How To Keep The Weight Off As You Get Older

One of the sad truths about aging is that you inevitably burn fewer calories than you did as a young person, even if you’re physically active, even if you eat a healthy diet. When you retire you may eat out more often and take more trips to foreign countries with delicious food, making the situation even worse.

At our house we have instituted a system of alternating big meals and small meals. A big meal is protein (often chicken or fish), vegetables, and maybe a starch plus a little fruit for dessert. A small meal is soup with a small piece of bread or a quarter of a frittata or a tuna melt, always accompanied by vegetable juice (bottled or homemade). We do three big and three small each week. On the remaining night we eat at a restaurant.

Lately we’ve been wanting to lose a few pounds so we’ve started a low food day every week or so, somewhat like the part-fasting diets that are popular now. Instead of fasting, we have the Mango Lassi with Anti-Cancer Spices for breakfast (plus coffee), the Pretty Good Almond BerryGreen Smoothie for lunch, and the usual kind of small meal for supper. After a few weeks we’ve lost a couple of pounds without too much pain.

The advantage of our system is that it is sustainable. With diets, you eventually go off the diet and the weight often comes right back. Our program incorporates enough foods we enjoy, including an occasional sweet dessert at a restaurant, so that we don’t feel deprived.