Losing weight while building muscle Over 60

debramichelmnj

hello I am interested in hearing successful strategies for losing weight , specifically belly fat , while building muscle and core strength and balance.

AnnPT77

Hello, and welcome!

Honestly, I don't think the successful strategies are lots different at 60+ than they are for younger people. (I'm 69F, lost weight from class 1 obese to healthy weight at 59-60. I'd been physically active before that, but didn't make exercise part of my routine until my late 40s.)

Different details work for different people, but I'd definitely say that slow and steady wins this race. Patience, persistence and practicality are the traits to apply. In exercise, manageable challenge creates progress while minimizing injury risk. On the eating side, I think the best route is finding personally enjoyable new eating habits that deliver gradual weight loss and good nutrition, and help pave the path to successfully maintaining a healthy weight long-term.

Too many people arrive here with a plan to apply a lot of restrictive eating rules, maybe a trendy named diet, then stack punitively intense, miserable daily exercise on top of that. That doesn't usually end well, but does tend to end quickly. "Lose weight fast" is a trap. "Find new, more positive permanent habits" is a different mindset, with IMO better odds of success.

When it comes to belly fat, spot reduction isn't possible. We lose fat through a calorie deficit, and our genetics determine where the fat comes off first and most. That said, sometimes a prominent belly is partly from visceral fat, the fat inside the body cavity, under the muscles/skeleton, not just from the subcutaneous fat between muscle and skin. If visceral fat is part of the problem, then that can even be reduced at constant bodyweight by improving quality of one's eating, and getting reasonable amounts of healthy exercise. (By "quality of eating", I don't mean cost necessarily. I'm talking eating mostly lean meat, fish, veggies, fruits, whole grains, and less of highly processed foods that are high in calories but not as filling and nutrient-dense.)

In addition, sometimes the belly area can look more prominent if our posture isn't ideal. Many people these days have a rounded-shoulders, chin-forward kind of posture that's more common if we spend time hunched over keyboards/phones; or lock their knees when standing; or tilt the pelvis so the top of the hip bones is forward of the lower part of the pelvis (anterior pelvic tilt). If that applies, there are exercises to improve that.

For building muscle, core strength and balance, the obvious answer is strength-challenging exercise, and specific exercises to improve balance plus flexibility (which also contributes to keep our balance).

There's a thread here with strength programs other MFP-ers have found helpful. Depite the title, it includes programs that use bodyweight, so don't require having weights or machines.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

This thread may also be useful:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10920257/how-to-set-up-a-weightlifting-routine

It's important for anyone starting strength exercise to build slowly, with patient persistence . . . but IME it's especially important for those in our age group to go the slow and steady route. As I age, injury risk from overdoing is higher, and I lose fitness faster when I need to take a break, so overdoing becomes an especially poor strategy, IMO.

General trength training can help with core and balance, but you can also find specific balance exercises. Outfits like Silver Sneakers or AARP have exercise videos for that on YouTube or their sites, and some of them are available free to non-members. Another source would be actual physical therapists on YouTube. An example would be the "Bob & Brad" channel on YouTube. They're experienced, credentialed physical therapists with lots of videos, including balance exercises.

Best wishes for success - it's worth the effort!

AnnPT77

Afterthought: Different things work best for different people on the eating side of things, for weight loss. This is the approach I used:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm

That won't be perfect for everyone, since no one thing is universally ideal, but it's an option to consider.