If you are a woman over 50 who is in your routine of daily workouts, it is possible that you are eating too little on a regular basis. Conceivably, this may be unexpected; however, it is certain that people frequently under-eat without realizing it, which affects their performance, energy levels, and overall health.
Calories Are Not the Enemy — They’re Energy
A large number of women are still focused on reducing the number of calories they eat. But if we break it down to its basic level, a calorie is, first and foremost, the energy in the form of heat or mechanical work which a substance has. It means that your body gets a signal of the amount of power that it receives when you only sit on the couch, not doing any physical activity.
To keep your body alive the whole day you will need to digest and hence consume more than 1,300 calories. If you walk, clean, work out, or perform domestic activities, the consumption of energy will likely be greater than 1,800–2,000 calories a day.
Even so, there are still numerous women who insist on a 1,200-calorie diet, which is also really outdated among the weight watchers, saying that they are over 50. These numbers are not sufficient and they are doing a lot of harm over the long term.
Why You Feel Tired Even When You’re Active
Although you think you are tired, irritable, and your workouts have become heavier, it is because you might be eating the wrong food and not so much due to your age.
The lack of food means you don’t consume enough:
- Your metabolism slows down.
- Muscle recovery suffers.
- Your mood swings more often.
- You sleep poorly.
- Your immune system weakens.
All these things, such as fatigue, mental disturbances, and muscle weakness, are symptomatic of women who do not supply their bodies with enough nutrients and for those women who take up strength training, this is a visible health warning. For the growth and repair of muscles, maintenance of bone mass, and hormone balance, one needs not only protein but also carbohydrates to provide energy for their workouts.
Where Your Calories Really Go
The most of your daily energy is used in such ways that your eyes cannot even believe it:
- Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) – Something around 75% of your calories are spent on simply maintaining the functions of your body.
- Non-Exercise Activity (NEAT) – Moving around the house, walking, fidgeting, working.
- Digesting Food (TEF) – Yup, when you eat, your calories are burned.
- Exercise – Lifting weights? That’s an extra 200-400 calories just for that day.
Your body is left starved when you skip meals or cut your calorie intake to the extreme. This implies that there will be no more energy for your body to take on strength, endurance, and fitness.
It’s Time to Rethink Food as Fuel
The traditional belief was: “The less you eat, the less you weigh.” But for the modern women of strength and action, the new principle goes: Eat better, get stronger.
There comes your real power, when you supply your body with food, not when you rob it of it.
In case you are one of those women over 50s, and you lift weights to keep your body strong and interesting or engage in this for increased energy, then you are likely to be the one that is getting your hold back, and this is because you may be consuming fewer foods this might be the thing.
