11 Small-Step Ideas for Healthy Weight Loss After 60
No matter our age, it’s hard not to think about how 5 or 10 fewer pounds might make us happy. It can mean the difference in a dress size and give you a boost to self-esteem.
It can mean a compliment from an observant friend or spouse. And it can give us a sense of pride that we’ve passed by enough tempting delicacies that we now are 5–10 pounds slimmer.
While all of these experiences can lift the spirit, what I’d like to focus on today are the health benefits of losing that seemingly small amount of 5 or 10 pounds. If the aesthetic benefits aren’t enough, these statistics will surely enlighten you.
Minor Weight Loss and Joint Pain
Let’s say you are in your mid-60s and you are 10 pounds overweight. You love being outdoors, walking your dog or just taking in the surroundings. But lately, your knee is bothering you to the point where your outdoor time is just not enjoyable the way it once was.
You now are walking less, and you worry that by being inactive you will gain even more weight. You think about this knee pain leading to eventual knee replacement.
Here’s where a small amount of weight loss enters the picture and changes your life. A study found that for every pound of weight you lose, you decrease the pressure exerted on that sore knee by 4 pounds!
Yes, every pound of weight places 4 pounds of pressure on the knee joint. Lose one or two, or even 5 pounds and you’ll give your sore knee a helping hand. Build up your quads and hamstrings and you’ll help it even more.
Other Benefits of Minor Weight Loss
But joint pain relief isn’t the only positive of losing even those small amounts of weight.
Blood Pressure
Losing just 10 pounds will lower your blood pressure! Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States. Lower your weight and your heart won’t have to work as hard to move blood through your body.
Diabetes
Weight loss lowers your risk for Type II diabetes. This condition is closely related to diet. As you grow into your 60s and 70s, you may be more prone to it. Lose those 5 or 10 pounds and your risk decreases.
For anyone needing to lose 5 or 10 pounds, or a great deal more, the techniques I describe below will get you started.
Small-Step Formula for Weight Loss
There’s nothing more daunting than setting out intending to lose 50 or 60 pounds. Much better to think in segments, or small steps. Lose 5 or 10, then do it again. It makes it achievable when you change your lifestyle in phases.
Change Your Language
Tell yourself you decided to eat well instead of dieting. Dieting suggests deprivation. We want to create a lasting lifestyle that energizes you and gets your weight where you want it to be.
Focus on Your Habits
If your habits push you in a direction of weight gain, then change them. Dedicate to eating three meals daily and eat most of them at home. Cooking your food will put you in a positive mindset that will help you with those pounds.
Observe Your Eating Style
Become conscious of your eating style. Is it too fast? Are you enjoying your food or are you distracted by media? Change the variables that deprive you from enjoying your meal.
Select Your Foods
Eat simple whole foods. These are foods that are fresh. Organic when possible. They have no added sugar, salt, and oils. You get to season them as you like – with herbs. Take no more than 20 minutes for meal prep most days.
Avoid Night Eating
After having a healthy meal, don’t continue snacking well into the evening/night. Don’t take in anything but water for 3 hours before bedtime. Check out the Circadian rhythm study for more information.
Stop Weighing Yourself
Daily or even weekly weigh-ins can discourage you. Wait at least a month. Keep moving. Moving is hard at first, but after a short while you’ll find it is an amazing source of energy. How else could athletes keep at it day after day?
To do all of the above with less of a struggle, it might be wise to follow this action plan:
- Clear your cabinets of poor-quality packaged foods and replace them with dried whole grains, lentils, beans, vinegars, broths, nuts, and raisins. Stock up on teas that you like.
- Check out the refrigerator. Increase your fresh and frozen favorite vegetables inventory.
- Stock some good protein like fish, poultry, humus.
- Have a good water filter and drink frequently.
- Go outside every day, doggie or not!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
What is your experience with weight loss? Have you had experience with minor weight loss changing your health for the better? Please share your story – and questions – in the comments section.
I have diabetes, and I am overweight by probably about 30 pounds. I am on some medications that work well for me that I don’t want to stop taking, but the side effect that they do have is that I have a huge appetite. If I don’t eat I can’t sleep, so I have to get up in the night to eat. I have been eating cottage cheese in the night. I switched from rice cakes with cream cheese to putting hummus on them. I buy small cartons of sugar free ice cream when I do buy ice cream. I rarely eat until I am full because I am never full. I cut back on my meds a year ago and lost weight, bought a bunch of new clothes, but found I didn’t do well on the lower dosage of the meds, so had to go back onto them. I’m back where I started. My husband is a meat and potatoes man, but I do make a lot of stir fries to get the vegetables in there. I don’t have the energy to make two different meals. I run out of ideas. If I don’t eat when hungry, I get all kinds of things, like heart palpitations.
Thanks for this article. I am a big fan of intermittent fasting. It works for me and helped me greatly. I read a lot of books on the subject and really felt “Fast like a Girl” by Dr. Mindy Pelz to be a wealth of information. It was straight forward and easy to read. I’ve gotten so many book and movie etc recommendations from these emails and I am happy to finally provide one for everyone!
If you have lymphodema like I do, even half a kilo weight loss will improve your swelling and your comfort. It’s been a good motivator this year.
The previous year,I thought that just because I was going to aquarobics regularly, I could eat what I like. Big mistake.
I’m making adjustments to how I eat. No phone on the table.
Get your carbs from vegetables.
Lots of browsing for healthy, delicious recipes.
And when it comes to cake, I ‘window shop’ 90% of the time. It’s has to be spectacular cake to be worth the calories!
i’m in my 70’s and have put some weight on since covid – i have lost my motivation to try and diet. i did try the semaglutide and was sick for a week so i stopped it. is there anything thing that could help me to NOT want to overeat, that would be safe! does anyone know of anything in this day and age. thanks
After being overweight for the past 30 years, I finally lost 30 lbs. I found that intermittent fasting works for me. I also starting chopping down weeds and vines that were growing up around the trees on my property. I use sling blades, machetes and other tools and I love what doing that did to my waistline. I’m 69 and I have been diagnosed with advanced arthritis but I find that when I stay on the move, I have less pain and stiffness.
I still work directing a homeless program and I have hobbies. I am continuing to take baby steps toward weight loss and find the tips you offer to be extremely helpful.
Hello. I’m curious how you lost the weight from fasting. Not sure what it is, but I need to lose 30 pounds. Menopause did me in! After 5 children I was still a size 7 into my forties, but now I am overweight. I also have arthritis, degenerative discs but love to walk and garden; maybe this intermittent fasting will help me. I’m 65 and work in an office all day which doesn’t help withe the moving around factor; sitting all day isn’t the best for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!