I am over 55 and can't lose weight, can a personal trainer help? How?

Many of us have always had to watch what we eat. Then as we hit 40 and 50 and beyond it seems as though all we have to do is look at a doughnut sideways and we gain three pounds.

The right personal trainer can certainly help. There are many variables to weight loss obstacles. For some, it may be a combination of eating habits and lack of exercise and all they have to do is eat relatively healthy and exercise regularly and their weight comes off. If your biggest obstacle is regular exercise, regularly scheduled appointments with most any personal trainer is going to help.

As we age our metabolism tends to slow down, our hormone production may slow down as well, our activity levels are often lower due to the stresses and time demands on a full-time job and raising a family. Work-life and family life can squeeze out time that was once spent playing sports five days a week to maybe once a week or no strenuous activity at all. That certainly takes a toll on a persons’ weight.

Also, unfortunately, many personal trainers are at the stage of their lives where they are in their 20’s and can’t relate to why people could possibly be overweight as the young twenty-something personal trainers can eat anything they want and not gain an ounce. And that is why for the best weight loss results people need an effective exercise program that is followed daily with a clean eating nutritional plan that is specific to the person who needs to lose weight. That combined with the right personal trainer who is knowledgeable in nutrition and keeps in touch with his or her clients on a regular basis. Every day if need be to help keep their clients on track.

Nutrition can get tricky as there are a lot of reasons why people eat whether it be social, stress, habit, environmental or cultural. As a personal trainer, I educate myself more on nutrition and eating habits than I do on exercise. I am in contact with some of my clients every day discussing their eating habits. My suggestion is to start with one change. Work on that change for as long as it takes until it becomes absolute second nature. Then start on another habit. It may not be the “lose 30 pounds in two months” diet, where people lose weight during their diet, then gain it all back plus more two months later. Improving your nutritional habits over time compounds on one another resulting in permanent weight loss.

For example. My focus with one of my habits was taking water everywhere I went. Another habit was not eating corn products anymore. Another one was following the five to one fibre rule, where 20% of all of my meals are fibre. My last habit is cooking everything from scratch. I don’t eat anything from a can anymore. I can continue to form better nutritional habits. We all can. The right personal trainer will not only help you with a safe and effective exercise routine. He or she will also help you with your daily nutritional habits as well.

Until next time. Keep… Fit ‘N’ Well.