This is the expanded version of my recent article in Hello magazine. Useful tactics to make you more healthy and gain less weight without actually dieting.
Society has become a lot more health conscious since I started my Ageless website 12 years ago. Whereas I often felt like a lone voice beating the drum for healthy living, now I find myself in a sea of influencers, health enthusiasts and biohackers.
As my fellow boomers and I age, our health has come into sharp focus. The pandemic had a galvanising effect as well. Being surrounded by so much illness had a profound effect on the collective consciousness.
People are realising that they’re responsible for their own health and their health span – the amount of your life where you remain healthy. Many more people are now embracing exercise and are a lot more conscious of what they eat. They’re also staying on top of weight gain which is something that creeps up on both men and women as we hit midlife.
Diet culture in midlife
If you’re a woman over the age of 40, chances are you’ve been on a diet. Probably multiple diets. I know I have. Whilst I always try and eat well and don’t count calories, hormones and the menopause can make weight gain a reality for many of us. If you add health issues into the mix, it can make it even harder to lose weight.
But there’s more to weight loss than just dieting. Whilst a healthy diet full of protein and healthy fats with less sugar and junk food is vital, there are other tactics that can help to halt weight gain in its tracks.
As well as women struggling with hormonal issues, this is also important for those who gain weight but can’t or won’t change their eating habits.
Despite the huge increase of interest in all things healthy, there are still many who are not focused on their health or even interested in it. I would say men over the age of 50 often fall into this category. On the other end of the age spectrum, young adults can also fall into this category. They may have recently left home and be responsible for the first time for providing all their own meals as cheaply as possible or be busy studying with no time or inclination to prepare healthy meals.
Dieting can also be unachievable for the vulnerable in society
Some people may have a diagnosis of a neuro-divergent kind that means it’s hard for them to focus on or understand the bigger picture of their health. They may see eating as a great pleasure to be enjoyed in the moment, especially if it’s sugary and tempting, and would be unable to deprive themselves of this. Understandably, weight gain is very common in these circumstances.
Luckily, there are little tweaks we can make to eating patterns that can help to stop fat being laid down and slow down weight gain. I must stress that it’s always better to eat as healthily as possible but if that’s not feasible for any reason, here’s what to do. And these tactics are good for us all no matter how well we eat, to help stay on top of weight gain.
The 5 Top Tactics:
- No fizzy drinks
– Ok this is a food, but it’s rule number 1 because nothing will make you gain weight faster, while undermining your health at the same time. If you consume many a day and find this too hard, then go slow and start by cutting down. If you can’t give them up, then keep as a once a week treat. Never have more than one in a day. This applies to even the sugar free versions. They make you hungrier and are also bad for your health. They will NOT help you lose weight.
- No snacking
– Keep to 3 meals a day with 4-5 hours between meals. This way your body will use fat as energy. Snacking stops this fat burning process happening and constant grazing causes food to be lain down as fat in your body.
- A 10 minute walk after a meal
– A short walk after a carb heavy meal will help to increase fat burning by stopping the glucose in the food being converted into fat. If you don’t feel like a walk, do 30 squats or lunges instead.
- Weight training
– This helps store glucose/sugar in muscles instead of converting it into fat. Increasing your muscle mass also increases your metabolism and your ability to burn fat. It means you’ll be able to eat more carbs without gaining weight.
- Eat more fibre
– The fibre in fruit and vegetables slows down the absorption of sugar and carbs in your gut and helps keep blood sugar levels stable. It helps to keep you full and lowers cravings. If you eat the vegetables on your plate first, before any carbs, less fat will be lain down.
And that’s it!
Five small things that will make a big difference
I realise there’s still some effort here, but it’s a lot less daunting than having to give up all your favourite foods in one go. A person who is put off by depriving themselves of the foods they love, may well be more open to applying these tactics instead. If all these tactics are too much, apply the ones that are do-able as a starting point.
By embracing all or any of these rules, healthy eating is much more likely to follow. At the very least, there will be less fat accumulated in the body and weight gain will be minimised.
These small steps could be the leap that someone needs to start embracing their health more fully.
