For men over 40, losing weight is not just a matter of looking thin. Losing weight and strengthening muscle can mean a longer, happier life for you. Some weight gain is a natural side effect of getting older, but if you are very overweight, it is important to look at your emotional and mental health to address the deeper reasons for your weight gain. In either case, a low-fat and high-fiber diet combined with daily aerobic exercise is your first step to losing weight.
Diet
Your key to eating right is eating enough nourishing food that you won't feel famished and binge on empty calorie, high-fat snacks. Eat a hearty, low-fat breakfast to keep you full throughout the day. Use the Mayo Clinic's online food pyramid weight-loss guide. Enter your weight, height and gender, and you will be advised on how many calories you should consume in a day and how many servings to eat from each area of the food pyramid. Use a calorie guide book, like the one in Nancy Goor's book "Choose to Lose Weight-Loss Plan for Men." Goor recommends a high-fiber and low-fat diet not only for weight loss but to lower your risk of coronary diseases. Plan out your meals and portion sizes each day to avoid spontaneous binging or "emotional eating."
Exercise
Include two key elements in your daily exercise routine: at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and strength training. Aerobic exercise can be any repetitive, rhythmic nonstop movement, from biking to walking. Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn fat and not just stored sugars. Goor recommends walking at least 30 minutes a day because it is easiest on your joints and most effective for fat loss. Jogging is not as effective for fat loss because joggers burn more sugar and less fat than walkers. If you are going to jog or run, make sure you are doing it consistently for at least 30 minutes. Schedule a time every day to do this, whether it's after you brush your teeth in the morning or before you prepare your dinner at night. To ensure mobility in your old age, you also need strength training. If a gym is inaccessible, use elastic bands for resistance or hand-held weights. Increase repetitions and weight amount as you gain strength in your arms and back. Besides your abdominals and leg muscles, you should not work the same muscles two days in a row.
Mental and Emotional Health
If you are unhappy with yourself, your job or your life in general, you may have little motivation to invest in your life such positive changes as eating healthy and losing weight. Just beginning to exercise, you may notice an improvement in our outlook and mood. In his book, "The Irritable Male Syndrome," Jed Diamond writes about how exercising helps melt away irritability and anger, making many men more happy to spend time with their families and enjoy life. Adopt the mindset that eating healthily and exercising is a way to tell yourself that you deserve to be healthy and to live a long, productive life. Psychotherapy along with diet and exercise may help some people with overeating. Yoga is a physical practice that has been shown to help many people with their physical and mental well-being. "Anyone who has ever had his back go out---and that seems to be most of us over 40---knows it's difficult not to feel irritable when that happens...I have found daily yoga stretches to be very helpful."
By Allegra Oxborough, eHow Contributor
Diet
Your key to eating right is eating enough nourishing food that you won't feel famished and binge on empty calorie, high-fat snacks. Eat a hearty, low-fat breakfast to keep you full throughout the day. Use the Mayo Clinic's online food pyramid weight-loss guide. Enter your weight, height and gender, and you will be advised on how many calories you should consume in a day and how many servings to eat from each area of the food pyramid. Use a calorie guide book, like the one in Nancy Goor's book "Choose to Lose Weight-Loss Plan for Men." Goor recommends a high-fiber and low-fat diet not only for weight loss but to lower your risk of coronary diseases. Plan out your meals and portion sizes each day to avoid spontaneous binging or "emotional eating."
Exercise
Include two key elements in your daily exercise routine: at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and strength training. Aerobic exercise can be any repetitive, rhythmic nonstop movement, from biking to walking. Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn fat and not just stored sugars. Goor recommends walking at least 30 minutes a day because it is easiest on your joints and most effective for fat loss. Jogging is not as effective for fat loss because joggers burn more sugar and less fat than walkers. If you are going to jog or run, make sure you are doing it consistently for at least 30 minutes. Schedule a time every day to do this, whether it's after you brush your teeth in the morning or before you prepare your dinner at night. To ensure mobility in your old age, you also need strength training. If a gym is inaccessible, use elastic bands for resistance or hand-held weights. Increase repetitions and weight amount as you gain strength in your arms and back. Besides your abdominals and leg muscles, you should not work the same muscles two days in a row.
Mental and Emotional Health
If you are unhappy with yourself, your job or your life in general, you may have little motivation to invest in your life such positive changes as eating healthy and losing weight. Just beginning to exercise, you may notice an improvement in our outlook and mood. In his book, "The Irritable Male Syndrome," Jed Diamond writes about how exercising helps melt away irritability and anger, making many men more happy to spend time with their families and enjoy life. Adopt the mindset that eating healthily and exercising is a way to tell yourself that you deserve to be healthy and to live a long, productive life. Psychotherapy along with diet and exercise may help some people with overeating. Yoga is a physical practice that has been shown to help many people with their physical and mental well-being. "Anyone who has ever had his back go out---and that seems to be most of us over 40---knows it's difficult not to feel irritable when that happens...I have found daily yoga stretches to be very helpful."
By Allegra Oxborough, eHow Contributor
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