Diet Or Exercise?
For those over 60 years of age, the recommended means of weight loss is not dieting but exercise. As we age, the food we eat matters more than ever. Most researchers believe that a healthy, well-rounded diet plays an important role in minimizing inflammation, maintaining muscle tone, bone health and brain function. This is because dieting when you are younger often produces a loss in body fat, whereas dieting when you are older often reduces muscle and bone mass instead.
Preventing Muscle Loss
Muscle loss is hard to measure, but if you are having trouble lifting or moving objects around, you might be experiencing a decline in muscle mass that begins for some people as early as age 40. Exercise helps to prevent loss of muscle mass and maintains bone density well into old age. Although any form of exercise is good, resistance or endurance exercises are preferable to aerobic workouts.
Eating a Protein-Rich Diet
Protein metabolism can be compromised in the elderly. Protein is an aid to healing and is an important part of maintaining muscle health. Because of poor metabolism, decreased appetite and a lowered sense of taste for food, increased intake of protein or amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein) is often recommended for those over 60. If you believe you need to lose weight, consult with your medical provider to be sure you are following a diet that is high enough in protein. The likely recommendation will be to limit red meats but to increase other foods known to have protein, such as fish, grains, beans, milk, soy and nuts. These foods have also known as "brain healthy" and play an important role in the body's ability to fight infection.
Lose Weight Gradually
A monthly weight loss of greater than 5 percent of the total weight is considered too much. Keeping an active lifestyle, choosing the right foods and forms of exercise are important additions to just dieting. The optimum plan for maintaining health and fitness is to eat high-quality, high-protein foods combined with weight bearing or resistance exercise.
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