You Can Still Keep Fit At Old Age

For many of us, life gets better—easier, even—as we get older. We get more comfortable and confident in our own skin. We weed out what doesn’t work for us and invite more of what does work into our lives. There’s a certain clarity that inspires us not to sweat the small stuff so much and to keep the big picture in mind.

If only exercise, healthy eating, and weight loss fell into that “it gets easier with age” category.

Then there’s the fact that over the age of 60, your oxygen intake may be reduced by as much as one-third of what it was when you were 25, causing you to have a tougher time taking deep breaths when you’re exercising at a moderate to high intensity, and making it crucial to ease in to a new plan.

Finally, this is the decade when your hips, knees, and other key joints are more likely to develop arthritis, which means that your old go-to running or aerobics workouts may need to be swapped for swimming and/or gentle walking plans.

The good news? These expert-approved tips will help you clean up your diet, lose excess weight, and set you up for better health in your 60s, 70s, and beyond.

Focus on fat loss, not weight loss

At last, it’s time to toss that scale that’s collecting dust under your bathroom vanity. At advanced ages, you cannot afford to lose muscle, organ tissue, or bone mass which means focusing on the number on the scale is especially inappropriate.

Instead, invest in a body fat measurement tool (such as calipers or an electrical impedance device) or simply just measure your waist size. The general rule of thumb is that your waist size should be no more than half your height. So, a woman who’s 5’ 4” (or 64 inches) should have a waist size no larger than 32 inches; a man who’s 5’ 9” (or 69 inches) should have a waist no larger than 34.5 inches.

Load up on protein

If ever there was a time to focus on getting enough lean protein, it’s now. “There is some evidence that older adults need more protein,” says Susan Bowerman, RD, a dietitian in Los Angeles.

A study at the University of Arkansas found that increasing protein intake could help older adults build muscle