back then was as easy as a piece of cake. Only not cake, more a smearing of vegemite on a cruskit.

I empathise. At 50 years old I could no longer ignore my cottage cheese belly fat. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t like what I saw and if I was being honest with myself hadn’t done for some time.

I had been turning a blind eye to it and pretending that I was okay. But I really wasn’t.

Then I saw myself in a photo and I didn’t recognise me.

Not smiling, because I hated having my photo taken, slouching to try and diminish myself and THAT BELLY!

Call it vain. Call it what you want. I was not comfortable and I was going to damn well do something about it.

So why is it difficult to shed weight after 50?

What Changes Happen To Your Body Over 50

Estrogen levels fall and other hormones become imbalanced

Your ovaries are releasing fewer hormones and are less able to regulate your estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. The declining estrogen levels negatively affect your health in many ways.

To lose weight at this time it is important that you do what you can to balance your hormones.

Estrogen is the predominant hormone that is either declining or in some cases as in when you have estrogen dominance might be too high. With this constant movement other hormone levels can also become unbalanced.

You lose lean muscle

The drop in estrogen causes muscle and bone density to decline. Of course less muscle means more weight gain and usually in the form of belly fat. This fat is usually visceral fat which releases hormones and chemicals that can increase inflammation and insulin resistance, often a precursor to issues such as diabetes.

Your have a slower metabolism

Thanks to estrogen and consequently muscle and bone mass declining your metabolism will slow down and as a result, our body becomes less efficient at burning fat and calories. This can leave the way clear for insulin resistance which can cause illnesses such as type 2 Diabetes.

It does all seem like doom and gloom but it just means we have to do things differently and with a more specific focus on specific areas of our lifestyle.

How to lose belly fat in your 50’s and beyond

The good news – Starvation and flogging yourself in the gym doesn’t work.

The bad news – no exercise at all doesn’t work either and yes, you may have to cut some empty calories out of your daily diet.

Read on for my best weight loss ideas for over 50.

The best flat stomach exercises for over 50s to lose fat

These are the abosolute top picks for best exercises to flatten belly after 50. Essentially its two forms of exercise but there are many ways to do them and include them into your life.

Aerobic exercise

The benefits of aerobic training for women over 50 who want to lose their belly are:

• Increased muscle mass
• Increased bone density
• Better sleep
• Less stress and anxiety
• Better heart and lung health
• Increased metabolism

I used to think of cardio as me, swimming in sweat, red faced, puffing hard and hating every minute of it.

This kind of cardio puts quite a lot of stress on the body which is not ideal when your over 50.

Don’t think you need to be sweating and puffing as you push hard for an hour.

Cardio training can be as simple as a brisk walk 5 or 6 days a week. Even better, maybe you could include a hill or two.  I would recommend you do at least 30 minutes but preferably 40 minutes.

The reality is cardio is anything that even slightly raises you heart rate.

Other suggestions are:

• biking
• swimming
• HIIT
• Dancing
• golf
• gardening
• yoga
• pilates

Weight Training / Strength Training

We start to lose muscle from about the age of 30. To help rebuild that muscle it is important to include strength training in your exercise routine.

The more muscle you have the more energy you burn and the less fat you will carry. You’ll also have a far more toned appearance. Because strength training builds muscle which then helps you burn more fat this is the perfect exercise to help you lose more weight over 50 female.

You can reverse the loss of muscle mass that comes with this time of life with just a minimum amount of strength training.

Don’t worry I’m not suggesting you mix it with the testosterone fueled muscle bound men eyeing themselves up in the mirror at the gym.

This is about working your muscles with appropriatley sized weights to suit your level of ability.  And it is easily done at home.

What’s an appropriately sized weight?

Use a weight that you can do 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps with. The last 2 or 3 of those reps should be a little tough. That’s when you know your muscles are working.

Try for at least 2 sessions per week targeting the main muscle groups. Go for 2 to 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Start with smaller weights and when you feel it is manageable increase them. My first weights were 3 kg each ( 6-7 pounds), and I have built up from there.

If you find you can only do a two fine that’s two more than yesterday. Tomorrow or the day afer do three. Keep going until you build up to ten.

Then start on the second set.

When you get to three sets of 10 add a little more weight in and repeat the whole process.

When it starts to feel easy that’s when it’s not working. You should feel like it could be almost too hard to do.

RELATED POST: Lifting Weights In Midlife For Better Health

The best diet for losing body weight over 50

Cut out junk food which are full of the following

Sugar – The easiest way to lose weight after 50 is to cut out all sugar. If you can’t cut it all out then at least cut out added sugar and refined sugars.

Refined grains – Examples of these are white flour, white bread, white rice and pasta.

Animal or saturated fats – Eat lean meats, cut out butter and try to keep cheese and dairy to a minimum.

Trans fat – avoid at all costs.

Focus on eating plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Choose lean protein or plant protein.  Lentils, legume, and chickpeas are good sources of plant protein and are high in fibre as well as full of helpful nutrients.

Eat healthy fats such as avocado and olive oil, nuts and seeds. These healthy fats can stabilise your weight and decrease the likelihood of developing visceral fat.

Make sure you include plenty of fibre soluble and insoluble.

Examples of soluble fibre are

• phsyllim husk
• ground linseed
• lentils
• brussel sprouts
• sunflower seeds
• hazelnuts
• apples
• pears
• dates
• broccoli
• chia

Insoluble fibre examples are:

• Beans, lentils and legumes of all kinds
• Berries, including blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.
• Quinoa, sorghum, millet, amaranth, oatmeal and rye
• Green peas
• Spinach
• Radishes
• Coconut (grated flakes or flour)
• Cocoa
• Apples with skin
• Pears with skin
• Flaxseeds
• Avocado
• Sunflower seeds
• Sweet potatoes
• Almonds
• Walnuts

Often foods that are high in fibre are high in both soluble and insoluble.

