Posted on January 12, 2017 by Kate Halsall
Picture : https://pixabay.com/en/lose-weight-fat-slim-diet-loss-1911605/
Firstly, when the hell did I become “Middle Aged”?!? I’m 40 but I don’t feel middle aged, surely middle age is more around the 50 mark as we live longer these days, but then I guess that regardless of how old we are, what does middle age feel like? Anyway, once I got over the shock of being considered middle aged, I couldn’t but help share the BBC News story about a health crisis which quoted “eight in every 10 people aged 40 to 60 in England are overweight, drink too much or get too little exercise“. There once was a time where “middle age spread” referred to a prominently female menopausal phenomenon – but no one is safe now it seems! So read on for tips for beating the middle age spread?
Let’s face it, although it’s a shocking statistic, it’s not rocket science regarding what we need to do about it, is it!
NUTRITION
I honestly just need to mention all the usual things here:
- Watch your portion sizes
- Don’t eat processed foods
- Eat a diet high in protein and good fats
- Limit high sugar carbohydrates
- Have a balanced diet
- Limit your alcohol intake
PHSYICAL ACTIVITY
It’s no secret:
- Keep moving and move more! We know activity trackers are all the rage but in our experience as personal trainers they do get our clients moving more
- Your muscles need training, and strengthening
- Mix up your training sessions
LIFESTYLE
- Get enough sleep, not only does this help to regulate the hormone cortisol (if cortisol levels are high we store fat around our middles), but if you get enough sleep you’ll have enough energy to get your workouts in and cook healthy meals rather than collapsing on the couch after a hard days work.
- Cortisol is also produced when we are stressed so if you want to help yourself in beating the middle age spread then keep stress levels low through exercise, meditation, mindfulness or just doing something you enjoy to chill out.
YOUR AGE
Don’t use the old sayings “it goes down hill after 40”, “it slows down when you hit 40” and so on. Yes there may be some natural changes in your hormones, your muscle mass and your body fat – but you can still do something about it! Don’t let the number define you. If you consistently exercise and eat right, you can help your body – and more importantly, it’s never too late to start!
To be honest, for an article to discuss and highlight “healthier aging”, I can’t help but worry about what that means for future generations – especially as our current lifestyle is being blamed for this generation’s health crisis, what’s to say that this isn’t setting up the youngsters to fail!? But with that aside, we NEED to start making time for ourselves. It is true that we have busier lifestyles, there is more stress and more people are not getting enough sleep. If you don’t want to become one of these statistics, set time aside now. We need to eat, we need to train and we need to be consistent with everything.
https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/how-are-you
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/dieting/success-stories/10-ways-beat-onset-middle-age-4599835
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/11760816/How-to-avoid-a-Middle-Age-Man-Spread.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23809574
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/reverse-middle-age-weight-gain#1