look news india
After reaching a certain stage of age, many major natural changes occur in the functioning of our body. It is often seen that after crossing the age of 30 or 40, people’s weight suddenly starts increasing rapidly, especially fat starts accumulating around the stomach and waist. Many people at this age complain that they are eating the same food as before and working out the same, yet their obesity is not reducing. According to health experts and doctors, the real reason for weight gain after 40 is slow metabolism of the body and fluctuations in hormones. But you don’t need to worry at all; By making 5 important and easy changes in your daily routine, you can stop increasing fat even at this age and get a fit and energetic body again.
Include protein in your diet to boost metabolism
After the age of 40, the muscles of our body gradually start decreasing, due to which the metabolism automatically slows down. A sluggish metabolism means your body can’t burn calories as fast as it used to. The best way to deal with this problem is to increase the amount of lean protein in your daily diet. Consuming protein not only keeps your muscles strong, but the body has to spend more energy to digest it, which naturally speeds up the metabolism. Give priority to things like pulses, paneer, soybean, eggs or sprouts in your plate.
Strength training and heavy exercise are necessary to balance hormones.
With increasing age, the levels of important hormones like estrogen in women and testosterone in men start decreasing, which is directly responsible for weight gain and fatigue. To correct this hormonal imbalance, just walking or doing cardio is not enough. You have to include strength training or weight lifting exercises in your workout routine at least three days a week. By doing strength training, fat-burning hormones are activated in the body, bones become stronger and the body gets a great toned shape which makes you look many years younger than your age.
Say goodbye to refined carbs and make friends with fiber
After 40, the insulin sensitivity of the body also gets affected, due to which eating sweet things, flour, white rice and junk food leads to rapid weight gain. In such a situation, you should completely limit the intake of refined carbohydrates. Instead, include complex carbs and high fiber foods like oats, porridge, green leafy vegetables, salads and seasonal fruits in your diet. Fiber keeps your digestive system healthy, makes you feel full for a longer period of time and prevents sudden increase in blood sugar, thereby curbing the process of fat accumulation.
7 to 8 hours of deep sleep and do not ignore stress management
Often, in order to lose weight, people pay full attention to gym and diet, but forget about sleep and mental stress. After the age of 40, it is common to increase stress due to family and work responsibilities. When you are under stress, a stress hormone called ‘Cortisol’ is released in the body, which directly increases stubborn belly fat. Besides this, due to lack of sleep, hormones that increase appetite become active. Therefore, to control weight, it is very important to take 7 to 8 hours of deep and peaceful sleep every day. To reduce stress, you can take help of yoga or meditation.
Hydration and adopting small meal patterns are very effective
As we age, many times our body does not understand the difference between thirst and hunger and we start eating more food due to drinking less water. Drinking at least 3 to 4 liters of water a day helps in flushing out toxins from your body and speeding up metabolism by 30 percent. Also, instead of eating a lot of food at once, eat small and nutritious meals every three to four hours. This habit does not put extra pressure on your digestive system and keeps the energy level in the body the same throughout the day, making your weight loss journey very easy and enjoyable.
