Losing weight effectively in old age: tips for each stage of life
- Reading time: 8 min.
Losing weight at an older age; what’s the best way to approach it? The older you get, the harder it is to lose weight. This is partly due to hormonal changes, the gradual loss of muscle mass, and stress. You can support fat loss by eating a protein-rich diet, doing strength training, and reducing stress. In this blog, we will discuss different age groups and give you tips on how to tackle the scale as you get older!
Why is losing weight more difficult as you get older?
Many people struggle with weight loss, regardless of their age. Losing weight seems to become even more challenging as you get older. But what causes this?
There are several reasons why it becomes harder to lose weight later in life. We can distinguish between internal causes (caused by physiological processes) and external causes (outside influences).
Internal causes include changes in your hormone levels, a slower metabolism, and the natural decline in muscle mass, known as sarcopenia. External causes can include neglecting your sleep and increased stress levels from balancing work and personal life.
Sarcopenia: The Decline in Muscle Mass
As we age, we see significant changes in our bodies. After the age of forty, changes occur in metabolism, muscle mass development, and fat storage. You may notice this by finding it harder to build muscle and experiencing an increase in body fat. Sarcopenia is particularly prevalent among seniors, especially when muscles are not regularly exercised and therefore do not receive the stimuli needed for development. This decline in muscle mass that occurs with aging can lead to decreased overall fitness in later life.
Losing Weight After 40
Losing weight after your 40s becomes more challenging due to hormonal changes. For men, the production of testosterone and growth hormone gradually declines. For women over 40, weight loss is more difficult due to the decrease in estrogen and growth hormone. These hormones are involved in building and maintaining muscle mass and also influence appetite regulation.
In women, early menopause at this age can also play a role. This can cause fluctuations in hormone balance, leading to increased appetite, more fat storage, and decreased sleep quality.
Another factor that makes losing weight after 40 harder is work pressure or a stressful family life. You want to perform well at work, maintain your social connections, and give enough attention to your children. This can lead to increased stress, resulting in unhealthy food choices.
Losing Weight After 50
Losing weight becomes even more difficult after you turn 50. You will likely lose muscle mass and move less than you did before. There are several reasons for this:
- Less Activity: You may have reduced mobility and more frequent muscle and joint discomfort, making more exercise less appealing. However, by moving less, you burn fewer calories and do not maintain your muscle mass.
- Hormonal Changes: The production of growth hormone, testosterone, estrogen, and IGF-1 decreases.
- Reduced Protein Absorption: Your body absorbs fewer proteins, so you will need to aim for a higher protein intake to ensure your body receives all the necessary amino acids for maintaining muscle mass.
Losing weight at an older age is challenging, but certainly not impossible. Weight loss after 50 is achievable, but you will need to make some adjustments to your eating habits and find a way to stay active without pain.
Losing Weight After 60
Losing weight after 60 is even more difficult, especially due to changes in your body. The production of previously mentioned hormones continues to decline, and sarcopenia leads to increasing muscle mass loss. Various changes in your body also cause your metabolism to slow down.
For instance, nerve impulses and muscle contractions decrease due to a slower sodium-potassium pump. As a result, you burn fewer calories, even at rest. Additionally, your energy production capacity decreases, making your body less efficient in generating energy for daily activities. Consequently, your body consumes fewer calories during activities like standing up, walking, and climbing stairs.
Therefore, losing weight after 60 is primarily hindered by internal factors. One advantage at this age is that, generally, people experience less stress. Especially if you are (early) retired, you can enjoy your free time more. You also usually no longer have children living at home. More free time means it’s easier to exercise at times that suit you.
Losing Weight After 70
If you are over 70, losing weight becomes increasingly difficult. The hormonal changes mentioned earlier play a role, as does the further decline in muscle mass (sarcopenia). However, losing weight after 70 presents even more challenges.
At this age, moving around unfortunately becomes much harder for many people. You may experience physical limitations, joint issues, or other health problems that make exercising and even normal movement more difficult. This leads to burning significantly fewer calories than you did in the past.
