These bacteria in turn create short-chain fatty acids, which are helpful in protecting your metabolism

Beans are packed with filling fiber and protein, and as they travel through your digestive system, their roughage and resistant starch feeds the good bacteria in your gut, says Tucker. A study review from Canada shows that people who ate a serving of legumes every day as part of a weight-loss effort lost a couple of pounds in an average of six weeks. Try making beans or lentils in an Instant Pot, which allows you to stew legumes with vegetables and other flavorful components and make enough for the whole family. You can even puree them to add to soups, stews, and even mac and cheese without changing the flavor or texture that much. Expand your repertoire by trying new types of beans-discover your healthiest choices here.

3. Befriend Your Bathroom Scale

Weigh yourself each morning so you notice right away if the number is trending up instead of down. “If you gain weight, and if you focus on it early and it’s only a few pounds, you can lose it quickly, but if you let it stay, basically it reprograms your body at a higher weight and it makes it hard to lose because you get hungry,” Tucker says. If you want to lose weight over 50, it’s especially useful to jump on any gain right away.

4. Or, Ditch the Scale

“As we age, metabolism tends to decrease, muscle mass may decline, and hormonal fluctuations can impact weight distribution,” says ed, R.D.. It’s normal to experience some weight fluctuations. “Accepting these changes is the first step towards achieving realistic weight loss goals.”

For this reason, instead of focusing on the number on the scale, consider how energized you feel throughout the day, the healthy food choices you make, how your clothing feels like it fits, your body composition, and body measurements. According to Melamed, those parameters can help you evaluate your progress in a healthier and more positive way if you’re the kind of person that places a ton of pressure on the number on the scale.

5. Focus on Your Food

Between 15 conference calls, appointments with your accountant, and all the other obligations facing the modern 50-something man, you might not be giving your meals the respect they deserve. “People on the go tend to overeat,” says Bettina Mittendorfer, Ph.D., a research associate professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, but eating slowly and mindfully can help your weight-loss efforts.

Instead of shoveling in lunch between meetings, plate your food, take a seat, and chew slowly so that you enjoy each bite. Adding crunchy elements to your meal, such as sliced jicama or cabbage, can also help you slow down and eat less. It may also help to choose foods that require the use of utensils. One more thing: Use Netflix as an after-dinner treat. Eating in front of the TV is associated with weight gain, according to research published in the journal Obesity.

Traveling is another danger zone for mindless eating, especially if you’re one of those people who eats when food is presented to you, says Dr. Lofton. She recommends that you carry with you something easy that you usually eat once a day-so pack your standard breakfast or something easy and nutritious for lunch. (See how one guy who drove 15,000 miles in 4 months stayed healthy.) “This creates some structure when you’re in situations where you don’t have as much control over meals,” she says.

6. Track it, Too

Speaking of focusing on food, tracking what you eat might help Daha Fazla Bilgi you realize where exactly these spare calories are sneaking in.