How to lose weight after 50 years for a woman with menopause

In old age, many people believe that they can stop caring about a slim figure and their own weight. Concerns about appearance are no longer a motivation to curb appetite and avoid junk food. However, this is a fundamentally wrong position, because it is in old age that you should seriously think about losing weight and switching to proper nutrition.

This determines what your old age will be like and whether you have a chance to become a long-liver. If you are not tempted by the prospect of spending your entire pension on pharmacies and hospitals, if you want to remain vigorous, cheerful and active even after 70, then be sure to read this material to the end. In it are experts from the School of Nutritionists of the Wellness Consulting Academy

they will give 10 important tips that will help you maintain normal weight and lose weight in old age, and also tell you why you need it...

Why should older people lose weight and eat healthy?

The deteriorating environmental situation on the planet and the active use of various chemical additives in the food industry have led to the fact that today, at the age of 55-60, the health of most of us is far from ideal. This situation is significantly aggravated by excess weight and bad eating habits. Excess body weight and obesity aggravate the course of many chronic diseases and lead to the development of new ones.

Overweight people almost always have elevated levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, and are diagnosed with atherosclerosis, hypertension or other cardiovascular pathologies, which, if left untreated and controlled, can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

They also have a tendency to insulin resistance (prediabetes) due to carbohydrate and metabolic disorders. In the future, this promises the development of diabetes mellitus

the second type is an incurable disease that requires significant correction of nutrition and lifestyle in general.

Excess weight contributes to varicose veins and joint problems (arthritis, arthrosis, osteoarthritis, gout), as there is a lot of stress on the legs and knees, in particular. Walking for a long time becomes not only inconvenient, but also excruciatingly painful.

However, other problems with the musculoskeletal system are often diagnosed, for example, osteochondrosis and decreased bone mass due to a sedentary lifestyle and an unbalanced diet. The latter often causes osteoporosis, a disease that in its acute form confines a person to bed and greatly reduces his motor activity. In this case, to alleviate the condition, special therapeutic nutrition

.

Due to excess fat mass in the body, obesity of internal organs occurs when they literally become overgrown with fat and, accordingly, stop working normally. This applies to the heart, liver, kidneys, stomach and pancreas.

An unhealthy diet and regular overeating also affect the activity of the intestine: its peristalsis is disrupted, which causes chronic constipation, and then hemorrhoids.

Accumulations of abdominal fat put a lot of pressure on the diaphragm, and this burdens the lungs and makes breathing difficult. As a result, obese people are much more likely to experience bronchitis and pneumonia, develop pulmonary failure and asthma.

Now imagine that one person can have the entire list of diseases listed above. In old age, this is an unbearable test that turns an ordinary pensioner into a disabled person. Don't want to let this happen? Then take advantage of the recommendations of Lara Serebryanskaya’s school of nutritionists regarding weight loss in old age...

Features of women losing weight in adulthood: expert advice

Every person dreams of staying slim at any age. However, many note that at one point the usual methods of quickly adjusting their body weight suddenly stop working, and getting rid of excess kilograms becomes increasingly difficult. Diets that have been tested over the years simply do not work or end up being much less effective than expected. Life is becoming more stable and settled, and energy costs are becoming several times less than in youth. Now, in order to lose weight after 50 years, you will need to come up with something different, choose a different diet. Let's figure out what exactly nutritionists recommend.

According to experts, sharply reducing weight through extraordinary measures in adulthood is by no means the best solution. This may have a negative impact on your health. It is optimal to lose no more than four kilograms per week, while using the right balance of nutrition and reasonable exercise.

Recommendations from experienced and trainers

For women, the problem of excess weight is always much more pressing than for men. Therefore, the question of how to lose excess weight after 50 years is much more pressing for them. Over time, excess fat leads to serious health problems: cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and other equally serious ailments. The legs and joints suffer, there is constantly increased sweating, crazy pressure surges, and all this due to the constantly increased load. Moreover, the greater the reserves of fat put aside “for a rainy day,” the more difficult it is to get rid of it later.