See these two posts for more on healthy foods to include in your diet to lose weight.

5 Best Foods For Energy And Weight Loss

3 Foods That Will Make Your Menopause Symptoms Worsl

Add more lean protein in your diet to lose belly fat after 50

Including plenty of good quality protein in your diet will not only help with weight loss but will help slow muscle loss.

Older women have higher protein needs than those of their younger counterparts and it is shown that eating a protein rich diet can not only prevent but reverse muscle loss that occurs at this time in your life.

A bonus of eating protein is that it keeps you feeling fuller for longer meaning you are less likely to snack.

Consider The Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss

Intermittent fasting is not deprivation but haveing a smaller window in which you eat and extending the window of time in which you don’t eat.

This is an easy way to lose weight by only eating in a specified period. Generally your eating period will be 8-10 hours while fasting for the other 14-16 hrs.

This type of fasting has many benefits such as:

• More energy
• Weight loss
• Increase in muscle
• Balancing hormones

The most common fasting periods are 12, 14 or 16 hours without food. Typically those times would include the time that you are asleep so not as difficult as you might think.

If you eat your last meal at 7pm then you eat your first meal at 7am and that’s 12 hours. It’s a great starting point and as your body get’s used to it you can stretch it out to that 16 hours which can be very beneficial to losing belly fat.

In my opinon it’s the best weight loss plan for women over 50.

If intermittent fasting it is not an opportunity to eat anything and everything in your chosen time. In fact with the shortened time you have to eat if you choose a healthy diet of wholefoods it is likely or hopeful that you will be eating fewer calories.

Move, move, move

Physical Activity

Get a pedometer and track your steps. Many women have jobs where they sit for long periods which makes it difficult to lose any weight.

Having a pedometer makes it easy to see just how much you move and encourage you to do more if needed. A good goal is 10,000 steps but remember start where you are and build up.

Try to make it brisk walking so it gets your heart rate up just a little making it a better aerobic workout.

Cut out the takeaways to cut down the weight

I get it, you’ve worked late, got stuck in traffic on the way home and the last thing you feel like doing is cooking, especially for four people.

When you cook the meals yourself you can have control over the ingredients. It doesn’t have to be difficult, just a piece of good quality protein and a simple salad is all that is needed and can be prepped in the time it would take to pick up a take away and cost a third of the price.

Stop eating at least 3 hours before bed

Going to bed with a full belly can interfere with your sleep.

Your digestion slows down at night so you may experience indigestion if you try to sleep before your last meal has been digested.

Food close to bedtime will also spike your blood sugar levels meaning you will have energy that wants get out right when you want to rest.

Take a good supplement

As you get older, your ability to absorb some nutrients declines and being deficiant can short circuit some of the body’s processes leaving the way open for weight gain and other issues.

Women in midlife should consider taking B Vitamins, Vitamin D which helps us absorb calcium, magnesium, calcium and omega 3.

Get enough sleep

7-8 hours of sleep per night is optimum.

But when that time is spent night after night waking and not sleeping well, your glucose-carrying hormone called insulin, stays higher than usual overnight. This hormone will thne interfere with both melatonin and another sleep hormone called Adenosine.

As sleep deprivation accumulates, it can increase the risk of heart problems, anxiety and depression; resulting in even more sleepless nights and worsening night sweats.

As well as this, inadequate sleep causes less insulin to be released into the body after you eat.

At the same time more cortisol is released, a hormone which helps you stay awake but makes it harder for insulin to do its job.

We, therefore, end up with too much glucose in the blood-stream causing us to put on weight around our bellies and leaving us at risk of diabetes.

On top of the extra cortisol lack of sleep can reduce the hormone which tells us when we are full, so, we crave high-calorie foods which are high in sugar and processed carbs.

Indulging these cravings can wreak havoc on our insulin and blood sugar levels and that takes us full circle to more belly fat and making weight loss very difficult.

And, who on this earth feels like exercising when they are tired.

It all becomes a vicious circle with only one winner, the clothes manufacturers because you’re going to need some new jeans.

Lack of sleep will also cause more stress which brings me to my next point.

Stress and weight loss

Stress is one of the top reasons for most 50 year old belly fat issues.

Continual stress as we transition into menopause can also increase your cortisol levels.

This powerful stress hormone works in tandem with your sleep hormone, melatonin. So too much cortisol will interfere with your sleep which then causes your insulin to remain high overnight when it is usually decreasing. The insulin will hold onto fat making it doubly difficult to lose the weight around your middle.

If you find you are often stressed it is a good idea to practice mindfulness.

Meditation or Yoga or both are great ways to calm the body from stress.

Yoga is also a fabulous way to increase strength, flexibility and balance which is important as we start to age.

Related Posts:

9 Amazing Ways Yoga Can Benefit Us In Midlife

How to Reduce Stress To Lose Weight In Midlife

Improve Your Gut Health

Thanks to diets high in processed foods and sugar, dairy products full of hormones, antibiotics, and constant chronic stress, many women have impaired gut health.

Your gut health is even more important as you age. Keeping it healthy will help with weight loss and reduce bloating. Plus as an added benefit when you reduce toxins you will siffer less skin irritations and look amazing.

Conclusion…

it is absolutely possible to get rid of belly fat in menopause. It is definitely not done by starving your self and doing excessive exercise.

It does, however, require us to increase exercise a little and be carefule about the type of exerecise we choose to do.

Eat a balanced diet high in fibre and insoluble fiber and low in refined carbohydrates.

Get adequate sleep and keep stress to a minimum.

The best ways for women over 50 to shed fat.

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