5 Ways To Lose Weight Over 50

It’s January, ladies. This is by far the most popular month to head back to the gym or start a diet: New Year’s resolutions and all. There’s something about the promise of a new year that helps us get in the fresh start mindset. And the theme of this month is reset, refresh, and renew. Many readers have written sharing that COVID weight gain is real, and they ask how can I lose weight fast? In reality, there are no shortcuts to a healthy lifestyle. It’s one step at a time, one day at a time. But knowing is half the battle, as they say,  and today, I wanted to share 5 ways to lose weight over 50 that I employ in my day-to-day.  

• Exercise
• Peloton 
• Healthy cooking & eating 
• Meal service deliveries
• FASTer Way to Fat Loss 

The truth is, after the age of fifty, things begin to change in our bodies. Fifty-one is the average age of menopause. Once we’re postmenopausal (twelve months without menstruating), we produce less estrogen and are at a greater risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and depression. This is why it’s more important than ever to take care of our bones, stay active, eat right, train our brains, get enough sleep, have a healthy gut, and treat our skin with kindness.

There’s still so much of life to live:  we need strength and endurance to chase after those grandbabies or walk the streets of Europe when our travel plans back are back in action. We’ve worked hard for the confidence and wisdom that comes along with aging. Now it’s time to enjoy every minute of it. Healthy habits will help us live our happiest days. So let’s get to it. Here are 5 ways to lose weight over 50.  

Exercise Over 50   

Exercise is important at any age, but especially as we age; it’s precisely how we will age with grace, strength, and beauty. Exercise benefits our bones, muscles, and heart. Staying physically active also keeps our brains young. The hippocampus—the part of the brain associated with memory—shrinks as we age, leading to cognitive impairment. But research shows that exercise can lead to an increase in the hippocampus, even if it’s only a forty-minute brisk walk several times a week. But many of us give up on exercising altogether at a certain age.    And that’s a shame, because who doesn’t want to feel their best each and every day? So, here are three areas I focus on every week.

Strength training

To develop our muscles and increase our bone density, which is critical for preventing osteoporosis. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism becomes. Strengthening your muscles surrounding and supporting joints will prevent injuries. Stronger muscles better hold your joints in position. Many of you ask how I can wear heels at sixty-two. It’s simple – weight training, which keeps my legs strong. If you don’t use your muscles, you will lose them. So go pump some weights.

Low-impact workouts

Yoga or pilates help increase our flexibility and posture, which leads to better balance. Both are wonderful exercises to incorporate for toning and strengthening all muscle groups.

Cardio

It gets our hearts pumping and large muscle groups working. Cardio exercises our hearts and can also help lower blood pressure. Regular physical activity can also help lower blood sugar and help regulate insulin levels. And it can help boost your mood. There’s nothing better than a sweaty workout to get those endorphins flowing. ’nuff said. 

Peloton

Focusing specifically on cardio, a special callout today to Peloton: it’s how I get in much of my cardio. And before I go any further, let me state up front that I’m not a Peloton brand ambassador, nor is this post a collaboration with the company. It’s because I’m such a believer in the product—so much so that we’ll be highlighting the bike later this month. I picked up my bike a few years ago and have been a believer ever since. In fact, I convinced my son and daughter-in-law to get one, and they’re believers too.    

Don’t get me wrong, a Peloton is an investment, even if they did drop the price of their bikes. But I love my Peloton because it’s more than a bike.   That may sound cheesy, but it’s true. Peloton’s app brings with it a set of inspiring instructors—Emma Lovewell being my favorite—and a huge collection of on-demand workouts for every fitness level.   And truth be told:  you don’t actually need Peloton’s bike or treadmill to get use out of their app; their workouts extend far beyond into strength training, yoga, and more.  

Healthy cooking & eating 

Food is medicine. Food is powerful. And nutrient-rich foods can impact our health and our life in sometimes unimaginably positive ways. When we make the right choices, our pants size will improve and our quality of life too. This blog is dedicated to aging with grace, strength, and beauty. And that all begins with diet. And times are a-changing, ladies. I don’t really need to tell anyone that. With labor shortages and food prices increasing, many of us are thinking twice about going out to eat, choosing to stay at home to cook.  