• It's time to take control of your diet. It is in proper nutrition that lies the secret of well-being, health and beauty at any age.
• Weight loss after 50 should happen as slowly as possible.
• Go for walks in the fresh air more often.
• Be sure to go in for sports - properly distributed, reasonable physical activity will help keep your body in good shape for many years.
• Do something that is not too traumatic or difficult. For example, this could be cycling or horseback riding, swimming, walking in the forest to pick mushrooms or go fishing.

Older women also need to be extremely careful with fasting days, as they can also seriously affect their health. At this age, you can already allow yourself to completely abandon fashionable diets and really take care of yourself.

Optimal weight for women 50 years old

There can be no general data on this issue. Each woman has her own physique, figure features, height and other objective data. Therefore, to say that after fifty years everyone should weigh the same would be stupid. However, some points can be taken into account to calculate your own ideal weight at any age.

It is believed that the ideal weight is the weight that a woman had at eighteen years old. In the best case scenario, it should be preserved until old age. However, in reality, this rarely happens, and you should not strive to achieve such indicators at any cost. After all, approximately one year of life accounts for minus 1% of energy consumption, that is, in ten years you reduce consumption by 10%. This means that with the same lifestyle, physical activity and nutrition, weight will have to increase by 5-7 kilograms.

In addition to such rough calculations, there are special formulas that doctors use to determine ideal body weight.

Brocca

Previously, there was a simple version of calculations. It was necessary to take a person’s height and subtract a hundred from it for men or a hundred and ten for women. It was slightly outdated and then doctors improved the formula. Since we are talking about women, we will choose the option specifically for them.

IV=(P – 110) * 1.15

Where:

IW is the ideal weight (for a woman).

P – height in centimeters.

For example, let's do the calculation for a woman whose height is 173 centimeters.

(173 – 110) * 1.15 = 72.45

This means that with such growth, the weight of the food should remain at the level of seventy-two and a half kilograms.

Lorenz

This formula was developed specifically for women by the Dutch physicist Hendrik A. Lorenz. Therefore, in no way is it suitable for the stronger sex. In addition, it “works” only for those ladies whose height does not exceed 175 centimeters.

IV = (P -100) – (P-150): 2

Where:

IV is the ideal weight.

P – height in centimeters.

Let's give an example of calculation for a height of 168 centimeters.

(168 – 100) – (168 – 150):2 = 59

Thus, it turns out that the ideal weight is exactly 59 kilograms. However, you need to understand that this is the mass that should be at eighteen years old. For convenience, you can add that same 10% for each ten years lived after adulthood in order to more accurately understand how much a woman should weigh at 50 years old.

Among other things, your best weight to strive for can be easily calculated using your body mass index (BMI). By calculating your own indicators, you can very easily determine whether you need to gain weight or lose weight.

Tip #1. Follow your diet strictly

Without this, absolutely nothing will work. Elderly people, just like children, should eat according to a specific regimen without significant deviations. This will allow you to control your metabolism, improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and accustom them to activity at certain hours.

To lose weight, you will have to eat 5-6 times a day in small portions. This way you won’t put too much strain on your stomach and pancreas, because smaller amounts of food are easier to digest and better absorbed. This diet will also help curb hunger and help solve the problem of regular overeating or eating disorders.

– the most common causes of excess weight.

Organize 3 main meals and 2 snacks between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner. In the first half of the day, eat high-calorie dishes from the menu so that the body has time to spend the energy received. After 15:00 you should eat foods with less calories.

Fractional meals will speed up your metabolism as much as possible, and this has a beneficial effect on weight correction. And remember one more important rule: don’t overeat at night. Overeating before bed has a bad effect on the figure and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and also contributes to insomnia, which is already a serious problem in old age.

Do you want to know how to easily fall asleep and have a great night's sleep, forgetting about insomnia? Then watch this video with nutritionist Lara Serebryanskaya:

How to eat for women after 50 years

For women who have reached their fiftieth birthday, all known express diets are completely and unconditionally prohibited. There are quite objective reasons for this. Of course, a sharp reduction in the calorie content of food will definitely have an effect. However, as the skin becomes less elastic with age, unsightly folds may form. The skin may well sag in the most inappropriate places.

