One of the frustrating aspects of health information is that just when you think you’ve got a handle on what you are supposed to do to be healthy – the information changes.
For example, not long ago those of us who were over 50 were assured that if we moderately cut back our portions, decreasing our calories, and exercised for a half hour 4-5 times a week, we could keep the extra body fat that creeps in after menopause, at bay.
How many women dutifully reduced their calories and did their daily half hour exercise routine, only to feel that there was “something wrong with them” because this formula didn’t work for their body, even though the “experts” said it was the right way to control weight after the age of 50.
The weight loss wisdom has now shifted for women past the age when our estrogen is dramatically lower than pre-menopause. Estrogen, as every woman knows, is that amazing hormone that is a metabolic calorie burner as well as a reproductive hormone. It keeps us heart healthy; keeps our skin healthy and it produces “pheromones” for attraction, among other amazing and important body functions
No longer is a half hour of exercise deemed adequate to increase the metabolic furnace that is slowed down by the loss of estrogen and the creeping weight gain around the middle. We now have to exercise a minimum of one hour per day and really watch everything we put in our mouths, especially carbohydrates, which we want more than ever for the serotonin surge they give us. This new information comes from the simple fact that women over 50 generally do not lose the weight they want with just a half hour of exercise.
What is important regarding losing weight and keeping it off after 50 is what our individual body tells us is right for our metabolism and body type. We need to ask ourselves what do we know about ourselves, and our own weight loss and weight gain pattern? Thatt should be more important than the “weight loss expert’s” advice.
The big question is, now that we are past the age of reproduction and our body no longer is protecting us against many of the maladies that come with getting older, what are we willing to make the priority in our lives and what do we know about our own metabolic profile and how food and exercise affects our body weight? What also happens past 50 that can liberate us from this body syndrome and how can we harness it for our whole health and well being?
After 50, we lose our inhibitions, accept ourselves for who we are more, surprise ourselves with finding new interests and passions and throw off the yoke of being so concerned with success and achievement. We may lose some physical passion, but mentally and spiritually we are “off and running” in a whole new way.
Important questions to ask ourselves about what we know about how to lose weight:
1- What do I know about how I gain weight?
2- What do I know about how I lose weight?
3- Do I eat when I’m stressed?
4- Do I lose weight when I’m stressed?
5- Do I use food for emotional soothing?
6- Does eating play a dominant role in my daily routine?
7- Is losing weight more important than eating what I like when I like it?
8- What am I willing to give up to get the body weight I want?
9- Do I feel my food choices need to improve?
10- What is my personal experience with exercise?
11- What works best for me, what kind of exercise do I enjoy?
12- What do I know about how my body responds to exercise?
13- Am I willing to make the time to take care of myself?
14- What are my health priorities?
15- What are my ego priorities?
16- What keeps me from being the weight I want to be- REALLY?
We know that the issue of weight loss is intimately connected with our relationship with our mental, emotional and physical energy. Rarely do we see an energetic, productive, organized individual (man or woman) who struggles with weight issues, even after 50 because they are often focused on their external interests and passions. Ironically, these folks often suffer from not taking the time to eat when or as much as they should.
One of the weight loss “secrets” I have learned over the years from my patients is that when they are excited, creative, interested and passionate about their work, their relationships, learning, doing or being, the issue of a naturally right body weigh solves itself. We are often over focused on the sensory experience and pleasure of food as a main stay for satisfaction and fulfillment.
However, when something else captures our attention and energy, the issue of fulfillment and gratification can come from a totally unexpected and different source. Something to consider ~ Let’s find our passion and joyfully burn those calories!
For more whole health discussions, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.