Shrinking Your Waistline After 50

The biggest complaint I hear from clients over 50, as a health coach, personal trainer and Pilates instructor is “How do I get rid of this belly fat?” This comes from most women, athletic, sedentary and in-between.

Belly fat or a larger waistline is not only a cosmetic concern, but it is a health concern as well. Research shows that women and men with more visceral fat (the fat in the midsection that also surrounds the organs) have a higher risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disease. 

There is good news! There are many tweaks and changes we can make to our diet and lifestyle that will help reduce belly fat at any age. Let’s take a look at a few changes you can make today to help start to shrink your middle.

High Intensity Interval Training vs. Tempo or Endurance Training

Research on overweight and obese women post menopause shows that HIIT training along with dietary changes helps with meaningful weight loss and fat mass. 

Meet yourself where you're at. If you’re just starting out, start with walking. Walk for 10 minutes to warm up, then either walk faster, run or go up a hill to bring your heart rate up. Then let your heart rate recover all the way down to your walking heart rate. Repeat as many times as you can working up to performing this interval for 20 minutes. The awesome thing about HIIT is you can make it very specific to you. Push yourself as hard as you can. Perform HIIT 2-3 times a week but for no more than 45 minutes total. 

Consistency vs. Extreme Measures

Fad diets, crazy weight loss schemes, weight loss supplements, spot reduction treatments and extreme exercise don’t work. The only thing that will work for you is finding what you can do consistently for life. There’s no magic pill or procedure that will help you at the cellular level. You can make a huge difference in your weight, belly fat and health by finding what is at the root cause of your weight or belly fat. I have a friend who would have a cookie every morning with her cup of coffee. She removed that one cookie from her life, and she lost 15 pounds! That one cookie was triggering her glucose levels and hormones to crave sugar throughout the day. Just making that one consistent change helped her improve her waistline and her overall health.

Nutrition vs. Fad Diets

We’ve all heard of numerous diets over the years that promise to shrink your waistline. Remember the Special K diet? We now know that it’s not just the number of calories we eat that affect our waistline, but the integrity of the food. Managing blood sugar, hormonal balance and gut health all play into how our bodies store and utilize calories. Focus on whole foods that offer your body nutrition and keep your blood sugar stable. Learn more about how balancing your insulin and blood sugar levels can help you lose weight for good.

Strength Training vs. Sculpting

“I don’t want to get bulky.” This is something I hear all the time. Strength training is not going to make you bulky, in fact it will do the opposite. Picture a pound of fat looking like a large Ruby Red grapefruit. Now picture a pound of muscle like a little Clementine orange. That’s the difference of mass on your body between a pound of fat and a pound of muscle. Plus look at all the benefits that building muscle gives you:

• Muscle strength and the ability to generate force includes a reduced risk of all-cause mortality.
• Enhanced Strength: Building muscle increases overall strength, making daily activities easier and reducing the risk of injury.
• Improved Metabolism: Muscle mass boosts your metabolism, helping to maintain or achieve a healthy weight. 💪💪💪You’ll burn more calories at rest.
• Bone Health: Strength training helps to strengthen bones and can help to prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia.
• Better Balance and Stability: Increased muscle strength improves balance, reducing the risk of falls and enhancing overall stability.
• Increased Energy Levels: Regular strength training can lead to higher energy levels and improved overall vitality.
• Reduced insulin sensitivity, reduced oxidative stress, enhanced oxidative capacity…the list goes on. 

Bottom line– we should all be strength training!

Stress Reduction vs. Busy Schedule

Do you ever hear yourself saying:

“I have no time.”

“I’m overwhelmed.”

“I’m so stressed out.”

“When I finish______, then I’ll take better care of myself.”

There is no award for being busy. Life is not about just hustling all the time. I get you though, I’m right there with you: busy running a business, keeping a home, writing a book, helping my son and daughter-in-law with the kids and fitting in my exercise. It took me a little while, but I figured out how to manage my time and avoid the feeling of stress and overwhelm. 

Chronic stress leads to an increase in cortisol levels which can promote fat storage in the abdominal area and contribute to insulin resistance, making it more difficult for the body to regulate blood sugar and maintain a healthy weight.

Stress is part of life, but we can’t let it take over our life. Learning how to manage your time, fit in your exercise and other self-care and still have time for things you enjoy can be done. 

As a health coach I help women find what areas in their life need a little more balance so they can get their stress under control. Schedule your free Discovery Call today and we can chat about your goals and how health coaching can help you achieve them.

In Conclusion

Looking at how you used to deal with your health and weight loss goals and knowing what you know now, what changes will you make to move you forward?