With age, the human body fails to retain some of its prominent features. You begin to lose muscle definition and tone, your muscle burns more calories instead of fat, and you feel fatigued more often. As a result of all that, you start getting tired easily, and it becomes increasingly difficult for your body to shed weight. 

This poses a problem. Since your body fails to shed weight, you cannot carry on with your day-to-day activities as you could have a few years earlier. Continuous weight gain is also detrimental to your health as you age. With the added weight comes the risks of heart disease and diabetes. Not to mention, excess weight can also restrict your daily movements.

Therefore, seniors need to fight off this excess weight. However, given the human body's limitations at this age, it is also difficult to achieve this. What is necessary is a change in your lifestyle when you are a senior so that you do not have to worry about hurting yourself or falling sick when trying to lose weight.

Having established all that, let us take you through five lifestyle changes that can help seniors fight excess weight and lead a healthy life. 

Consider Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a great way for seniors to lose weight, especially through intermittent fasting 16/8. The 16/8 here represents eating for eight hours and then fasting for 16 hours in a 24-hour period. This type of fasting is a controlled approach to losing weight as it significantly reduces your daily calorie consumption. Because of that, it becomes difficult for you to gain weight no matter what you eat.

However, avoiding overconsumption during the eight-hour eating period is still advised. As a senior, you should also try to consume more protein during this time, as it allows your muscles to function properly. Additionally, exploring natural remedies for menopause weight gain can provide valuable insights into holistic approaches to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Start Strength Training

Through strength training, it is possible to burn fat and lose weight. It is as effective as cardio and can also help improve your metabolism. 

For seniors, strength training a minimum of three times a week is enough. It is vital that you train your lower back muscles once a week as well. 

Apart from burning fat, the training will also help you stay fit and sharp, increasing your stamina and letting you carry on with your daily routine without too much hindrance. Besides, you are less likely to feel fatigued frequently once you start strength training regularly. Because of that, it will become easier for you to get a proper amount of sleep and function without getting too tired. 

Ensure Proper Sleep

According to the CDC, one in three Americans does not get sufficient amounts of sleep. Because of that, these people suffer from a variety of health problems, including weight gain. The problem is more severe when it comes to seniors aged 50 and above. 

A report in PLoS Medicine suggests that adults around and over the age of 50 who sleep for five hours or less every night are at a high risk of developing chronic disease. Compared to this, people from the same age group who get at least seven hours of sleep are likely to do far better and keep themselves away from such diseases. Lack of sleep can also impact their weight. 

Therefore, getting proper sleep is vital for seniors if they want to lose weight.

Through timely and sufficient periods of sleep, weight management becomes easier. Avoiding short naps and ensuring longer sleeping periods can help seniors gain healthy weight. It also helps them avoid gaining excess weight.

Sleep also helps seniors moderate their appetite. It also lets them make better eating choices. Thanks to improved eating habits, seniors can consume a balanced diet, which will help them lose weight. 

Proper sleep also leads to better body metabolism and helps seniors engage in better physical activities. The combination of these two further allows them to shed the excess weight and belly fat they may have in their bodies.

Get Moving

Research published on the JAMA Network reports that seniors need to exercise and get moving to ensure a longer lifespan. The study primarily talks about people above the age of 65. However, anyone over the age of 50 should take this report very seriously and find ways to stay physically active if they want to lead a healthy and quality life.

When you exercise or engage in any form of physical activity, your body starts hurting. It also sweats and increases your heart rate. However, all this happens healthily.

The hurt your body experiences after any physical activity is a response from your muscles. The sweating, too, is a response from your body. These are signs that you are burning fat. The more extreme the exercise or activity, the more tired you feel, the more it hurts, and the more fat you burn.

For seniors, pushing themselves to the limit may not be an option. However, you must ensure consistency and exercise regularly. Doing so will help you burn fat and lose weight. The progress may be slow, but it is better than not engaging in any form of physical activity at all.

It is also advised that you do not consume any fatty or unhealthy food when looking to shed weight through exercise. Otherwise, it will all go in vain. 

Consume More Proteins

As a senior, you need to consume 50 percent more protein compared to what you used to as a younger adult. This additional protein consumption will make up for the calories that are burnt much more quicker at this age. Besides, protein consumption will also help preserve your muscle mass and allow you to gain healthy weight.

Consuming protein will also help you carry on with your daily tasks without much trouble. Also, as you increase your protein consumption, you are less likely to fill yourself with unhealthy meals. That means there is no scope for you to gain extra weight.

Conclusion

Fasting is the most effective approach to losing weight. Along with that, getting proper strength training and exercise also helps make the weight loss process more efficient. Then comes the need to get proper sleep and consume higher quantities of protein, which together help seniors gain the stamina they need to carry on with their daily routines.

All in all, these five lifestyle changes are vital for seniors eager to shed some weight.