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Your Health Matters: Here’s how to shed extra weight later in life

Fit and fabulous after 50
Calorie restriction can lead to a happier marriage, study shows
Posted at 10:35 PM, Jul 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-02 22:35:54-04

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) --We all can’t be J.Lo—but we can try!

As you age, losing weight isn’t as easy as it once was. Stiffer muscles and joints along with a slower metabolism might make your goals more challenging, but you can still reach them! Here’s how to shed extra weight later in life.

Looking fit and fabulous after 50 isn’t exactly easy. After 50, you lose muscle mass at an average rate of 10 to 15 percent every ten years.

Meanwhile, your resting metabolic rate decreases by about two to three percent per decade. Still, it’s very possible to maintain a healthy weight as you age.

The first trick: build muscle mass by pumping iron. In one study, 60-something overweight adults who performed resistance training lost more weight and less muscle mass over 18 months than those who did other types of exercises.

Also, include more protein in your diet. Experts recommend that roughly 30 to 40 percent of your daily calories should come from protein sources.

And get enough sleep! Older women who get less than five hours of sleep a night are more than twice as likely to be obese as those who get between seven and eight hours.

In a recent study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, women over age 50 who lost as few as 4.5 pounds and kept it off were 18 percent less likely to develop breast cancer. Those who lost 20 pounds and kept it off reduced their risk by about 32 percent.