Useful and nutritious substances

Nutrition must be clearly balanced, including all the necessary elements for the proper functioning of all body systems.

• Phytoestrogens.
• Minerals.
• Vitamins.
• Pectins.
• Micro and macroelements.
• Probiotics.
• Antioxidants.
• Fiber (dietary fiber).
• Essential amino acids.

Moreover, it is recommended to lose weight slowly so that the skin has time to tighten, because it has been stretching for years. It's worth giving her a little time to get back to normal.

Diet for women after 50 years: basic rules

The main point that should constantly be in your head if you decide to lose weight after 50 should be your drinking regime. Many people do not attach importance to water, which is completely in vain. On average, you need to consume at least two liters of liquid. Don't be afraid that you won't be able to drink it. This amount includes tea, coffee, liquid meals and everything else “fluid” that you consumed during the day.

• Don't forget about the correct balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. After fifty this is especially important. It is highly not recommended to use entirely protein or carbohydrate nutrition systems. The thing is that fats are necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Without receiving them, the body will not function fully.
• You can’t eat to capacity; this is a fundamentally wrong approach that leads directly to obesity. It is best to choose a fractional eating style, arranging up to 5-7 meals per day.
• The basis of the diet should be exclusively plant foods, but completely excluding meat, seafood and lactic acid products is also not recommended. Ideally, about 60-65% of the total diet should be allocated to vegetables, fruits, herbs and other plant derivatives.

Another important factor is drinking food. This is a common mistake that needs to be eradicated as soon as you want to take a sip of water after lunch. It is advisable to wait 15-20 minutes and only then drink. This will allow digestion to work properly, and in this case, more energy will be spent on food processing.

Sample menu for 1 day

For ease of understanding, we will present an approximate menu for one day for a woman after fifty.

• Breakfast: two-egg omelette, a piece of bitter (dark) chocolate, herbal or green tea.
• Snack: apple or pear, natural yogurt.
• Lunch: vegetable or meat soup, a slice of whole grain bread with butter or cheese, half an avocado.
• Afternoon snack: fresh low-fat cottage cheese with wild berries or any fruit.
• Dinner: boiled or baked poultry without fat (except duck), rabbit or beef, salad of seasonal vegetables.
• Snack 1.5 hours before bedtime: kefir with honey.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated here and developing a diet for a week or even a month, guided by similar principles, will not be difficult at all.

How to lose weight during menopause using folk remedies

This is a difficult period for a woman, both psychologically and physically. Almost fifty percent of the population begins to gain weight slowly after age fifty. After menopause, losing weight is much more difficult than in youth. There are a number of popular recommendations that also do not hurt to remember.

• A complete exclusion from the diet of fast food, sweet confectionery, baked goods, and baked goods will help; it will not hurt to give up canned and pickled foods.
• Make it a habit to drink ginger and lemon water regularly. The correct proportions and recipes are in a separate article on our website. This drink will help not only burn excess pounds, but at the same time also keep your weight within normal limits.
• Use freshly squeezed juices (fresh juices) from anything to speed up the building process. They can be drunk either diluted with water or whole. It is optimal to prepare juices from celery, carrots, pineapples, apples, and herbs if the main goal is weight loss.
• Prepare yourself a delicious tea from linden, St. John's wort, cherry leaves and milk thistle, taken in equal parts. The herbs should be placed in a teapot, pour boiling water, cover with a lid and wrap in a towel. You need to drink half or a whole glass of this infusion half an hour after eating. This is a very useful folk recipe for weight loss.

To improve the result, it is advisable to quit drinking alcohol and cigarettes, which also do not contribute to weight loss.

Tip #2. Reduce caloric intake by 25%

With age, the body's energy needs decrease, physical activity decreases, and metabolism slows down. If you do not reduce (reduce) the calorie intake, then excess weight will be gained very easily and quickly.

To maintain a healthy body weight or lose weight, your daily calorie intake should be reduced by about 25%. This will create comfortable conditions for weight correction, since it is especially dangerous for older people to be on various restrictive diets.

