Dimagine after the age of 50, especially when menopause begins, it is an undertaking that requires some dedication. But not only. It is necessary be well informed, avoid DIY and advice stolen from social media without the supervision by a professional specialistwho will be able to indicate the right way based on the characteristics of each patient.
Nobody likes dieting. But it is not a diet that can reduce extra pounds. And the lifestyle change, that passes from a new food plan, made up of the right combinations and quantities of food, and from the targeted movement. But not only.
The basic principles for healthy weight loss
However there are basic principles which is good to know regardless of need or desire to lose weight. Small but precious suggestions especially useful for women around the age of 50, when the accumulation of a few pounds begins to appear despite efforts.
In short, a style of food, rather than a diet, inspired by the most recent and multidisciplinary scientific studies, which leaves everyone a certain freedom of choice of food. But that it serves as a guide to avoid mistakes that in addition to promote the accumulation of fat and theagingare harmful to health.
The wrong combinations
We talked about it with Dr. Marco Ciambotta, Nutritionist and Researcher in Biology, who firmly believes in a nutritional plan that educates everyone about healthy eating habits. Not just to lose weight, but to feel good even after the age of 50.
«In general it is good to remember that the combinations are” wrong ” counterproductive only if continued for a long time or in a context of high-calorie diet. In exceptions, or in normal or low-calorie contexts, combinations play a secondary role in terms of the result. Precisely in these cases, however, paying attention to combining foods can play a significant role in creating and maintaining a sustainable diet », advises Dr. Ciambotta.
How to slow down aging with the right foods
As Dr. Ciambotta explains, «the main objective is to slow down the aging process and prevent chronic degenerative diseases, by acting on three related aspects:
1) counteract free radicals with food antioxidants, such as black grape juice, blueberries, cooked black kale, cooked spinach, strawberries, avocado.
2) reduce chronic inflammation low-grade with anti-inflammatory substances
3) provide all essential nutrients for the maintenance of lean mass “.
Losing weight: here are the most frequent mistakes
«Combining foods does not help to lose weightbut allows you to create and maintain optimal conditions (physiological and psychological) to create the energy deficit useful for weight loss or improvement of body composition », specifies the specialist.
1. Eliminate carbohydrates
The most frequent mistakes concern the management of carbohydrates. On the one hand, there is a tendency to have meals consisting of carbohydrates only (pasta dish for lunch or pizza), on the other hand, when trying to control nutrition, in “do-it-yourself” diets, there is a tendency to eat too many meals without carbohydrates .
Dietary regimes in which i carbohydrates have been reduced too much or eliminated completelyif continued for too long, without the support of a specialist, they generate a condition of insulin resistance. And, subsequently, the metabolism will no longer be able to manage them correctly when they are reinserted in the diet, generating the very harmful yo-yo effect.
2. Have a meal with carbohydrates only
On the contrary too eat one of the carbohydrate-only mealsespecially if with a high glycemic index, not the right choice because they can provoke post-prandial sleepiness and subsequent fame. This is the case with breakfasts made with only carbohydrates which do not satiate enough and can cause excessive hunger after a very short time.
3. Eliminate carbohydrates at dinner
Another a fairly common mistake is to eliminate carbohydrates from dinner. Carbohydrates there evening have fantastic effects because they allow to improve mood, sleep quality, muscle recovery and rebalance body hydration. All fundamental factors for having a good body composition.
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4. Carbohydrates and fats in the same meal
Another common mistake is that of combining too many carbohydrates and fats together in the same meal. The metabolism in this case will deposit fats in the adipose tissue and will use carbohydrates as an energy substrate. Many junk products, the so-called “junk food”are characterized precisely by high carbohydrates and fats while in nature there is no food containing high carbohydrates and fats.
3. Don’t add protein to every meal
Other a common mistake is not to include proteins in every main meal. We do not have a real protein reserve in the body (unlike fats and carbohydrates) and it would be good to distribute proteins to each main meal starting with breakfast which is the first meal after hours of fasting. Proteins, in addition to supplying us with essential amino acids for a proper functioning of the metabolism, allow to manage satiety better.
4. Don’t eat vegetables and fruits
As well as fibers, mainly contained in fresh fruit, vegetables and legumes that should never be missing in main meals.
Foods to avoid after the age of 50
All the junk foods and more generally all foods processed which have a low nutritional value. Between these:
- But also “fashionable” foods as they are incomprehensibly associated with “healthy” but with poor nutritional quality, high calories and above all glycemic index such as crackers and puffed cereals.
- The Margarineall baked goods (crackers, breadsticks, taralli, brioches, pretzels) and processed products (bouillon cubes, prepared for soups, frozen and breaded fish) in which they are present hydrogenated fats. In industrial processes, vegetable fats undergo a chemical process of hydrogenation, which is very convenient for the food industries because it increases the conservation of the product and improves its consistency. Never trans fats are a real poison for our health.
- Processed meat with addition of nitrites and nitrates which are used to maintain the red color and improve the taste, but in the body they can turn into potentially carcinogenic substances or nitrosamines.
- Smoked and burnt foods, to avoid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are toxic and carcinogenic. Therefore avoid the parts of food that turn black when cooked (e.g. burnt pizza crust, grilled meat or pan-fried oil when overcooked).
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