Adapting Your Diet as You Age

Image from Flickr

Image from Flickr

One popular proverb states that you are what you eat. Although to some this may sound a bit silly, there is a lot of symbolism to be found in the old adage. Truly, our health and numerous other physical traits are in direct correlation with what we put in our mouth. Because of this, you need to find the most adequate diet. Still, talking about diets as adequate, optimal, or even perfect is quite absurd. The most suitable eating habit depends on many factors and one of the most important ones is considering your age. With this in mind, here are some adjustments that you may want to make in your diet as you grow older.

Importance of adjusting

Some believe that the most important thing about any diet is that it keeps you slim and in shape. Although this is quite important and may have certain effects even on your self-esteem, it should never be paramount. Unfortunately, as we grow older, our energy reserves get depleted more quickly and our immune system becomes weaker. This leads to an overall decline in the lifestyle quality which you should not tolerate.

Changes in calorie count

Probably the first thing one should change as he or she grows older is the number of calories they consume on a daily basis. Again, there are so many factors that are important, but here are some general guidelines:

People who are physically active require more calories a day, so males who are over the age of 50 and are still leading an active lifestyle should take about 2200-2800 calories a day. On the other hand, women require only 1800-2000 calories a day. However, for those leading a sedentary lifestyle, things are much different, so an optimal calorie count for inactive males would be around 2000 calories, while for females it is closer to 1600.

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Image from Flickr

Exercises count

The frequency and intensity of trainings one undergoes are a major determiner when it comes to one’s diet. The more you train the more calories you need, but this is a double-edged sword, and can pose a certain trap. Namely, when you start training, you will get more and more hungry, which is why some people tend to start excessively eating. Past the age of 50, this can have a devastating effect to your weight ratio. To avoid this from happening, you can always reach for Legion Athletics products to make up for all the loss your body has undergone.

A diverse plate

Even though a holistic diet is something that is always recommended, once your immunity starts to falter, this gains even more significance. Some people are going to talk about how fat or carbs are bad for you, but this is as wrong as it gets. Sure, you need to reduce your intake of both carbs and fats, but excluding them completely could be devastating for your organism; in fact, it would be much worse than to eat too much of them. Fruit, veggies and grains should be the cornerstone of your diet, but you will also need a lot of protein. Still, your source of protein should not be red meat exclusively, and you should try to substitute it at least partially with chicken, fish or even beans and eggs.

Just remember one thing – your health always comes first and all other aspects of your life should be subjected to this simple thought. This being said, in order to get the most out of your body at any age, you need to adjust your lifestyle and this usually means working out more and eating healthier. Although some may think this is going to be difficult, the benefits always outweigh any potential sacrifices made.

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