Stillness

10 Easy Ways for Seniors to Lose Weight

By Jake Roth

It’s important not to fixate on weight and let it control our lives. But, sometimes, losing a few pounds is a necessary step to improving our overall health. Making this change in your life should be gradual, as shocking your body is never healthy. Moreover, any weight loss should come from healthy lifestyle choices, instead of fad diets or obsessive behaviours.

Here are ten handy tips to help you lose the weight healthily over time:

1. A Balanced Diet—You should not consume nutrients in isolation. For example, while butter is not the healthiest choice, a piece of bread with butter is better than a plain piece of bread is. Simply put, butter contains protein, so it slows down the rate at which the carbohydrate (bread) breaks down and turns to sugar in your body.
2. Regular Eating—There exists a ubiquitous misconception that you should not snack. In truth, you can improve your basal metabolic rate—the amount of energy your body uses when you rest—by eating three meals daily and snaking regularly. The latter provides your body with adequate fuel and also ensures that you do not overeat at meals. Just make sure that you choose a healthy snack.
3. Avoid Calorie Snacks—First, balance and proper nutrient consumption is a lot more important than the number of calories that you consume. Second, eating a 100-calorie pack of junk food, for example, will not satisfy you. But, most importantly, it will just represent wasted calories, as your body will not have much use for it. Replace diet snacks, which are usually loaded with harmful chemicals, with more nutritious snacks, like yogurt and fruit.
4. Water Aerobics—Water forces your muscles to work with a lot more resistance than they could handle on land. As such, water aerobics is a great way to burn calories, while increasing your muscle mass. In short, you reduce your body fat index.
5. Walking—Walking for at least 45 minutes daily is a really simple way to shed calories.
6. Golf—Live Strong notes that walking the course, instead of using a cart, is ideal. However, merely swinging clubs can tone your muscles and burn some calories.
7. Strength Training—Putting on muscle is an important part of raising your metabolism. Adding muscle burns calories, so any growth in this department will lower your weight. Moreover, muscles do not need as much space on your body as fat does, so increasing your muscle mass will result in your body fat percentage dropping. However, before strength training, you should consult an expert in the field to make sure that your program and form are safe.
8. Flexibility Training—Becoming more flexible will positively affect any other type of exercise or daily activity. Yoga and Pilates are great options here.
9. Posture—Dr. James Emmetet tells Canadian Living, “If we can teach them about body posture, that can have a widespread effect. Because they’re carrying themselves better it takes tension off the whole body and everything starts to flow better.”
10. Rest—After a hard day or a grueling workout, take a break. In short, if you do not rest sufficiently, your future exercise sessions will be less effective.

Regardless of how you choose to get active, these simple ways to lose weight can help you to effectively adjust your lifestyle for better overall health and wellness.

-See more at: http://www.comfortlife.ca/

Exercise Tips for Seniors

Here are some great healthy exercise tips for seniors…

Moving at all time, not just when you feel like it 

Exercise improves your metabolism. When you get moving several times a day it keeps that internal calorie burner amped up. Try two 15-minute cardio sessions daily, the improvement will be more noticeable than if you did one 30-minute session once a day.

Push your muscles to the limit
Next time you strength (resistance) train, try not to rest more than 15 seconds after the last repetition. Instead, pick up a lighter weight and do three to five more reps. You have fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. The fast ones will tire quickly, and the slow ones can endure longer. Switching over to lighter weights and continuing to fatigue all the muscle fibers will help build strength and tone faster.

Stretching will help.

As an essential part of everyday life, from driving to dressing, cleaning to gardening, lack of flexibility can limit a person’s lifestyle. Stretching will surely to complement an activity program and add to your functional fitness, helping you stay agile and independent as long as possible at any age, improving your general health safely and effectively.

*** Keep in mind not all exercise tips will apply to your particular situation. These tips are for more active and agile adults. Be sure to warm up prior to starting and give yourself time to cool down and stretch. Many exercises require supervision to avoid injury.***

Source: http://selecthomecare.com

Follow your Brain, Your Heart is stupid as shit

Cardio Exercise Tip for Elders

By Abubakar Najam 

With increase in age there are number of changes which appears in human body. Different systems start working at quite slow pace e.g. metabolic system and circulatory system. Elder people also experience physical weakness and memory loss problems. Accompanied with these are the changes which appears in the overall skeleton i.e. weakness of bones etc. Although age factor is responsible for upbringing of these changes yet another factor that matters more than age is lack of physical activity. Physical activity is need of people with all age groups but in case of elderly people it is must.