Reviews and results

Judging by the reviews, the diet after 50 for weight loss works. It is important to understand that the presented diet should be followed for as long as possible, because... It is based on proper nutrition, taking into account the characteristics of the female body. Gradually, the presented diet becomes habitual and a restructuring of metabolism occurs, due to which excess weight is lost and health improves. The diet after 50 for weight loss is easily tolerated, has virtually no contraindications and has proven its effectiveness. A varied menu eliminates starvation and the presence of an annoying feeling of hunger during a diet. Normalization of stool and improved digestion are noted. The presented menu is ideal for those over 50.

Tip #4. Eliminate hydrogenated fats and reduce saturated lipids

Reducing the amount of animal fats in favor of plant and polyunsaturated fatty acids for an elderly person is no longer a recommendation, but a necessity.

Not only do saturated lipids and trans fats contribute to excess weight gain, but they also increase the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, and this leads to the development of such a serious disease as atherosclerosis (partial or complete blockage of blood vessels and arteries with cholesterol plaques).

The consequences of atherosclerosis are heart attacks and strokes, which for an elderly person often result in death or lead to disability. If you have already been diagnosed with this, then you urgently need to review your diet. For a while, it is better to switch to a vegetarian diet altogether, leaving only foods with vegetable fats and omega-3 fatty acids on the menu.

By the way, the latter help reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and stop the formation of new atherosclerotic plaques. You can find omega-3 in nuts, unrefined vegetable oil, fatty fish and seafood, avocados and olives, seeds and seeds (flaxseed, sesame).

Remember that you cannot completely remove fats from your diet, as this contributes to hormonal imbalances and leads to skin and hair problems. We talk in detail about the importance and correlation of different types of fats during training at our school of dietetics.

To limit animal fats in your menu, do the following:

• include fish and lean meats (chicken and turkey fillets, quail, veal, rabbit) in your diet, and remove pork, beef, lamb, duck and goose;
• eat only low-fat dairy and fermented milk products;
• instead of hard and processed cheeses, use rennet varieties;
• reduce the amount of egg yolks.
• remove from your diet mayonnaise, margarine, spread and all other products that contain hydrogenated fats (store-bought cakes and pastries, processed foods, fast food, etc.).

Diet for menopause: what to eat and what to give up

The only way to guarantee weight loss during menopause for most women is proper nutrition. A diet for menopause involves a balanced, healthy diet. Only a diet rich in vitamins and minerals saves from premature aging of the skin and the development of age-related diseases, helps maintain slimness and improves well-being, and also reduces menopausal symptoms and speeds up metabolism.

If you stick to this diet, you can easily lose weight at home.

Healthy diet

During menopause, be sure to include the following products in your menu:

• lean meat (beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit);
• low-fat dairy products (kefir, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, yogurt);
• cereals and cereals of all types, bran;
• vegetables and herbs;
• fruits and berries;
• dried fruits, nuts, seeds;
• natural juices, herbal teas;
• fish and vegetable oils;
• onion and garlic;
• beans.

Preference should be given to dishes prepared in the oven, steamer, boiling or stewing. But frying should be avoided.

Harmful products

Minimize or completely avoid consuming the following foods:

• fat meat;
• fast food and other semi-finished products;
• cakes, pastries, chocolate;
• sausage, frankfurters;
• smoked meats and canned food;
• spicy and unnatural sauces;
• margarine and vegetable spread;
• sweet soda and juices in boxes;
• coffee;
• alcohol.

Sample menu

You can choose the following combinations of meals and products for the week.

For breakfast:

• muesli with milk (low-fat yogurt), banana and nuts;
• pumpkin pancakes, kiwi and strawberry smoothies;
• two toasts or bread with cottage cheese, an egg, fruit salad and green tea with mint;
• vegetable salad with olive oil, toast with berry jam, rose hips;
• oatmeal with blueberries, crispbread, plums or apricots;
• cheesecakes with low-fat sour cream, baked apple with honey;
• cornflakes, croutons with low-fat cheese, ginger tea.

