We’re never too old to learn a new skill. Today, I am pleased to bring you a guest article from a longtime Fitness for Health guest blog contributor, Karen Weeks. Karen learned how to design websites and created Elderwellness.net after she retired.
Enjoy!
When it comes to total wellness, keeping your body fat under control is an important element. Not only does it reduce your likelihood of developing certain chronic illnesses, but it also ensures that you’ll have a good night’s sleep. While it’s good to be fit, you also need to make sure you’re doing so in a healthy way. Here’s what you should know.
Why It’s Important
According to CBS News, keeping healthy is not just about your weight; it’s about your body fat. To do this, you should pay attention to more than your body mass index (BMI) and consult your doctor about assessing your body fat. It’s been shown that men who have a high body fat percentage over the age of 36 are more likely to experience a negative impact on their wellness. The same was found in women who have 39 percent body fat and above. To make things worse, someone with body fat and weight issues will have difficulty sleeping well. The lack of sleep can then affect your appetite, which, in turn, leads to poor eating habits. This opens you up to a bad cycle where you can’t get restful sleep because of your weight and then gain even more weight because you’re not sleeping properly.
Control Your Nutrition
Proper nutrition is very important when it comes to controlling body fat. This works better when you have more meals at home instead of eating out. If you’re not sure where to start, then Chefs for Seniors suggests starting with simple recipes. As you get used to making more of your meals, you can move on to more complicated dishes. For seniors on a time crunch, don’t fall into the fast-food temptation; instead, look into getting an electric pressure cooker that allows you to prepare healthy meals quickly. When you’re shopping around for the right pressure cooker, be sure to compare prices and check out customer reviews.
Be Mindful About Your Eating Habits
Mindful eating focuses more on why and when you eat as opposed to what you eat. Even if you’ve made changes to your diet, things can still become unhealthy if you’re prone to poor habits. According to Healthline, you can cut down on bad eating habits if you pay attention to your food while you’re eating it. This includes avoiding distractions like television, eating slowly and putting the plate down when you’re full. It also improves your ability to identify situations that will trigger emotional or unnecessary eating. Bear in mind, however, that this technique is not meant to associate any negative thoughts with your eating. That might lead to an eating disorder, which is more common with seniors than most people think.
Keep it Moving
It would be impossible to discuss body fat reduction without including fitness for seniors. Since the focus is body fat, it’s recommended that you try weight training. It’s been shown that exercising with weights is more effective at reducing fat while maintaining muscle. In a study with older adults, it was found that those who combined a balanced diet with weight-training exercises saw better results than those who only changed their diet. While cardio exercises may be recommended for general weight loss, it can also affect muscle, which is hard enough for seniors to maintain. If you’re new to weight training, consider grabbing a dumbbell and trying out a few good exercises. Don’t overdo it; your muscles will need to adjust to the new routine.
It’s important that seniors learn how to reduce their body fat. To get things under control, you should pay attention to when, what, and why you eat. Don’t forget about exercise because physical fitness is integral to remaining healthy.
About Fitness for Health:
Fitness for Health creates unique exercise programs based on a person’s individual fitness goals. Want to create a senior wellness plan? Need to improve your bone and joint health? No problem. Fitness for Health will you help you and your loved ones reach your full potential.
Tags: body fat, wellness, aging, fitness for seniors, senior health, healthy living, healthy weight, senior fitness, health