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Senior Fitness Keeps You Going

24th April, 2009 - Posted by health news - No Comments

There is one thing that makes people stop their Senior exercise program. That is hitting a plateau. You work hard for a few weeks, lose some weight and feel better for it. Then next time you weigh yourself you are the same or even – shock, horror – your weight has gone up. Stuck on a plateau you despair and give it all up. Soon you are back to your original weight and another Senior fitness program has failed.

But there are reasons, and matters can be resolved.

Maybe at this time you are still taking in more calories than you burn off. Inevitably there are variations in what you eat and you may have had a bad week. The answer is to eat less or walk more and you will start losing weight again. If you can increase your walking that will help a lot. I recommend a mile a day, but if you can do two miles a day, maybe one in the morning and one in the evening, you will see a big difference.

You must get the calorie count about right. It’s a bore to check everything, but do so for a couple of days and any problems will become obvious. A man needs at least 1500 calories a day, a woman 1200 calories a day. You may even be under eating. This will make you body think you are starving and save what it can as fat to be used at a future date.

Try eating fewer carbohydrates and more proteins every day. Carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, pasta, brown rice and legumes should form 55 per cent to 75 per cent of an adult’s diet. So there is room for a decrease if you are eating a lot. Then you can eat more protein rich food like meat, eggs and dairy products. But not too many dairy products. It is also be a sensible idea not to mix proteins and carbohydrates. Leave 2-3 hours between differing meals.

You may be building muscle through exercise and it will take a while for the balance of more muscle, less fat, to work its way through your body.

Motivation is important. It can be hard keeping to a Senior walking exercise and weight loss program by yourself, with nobody to praise your successes and share the hard times. If you can get a buddy to walk with, or join an exercise club this will help a lot.

So there are a lot of reasons for hitting a plateau and it doesn’t mean you will never lose weight. You will become fit and slim, it’s a matter of time. Just keep at it, look at the reasons why your weight loss has slowed down and make any changes necessary. Soon you will be losing weight once again.

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