Health & Fitness

Effective Weight Loss For Women Over 50

In most women, menopause occurs around the age of 51-52, and noticeable weight gain quite often accompanies it. With this increase in weight comes an increase in the risk of health problems as well, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. But this weight isn’t there to stay. On the contrary, there are a number of approaches that women of 50 can make in order to keep their weight down.

Effective Weight Loss For Women Over 50

Develop Muscle

As women get older, their overall muscle mass decreases, which can lead to substantial weight gain. Muscle cells require a lot more calories to maintain than fat cells, so a larger percentage of muscle actually increases the number of calories a woman can consume without gaining excess weight. Therefore, by developing muscle through weight training, you are helping to substantially reduce your overall body fat, as well as the risk of potentially severe health problems.

Lose Those Calories

Whilst building up muscle is a great way to ensure that you can consume the same calories without putting on weight, there is obviously a more direct solution to this problem: cut out the calories. This doesn’t mean that you can no longer enjoy all of your favourite foods and treats (many of which possibly contain high levels of calories). Instead it means that you must learn to moderate and only enjoy these things on occasion.

Exercise More

Maybe you don’t want to cut back on your favourite foods? Ok, but you do have to do something to ensure that your weight doesn’t then balloon out of control. And the simplest solution is cardiovascular exercise. A minimum of 30 mins to an hour’s exercise on most days of every week will ensure that your levels of body fat stay at a minimum. Do more than that, and you can probably treat yourself a bit more often too!

Weight Loss Surgery

For some women, no matter how hard they try, they cannot lose weight. Not only is this demoralising, but it can seriously effect self-esteem as well. For these reasons, weight loss surgery is becoming an increasingly popular choice for women worldwide. You can get a better idea of the many procedures at The Hospital Group.

Your Choice

All of the above are very effective weight loss methods for women over 50. However the route you chose depends entirely upon your own body and lifestyle.