Troy Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Presents Three Ways for Seniors to Maintain a Healthy Weight
Watching our weight can be harder once we get past 60 years of age due to the body using up fewer calories, but research shows that being at a healthy weight can keep blood pressure in check, along with reducing the risk of things like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The key, whether you are at an optimal weight or you are hoping to lose a few pounds, is consistency. For seniors, fad diets usually aren’t the answer because they generally cannot be sustained in the long run. The most successful way to either lose or maintain weight is by not consuming more calories than your body uses up on a daily basis, and of the calories, you do consume, make sure they contain nutritional value and aren’t empty calories like sugar.
Troy Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing wants to help you stay healthy with these three tips to maintain a good weight.
- Muscles Burn More Calories Than Fat
Taking part in strength training activities (or even resistance training like yoga, Pilates, swimming, or water aerobics) will help you maintain muscle mass and burn calories faster.
2. Stay Hydrated
Many times, we may crave a snack when all our body really wants is water. Help avoid confusing hunger and thirst by drinking a glass of water and see if the food craving goes away. Nutritionists suggest drinking 64 ounces of water daily, and you can keep a log of how much you’re drinking and when to make sure you reach that amount.
3. Don’t Save up for a Big Meal
Our metabolism will slow as we age, so it’s best to eat smaller meals and have snacks in between (eat something about every three hours or so) instead of indulging in a big meal, especially if it’s close to bedtime.
It’s also a good idea to check with your doctor or a dietician for their recommendation on how many calories you should consume per day.
To learn more about Troy Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit https://centershealthcare.com/troy_center/.
