Healthy Diet And Physical Activity For Women Over 60

The right combination of dieting and physical exercises can help women over 60 deal with the nuisances of menopause better. In fact, besides helping them maintain a healthy weight and lose fat, a healthy lifestyle has numerous other benefits. Light physical exercises and a balanced diet can help post-menopausal women reduce the risk of cardiac conditions, lower cholesterol, prevent the onset of arthritis or alleviate its symptoms.

But what is recommended for women over 60 in terms of diets and physical activity? As usual, balance is key; read on and find out more.

Physical exercises for women over 60

You might have read more than one motivational article about women that are more than 70 years old and still run marathons or teach advanced yoga classes. While they are true, such occurrences are rare and such a regimen can only happen if you have been active all your life. If not, you need to start with something lighter.

For women who want to maintain their current weight, two and half hours of physical activity per week are enough. If you want to lose some weight, you should double that time. Aerobic classes, walking swimming, light jogging – all these are activities that you can take up. As a rule of thumb, the exercises should be difficult enough to allow you to talk during them, but not to sing.

Healthy diets for women over 60

Typically, an adult over 60 needs about 1600 calories per day. Of course, this varies according to the level of physical activity and the body weight. However, there is a constant: women over 60 should make sure they have a plentiful fiber intake, as well as proteins and carbs.

The protein intake is especially important for your bone density (which decays in this period). The sources of protein should be lean and you should try to avoid fat as much as possible. Eat chicken or turkey instead of pork and turn to low-fat dairy products.

Please note that these are general recommendations. The level of physical activity that is recommended for you, as well as the type of diet that suits you best are highly dependent on the conditions you may suffer from. Thus, it is advisable to speak to a doctor about your diet and exercise plan. Do it even if you feel like there is nothing wrong with your health – your doctor should know all about your lifestyle.

If you have questions about this, feel free to schedule an appointment with Dr. Fefelova. She has extensive experience in working with post-menopausal women and helping them regain their self-confidence.