Older adults can also find themselves in social isolation. They have less contact with family, friends, and acquaintances who pass away, which decreases the motivation to go out. This makes it harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
6 Best Tips for Losing Weight at an Older Age
Although losing weight can become more challenging as you age, it is certainly not impossible. However, it does require more adjustments and discipline than when you were in your twenties. Use our tips below for effective weight loss later in life:
- Determine your energy needs and calculate your macros
- Eat more protein
- Start strength training (or keep doing it)
- Exercise more
- Support your sleep
- Reduce stress
Determine Your Energy Needs and Calculate Your Macros
If your goal is to lose weight, we always recommend aligning your nutrition with your goals. You can spend hours in the gym, walk kilometers weekly, or cycle more often instead of driving, but if your nutrition isn’t in order, it will be difficult to shed those pounds. By determining your energy needs and calculating your macros, you’ll know exactly what your body requires in terms of nutrition each day. This can help you reach your goals more easily!
Increase Your Protein Intake
Proteins are an important building block for your body. The amino acids from protein help maintain muscle mass, even later in life. To counteract muscle loss, it’s important to increase your protein intake. You can get protein from foods like dairy, poultry, beef, eggs, fish, legumes, and plant-based meat substitutes.
Try to include some extra protein with every meal. Depending on your activity level, you need about 1.6 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
Do you find it difficult to get enough protein from your diet? Or do you have trouble chewing or swallowing as you get older? Protein shakes for seniors are an excellent way to increase your daily protein intake.
Continue Strength Training
To combat sarcopenia, it’s important to keep doing strength training. Resistance training stimulates your body to build muscle mass. Combined with a protein-rich diet, this can help reduce muscle loss.
However, strength training has even more benefits as you age. It stimulates the production of hormones like testosterone and IGF-1, which decrease due to changes in your body as you get older. Additionally, your metabolism declines more slowly if you have more muscle mass.
So, even as you age, try to keep incorporating strength training regularly. You can do this in a gym, with a personal trainer at home, or you can start working out at home with dumbbells.
Tip: To support your training, you can use creatine. In this guide, we explain everything you need to know about creatine for seniors.
Moving More in Daily Life
Losing weight at an older age becomes more challenging due to a decrease in calorie expenditure, among other factors. There’s also a strong temptation to take it easy and sit more than you used to. To boost your calorie burn, we recommend incorporating more movement into your daily life.
This doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon right away. No, there are many ways to get a little extra exercise. For example, take a nice evening walk, ride your bike instead of driving to the supermarket, and take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator wherever possible. This way, you burn more calories while keeping your muscles and joints in better condition.
Ensure a Good Night's Sleep
In addition to diet and exercise, sleep plays a significant role in weight loss, even at an older age. Lack of sleep has various negative effects, including a slowdown in your metabolism, increased appetite, further hormonal imbalance, and reduced energy for movement. All these factors make it easier to gain weight.
By paying more attention to your sleep, you can counteract this. Reduce your screen time right before bed. Instead of watching TV or scrolling on your phone, consider reading a book or meditating. Try to maintain a consistent routine. Choose a time to go to bed each day and a time to wake up the next morning.
Try to Reduce Your Stress
Stress can lead to unhealthy choices regarding diet and lifestyle. When you’re trying to lose weight but are under a lot of stress, your chances of success diminish. You’re more likely to fall back into old eating habits, experience more binge eating, and have lower motivation to stick with your plan.
Reducing stress can be quite challenging. Some people are more sensitive to pressure and stress than others. If you find yourself becoming overwhelmed quickly or are particularly sensitive to stressors, it might be a wise choice to seek professional help.
Losing Weight at an Older Age Is Not Impossible
In this article, you’ve learned why losing weight becomes more difficult as you age. The decrease in muscle mass, hormonal changes, and mobility issues can lead to lower calorie expenditure and increased appetite. Fortunately, losing weight after your 40s, 50s, 60s, and even 70s is not impossible.
By increasing your protein intake, engaging in strength training, and moving more in your daily life, you can take significant steps toward effective weight loss. Additionally, focusing on your mental health by reducing stress and developing a good sleep routine can support weight loss at an older age, helping you achieve great results!
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