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Articles about weight gain traditionally focus on how to lose weight – eat less, eat smaller portions, get more exercise, etc. We get so used to hearing these messages that we start to tune them out. I recently came across a clever article in the Nutrition Action Healthletter titled “How to Get a Gut1”. This article took an unconventional approach to increasing our awareness of how to keep unwanted pounds off by listing eight ways to successfully gain weight. The focus of the title, the gut, is important to note because it is around the waist that people tend to gain fat and abdominal fat is a strong predictor, especially for older men, of several chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. I am going to highlight two of these tips for you to consider…
Don’t bother getting up
With all of the technology we have today it is easy to fall into a habit of not getting up. With the internet we can shop, buy groceries (and have them delivered), bank, and communicate with others while sitting at a desk. As the article states, “moving your limbs is becoming obsolete” but the human body is built to move. We have muscles and bones for the purpose of moving but since we are doing less of that, we are “defaulting toward having more fat instead of muscle and bone”. With age, most people gain one to two pounds per year and regular, moderate-intensity exercise can help keep weight from creeping on. You may not see dramatic weight loss but exercise reduces overall body fat and the hidden abdominal fat. Canada’s Physical Activity Guide recommends that in order to stay healthy or improve health the average adult needs 60 minutes of ‘light effort’ physical activity every day. Check out the guide at http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/pau-uap/paguide/why.html for more information and for specific guidelines for children and older adults.
Keep eating as much as you ate in your 20’s
As you age, your metabolic rate decreases so you need fewer calories per day – even if you are keeping up the same activity level. As we age we make less spontaneous movements and our ability to transport and use oxygen drops so it feels harder to get the same workout you used to. Eating the same way you did in your 20’s (chips with your sandwich, pastry with your coffee, milkshake with lunch…) will surely help to bulk-up the belly.
The other tips the article included were: bump up your calories per bite (always choosing higher calorie-dense foods like cookies, croissants, cream, scones, and chips rather than fruit, vegetables, broth-based soups, lean meats like chicken and fish), drink your calories, eat out more often, look for trans fats, surround yourself with food, get less sleep.
References:
1 Liebman, B. (2008). How to get a gut. Nutrition Action Healthletter: Centre for Science in the
Public Interest, 35(10), 3-7.
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