3 Reasons Why You May Still Be Struggling to Lose Belly Fat Over 50.
Whether you are a woman under 50 or over 50, you may be still struggling to lose stubborn belly fat.
Most of us are.
But why?
Why won’t it come off if we’re spending hours in the gym doing cardio, and starving ourselves? (I swear I’m eating nothing but air!)
There can be any number of reasons.
Today, we will discuss only 3 reasons why you might still be struggling to lose belly fat.
Most Reasons Apply to Everyone. But It’s Harder if You Are a Woman Over 50.
Most reasons why that belly fat won’t budge apply to everyone —men and women —over 50 or under 50, it doesn’t matter.
But not all of them apply to everyone. There are a few that make it harder for women over 50 to shed that belly fat.
If you are a woman over 50—just our luck — you are dealing with certain hormonal issues that make it harder to lose fat—a situation that younger women (and men, of course) simply don’t have to deal with.
But harder doesn’t mean impossible.
You just have to work a little harder and be a bit more strategic to get there.
So, back to our main question. What are some of the reasons why that belly fat is still sticking around?
Below are 3 of the top lifestyle and exercise reasons that keep you from losing belly fat.
Take a look at each of these reasons and think about whether or not they apply in your life.
And if any of them do, don’t lose heart. It simply means that you just need to make a few changes in order to get rid of that belly fat.
3 Reasons Why You May Still Be Struggling to Lose Belly Fat Over 50.
1. It’s Because of What You are Eating and Drinking
Didn’t want to hear this?
You wanted to hear, “lose belly fat while still eating the foods you love and doing little to no exercise”?
Sorry, pal.
Those claims are a bunch of baloney. (Which you should not be eating by the way.)
What you are eating and drinking is probably the number one reason why you are still holding onto belly fat.
And to make matters worse, as women over 50, we are even more behind the 8 ball because our metabolisms are slower —making it harder to lose body fat.
Your metabolism is the rate at which your body breaks down what you eat and drink and turns it into energy.
Studies have shown that your metabolism slows down as you age.
For women, decreased ovarian function slows down your metabolism, and, if you were doing nothing else, this fact alone could cause you to gain a pound of weight in 3 months.
BUT…
That doesn’t mean you can just blame that stubborn belly fat on your metabolism (although many people try).
You do need to be aware of the fact that your metabolism is slower, because you need to know that if you are a woman over 50, you have to be more careful about what you eat and drink if you want to lose belly fat.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that eating junk food and processed food will make you fat.
And yet not everyone pays attention to the fact that “processed food” is not just fast food you get when you pull up to the drive up window. It includes all foods that are changed from their natural state like:
Frozen dinners (yes, even the ones that are supposed to help you lose weight)
Canned foods
Pasteurized food
Frozen
Dried
Dehydrated
Foods with added salt, sugar and preservatives
Basically, if it’s in a package, it’s probably processed food.
Weight gain also comes from eating the “white” foods like:
White sugar
Foods made with white flour
White pasta
White bread
White rice
And you gain fat— and stay fat—because of what you are drinking.
Soda
Wine
Beer
Alcohol
Cream in your coffee
Specialty drinks
High sugar drinks (e.g., Gatorade)
Finally, you are not losing that stubborn belly fat because it is not only what you eat that matters, but of how much you are eating and drinking.
Unless you are weighing your food to accurately measure it and are in a calorie deficit, if you are still hanging onto belly fat, chances are pretty darn good that you are eating too much.
There is also the flip side of this.
If you don’t eat enough—especially of protein—your body will hold onto the fat because it thinks it is starving. So you don’t want to eat too much, or too little. Like Goldilocks, you need to get your macronutrients (“macros”) and portion sizes “just right.”
However, for most people, the problem is that they are eating too much and too much of all the wrong things (i.e., processed food, high fat foods, salty, sugary foods, foods with trans fats etc.).
Getting rid of stubborn belly fat is possible. Even for women over 50, 60, or 70.
But it requires some awareness on your part.
And it requires a willingness to change your nutrition and exercise to support you in your efforts.
2. You’re Doing the Same Old, Same Old
Another reason that many people overlook when trying to figure out why they are not losing that stubborn belly fat is because they rarely, if ever, change up their workout routine.
Exercise is absolutely critical for your health, longevity, and overall well-being.
But you can’t just keep on doing the same old thing and never change it up.
So, for example, if you walk (at a snail’s pace) all the time, or you ride the stationary bike in the saddle and always at the same tension level, or you do your 15 minutes on the elliptical at the same level 1 all the time, or you always do the same weight routine in the exact same order using the exact same weight for months on end, you won’t make any progress towards losing belly fat.
Why?
Because our bodies adapt very quickly to the stress (walking, weightlifting, jump rope, etc.) that we put on it.
So if you constantly do the same workout routine, your body will not have to change after it initially adapts to what you are doing.
If you want to lose body fat, you need to make sure that you are always challenging your body.
This doesn’t mean you have to change up your workout every single time you work out —in fact, changing your workout too frequently is counterproductive.
Rather, what it means is that you need to include progressive overload in your workouts.
3. You’re Not Lifting
As women, especially if you are over 50, when we think about losing body fat, the first thing that comes to mind is aerobics. Jane Fonda and those leg warmers. Sweatin’ with the Oldies, or, (Gawdhelpme) jogging.
And while cardio has its place in fitness, when it comes to losing body fat, it is not king.”
Weightlifting is.
Here’s why.
Cardio burns calories – no one can argue with that.
But it is so limited when it comes to burning fat.
One of the problems is that you have to keep adding more and more cardio to get any results from it. So you go from 30 minutes to doing hours and hours of cardio just to maintain what you have.
Studies have shown that cardio – especially for women – is less effective at achieving fat loss.
Weightlifting or resistance training, on the other hand, builds muscle.
And muscle increases your basic metabolic rate.
Where cardio burns calories for the 30 minutes that you do it, weightlifting burns calories all day long.
The bottom line is that when you build lean muscle mass, your metabolism increases and you burn fat.
So if you’re fighting with that stubborn body fat, start lifting weights.
And if you want some help, that’s what I’m here for.
You Absolutely Can Lose Stubborn Belly Fat.
Starting a body transformation can be confusing, difficult, and overwhelming. Don’t worry. I’ve got your back and your biceps. At Strength & Balance for Seniors, I help other women over 50 transform their lives and bodies one rep at a time. I work with clients one-on-one and provide the individualized attention you need to reach your fitness, health, and longevity goals. Connect with me here or on my Facebook page, Strength & Balance for Seniors.