5 Mistakes with Belly Fat Women over 55 Need to Avoid
“How do I get rid of stubborn belly fat?” This question is one of the most common ones I get asked as a personal trainer for women over 55. The question is typically followed by a request for a focus on core exercises. But there is SO much more to getting rid of belly fat than core exercises. Let’s uncover the 5 mistakes women over 55 need to avoid when it comes to getting rid of belly fat.
Mistake #1: Too Much Sugar Is Sneaking Up on You!
Losing belly fat can feel impossible for women over 55. We often blame our hormones and metabolism. But are you really taking an honest look at how many grams of sugar you consume each day? Too much refined sugar parks itself right in our abdomen, which is one of the most dangerous areas to hold fat. Fat in the abdomen can be visceral fat that is around your organs and is linked to heart disease, a higher risk of cancer, and inflammation.
Track your grams of sugar per day and strive for 25 grams or less per day. Natural sugars from fruits and vegetables are less harmful especially balanced by the fiber level, but you should still keep an eye on your total grams of sugar. Use a Free App like MyFitnessPal to track your nutrients, not just calories, for a few days to see where you fall and what changes you can make.
Mistake #2: Wine Belly: Alcohol Is Keeping the Pounds in Your Midsection
It’s relaxing to have a glass of wine in the evening. Sometimes that glass is never-ending and bottomless; too much wine or alcohol is often paired with less than healthy choices of snacks and the portions are neverending. Add in a few events out with friends during the week and before you know it, you’ve had alcohol more days than you realized.
Research studies abound showing that moderate alcohol consumption is linked to belly fat, and also visceral fat around the organs that we talked about above. Consciously choose the days you are going to have a glass and enjoy!
Swap in a fresh sparkling water spritzer or an herbal tea to fill the desire to relax and unwind. Drink plenty of water and avoid salty snacks during happy hour, as they make you feel thirstier. Share your goals with your partner and friends so they can support you instead of nudging you towards less than desirable decisions.
Mistake #3: You Are Stress and Emotional Eating
You are feeling stressed out, angry, frustrated, sad, or emotional but instead of leaning into your emotions, you lean into the pantry, fridge, and freezer to munch away your frustrations. Emotional and stress eating feels helpful in the moment, but never feels good later on. And it’s one of the most common reasons we veer from our nutritious foods. We don’t reach for an apple or a banana when we are stress eating. We reach for cupcakes, ice cream, and crunchy snacks to drown out our sorrows.
Take the time right now to come up with a short list of healthier alternatives for the next time you are stressed: take a walk, journal, call a friend, try some affirming self talk, furiously air drum, breathe, make a cup of tea, or be with your true emotions. Remind yourself when you are in the thick of it, that you aren’t hungry, remind yourself the actual emotion you are feeling and then try to be with it and pick an activity from the list to help you through it. Imagine the amount of calories, sugar, and fat you could save from your midline.
Mistake #4: You Are ONLY Counting Calories
When you think about going on a diet or trying to lose weight, often the first thought is to reduce carbs and cut your calories. This builds a mindset of restriction and lack and will be hard to keep up with.
Cutting your calories too low will actually cause your metabolic rate to slow down, reducing the number of calories you burn each day. Instead of restricting your calories, focus on fueling your body with the nutrients it needs to feel healthy and strong.
Strive for lots of vegetables and fruits to give your body plenty of fiber, at least 25-35 grams per day, add beans, quinoa, lentils, and lean meats for protein, at least 75-100 grams of protein per day, and lots of greens for calcium, vit D, and nuts and seeds for healthy fats, 50 grams per day and magnesium, and whole grains for complex carbs, 100-180 per day. Try tracking your food for a few days to see which nutrients are lacking in your diet and what foods you could add to improve your nutrition.
Mistake #5: Your Only Exercise Is Walking
One of the biggest mistakes women over 55 make with regards to belly fat is walking as the only form of exercise. While walking should be a part of your exercise plan, you need to add strength training to your routine at least 2-3 times a week to build your strength, endurance, and metabolism. With consistent strength training, your body’s metabolism can improve, increasing the amount of calories you burn each day, not just during your workouts but all day. Strength training also helps to build muscles to protect your joints and keep you strong for the activities of life you enjoy and the things you need to do!
If you need help, my webinar Design Your Belly-Fat Busting Workout Plan can help you learn the best exercise routine and schedule to burn belly fat. Sign up here: https://vitalityfitnwell.com/BFBWP-Workshop.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Do you have a problem with belly fat? What have you done about it to this point? Has it worked? Which of the mistakes mentioned above has hindered your belly fat progress?
We were eating a Mediterranean diet and gained weight. Then went “low carb” and lost 2 lbs in 6 weeks. Finally went very low carb: no sugar, no fruit, no flour (bread crackers chips), no grains, and very small amts of cheese. Plenty of animal protein, including the attached fat. Dropped the weight, was not constipated, even with <20 gm carbs. We met our health goals in 12 weeks. Turned out- the whole grains and beans and root veg had to go before the scale would move. Back to a conservative, real food Keto diet now. Filling and satisfying.
I don’t eat sugary foods apart from fruit. Rarely snack eat chicken fish and lots of vegetables. Only have a glass of wine on Fridays and Saturdays. Don’t eat crisps biscuits or sweets. Only have 1 slice of bread a day and rarely eat potatoes, pasta or rice. Don’t eat cakes I sound boring but I am still 2 stone heavier . I exercise 5 out of 7 days doing a combination of cardio and weights. What else do folks suggest
Unfortunately some of us for various reasons cannot eat mostly fresh fruit or veggies. I’m vegan and have been for over 20 years. After menopause I started having digestive issues, which apparently is common. No one likes to talk about gas and too many bowel movements but that became part of my life. After years of struggling and being told my diet was great and stay with it, turns out i can no longer tolerate salad and fruit, or anything in significant quantities that’s high I fiber. Advice to increase fiber and fresh produce isn’t great for everyone. I agree about cutting out sweets and alcohol (I don’t drink at all) however directing everyone toward the produce isle is not appropriate. And for the record, I miss eating a bowl of berries or even an apple, which I can no longer do. .