Ask the expert
I'm a 56 year old woman and have put on weight over the past few years but I'm sure I don't overeat, what am I doing wrong?
You may well not be doing anything wrong at all. As we get older our energy requirements decrease and therefore even if food intake is not increased weight gain will occur unless this is compensated by an increase in activity levels.
Aging leads to a loss of lean tissue, which is more metabolically active than fat, and therefore metabolism falls. This causes energy requirements to fall by 200-400 calories a day. Most women need 2000 calories a day, depending on activity levels, and you would need to reduce your intake below this in order to lose weight. An energy deficit of 3500 calories will lead to a loss of 1lb of body fat so try to reduce your intake by 500 calories a day (to an intake of 1500 calories a day) and you could expect to lose 0.5 kg (1lb) a week. This is a healthy and maintainable weight loss. Increasing you activity levels in conjunction with a healthy balanced 1500 calories a day diet will aid your weight loss and also help create a leaner, more toned you!
This is based on the average person, for individualised advice and a weight management plan tailored to your requirements please make an appointment with one of our registered and experienced dietitians - call 01276 609 077 or email us at info@experteating.co.uk.