Middle age spread. tips for reding the effects.

Health
&
Fitness

Beating the middle age spread

Causes of the middle age spread

Whether your a man or a woman, by the time you reach your mid 30's to early 50's your body will be going through some pretty dramatic changes, combine this with a change in lifestyle that most people go through at this time of there lives and the results can be a rapid change in weight and a loosening of supportive tissue.

The changes to your hormone and chemical balance can have a snowball effect on weight gain. Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns energy to maintain normal bodily functions, this has a dual effect on your body shape. Firstly a larger portion of your daily energy will be used to maintain these normal functions. Secondly when your body burns this fuel to maintain bodily functions it also produces heat which reduces the need for insulation. As you get older this rate may slow down, and result in less energy being burned, less heat being generated and a greater requirement for insulation, net result = weight gain.

Your lifestyle. Once you reach this critical age the likely-hood is that you are becoming less active, enjoying more of the finer things in life and becoming more tolerant of extra bulges.

Beat the bulge

Hormone replacements, well not quite. There are some herbal food supplements available today that acclaim to have thermogenic properties which keep you metabolism working harder and burning fat.

Change your diet. Being aware of what you eat before you get to an undesirable weight is critical. As a young person you may have been able to eat vast amounts of high energy foods. In-order to maintain weight in later years you will have to adjust your diet.

Keep active. Bringing up children, having a busy social life or just keeping active all day will all burn lots of energy. As you get older you may have a reduced level natural of activity. Keeping this in mind and walking those short journeys, or making an effort like taking the stairs instead of a lift can all help to reduce the weight gain and keep healthy.

Regular exercise. Even if you didn't participate in sports as a youngster, you should consider taking up a gentle sport. Sports which require moderate effort over a period of about 40 minutes are ideal for keeping a check on your weight. If you want to be scientific you can buy a heart rate monitor to optimise your exercise level to achieve maximum fat burning.

Moisturise. As you grow older you skin looses its natural elasticity and firmness, moisturising on a regular basis will assist you skin to maintain its elasticity.

Curb you drinking. Drinking alcoholic beverages on a regular basis will undoubtedly give you a bear belly. Alcohol has a high calorific value and drinking at evening times will mean that the energy obtained overnight will be put straight into storage (fat).

Change your eating habits. Eating small amounts throughout the day will give you the energy required for the day as it is needed, eating large amounts in the evening will simply encourage your body to store energy.

Does life begins at forty

For many people reaching forty something can be a daunting time as the past couple of decades have been devoted to bringing up children or working hard to climb the career ladder. So what now? you've reached your career goals, your children are leaving home to start their own lives and you simply have more time on your hands than you know what to do with.

Be assertive. You are never too old to try new tricks, get out and join clubs, enroll at your local college, learn a language or learn to play an instrument. The feeling of accomplishment when you achieve something never changes, and you are never too old to try.