From the New In 90 Team
As we get older, it becomes harder and harder to keep fit and stop the creeping weight gain!
So, here’s 11 really effective ways to kickstart a fitter lifestyle – particularly if you’re over 50 (like all of us!).
Find out more about New In 90 and how it can help you lose weight and get fit for good. http://www.newin90.co.uk/
Anyone who’s hit the big 50 knows there’s a multitude of reasons why it’s difficult to stay fit and not put on weight.
Putting aside all the obvious external influences, it just becomes impossible to exercise like a younger person and it becomes much to put on weight than lose it – after all, who wants to go on a perpetual diet?
We don’t have to waffle on about all the strong evidence that people who are active have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers, depression and dementia – nor do we have to convince you that being overweight is far from ideal.
So, If we all know that being unfit and overweight is bad for us, why don’t we do something about it?
Because it’s hard!
And even harder for us ‘older’ people as our metabolism slows.
But here’s the good news!
Whatever your age, it’s never too late to start and whatever you do – even if it’s only a small amount – will be beneficial.
But first, follow these simple rules:
- Take it slowly. Never set yourself an objective that’s too hard because you’ll fall at the first hurdle.
- Think long term. You won’t see or feel instant change because that’s impossible to achieve – whatever those glossy adverts tell you!
Think ‘this is for life’ and you’ll be a big leap closer to where you want to be.
So, what’s the next step?
To achieve the objective (to be slimmer and fitter) we need to focus on two things:
Getting more active (many benefits – improved sleep, stronger muscles, mental wellbeing, less stress, better health, helps to control weight).
Achieving your ‘optimum’ weight (the one that’s about for your height and age and the one that makes you feel good).
So here’s 11 really effective ways to get started
1 Decide you REALLY want to start
It may seem obvious, but if you’re only making changes to please someone else, you don’t really think you need to make changes or you can’t really be bothered, then everything will be much harder if not impossible.
You, and only you, can make the decision to make a change.
2 Set an objective and a timescale
Make them realistic (no point in saying “I’m going to run a marathon in one month’s time” or “I’m going to lose three stone in three weeks”) and achievable. If you hit your objective easily, then you can always set a new one.
And try not to make it totally weight or exercise orientated. If you say ‘I’m going to lose a stone in month 1’ and you don’t, then you may well give up. Likewise failing to run 5k after a month could have the same negative effect.
Instead, set an overall long term objective and then lots of smaller, short term ones. For instance;
Long term (name an actual day months into the future and put it into your calendar – remember this is for the long term) – ‘In a year, I’m going to look at my reflection and be really satisfied with what I see!’
Short term, week 1 – “I’m going to eat 10% less food this week” or “I’m going to skip a mid-morning snack this week” and;
“I’m going to do 5 slow squats each time I brush my teeth” or “I’m going to do a press up every night before getting into bed.”
You can even set yourself hourly objectives and then give yourself big pat on the back when you achieve them!
The key is never to set yourself up to fail.
3 Start walking more
One of the best exercises around and it’s free! Aim to go for a long walk every day – or several short ones (even a quick 10 minute walk has benefits if done often enough) if that works better. But don’t dawdle! Walk briskly to get the heart going a bit faster and a light sweat on.
The overall message here is to get moving more, not only to help physical wellbeing, but also to increase the body’s metabolic rate which will utilise more energy.
Remember, to lose weight your body has to use more energy over a sustained period of time than it takes in via food and drink. And moving around more is the easiest way of increasing the metabolic rate – walking alone will increase it by 200-300%.
You don’t only have to walk – doing anything that makes you move around more is great for your wellbeing.
So throughout your day, keep asking yourself “how can I move around more?”
And walking is the best way, bar none.
4 Eat less at meal times
It’s the most obvious statement in the world but everyone eats too much! And one of the reasons for this is that we don’t regulate our portion size enough – in fact, we often let other people serve up food for us.
Combine this with our ingrained belief that we should ‘finish everything on our plate’ and it’s no wonder over 65% of the UK population is overweight!
So, as one of your short term objectives, reduce your portion size.
Serve yourself a usual portion and then remove half. Eat what you have and wait a few minutes. If you want some more, then have a quarter of what’s left. Chances are you’ll feel full and you won’t have any more – which means you’ve reduced your portion size by a minimum of 25%. Do this for each meal (or snack) and you’ll have cut your energy intake by the same amount – without really much effort!
Try it just once and see what happens.
For more information on portion control read this really good article
https://www.newin90.co.uk/the-great-new-pc-diet-its-a-winner/
5 If you drink alcohol, only drink 3 days a week and don’t binge.
Many people say that “drinking more” is one of the biggest causes of weight gain, particularly during the lockdown.
