Belly Fat Tips for People Over 40
Belly Fat Tips for People Over 40
As you age, your body will change in many ways. One of these changes can be the way that your body holds on to weight. For those who are over 40, one of the most common places to gain and hold onto weight is the belly area.
Unfortunately, this is also one of the most dangerous places to pack on pounds. What’s worse about this change is the fact that handling it is no longer as easy as it was when you were younger and your metabolism worked better for you.
In order to achieve optimal health, you need to be able to shed your belly fat and attain a sleek midsection that can support you as you age. You may need to take a slightly different approach than your younger counterparts do to meet your goals, but it’s not impossible.
Why We Gain More Around the Waist as We Age
It’s jokingly called a “spare tire” when someone gains weight around the waist. But if you’re over 40 and you have more belly fat than you did before, there are reasons that are causing this unsightly and uncomfortable weight gain.
Some of these reasons aren’t linked to anything you did, while others are a direct link of behavior patterns. Once people reach 40 and older, they’re more inclined to gain weight.
In fact, studies show that both men and women gain weight steadily as they age. Some gain as much as 3-5 percent more each year. One of the reasons this happens to men and women is because as they age, they slow down.
They stop working as hard. They stop doing as much. It’s a natural inclination to adjust activity to match your age and energy levels. But what ends up happening is that while they may be slowing down their activity, they’re not adjusting their calorie intake.
This leads to a steady increase in weight showing up on the body and on the numbers on the scale. If you take in more calories than you need, you gain weight and it’s easier to gain the older you get.
Age causes the way the body stores fat to shift. It begins to store more fat in the abdominal area in both men and women. As you get older and decrease your activity, at the same time, your metabolism is slowing down.
This further hinders keeping the weight off because you won’t be burning calories as easily. Something else that happens has to do with hormones. Before menopause, most women don’t store fat as belly fat...
