3 Steps To Lose Weight After 50 Without Tracking Forever

Dr. Ruth Machin gives us the minimum-effort method:

Tracking’s days are numbered

Tracking calories can be useful. But it can also become time-consuming and tedious, especially when every meal needs to be logged, foods weighed, and restaurant meals estimated.

And yes, even when tracking, food intake is still easy to underestimate because things like cooking oil, dressings, spreads, snacks, and small portions are often forgotten, or otherwise misjudged, if you’re not applying your condiments with a lab syringe. Exercise calories can also be overestimated, particularly when relying on fitness trackers. Food labels themselves can have an allowed margin of error, so calorie tracking can create an impression of precision that the sources of the underlying numbers don’t necessarily justify.

Further, for some people, particularly those with a history of yo-yo dieting, constantly focusing on numbers can also reinforce a restrictive dieting mentality, and ultimately promote disordered eating and, by extension, eating disorders.

So, how to get the benefits without the problems?

Dr. Machin recommends that instead of tracking indefinitely, it can be useful to keep a 3-day food diary. Eat normally rather than changing your diet because you’re recording it, and include everything, such as cooking oils, dressings, snacks, and drinks.

Then do some number-crunching:

• First, find your target numbers: estimate your daily calorie and protein requirements based on your age, sex, height, weight, activity level, and goal. It’s important to get activity level as reasonably accurate as you can, because adequate food intake is important when exercising.
  • Her own example she gives in the video yields approximately 2,118 kcal and 80–107g of protein per day, based on that she is 51 years old, 178cm tall, 67kg heavy, moderately active, and aiming to maintain her weight while building muscle. Individual needs will vary, so your figures that you calculate for yourself here are intended as a starting point rather than an exact prescription.
• Next, use a modest deficit for fat loss: here Dr. Machin suggests a 15% calorie reduction rather than aggressive restriction, since progress is only real if it’s sustainable.

Now, refer back to your 3-day food diary: compare your actual intake with your estimated needs. Look at whether you’re eating more or less than expected, which meals are particularly calorie-dense, and whether you’re getting enough fiber, protein, and micronutrients (Dr. Machin puts an emphasis on calcium here, though really, you need everything, and more common shortages are magnesium and potassium).

As for the rest, numbers are less important. Get plenty of non-starchy vegetables, enjoy whole fruit, opt for high-fiber carbs (ideally ones that also give a good portion of protein too), and enjoy healthy fats. Some foods like nuts, beans, and so forth can offer almost everything in one food, but obviously, don’t rely on just that (diversity is still important).

Lastly, relax. Your diet doesn’t have to be perfect and neither do you. Just look for the ways to improve it, and do your reasonable best to do it well.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Dietitian Explains: Why Disordered Eating Happens In Midlife

Take care!