What’s the secret?

Well, unfortunately there is no secret but there is a good chance if you follow a few of the tips I am going to give you here you will start to see dramatic changes in just 3 weeks! So here we go.

My Top 7 Tips For Losing Belly Fat When You Are Over 50

#1 – Cut Calories, But Not Too Drastically.

To decrease body fat you must create a calorie deficit so you are burning more calories than you consume. In our zealous enthusiasm (especially during the first few weeks) we tend to cut down too much, too fast and this will slow down your metabolism and actually encourage you to store more fat. The body thinks you are starving and wants to preserve itself. A 10 % to 15% reduction in calories is all it takes to get into the fat burning mode.

#2 – Eat FIve To Six Small Meals A Day

Small frequent meals, as opposed to the traditional “three Squares” will jack up the metabolic rate and stoke the calorie burning furnace. The more you pracrice this the more fat will gradually leave your body. Keep in mind some of the meals don’t have to be meat, potato and veggies. A meal can be a portable food like yogurt and some almonds.Adapt the habit of doing small “feedings’ throughout the day.

#3 – Reduce Carbohydrate Intake At Night

“No White At Night”- this is one of my mantras. Keep the white starches (flours & sugars) for your morning and lunch meals , while choosing low carb foods( lean protein, nuts, cottage cheese, vegetables) after 6 PM. My clients who are heavy nite eaters tend to skip breakfast because they’re not hungry in the morning and perpetuate this cycle of overeating and gaining weight.

#4 – Eat Fiber With Every Meal

High fiber foods like fruit, vegetables and whole grains fill you up on less calories. They have more nutrition and help you to stabilize blood sugar( feel less hungry) and maintain good digestive health. Get the “F” word in your daily diet and fat will start to melt away. The higher the fiber the faster the fat loss!

#5 – Drink Half Your Body Weight In Ounces Of Water

Water is one of the most important weapons in the battle against belly fat. It acts as an appetite suppressant and aids in the digestion of meals. It helps your body to regulate sodium intake and the absorption of vitamins and minerals. It helps your cells utilize stored fat energy for fuel. If you feel sluggish and tired you may simply be dehydrated. Try doubling your water intake this week and I guarantee you will feel better.

#6 – The More You Cook The Better You Look!

I use this mantra to remind my clients that cooking at home is the best way to control calories and make faster progress in your fat loss goals. I think it’s great to eat out, but despite making good menu choices you are at the mercy of a chef who wants to make his food appealing with extra fat sugars and salt. It is the nature of the beast – so save restaurants meals for special occasions. You’ll not only look better, you’ll be saving lots of money too.

#7 – Exercise Daily

I don’t care what it is – just do something everyday. It doesn’t have to be the gym- gardening, walking, biking, house cleaning, tennis, yoga, swimming or lifting weights or exercise videos at home will get you off your butt and jack up your fat burning metabolism, the worst thing you can do is sit all day! Do the minimum at least 6 days out of seven!

Note: These are time tested strategies that will jump start you efforts to get rid of that belly! Try adding two a week to your schedule ove the next eight weeks and see how much better you will look and feel . It’s not complicated. Remember just take small, baby steps and the larger results will follow over time.

The Things I’ve Learned In 30 Years Of Living A Healthy Lifestyle

My life as a master chef is long behind me, but the passion for cooking, eating and shopping still remain my # 1 passion. Although I live the idealized life of a personal trainer, a bodybuilder and master athlete, if asked to choose between an eternity of exercise or eating I would choose the pleasure of good food.

My Love Of Food Began In The Early 1960’s…

…in my Mom’s small rowhouse kitchen where I would help her make cakes and prepare our nightly family meals. Although we were typical Philadelphia Irish Catholics on a small budget, mom always had the creativity to turn simple and sparse ingredients into imaginative and wonderful meals. Nothing fancy or “gourmet”, but not the usual “Irish fare” of canned vegetables and over cooked meats. She was always trying new recipes from the women’s magazines and newspapers as she still does today at our regular Sunday family dinners. The love and care she put into our food is my fondest memory of growing up and inspired me to appreciate the magic of cooking and sharing food.

By High School I Was 60 Pounds Overweight

My love of food and lack of exercise had caught up with me. I did the GRAPEFRUIT diet and lost 60 pounds in about 10 months and from that moment I was hooked on living a healthy lifestyle, vowing never to back to eating twinkies and Ho’s Ho’s again. I read a 1970’s popular diet book called “WHITE DEATH” – the first of many books about the dangers of flour and sugar in the diet. I started eating yogurt, granola and tiger milk energy bars- all of these things were considered oddities back then. I shunned fast food, watched reruns of Jack La Lanne and cooked healthy recipes from Rodale’s Prevention magazine. I became a runner and joined a NAUTILUS fitness center in 1978.