Speaking of my daughter-in-law Kelly, did you know she runs a food blog Djalali Cooks? Every week, she puts together easy-to-follow, healthy recipes. I’ve asked her to share a few of her favorites today that will help inspire you to cook healthy at home.  

• Mediterranean Poached Halibut 
• Spinach and Mushroom Frittata
• Mediterranean Stuffed Zucchini 
• Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken 
• Southwest Bean Burgers
• Baked salmon rice bowl

Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl

And if you’re looking for even more inspiration, be sure to check in here on the blog every Friday for Fridays with Oscar—we put together tons of healthy appetizers and meals. 

Meal Service Deliveries

Ok, ok. With all that being said about cooking at home, let me be honest with you:  one of the things I hate about being single is cooking for one, which is why I’ve experimented with several meal service deliveries over the past few years. Below, I’ve rounded up some of the better meal services I’ve tried. 

• Daily Harvest is a favorite – the best smoothies ever!
• Hello Fresh gets me in the kitchen cooking.
• Sakara has a wide variety of healthy meals from breakfast to lunch to dinner and even snacks. Sakara has a 30-day reset program for January, and Splendid Spoon offers a 21 day reset. If you’re interested in trying out Sakara, use code XOBETHD for 20% off your first purchase.
• Splendid Spoon offers pre-made smoothies, soups, and bowls. Splendid Spoon is offering $80 off their New Year reset program.

FASTer Way to Fat Loss 

I’ve spoken many times about FASTer Way to Fat Loss on the blog. It’s a totally immersive program, providing meal plans, exercise routines, and an online community to help you achieve your health and fitness goals. The next FWTFL round starts on January 10th! The reason I’m so obsessed with it is simple:  this program changed my life. I grew up in an era when there were not 5 ways to lose weight. There was only 1: exercise more and eat less. Weight loss was all about calories in and calories out. No one cared if those calories came from chips or candy? As long as you hit your daily caloric intake, you were just fine. And while you’re at it, go ahead and load up on one-calorie sugar-free diet sodas. Right? Wrong! 

January 2018

Like many of you, I adopted this thinking into my meal plans. If I indulged at a birthday celebration or a Christmas party, then I hit the gym—hard. That extra exercise would naturally burn off those extra calories. ugh! When I think back to what I put my body through, it makes me cringe. It wasn’t until I was 59 that I wrapped my head around the fact that you can’t out-exercise a poor diet.

June 2021

And did you know that many of our auto-immune diseases can be traced back to poor nutrition? FASTer Way to Fat Loss taught me the importance of both a healthy diet and an effective workout routine, which is why I am always happy to share this program!

What will you get when you join FASTer Way to Fat Loss? 

• All program materials for $199 to accelerate your success in the FASTer Way.
• A low monthly membership fee of $99 after the first six weeks.
• LIVE training to set you up for success.
• Weekly workout plans that include low impact, home, and gym workouts.
• Community group with certified FASTer Way community specialists for daily accountability, training, and support.
• Meal plan and recipe guide to assist you in the FASTer Way.
• Nutrition recommendations with a focus on whole food nutrition, balanced macros, intermittent fasting, carb cycling, and effective workouts to transform your life.
• Options to pause or cancel your membership at any time FASTer Way to Fat Loss app

5 ways to lose weight over 50

A healthy lifestyle is near and dear to my heart because this blog is dedicated to aging with grace, strength, and beauty. I know y’all love the outfits I put together, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no outfit will look good if the person wearing it isn’t healthy.   I hope these 5 ways to lose weight over 50 are helpful as you being your journey this year to reset, refresh, and renew.

Beth Djalali

is the Founder and CEO of Style at a Certain Age. She writes Sundays-Fridays on all topics ranging from fashion, health, wellness, home design and more.

She’s 65, 5’8, and size 8.

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