As you age, you might notice that your weight can easily change due to an illness or a lack of appetite. Thus, the significance of sustaining a healthy weight for the elderly becomes increasingly necessary. When you are underweight or overweight, the effects on your physical health might be disastrous. It can lead to health problems like cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and other serious complications. To age healthily, you should adjust certain habits and make decisions that will positively impact your health in the long run. Here are four steps you can take to improve your health and keep a healthy weight.
Follow A Healthy Meal Plan
If you are finding it hard to finish your meals, you are not alone. It is natural for our appetites to diminish over the years, causing us to not feel hungry. In such situations, it is recommended for you to consider having smaller meals and more occasional snacks. Through this method, you don’t have to struggle eating three big meals every day and still consume the right amount of nutrients needed for your health.
Consider eating with your loved ones as often as possible if you start losing motivation or interest to eat. Alternatively, you could try lunch clubs to socialize during your mealtimes. Journeying through this alone may be difficult, but it would be a lot easier when you have someone to depend on. Sometimes, the issue with keeping to a healthy meal plan might just be preparing the food. When you are having trouble with that on your own, you should consider getting assistance with your meal preparation.
Improve Appetite With Exercise
Being physically active can help you to stay independent, energetic, and healthy by maintaining a healthy weight while avoiding chronic health issues. Try to incorporate at least two hours of exercise into your routine. Some cardiovascular activities that you can consider are walking, biking, or swimming. Flexibility exercises are also beneficial to help alleviate the pains and aches that some of you are experiencing. It also boosts your energy levels and makes daily chores easier to do. Before beginning any fitness program, consult with your doctor to ensure that it is appropriate for you.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking plenty of water will help you avoid snacking too much, which can lead to unexpected weight gain. You should drink at least eight glasses of water or foods with high liquid content daily. When you start to feel hungry, you should grab a glass of water first as thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger. Some people, however, may not feel thirsty as quickly, and this should not be dismissed because the indicators of dehydration can be subtle. Dehydration is bad for your heart and makes it difficult to exercise without feeling exhausted. This has a direct impact on how active you can be in your daily chores, which in turn has an impact on your weight.
Try Meditating
Discovering ways to reduce your stress levels is an important part of healthy weight management. While managing stressors might be difficult, research has shown that frequent meditation sessions can assist to reduce cortisol levels. High levels of stress cortisol increase cravings for fatty, salty, and sweet foods. Adopting relaxation techniques such as yoga, mindfulness, or breathing will help restore normal levels of cortisol production. A daily meditation practice can also aid in the reduction of blood pressure, the improvement of sleep, and the management of anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms.
