Fast weight loss for women over 40 how to do it right

Many people experience weight gain once they hit 40, especially around their midsection. Despite a healthy diet and regular exercise, your metabolism starts to slow down and it often becomes harder to lose weight.

You may have experienced that it was easier to maintain a healthy weight when you were younger. There may have been a time when you could eat whatever you wanted, or if you gained weight, you made simple modifications to your diet and ramped up your exercise routine, and easily shed those few extra pounds.

about as we get older, age-related weight gain can affect just about anyone. Fortunately, there are some simple dietary and lifestyle changes you can make to promote weight loss and weight management after 40.

When you were in your teens and twenties, losing weight was often as simple as turning down that extra scoop of ice cream or adding some occasional exercise to your routines. However, as you age, your metabolic rate has a tendency to plummet, turning what used to be an effective diet and exercise plan into a recipe for serious weight gain. For women, in particular, hormonal changes including menopause can make weight loss after 40 difficult. However, just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to upgrading your wardrobe with the next size up every year. Weight loss for women after 40 is definitely possible. And it doesn’t have to be an uphill battle every step of the way.

Why You Gain Weight After 40

Age-related weight gain is often genetic. For many people, it’s simply a byproduct of getting older. While there are many reasons why people gain weight after 40, here are some common biological factors.

• Hormones: For most people, their hormones start to change around the mid-30s and into their 40s.² This shift, which involves less estrogen production for women and less testosterone production for men, causes fat to start to accumulate around the middle of the body.

Genetics: Many people are genetically predisposed to weight gain. Scientists discovered that specific genes determine how many fat cells people have and where they’re stored.³ This is something you can’t really change, and if you look at your parents and relatives, you may notice there are certain areas where your family members may tend to store excess fat.

• Lower metabolism:

 There are a couple of things that happen to your metabolism after the age of 40. First, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) decreases, and second, you expend less total energy during exercise

Top best weight loss tips if you are over 40

Hitting your 40s has plenty of benefits, such as earned wisdom, increased self-awareness, and self-confidence. Truth be told, though, it’s tough getting used to some of the physical changes. A biggie is a downshift in metabolism, which can make weight maintenance trickier and weight loss more challenging. However, losing weight after 40 isn’t impossible You absolutely can shed pounds at any age—and do so while simultaneously optimizing overall wellness. Here are five tactics that work for my clients. And yes, one involves a daily dose of dark chocolate!

Cut back, but don’t cut out carbs

Carbs are fuel, and whole food sources, like fresh fruit, whole grains, and potatoes, are bundled with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Cutting out carbs completely deprives your body of important nutrients. This can lead to unwanted side effects like constipation, fatigue, and irritability.

But after age 40, your daily carb requirement may decline. Many of my clients find that they can’t eat large carb portions without either gaining weight or struggling to lose weight. The best resolution is to optimize the quality of the carbs you eat (say butternut squash over-processed bread), and think of carbs as a smaller add-on to a meal, rather than the main attraction.

Eat a lot more veggies

Start with veggies first, then build your meals around them. I often recommend including one full cup of non-starchy veggies at breakfast and at least two cups in each lunch and dinner. A minimum of five cups a day (think five tennis ball–size portions) will provide valuable nutrients and offer disease protection. But these veggies are also going to increase fullness, add volume to meals, help regulate blood sugar and insulin levels

and support healthy digestion, all of which add up to sustainable weight management. Most of the 40+ women I work with overestimate their veggie intakes, and according to the CDC, only 9% of adults eat the minimum recommended intake of two to three cups of veggies per day.

like sliced cucumber or red bell pepper. Rather than sandwiches or wraps at lunch, go for salads or bowls, with a large base of greens and veggies. At dinner, sauté, oven-roast, grill, or stir-fry veggies, and make them the largest component of the meal.

Again, pair your veggies with a source of lean protein, good fat, and a smaller portion of healthy carbs, and you’ve created an ideal balance for both weight management and good nutrition.

Take a Daily Walk

Adding a daily walk to your routine means you’ve taken the first step toward achieving a healthier weight. Staying active can help you burn more calories and lower your chances of suffering an injury. Research suggests that regular exercise can reduce a person’s risk of osteoporosis, and shaving off those extra pounds means you’re putting less strain on your joints, making it easier to prevent a fall that can keep you sidelined.

Up Your Omega-3s

We all know by now that adding omega-3–rich foods to your meals can aid weight loss—flaxseeds, avocado and avocado oil, nuts, and oily fish like salmon are all good options. Research published in Obesity Reviews shows that adding some omega-3s to the subjects’ diet helped them lose more weight, keep it off longer, and stave off hunger pangs. But there are other health benefits that omega-3 fatty acids can have for women over 40. A study published in the journal Menopause suggests that it may help reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes, as demonstrated in test subjects between the ages of 40 and 55.

Skip the Sweeteners

Kick-off your weight loss today by skipping the artificial sweeteners. Researchers at Yale University have found a link between artificial sweetener consumption and an increased risk of obesity and excess belly fat, but nixing them from your diet could help you get rid of those unwanted pounds.

Be careful with alcohol

Many of my female clients over 40 don’t see the scale move until they cut back on alcohol or take a break from drinking. Alcohol is tricky, because in moderation it may actually support weight management, research suggests. But women who drink heavily or binge drink have an increased risk.

Moderate alcohol consumption means one drink a day (and no, they don’t carry over), which equals five ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or a 1.5 ounce shot of distilled spirits. f you’re downing half a bottle of vino most nights, there could be several issues at play. First, alcohol tends to lower inhibitions and stimulate appetite, so you may wind up eating more, often mindlessly. Also, when alcohol is consumed, breaking it down becomes the body’s top priority. That means foods consumed with alcohol are less likely to be burned. Finally, too much alcohol can disrupt sleep—and a healthy sleep cycle is directly tied to metabolism, weight management, and belly fat accumulation.

Start Swimming

Hitting the pool is a great way to get your body into the best shape of your life, no matter your age. A 155-pound woman can expect to burn nearly 500 calories an hour swimming at a relatively leisurely pace, adding another 200 calories to that number by doing some faster laps. For women over 40, low-impact exercises, like swimming, are particularly beneficial, thanks to the limited wear-and-tear they cause on joints, making it less likely an overuse injury will keep you benched.