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We Are 55 and These 15 Fat-Blasting Habits Keep Us in the Best Shape of Our Lives
Here's how you can get fit and healthy in your 50s.
Melissa Neil is a fitness trainer who specializes in working with women over 40 to transform their bodies and health. Melissa, in her late 50s, along with her husband, Ken, who is in his 60s, eat and exercise together to ensure healthy aging. She takes her followers "through a typical day" of "how we get in shape at this stage in life," she says. "So we're gonna show you how we eat, what we do for training, and we're also gonna show you a way that you can do exactly what we are doing to get in great shape in your forties, fifties, sixties, and beyond."
We Eat a Protein-Packed Pre-Workout Snack
"The first thing that we are doing, which we do before every strength training workout, is we're gonna have a pre-workout snack," she says. She makes cream of rice, about "two heaps" or 70 grams, which she combines with protein powder. " Ken's gonna have about 40 grams, and I'm gonna have 30 grams," she says in the video.
They Use Protein Powder for Flavor
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She opts for whey protein. "You could use a plant protein. It doesn't really matter," she says. She adds that she uses chocolate flavor, which "kind of gives it flavor because the cream of rice in itself can be a bit bland." She notes it's a great way to get your protein in. She also mixes it with unsweetened almond milk and cinnamon.
They Drink Lemon Tea
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"I'm just making some lemon tea because we both have lemon tea," she says. "It's a way for me to get some hydration first thing in the morning. So that's what I like doing." She chooses to avoid coffee because "coffee's actually a diuretic, meaning it's not going to hydrate you. It's going to dehydrate you. So this is why we have lemon water, but coffee is not bad for you per se. It's absolutely fine. But I just like to use this opportunity for hydration."
They Also Drink Coffee
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"We don't drink a massive amount of coffee. We just drink it occasionally. I wanted to give it a try of not drinking so much coffee, and actually, I found it quite easy to do."
She Eats Less Than Her Husband
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She notes the reason why she eats less than her husband is that her calories "actually need to be less in order to get fat loss. Ken can eat a lot more because he weighs more and he's a male. His body's burning more fat or burning more energy, and he's going to need a lot of energy to get through the workout," she says.
Since Eating More Protein Her Training Has Improved
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She reveals that since she started eating the protein-packed meal, her training has improved. "We're both in a calorie deficit and what that means is sometimes, if you are in too much of a calorie deficit, you don't eat properly before training, your training is going to be compromised. That's your strength training. So it's really important to fuel your body correctly," she says.
They Don't Skip Meals
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She stresses the im[importance of not skipping meals. "People think that's a good way to lose weight, but actually, it's not because it's really important to fuel your body correctly," she says.
They Walk to the Gym
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When it comes time to go to the gym, she reveals one of her fitness secrets. "We always walk," she reveals. "Because what that does is it gets our steps in, so it's about a 15-minute walk to the gym, and yeah, it gets our steps in."
After a warm-up, they head over to the bench to do some exercises. "It's actually a decline bench," she says, revealing that they have five sets of exercises. She starts with lower intensity, and by the third set, she moves onto "relatively heavy weight. The two final sets are what are called working sets. And they will be really, really heavy on the maximum that we can go for kind of six reps."
After their strength training session, they move on to cardio. I'm now going to get on the stair climber and do some HIIT cardio. It's just going to be 20 minutes," she says.
They Eat More Protein for Breakfast
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After their workout, they move on to breakfast, which is oatmeal. "Ken's putting in 60 grams. I would probably put 50 grams in, so I have a little bit less than him, but then my carbohydrates through the day would be much less than Ken's for the rest of the day." She adds almond milk and protein powder. Ken adds banana "because he can afford to have a little bit more carbohydrate," she says. She sticks to berries.
They Have Lean Protein, Whole Grains, and a Little Fat for Lunch
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For lunch, they marinate chicken breasts in yogurt, whole grains, and homemade coleslaw with cabbage, a little bit of mayo, and apple cider vinegar. "I'm basically just gonna plunk it all on a plate and eat it. But I will weigh it out, probably like about 90 grams of chicken breast," she says.
Her Husband Does Group Cardio Classs
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"Ken loves to do his cardio in a group environment. So he goes to a local gym where he does a class in the evenings. It's a high-intensity interval training class. It fits right in with how we recommend you work out if you are over 40," she says.
Her last meal of the day is salmon and veggies. "We just bought one of those stir-fried vegetable bags; they're already prepped up. Just stir-fried that and put it like salmon in," she says.
They Also Indulge in a Low-Calorie Sweet Treat
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She follows it up with something that is "always quite light, a little bit of dessert," that is, low-calorie ice cream served in a cup of tea. "It's 250 calories per tub," she says, revealing that she just has one-fifth of that. "It is going to have carbohydrates in it but not that many carbs, so it won't push me over my limit," she says.
They also explain that they created the couple's program because it helps with accountability. "Some people are different, but I need to be pushed, and working with a partner and my partner has helped me tremendously. It's great," says Ken.
It Has Also Challenged Her and Increased Her Fitness Level
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She admits that when they started out, they were on different levels. "What it's done is it's really brought my strength training, in particular, my upper body. I've just achieved a sort of personal best on my bench press by working out with Ken."
It's More Fun Doing It with Someone Else
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"So we've developed this program in mind so that if you've got someone you want to do this with, it's going to work so much better for you than doing it on your own. Because it's actually quite tough doing it on your own, isn't it?" she says.
"If you can do it with someone, it's actually going to bring your training on more. It's going to bring more food to the side of it. Especially if you eat together because you know you eat together so you're going to have the same meals together. Ken eats more than me, but essentially, it's the same food we eat out together as well, don't we?" she says.
"It's about your health as well, trying to improve your health in life and your activity by going out and you're walking, improving your mobility. And having a better lifestyle with that," they add. "We are doing it together. So it makes it much easier to do it together, and it kind of brings us closer together." And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 20 Superfoods for People Over 50.
Leah Groth
Leah Groth has decades of experience covering all things health, wellness and fitness related. Read more
