Brigitte Macron is perhaps known best for the large, 25 year age gap between her and her husband, Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
The 64-year-old French First Lady looks incredible for her age, and is very youthful and slim.
President of the United States Donald Trump exclaimed “You’re in such good shape”, on meeting the French First Lady on his official visit to France.
French women are often lauded for seeming to stay in shape effortlessly, despite the wine-drinking, pastry-eating stereotype. But what does it really take to stay in shape like Brigitte?
Experts on looking good in later life have dished their advice on how to stay youthful and healthy in your 60s, including 67-year-old nutritionist, author and blogger Suzi Grant – who has written a book titled Alternative Ageing on this very topic.
Diet plan to stay slim like Brigitte Macron
Regular intermittent fasting can also help you live longer and lose weight, Suzi claims. She suggests restricting your calories one or two days a week, but make sure you ask your doctor first.
This is also known as the 5:2. In a recent study researchers concluded that, at least for the short term, intermittent energy restriction does a better job than daily energy restriction at promoting weight loss.
Juliette Kellow, a registered dietitian with experience in health, food and diet, said: “Portion creep is a common problem as we get older. Over time, our serving sizes increase slowly but surely and this can have a dramatic effect on our waistline.
“For example, it’s easy to add a little extra rice to our plate. But with 50 calories in just one tablespoon, if those calories are extra to our needs, in a year, this sort of calorie excess each day means we’ll gain 5lb.”
Eating crunchy food is also key to staying slim, Juliette adds. She said: “Go for crunchy foods – there’s good evidence that the more we chew, the less food we eat.”
Chewing between 20 to 40 times with each bite of food was a diet trick used by Samantha Cameron, former-Prime Minister David Cameron’s wife,
Exercise tips for later life
Suzi, who is the same weight as she was aged 21, suggests walking 10,000 steps every day to stay youthful like Brigitte.
Suzi said: “Easier than it sounds if you wear a pedometer or download a free app on your phone.
“By the time you are walking 10k steps a day you’ll have walked three to five miles a day, burned fat, lost weight, improved your mood and strengthened your heart.”
She added that weight training was key to staying youthful in younger life. She suggests doing this three to four times a week.
She said: “If we’re not working our muscles as we age we are going to lose more than 3kg of muscle mass every decade, resulting in our metabolism slowing down by between two and five per cent every ten years.
“That could mean an extra stone in weight by our mid-forties. Not only that, but the bones get weaker as the muscles get flabbier.”
Fitness Entrepreneur Matt Fiddes recommend his exercise specific tips for those aiming to look youthful and slim in later life, which are easy to follow at any age.
He also claims older slimmers should lift weights, and specifically recommends: “Squats, curls, and shoulder raises until you feel the muscle has had enough.”
He recommends walking 30 to 45 minutes a day at the start of the day.
“Investing in a treadmill buy is good as you can exercise in the safe environment of your home,” he said.
“If walking is not for you then cycling is less impactful on the joints. Again 30 minutes to 45 mins a day max at a steady pace.”