It’s no secret that as we age, everything health related gets harder every year. Losing weight and belly fat are no exceptions. However, I am going to share with you now the best way to lose belly fat after 50.
First though, you must understand that you cannot specifically target areas of fat on your body, unless you undergo surgery such as liposuction.
However, for most men, and some women, body fat accumulates significantly around the belly.
Therefore, if you are a dude undergoing a program to lose body fat, most of that fat loss will occur around the belly. This will be the case with some women as well.
Why you need to lose belly fat in particular
It is critical that you lose belly fat in particular. Why? Because most of our significant organs are located in our torso, and too much belly fat can impede their function.
When you have organs that struggle to function properly, all sorts of issues can arise.
Heart disease, liver disease and Type II diabetes are just a few health issues that can result from too much belly fat.
The formula for losing body fat
The way most people unsuccessfully lose body fat is through some sort of diet.
What I mean by unsuccessfully is that, while they may lose body fat this way, most people who lose fat through diet alone will eventually gain it back.
The reason this typically happens is that losing fat through diet ultimately results in a slowing of your metabolism. This is how the body protects itself from losing too much weight over a short period of time.
Then, when you revert to your old eating practices with a slower metabolism, you will put on weight more quickly.
Therefore, the best way to lose belly fat is through a combination of proper diet and exercise.
The formula for losing body fat permanently is this…
- Build muscle
- Increase your daily amount of movement
- Eat at a caloric deficit
Build muscle to lose belly fat
Muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain than fat tissue.
Therefore, the more muscle mass you can build, the higher your metabolism will be, and the more fat you will burn.
The issue is that it becomes a bit harder to build muscle after 50 because the body’s ability to synthesize protein declines as we age.
Therefore, after 50, we have to train smarter.
In order to effectively build lean muscle, we have to train hard, but less frequently. The recovery phase in between strength training sessions is what allows us to build that much needed muscle.
The best way to build muscle is through resistance training with proper programming.
Most people understand that you need to lift weights to build muscle, but they have no clue how to approach their program.
They end up wasting alot of time at the gym just exercising and making no progress. Exercise does not necessarily equal training.
A good strength training program starts conservatively, and progressively becomes more difficult over time.
The body adapts by building muscle and bone density.
The best strength training programs include compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups. Those exercises should be your focus starting out.
If you are unable to perform any of them due to injuries you’ve acquired, there are plenty of alternative exercises.
The point is that you just need to get started with strength training now, rather than later. It’s that important.
Get moving
One of the common themes among people who live in the blue zones around the world (areas where people live the longest) is that people there are more active in their daily lives.
For instance, goat shepherds on the island of Sardinia will walk upwards of five miles a day through hilly terrain.
This keeps their heart rate modestly elevated for much of the day.
Many people think that you need to get into the gym and run on the treadmill everyday for an hour to lose weight.
While that will certainly help, it’s not really necessary.
Simply walking everyday for 45 minutes or longer will do the trick.
If you do cardio exercise regularly, it is more important to exercise in Zone 2, which is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.
Most people who incorporate cardio exercise into their program exercise mostly in Zones 3 and 4. The issue with that is if you train too long, you’ll start to use up muscle tissue as energy.
That defeats the purpose of your strength training.
Zone 2 cardio is more efficient at burning fat. That is just one of the benefits.
Lose belly fat by eating at a caloric deficit
Most people who try to lose weight through diet alone will restrict their calories too much. I hinted at this earlier.
However, if you increase your daily movement AND incorporate strength training into your program, you won’t need to restrict your calories too much to lose fat.
The best way to lose belly fat involves combining all of these approaches into one overall program.
The key here is to understand how many calories to cut.
First, don’t be in a rush to lose a massive amount of weight in a short period of time. That’s really not the healthy way to do it.
Determine your current weight, and set an initial goal of losing 10% of your body weight, most of which should be fat.
Calculate your basal metabolic rate here. So, if you are 50 years old, male, 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, your BMR is 2,032 calories per day.
That is how much you need to eat just to stay alive.
Multiply that figure by about 1.375, which accounts for normal daily activity for most people, and you arrive at a figure of 2,794 calories.
Now, if you want to lose 25 pounds over the next three months, which is about two pounds per week, you’ll need to cut your calories to about 2,250 per day, and that will allow you to lose about one pound per week.
The rest of your fat loss must then come from increased daily activity accounting for an extra 500 calories per day.
You can burn that easily through a combination of strength training, zone 2 cardio and taking extra walks.
Proper Diet
It’s also critical that you eat properly if you want to accomplish this goal of losing belly fat.
If your diet consists primarily of carb rich foods, you won’t build the muscle you need, and your extra daily movement will use those carbs for energy, instead of the stored fat.
Therefore, you must restrict your carb intake, and eat more protein.
You will want to eat between 0.75 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight (your initial goal weight, not your current bodyweight).
Your best sources of protein are chicken, salmon and lean cuts of beef. If you enjoy eggs, by all means, eat them as well.
Round out your diet with more veggies than foods high in carbs, and eat a little bit of fruit.
The best way to lose belly fat after 50
You now have a complete picture for losing belly fat after 50.
While the degree of difficulty is definitely greater as we age, it is still very possible to achieve your fat loss goals by following a solid program.
The best way to lose belly fat after 50 is a multi-pronged approach involving strength training, increased daily movement and cardio exercise, proper calorie restriction, and a proper diet.