Whilst many of us really enjoy a tipple, alcoholic drinks are both very fattening and are normally ‘over and above’ all the other food and drink we take in during the day.
And, of course, having more than the weekly recommended amounts can lead to many other health issues, so it’s not good to go there.
So, go on enjoying alcoholic drinks but reduce the amount you have – and that probably means limiting the days rather than the actual amount on any particular day (most people find it very hard to have just one or two drinks at a time). Aim for three days drinking and a minimum four days off each week.
If you don’t drink alcohol, then you might have soft drinks instead. From a calorific point of view, these are just as bad, so follow the same 3 on/4 off rule if you can.
6 Start doing tiny amounts of exercise throughout the day – the importance of triggers.
Because us humans lose muscle mass as we get older, it’s really important to do as many strengthening exercises as possible. Doing this will have many benefits and will ensure we stay fit and mobile well into old age.
However, a lot of people perceive that this means spending hours in the gym or in front of online videos – but that’s just not the case. One study found that older adults can build muscle mass with as little as forty minutes of strength training twice a week.
So saying, even two long training sessions sounds daunting so that’s why we advocate lots of small sessions spread throughout every day.
And this is where the triggers come in.
Triggers are little moments throughout the day that provide an opportunity to do a strengthening exercise.
You can find out much more about triggers here
https://www.newin90.co.uk/start-using-triggers-to-help-achieve-a-fitter-lifestyle/
The key is to connect a specific exercise with a trigger – so cleaning your teeth will trigger 5 squats, or walking up the stairs will trigger you walking up and down 2 or 3 times, or undressing will trigger some tummy strengthening exercises.
The amazing thing about triggers is that after a very short while, you will automatically connect the exercise with the trigger, so it will become second nature to do them.
In fact, after a while, you won’t not be able to do them! And that’s when you’ll really start to notice the difference!
7 Start meditating
Being isolated in your home, either by yourself or with family, can be really stressful so it’s even more important to look after your mental as well as your physical state.
The advice to everyone is to take one form of exercise each day – but what about your mind?
Taking some time out to sit down and ‘turn off’ is a great way to de-stress and relax, and it only needs to take 10 minutes (although if you can manage a bit longer, you will notice even more positive effects).
Find out more about meditation and exactly how to do it here
https://www.newin90.co.uk/the-magic-of-meditation/
8 Get the support of those around you.
Making any sort of change to one’s life, however small can be stressful, particularly as we get older.
And many people find it very difficult to adapt eating or activity habits because of pressure from those around them (“Come on, let’s have a takeaway”; “Go on, have another drink”; “You do a press up? You’re joking aren’t you?”) that makes it very hard.
So once you’ve decided to make a change, get those close to you on board and ask for their support. As soon as you have that, hitting your objectives will be so much easier.
9 Change daily routines and habits
The majority of diets concentrate on WHAT we put into our mouths but what we need to change to obtain a better and fitter lifestyle are our habits and routines – many of which are not particularly good when it comes to eating and drinking!
Many will be really ingrained but the good news is that it’s relatively easy to change and adapt them so they start working for us instead of against us.
Imagine how effective that will be!
You can read all about how to easily and simply change your daily habits and routines here.
10 Get rid of barriers standing in your way.
“I want to lose some weight and get fitter but…”
So many people want of improve their lifestyle but something is stopping them. If that’s you, then we need to identify what comes after the ‘but’ and take steps to remove whatever is standing in your way.
Many people think this is very hard or impossible to do but it’s not.
Using several simple techniques, you can break down the thing (or things) that are stopping you achieving your weight loss and fitness goals.
New In 90’s Stepping Stone Program will show you exactly how to do this to maximise the effectiveness of your lifestyle change.
https://www.newin90.co.uk/new-stepping-stone-book/
11 Don’t deprive yourself of treats or snacks
If you enjoy treats and snack (and most of us do!), then the last thing you should do is to stop having them.
No one gets overweight eating chocolate, ice cream, biscuits, crisps or an Indian take away. The problem comes if you eat too much of them.
So, as part of your new lifestyle, you’ll still have your favourite treat but it will become pure enjoyment rather than a guilty pleasure.
If you’ve got to here, then you’ll be wanting to know what the next best step is!
How can you start leading a fitter lifestyle – one that will stay with you FOR GOOD?
Well, there’s lots of good information out on the internet (the NHS site is a good place to start), or you can find out about New In 90 and the Programs we offer.
The New In 90 Philosophy is all about losing weight and getting fit by slowly transforming your daily habits and routines around eating and exercise to produce LONG-LASTING results.
Start with either the brand new Stepping Stone Program or the original New In 90 Program to achieve your ideal weight and fitness objectives.