For lunch:

• onion soup, stewed vegetables with fish cutlet;
• mashed potatoes with boiled chicken, fresh salad of vegetables and herbs;
• buckwheat with steamed fish, low-fat cottage cheese;
• cauliflower and green pea soup, legume puree;
• borscht made from lean meat, a piece of bread with fish pate;
• spaghetti with boiled chicken, grapefruit;
• chicken soup with fillet, two slices of whole grain bread.

For dinner:

• vegetable stew, rice cutlets, apple;
• boiled beans, a piece of bread with liver pate, an orange;
• buckwheat with steamed fish, a portion of low-fat cottage cheese with pieces of fruit;
• millet and lean chops, tomato and cucumber salad;
• vinaigrette with sunflower oil;
• baked potatoes, bell pepper and tomato salad;
• steamed chicken cutlets and fresh seasonal vegetable salad.

Tip #5. Switch to light proteins

Proteins are generally difficult for our body to digest, and even more so in old age. Therefore, all proteins that are difficult to digest should be replaced with light ones: lean meat, fish, egg whites, low-fat dairy products, vegetable proteins from nuts and cereals.

The daily protein requirement for people over 60 years of age is approximately 0.8-1 g per kilogram of body weight. Do not neglect compliance with this norm, since proteins are needed to maintain muscle mass, which decreases with age.

When there is not enough protein, muscles become flabby, which increases the risk of muscle tension, leading to pinched nerves. And if a person is diagnosed with osteoporosis of the lumbar region, then a weak muscle corset only intensifies the characteristic back pain.

Medical examination and doctor's recommendations

Before you begin to implement the task of losing kilograms, you should consult with your doctor. Age and excess weight leave their mark not only on appearance, but also on health in general. Therefore, before trying to get rid of kilograms, you need to visit an endocrinologist, therapist, cardiologist, and also undergo a comprehensive examination.

It is important to understand that losing weight is a very big stress for the body, especially when an overweight woman is trying to quickly lose weight and torments the body with various diets and newfangled methods.

Additionally, it is recommended to talk with a nutritionist who will tell you about the rules of nutrition after fifty years and recommend the most suitable way to lose weight.

If after changing your diet and introducing physical activity into your lifestyle, your health condition has deteriorated significantly, you should seek help from a doctor.

Tip #6. Limit your intake of sweets and other simple carbohydrates

They contribute to rapid weight gain, reduce insulin resistance and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Simple carbohydrates must be replaced with complex ones: whole grain cereals and pasta, vegetables and fruits, legumes (be careful with the latter, as they contain coarse fiber, which is difficult for the stomach to digest).

It is worth noting that complex carbohydrates of plant origin include dietary fiber, which improves intestinal motility and helps solve the problem of chronic constipation, which is common among older people. They satiate perfectly and for a long time, helping to control hunger and avoid unnecessary overeating.

Tip #7. Keep drinking regime

With age, this is especially important, since the skin loses its former elasticity, wrinkles appear, the blood begins to thicken and flows through the vessels worse. Proper drinking regimen allows you to avoid dehydration, improves skin condition, removes toxins and waste, thins the blood, reducing the risk of thrombosis.

Therefore, elderly people need to drink at least 1.5 liters of non-carbonated purified water per day. Moreover, you need to do this, even if you don’t really want to (over the years, people feel thirst worse).

Tip #8: Reduce the amount of sugar and salt in your diet

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that contributes to weight gain. Excessive consumption can disrupt carbohydrate metabolism and lead to the development of insulin resistance.

And salt, as you know, retains fluid in the body. Therefore, if you eat a lot of it (more than 10 g per day), edema will appear and blood pressure will increase, which for hypertensive patients is fraught with a hypertensive crisis. Salt is also harmful for people with diseased joints, as it is deposited in them and reduces their mobility.

It is advisable to eat no more than 5-7 g of sodium chlorine per day. For this:

• limit or completely eliminate pickled and canned foods;
• give up salty snacks (chips, salted crackers and nuts);
• do not use marinades, store-bought sauces and ketchups, processed foods, fast food, soy sauce, and salted fish.