During College I Started A Catering Business

I cooked for others those fancy gourmet foods I secretly loved but avoided myself. I began to recognize that I had two distinct but opposing factions inside my brain – a Gourmet “foodie” and a disciplined athlete. Finding the balance between foodie and athlete is what my life has been about over the past 35 years. It has taken equally long to figure out how to make it all work. How can I have my cake and… you know the rest.

It Wasn’t Always Smooth Sailing

After college I went to culinary school and became a master chef, started a catering company and gained about 25 pounds. With daily food tastings, stress, and little time for exercise I found my self defaulting back to old habits and uncomfortably tight clothing, (although I hid it pretty well in my chef whites). Feeling burned out and fueled by the recession in the late 80’s I closed the catering business after 7 years and went on a quest to find a new career that combined my talents and passions.

I Found Personal Training In My 30’s

I figured out how to combine my culinary talents with my love of training. These are usually considered complete opposites but I wanted to help others enjoy the pleasure of the culinary world and lose fat and stay healthy. How can anybody live on a steady diet of Boneless chicken, plain broccoli, cottage cheese and brown rice? This was the regime of the dieting bodybuilder and professional dieter back then.

The Fit Foodie Is Born

From that point on I dedicated myself to training myself and then helping others to live a healthy and balanced life by eating delicious food and still looking lean and fat free. I have written 2 recipe books (The Fat To Muscle Challenge, and Good To Go – A Book Of Portable Foods), a book of lifestyle tips for men over 40, and I appear on local TV to do healthy cooking demonstrations, give regular seminars and workshops on how to eat well and abundantly without deprivation and bland, or boring food choices. My next book- The Midlife Body Makeover will outline my 35 years of experience into a compilation of effective fat loss strategies that are geared for the active baby boomer who loves to eat.

Note: In Part 2 of this series I will give you my Top Ten Nuggets of Wisdom distilled from the hundreds of clients I have worked with. Although I have numerous certifications in nutrition, personal training and coaching, nothing speaks truer than the results the clients have seen using the techniques, strategies and routines in the MIDLIFE BODY MAKEOVER PLAN.
Stay tuned for more!

Next Post- How To Have Your Cake And Eat It Too!

Here are some ideas you can incorporate into your life to make the changes you need to get the body you want:

1. Add short intense bursts of cardio activity daily. Start with 10 minutes and then over the next few months increase your time by 2 minutes per week. Before you know it you will be on the treadmill, elliptical machine or bike 30 to 40 minutes and feeling great.
2. Purchase a pedometer and track how much you move during the course of a day. Your ideal goal should be 10,000 steps per day (most people average about 2500 ). Look for every opportunity to move- stairs, parking lots, walk to work, play in your backyard with the kids, do some gardening or just clean your house. It all adds up. Start small- just set a goal that is reasonable for you – Maybe 500- 1000 steps is workable-get off the couch and just do something!
3. Eventually you will get up to 10,000 steps per day which adds up to an hour of daily exercise which will control weight, improve blood lipid profiles, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. You will lower your risk for developing all major chronic diseases that stem from obesity.
4. Eat only when you sit ( and never in front of the TV). Never eat while standing! Unconscious eating is less satisfying and leads to over consumption. Always sit down and enjoy every bite. Common places we fall down in this area- cooking dinner and tasting, clearing the kids plates and eating leftovers, standing in front of the fridge and foraging, and eating while driving or walking.
5. Strengthen your core. Start with just 15 to 20 crunches first thing in the morning. Increase by one each day until you hit 50. When you find that easy begin doing bicycle moves, one side at a time, and reverse crunches. (see YouTube for videos if you don’t know how to do these). A strong lower back and solid abs are a way to stay pain free and mobile as you get older. Older joints wear out and require more stabilization from the surrounding muscles to maintain their integrity.
6. Add one new fruit or vegetable to your diet this week. Be adventurous and get beyond your usual habitual choices. Try a tropical fruit like papaya, mango and explore a new type of green -Kale, beet greens, broccoli raab, Swiss chard or baby salad greens. The high fiber in fruits and vegetables satisfies you for longer on less calories and the phyto-nutrients are better than any supplement or vitamin you can take.

Now, pick just one of these and and do ti consistently over the next three weeks and see what happens. You’ll be surprised how one small change leads to making you happier and healthier without too much disruption to your current life. Beautiful photo by apesara