Losing weight at any age is a process that involves time, commitment and making healthy choices. Weight loss when you're older than 45 means countering the effects of a slowing metabolism. Your best defenses against an aging body are resolve and education. Learning about healthier food choices and the best workouts to help you safely lose and keep off the weight is well worth your time. A lifestyle change at 45 increases your chance to enjoy health in middle age and beyond. Consult your doctor before beginning any new weight-loss regimen.
Get Moving
If you've spent your adult years building a career and raising a family, by 45 you're deeply enmeshed in habits that may not serve you well in the future. Your metabolism has been slowly losing steam over the years and each decade sees its power reduced by another 5 percent, "Good Housekeeping" magazine reports. Sitting for too long at an office desk or on the sofa after work without adding a cardiovascular workout will only ensure that your battle to lose weight will be an increasingly difficult task. Add an element of concentrated movement to your day. Take 30 minutes and spend it on an activity that revs your heart rate and makes you sweat.
Get Lifting
Unlike in your 20s, when an hour of playing sports with your buddies after work ensured that your metabolism was working at peak performance to help burn fat, at age 45 cardio alone isn't enough. Add weightlifting to your routine. As you age, your muscles lose their mass and consequently their ability to burn fat as quickly. Wayne Westcott, director of fitness research at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, tells "Good Housekeeping that strength training works to tear muscles down and build them back up again, thereby boosting their fat-burning potential. Whether at home with dumbbells or at the gym, commit to 20 minutes of strength training every second day.
Get Eating
Weight loss over 45 also means paying closer attention to what you eat. Scarfing back those burgers on the run just won't cut it anymore. With your metabolism slowly winding down, you have to pitch in and take up the slack by making healthier choices. Think lean meats, fish and loads of vegetables and fruits. In your grandma's day, when recipes came from one lone book and maybe a few family secrets, those kinds of restrictions would lead to boredom quickly. Now all you have to do is turn on the TV or your laptop and there is no limit to the number of delicious and nutritious ways you can find to eat healthier to lose weight. The added benefit of healthy eating is that it reduces the risks of those conditions that sometimes accompany aging like heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.
Get Inspired
Approaching a milestone like 50 gives some people pause and others the inspiration to break free of old habits and create the life to which they always aspired. Weight loss is high on the list for some folks, and tuning in to the success stories of others often gives you the boost you need to begin. Fill a notebook or journal of your weight-loss aspirations and every time you reach a goal, celebrate it by marking the achievement with the word "victory." That word denotes a champion --- and if you embark on a journey to lose weight at 45, that's what you are.
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