How To Lose Weight - Losing Stomach Fat In Your 50s

There is a simple formula for losing stomach fat in your 50s, or at any other age: eat the right foods and exercise regularly. The trouble is this is not so simple to put into practice. There is always some debate as to what the right foods are and what exercise is best. However, the answer is as simple as the formula: eat food that does not put on weight and do enough exercise to burn off calories.

The Right Food

If you want to lose weight, eating protein will help you do that. Unless you are a vegetarian, the best protein is lean meat – beef, lamb, buffalo or chicken. Protein will help you lose weight because your body has to work harder to digest it and break it down into its various elements. In the process, your body is using energy, which is fat. This means there is less fat being stored in your body, less fat means less weight.

This does not mean you should eat only protein. Our bodies also need carbohydrates. The best sources of carbohydrates are fresh fruit and vegetables. This means having vegetables with your meat gives your body protein and carbohydrates. Some vegetables are better than others. Look for the ones that have a lower GI rating than about 55. You can check the GI table on the Internet.

Start planning your meals around protein and low GI vegetables – and look for low GI foods to incorporate into the rest of your eating plan. Plan your meals ahead so that you do not leave it to the last minute to decide what to eat. It is too much of a temptation to take an easy option and eat whatever is easy or available, rather than what you should eat. If you plan ahead you will find you will look forward to the next meal, particularly when you know you are getting health benefits and losing weight.

The Right Exercise

Any exercise is good, as long it is vigorous enough to burn fat. A stroll around the block is better than sitting in front of the television but it is not going to help you lose much weight. A brisk walk around the block is much better; a run around the block is better still. Most of the exercise gurus tell us we need 20 or 30 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 or 4 times week, to gain health benefits and to lose weight.

One of the most effective ways to burn fat is interval training. When you go for your walk around the block, walk as fast as you can for 10 seconds, resume your normal pace for 20 seconds, then go as fast as you can for the next 10 seconds, and so on. If you do this for around 20 minutes a time, 3 or 4 times a week, you will get fitter and thinner.

If you are new to exercise, you do not have to kill yourself or bring on a heart attack by going too hard in the beginning. If you are finding it too hard then do it gradually. If you are exercising for 20 minutes, then do 10 minutes of interval training and build up to the full 20 minutes. You can choose the exercise that best suits you. If you prefer to do aerobic type exercise at home, simply follow the same routine.

Losing stomach fat in your 50s means eating more protein, eating mainly the good carbohydrates and doing some vigorous exercise 3 or 4 times a week. Give yourself a month or two and you should see positive results. Then just keep doing it.