Researches have shown that elder people who exercise regularly and take balance diet experience more physical fitness. Not only they remain fit but also they lessen the threat of having fatal diseases such as heart problems, hypertension, diabetes etc. thus, elder people should remain physically active in order to save themselves from number of diseases. Here, becoming physically active does not mean that you have to join a gym or have to do strenuous exercise. It simply means you have to adopt such lifestyle which includes some sort of physical activity. Cardio is good option for elders as it takes away physical weakness, boost the metabolic system, helps in muscle toning and keep one energetic and fresh.

What Is Cardio?

Cardio generally refers to cardiovascular system. It is a broad term includes sets of exercises done for achieving different aims such as body building, muscle toning, developing body stamina, burning fats, and most of all to remain physically active. Among numerous cardio exercises it become difficult for elder people to choose right type of exercise for themselves. Here are some easy cardio exercise tips for elders:

Before Starting:

If you are doing exercise after long period of physical inactivity then it is best for you to make an exercise plan before starting. In the plan mention the type of exercise, number of repetitions you will perform and the total time you will be spending for exercise. Consider your physical conditions while making plan. If you are suffering from osteoporosis or arthritis problems then opt for low intensity exercises.

Cardio Exercise Tips:

Warm Up:

Warm up is must for cardio. Warm up of 10-15 minutes activates the body parts and helps you in the long run. Warm up by doing some light activity.

Gave it A Go:

It is recommended that in beginning you should start with less strenuous cardio such as walking,jogging at a faster pace etc. Within couple of days your body will get used to cardio this is the time when you can switch to exercises which put stress on your body muscles such as arm and biceps exercises.

Gradually Switch To Muscle Training Exercises:

When you think you are ready for more cardio workouts then go for muscle training exercises such as leg exercises, abdominal exercises, triceps extensions etc.

Water Intake:

As a result of exercise your muscles get activated. Harmful metabolites, toxins, chemicals are released from muscles which are only flush out when there is ample amount of water present in body. So, drink water before, after and during cardio, it will keep you fresh and will activate your body organs.

After Cardio:

Always do stretches after cardio as muscles are warm and it helps in toning. If you feel dizziness or headaches during cardio it means you have put on more stress on your body. In such a situation switch off to low intensity exercises.

Being elder is not an excuse for not doing exercise. In fact exercise will keep you more fit and healthy. So, what are you waiting for make your cardio plan and gave it a go.

Source: http://www.smerete.com

Stillness

Key Nutritional Tips to Help Prevent Muscle Loss in Seniors

In order to age healthfully and enjoy continued quality of life and physical independence, older adults must focus on bone and muscle health – and avoid sarcopenia.  Sarcopenia refers to the gradual loss of muscle mass, which is a common consequence of ageing.

Sarcopenia is a concern because muscle strength plays an important role in the tendency to fall. Falls can result in fractures and other injuries, particularly in people with weak bones due to osteopenia or osteoporosis. Seniors who have suffered a fracture, particularly a hip or spinal fracture, may face a future of long-term disability and loss of physical independence.

So what can seniors do to help maintain strong muscles?

One of the most important aspects is exercise, specifically resistance training. Regular targeted exercise is critical in order to maintain and build muscle and bone strength. In addition, a recent International Osteoporosis Foundation review paper* has highlighted the importance of specific nutritional factors in preventing sarcopenia.

The experts identified which nutritional factors can contribute to loss of muscle mass, or conversely, are beneficial to the maintenance of muscle mass.  Reviewing evidence from worldwide studies, they identified the following nutritional factors as important to the maintenance of muscle mass and the prevention of sarcopenia:

• Protein: Protein intake plays an integral part in muscle health. The review proposes an intake of 1.0–1.2 g/kg of body weight per day as optimal for skeletal muscle and bone health in elderly people (those without severely impaired renal function).
• Vitamin D:  Adequate vitamin D should be ensured through safe exposure to sunlight and/or supplementation if required. Vitamin D supplementation in seniors, and especially in institutionalized elderly, is recommended for optimal musculoskeletal health.
• Eating more fruits and vegetables: The experts found that excess intake of acid-producing foods (meat and cereal grains) in combination with low intake of alkalizing foods (fruits and vegetables) may have negative effects on musculoskeletal health. Modifying the diet to include more fruits and vegetables is likely to benefit both bones and muscles.

Emerging evidence also suggests that vitamin B12 and/or folic acid play a role in improving muscle function and strength.

Overall, the best strategy to maintain strong muscles (and not just in seniors!) is to combine regular resistance training with optimal nutritional status.

Source: http://www.iofbonehealth.org