Weight loss

How to Lose Weight After 40

Why is losing weight after 40 so difficult, especially for women?

Reduction of your metabolic rate, hormonal fluctuations, loss of muscle mass and reduced physical activity are the four top reasons for gaining weight after 40.¹

For most people, middle age results in a five to 10 percent deceleration of their metabolic rate after age 40. Unless you cut down on your daily caloric intake, chances are you’ll gain weight.

Additionally, thyroid problems may also impact metabolic rates, especially in women over 40. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can cause unexplained weight gain, prevent you from losing weight and make you feel depressed and tired for no apparent reason.²

Six Effective Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss Tip #1

Start writing down everything you eat or drink. You might be surprised at how much you eat or what you eat without realizing it. If you ate three meals a day before going on a diet consisting of five or six smaller meals a day (advisable when trying to lose weight) the tendency to snack produces a “I’m not really eating much so this little bit of cake won’t hurt” effect that may add several hundred more calories a day to your diet.

Weight Loss Tip #2

If you are dieting and have lost about 10 pounds but suddenly can’t lose any more weight, your resting metabolic rate (RMR} probably reset itself. The resting metabolic rate is how much energy you need to expend to survive while remaining inactive (sedentary). RMR is calculated using your age, genetics, muscle mass and climate in which you live (environment (people tend to lose more weight in cold temperatures than hot temperatures). If you are stuck at a certain weight, try re-establishing your RMR by adjusting your calorie intake and exercise program accordingly. Also, eat several small meals each day instead of large meals to consistently keep your metabolism up and working.³

Weight Loss Tip #3

If you are over 40 and noticed “belly fat”, as well as your weight, increasing you are not alone. Because muscle mass decreases with age in men and women, fat starts to account for a higher percentage of weight.

Visceral (belly) fat is deeply embedded in the abdomen and surrounds organs surrounding you’re the stomach. Visceral fat is much worse health-wise than subcutaneous fat because it manufactures and releases hormones that elevate LDL (bad) cholesterol, estrogen, and blood pressure. Too much belly fat also promotes insulin resistance, a precursor condition to type II diabetes.⁴

You need to do more than just diet to lose belly fat:

Perform daily aerobic exercises with elliptical trainers, stair climbing, rowing machines, and treadmills. Bicycling and swimming are great ways to get rid of belly fat.

Try High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), a form of exercise in which you engage in extremely vigorous exercise for a short period of time, then slow down for a while, only to begin the hard exercise again

Eat more protein-rich foods. Studies show that eating “quality” protein foods has an inverse relation with belly fat. Examples of good protein foods include eggs, chicken, oats, lean beef, and broccoli.⁵

Weight Loss Tip #4

Losing weight after 40 doesn’t have to be excruciatingly boring. Break up the diet and exercise by using a pedometer to keep track of how much walking you do. Aiming at taking an extra 1500 steps each day could lead to fun adventures!⁶

Weight Loss Tip #5

Surround yourself with the color blue. Research says that blue tends to act as an appetite suppressant while colors such as orange, red and yellow seem to increase appetite. Try using blue plates, blue tablecloths or eating in a room with blue walls to minimize hunger pangs.⁷

Weight Loss Tip #6

Once you have reached your desired weight, toss out all of your old “fat” clothes or give them to charity. This helps discourage you from gaining weight back, especially when you consider how much money you’ll have to spend purchasing larger-sized clothes

While weight loss tips like these can help you shed pounds, it can be difficult for some to stick to their diet and exercise. That’s why Renew Health and Wellness offers a medical weight loss program that is individualized to address your own unique weight loss needs.

Call Renew Health and Wellness to learn more about the advantages to a medically supervised weight loss program.

It’s possible to be thinner without going hungry… Discover how to unlock your fat-burning potential HERE.

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