If you are a woman in your 40′s and 50′s you know that the dieting techniques that used to work great for you when you were in your 20′s don’t give you the same results now. As your body changes your approach to weight loss will have to change too.
There are several reasons for this such as lifestyle changes and a slower metabolism. These factors can make losing weight and keeping it off far more challenging than it used to be.
Body Condition
1. When you have reached 40 or more, your body will begin to replace muscle with fat; fat burns less calories than muscle does and this will lead to slower metabolism. Reaching menopausal period sometimes also cause hormonal imbalance; these two factors can lead to weight gain and difficulties when trying to lose weight.
2. As you age it becomes more difficult for your body to burn carbohydrates the way it once did. For many women this is a problem because they are preparing meals for their family who don’t want their food styles to change, even though yours might need to.
Lifestyle
1. As we age it’s all too easy to start to slack off on physical activity. The less we do the less we are able to do and it becomes a vicious cycle. Lack of exercise can be a major cause of weight gain.
2. As our children grow and leave home and we retire we find ourselves with a lot more free time. Having this extra time can lead to overeating, and/or eating the wrong types of foods.
If you have realized that you can’t depend on the old ways anymore to maintain or lose weight, it is time to make some adjustments on your weight control efforts:
1. Avoid processed and packaged foods at all cost, including diet soda; it contain artificial sweetener which have addiction effects.
2. At middle age, it may be hard to increase physical activity, but you need it in order to maintain a healthy body composition: more lean muscle mass and less body fat, which means better metabolism rate, thus easier to maintain or lose weight. Try simple aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, or biking.
3. It’s been traditional to eat our ’3 squares a day’ but now is the time to rethink that approach. As we age it’s more important than ever to keep our metabolism burning hot all day long. A good way to do that is keep our body supplied with food. Try eating 5 smaller, well balanced meals a day. This will keep your metabolism high and will help you in your weight loss efforts.
4. In your 40′s and beyond your metabolism is slower, that’s a fact of life. Because of this it’s important to cut your caloric intake. You simply can’t keep eating as much as you used to and expect not to gain weight. When you cut back on calories make sure to cut carbohydrates as well. Find a food plan that is heavy on fruits and vegetables.
5. Get enough sleep. The old rule of thumb is 8 hours a night for adults though not everyone needs 8 hours. Some people need a little more, some a little less. The important thing is to find how much you need and then make sure you get it.
6. Stay hydrated, eat enough fiber and cut your fat consumption.
When we start going through menopause we have so many fun things to deal with it’s important to remember that even though your old dieting habits won’t work for you anymore, there are things that will work. Some of the easiest things you can do are drink plenty of water, watch your calories and get some exercise. These simple things can help you stay healthy for longer.
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