What happens after 50?

[aplaskos]

For an older person, with most of their weight in the thigs and bum, what can they do to lose it?

concentrate soley on cardio? or weights and cardio?

[fitinidaho]

weights, cardio, and diet....just like everyone else.

[Amanda76]

Part of what happens to people as they age is that they lose lean mass. By the age of 50, when nothing has been done to maintain or continue to build muscle, that's the reason even people who are the "same weight they've always been" are more fat than they used to be.

Diet is the biggest thing when it comes to body composition. You need to lift weights to regain lean mass you've lost over the years and cardio...meh. Get to it when you can. LOL

*EDIT* Just realized you must not be asking for yourself...answer still applies, though.

[aplaskos]

Part of what happens to people as they age is that they lose lean mass. By the age of 50, when nothing has been done to maintain or continue to build muscle, that's the reason even people who are the "same weight they've always been" are more fat than they used to be.

Diet is the biggest thing when it comes to body composition. You need to lift weights to regain lean mass you've lost over the years and cardio...meh. Get to it when you can. LOL

*EDIT* Just realized you must not be asking for yourself...answer still applies, though.

Yeah for my mom, I feel so bad for her, she works soo hard at the gym and she is not getting anywhere, i told her i would research for her, I keep telling her how important her diet is, she is small well not tiny, on the top but still quite little, but her bottom is pretty big, and she is so beautiful, I just want to help her

[Amanda76]

Yeah for my mom, I feel so bad for her, she works soo hard at the gym and she is not getting anywhere, i told her i would research for her, I keep telling her how important her diet is, she is small well not tiny, on the top but still quite little, but her bottom is pretty big, and she is so beautiful, I just want to help her

If she's creating too much of a calorie deficit through cardio and eating too little, that's feeding into her problem (I just say that because it's a typical situation for women to find themselves in with all the fat loss advice that normally gets fed to us). She likely needs to focus on regaining lean mass for a while before focusing on losing fat. And I don't mean that she needs to become interested in being a bodybuilder (although she'll use the same basic tactics)...it's all about regaining what she's lost over the years.

Freebirdmac would be a good person to talk to about her experiences...

[aplaskos]

If she's creating too much of a calorie deficit through cardio and eating too little, that's feeding into her problem (I just say that because it's a typical situation for women to find themselves in with all the fat loss advice that normally gets fed to us). She likely needs to focus on regaining lean mass for a while before focusing on losing fat. And I don't mean that she needs to become interested in being a bodybuilder (although she'll use the same basic tactics)...it's all about regaining what she's lost over the years.

Freebirdmac would be a good person to talk to about her experiences...

yupp i tell her to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day, I even make them for her lol, I guess stress makes her eat a little too much, but anyways thankyou so much for your help!

[freebirdmac]

Amanda has hit the nail on the head. It's first about diet, then weights, then cardio. Assuming she doesn't have a thyroid problem and has had that checked, most of her metabolic issues come from a loss of muscle mass and menopause. The best thing for her to do is track her diet on a site like fitday, sparkpeople, nutridiary, etc. and see how her cals and macros are falling out. From there it's easier to see where adjustments need to be made. Then it's off to weight lifting. A 3 day full body program would be good to start. A couple of sessions of cardio tops it all off.

If she is like most women her age she won't think much about weight lifting and will think cardio is needed. It really is 3rd on the list. Gaining muscle mass is very important to increasing the metabolism and looking better. And it is a great weight loss exercise as you continue to burn extra calories after you leave the gym.

Heavy lower halves is common for women and it's all about fat loss. She can completely change how she looks if she's motivated. But weights have to be the cornerstone.

Any chance she'd come here? She could find a lot of support.

[Eileen]

yupp i tell her to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day, I even make them for her lol, I guess stress makes her eat a little too much, but anyways thankyou so much for your help!

Personally, I think the 6 meals a day thing is over-rated, particularly for older women. If you are a 250lb bodybuilder who is trying to pack on more muscle, you need six meals just to get the calories in. If you are a 140lb woman who is trying to cut, your six meals will be so tiny and insubstancial that you'll just feel hungry all the time.

I think a better approach is to work out what amount and type of food you need to eat, but only eat when you are actually hungry. It's all very well for bodybuilders to count every calorie. Normal people don't do that, so it's much better to get attuned to your body so you eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are not hungry.

And your mother definitely needs to lift weight. Get her to do some research on osteoporosis to convince her. Brittle bones will ruin her quality of life far more than a big bum, and lifting weights is the only effective way to keep her bones healthy at her age.

[aplaskos]

Amanda has hit the nail on the head. It's first about diet, then weights, then cardio. Assuming she doesn't have a thyroid problem and has had that checked, most of her metabolic issues come from a loss of muscle mass and menopause. The best thing for her to do is track her diet on a site like fitday, sparkpeople, nutridiary, etc. and see how her cals and macros are falling out. From there it's easier to see where adjustments need to be made. Then it's off to weight lifting. A 3 day full body program would be good to start. A couple of sessions of cardio tops it all off.

If she is like most women her age she won't think much about weight lifting and will think cardio is needed. It really is 3rd on the list. Gaining muscle mass is very important to increasing the metabolism and looking better. And it is a great weight loss exercise as you continue to burn extra calories after you leave the gym.

Heavy lower halves is common for women and it's all about fat loss. She can completely change how she looks if she's motivated. But weights have to be the cornerstone.

Any chance she'd come here? She could find a lot of support.

Thankyou so much for your imput, I will inform her and see where it goes!