Starting a weight loss journey after 50 is not always easy. Your body changes, your metabolism slows down, your muscle mass decreases, your body accumulates fat, and sometimes health problems like joint pain, blood pressure, or diabetes can also affect your weight loss. Therefore, a smart, scientific, and appropriate start will help you stay motivated, avoid failure, and achieve long-term results.
How to start your weight loss journey?
Here are 5 top tips that can help:
1. Track your meals and how you feel
One of the common mistakes when starting to lose weight is to rely on the feeling that eating less is enough. In fact, many people after 50 still eat less but their weight does not decrease, or even increases. The main reasons are reduced metabolism, muscle loss, and improperly adjusted eating habits.
So, keeping a food and physical symptom diary is an important first step. Not only do you need to record what you eat, but you should also note how you feel after eating: whether you are hungry or full, full or uncomfortable, how your energy level is, how your spirit is.
This will help you:
- Identify unhealthy eating habits, such as snacking at night, eating too quickly, or skipping meals.
- Detect foods that make your body uncomfortable, bloated, or increase cravings later.
- Create a basis for adjusting your portion sizes and choosing more suitable foods.
Today, there are many phone applications that help you record and track your calories, nutrients, and even your energy levels and body feelings, making it easy to see your progress and make appropriate adjustments.
2. Prioritize protein
When losing weight, especially in middle age and beyond, the body often loses lean muscle mass along with fat. This not only slows down your metabolism, but also affects bone and joint health, muscle strength, and the ability to maintain a lean body.
Protein plays a key role in protecting your muscles when losing weight.
A high-protein diet will help you:
- Feel fuller longer, reducing cravings between meals.
- Maintain muscle during fat loss, thereby increasing the ability to burn calories.
- Stabilize blood sugar, reducing the risk of blood sugar fluctuations, especially important if you have a history of diabetes.
Some ideal protein sources include lean meat, fish, eggs, low-fat dairy, beans, and nuts. Each meal should contain enough protein for the body to absorb, combined with green vegetables and whole grains to maintain stable energy.
3. Stay hydrated
A seemingly simple but often overlooked thing is drinking enough water. Water not only helps the body function normally but also supports the weight loss process.
Staying hydrated will help:
- Support digestion, helping the body absorb nutrients better.
- Increase the feeling of fullness, limit snacking or overeating.
- Improve energy, help you feel alert and stay active.
Many people confuse thirst with hunger, leading to eating unnecessary calories. So make sure to drink about 1.5–2 liters of water a day, maybe more if you exercise or the weather is hot. In addition to water, unsweetened herbal tea and diluted fresh fruit juice are also good choices, avoid sweet and carbonated drinks.
4. Keep appointments and monitor your health regularly
When losing weight, especially if you have health problems or are taking medication, it is very important to keep appointments with your doctor or nutritionist.
Regular check-ups will help:
- Evaluate your weight loss progress and health status.
- Adjust your diet and exercise regimen to suit your body.
- Detect early signs of abnormalities to ensure safe weight loss.
For the elderly, weight loss requires medical supervision to avoid excessive muscle loss, malnutrition, or effects on blood pressure, cardiovascular system, and joints.
5. The reality of weight loss goals
One of the reasons why many people fail is setting goals that are too high. Sustainable weight loss is not about losing weight quickly and a lot, but about losing weight slowly and steadily. A reasonable goal is about 0.5–1 kg per week. This level of loss helps the body adapt, reduces the risk of fatigue, metabolic disorders, and especially maintains long-term results.
In addition, focus on healthy habits instead of weight numbers. When you improve your diet, exercise regularly, maintain enough sleep, and control stress, your weight will naturally stabilize in a positive direction.
