Tips to be Fit: Control over their body fat can be a benefit for seniors | Health | Fitness tips of the day

Did you know that excess body fat could cause you to lose up to 20 years of healthy life? Even just the loss of a few pounds of body fat can improve our health. Controlling body fat can benefit seniors. However, losing weight or body fat should be done carefully and safely.

There are a number of reasons we gain excess body fat as we get older:

Cultural: Eating culturally plays a major role in our weight gain. Not all cultural delights are healthy. Cultural comfort foods are usually high in fat, calories, sodium and sugar.

Physical inactivity: As we get older we become physical inactive and more sedentary. Both of these have a strong correlation with weight gain and obesity. People who lead a sedentary lifestyle burn fewer calories than active individuals. We need to exercise every day.

Diet: Poor diet and unhealthy eating habits are two more reasons we gain weight as we age. People whose diet contains heavily processed high-calorie foods with little-to-none nutritional value are at greater risk of developing obesity. We need to manage our diet better.

Medication: Many medications such as antidepressants or antipsychotics can cause weight gain as a side effect. Your doctor may be able to adjust your medication to stop the weight gain.

Medical conditions: Some medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid gland), can cause weight gain and obesity. We should try to control any chronic conditions.

Dieting alone to lose body fat will lead to a muscle mass loss of around 50% and a fat and water loss of around 50%. Weight lost through proper diet and exercise will result in a fat loss of around 98% and lean muscle mass will increase. The loss of lean muscle will weaken your muscles and organs.

The average American consumes 40% fat, 30% carbohydrates and 30% proteins daily. The average diet should consist of 15% fat, 20% protein and 65% complex carbohydrates. Saturated fats should make up less than 10% of your total fat intake.

Keep a food diary for two weeks to determine what you need to add to your diet. You should eat four to five small meals that include three to four servings of fruits, three to four servings of vegetables, two to three servings of whole grains and two servings of proteins every day.

Make sure you consume between 12 to 15 calories per pound of body weight daily. We should aim for at least 1,600 calories daily. 1,600 calories will allow you to get in all the protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals you need daily. You also need to understand portion size. We should also plan our meals.

The second part of maintaining a healthy body fat level is exercise. We should exercise everyday for at least 30 minutes. Start at a comfortable level for your ability that could be as low as three minutes. After an accident I had to start at three minutes even after years of exercising.

Exercise and good nutrition can stimulate the amount of testosterone released in the body of both men and women. Exercise can also increase the amount of protein utilization, which takes place in the body. These changes will have an affect on muscle tone, strength and bone density. Both of these factors help to determine the quality of life a person maintains, as they get older. Exercise also strengthens the bones, tendons and ligaments. Tendons connect muscle to bone. Ligaments connect bone to bone.

A complete workout should include exercises for each body part. Start with two or three different exercises for each body part. Gradually work up to 8-12 repetitions for each exercise. Do each exercise one to three times to start. If you can do more than 12 repetitions for a set the weight is too light. If you can’t do at least eight repetitions for a set the weight is too heavy.

You’ll need both aerobic and strength building exercises. Aerobic exercises (walking, jogging, biking or swimming continuously for 15 minutes or more) are important. Strength-building exercises are a necessary part of an aerobic program because they help keep the bones and joints strong enough to withstand aerobic training.

If you’re a beginner have someone who knows what they’re doing take you through your first few workouts. Lifting weights can be dangerous if you don’t do the exercises correctly. Always concentrate on what you’re doing. Being careless and taking your movements for granted can cause injury. Concentrating on each repetition when you workout will also recruit more muscle fibers to do work making each repetition more efficient.

Aging starts during your youth and is progressive. You can’t stop the aging process but you can slow it down and improve your quality of life. For older but wiser beginners changes in strength and stamina can be seen within three weeks after changing your lifestyle. So what are you waiting for? Use it or lose it. Go on, get busy and have a fit day!