There are multiple reasons that lead to weight gain after you turn 40. It could be due to hormonal changes, lack of activity, poor sleeping habits, stress, anxiety, or all of these. Here’s a beginner’s guide to weight loss after 40.
As a beginner, it may seem extremely difficult to lose weight after 40, but in actuality, it’s quite simple. All you need to know is the right technique, which we are going to explain below.
What are the Reasons for Weight Gain after 40?
The main two reasons for weight gain after 40 are physical changes and lifestyle changes. As a woman turns 40, hormonal changes begin rapidly which leads to several problems. Weight gain is no doubt one of them.
Menopause could be the reason leading to hormonal changes in older women. Secondly, weight gain could be influenced by your dietary changes, which we are referring to as one of the lifestyle changes.
Adding to it, stress and anxiety is a part of most of our lifestyle. If you are a working woman, there could be immense work pressure. If you are a homemaker, there are several issues at home that may lead to anxiety and stress. As a result, your eating habit and sleeping pattern can get hugely affected.
Moreover, if you are leading a sedentary lifestyle where your daily activities such as walking, exercising, or doing house activities are limited, it can lead to weight gain. Another striking factor is that as we turn old, our metabolism starts to slow down, which means we burn fewer calories per day than we used to as young.
Apart from all these reasons, certain physical conditions such as high cholesterol level, high blood sugar level, and diabetes can be the cause. For some women, genetics is the reason for weight gain at an older age. All of these reasons can contribute to moderate and massive weight gain.
What is the Easiest Way of Losing Weight for a 40 Years Old Woman?
There are numerous ways of losing weight for a 40 years old woman. However, not all techniques are safe to try, and hence, you must be aware of them. Dietary supplements that contain chemical substances can be harmful to health.
Instead, you can choose a natural or organic supplement that’s approved by food health organizations. Exercise is another effective way of losing weight but if you have cardiac problems, all exercises won’t suit your body. Hence, you can consult a physical trainer to know which exercises you can perform and which you shouldn’t.
Proper eating habit and a good diet is the safest and easiest way of losing weight faster. We are going to explain a proper weight loss diet below that you need to follow.
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What are the Side Effects of Being Overweight?
There are numerous side effects of being overweight and we are enlisting most of them below:
- High Blood Pressure: Excess body weight and obesity can lead to hypertension or high blood pressure in people of all ages, especially in older women.
- Cholesterol Level Changes: Weight gain may lead to a high level of LDL cholesterol, a low level of HDL cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides.
- Type 2 Diabetes: The risk of developing Diabetes type 2 increases once a woman gains excess weight at an abnormal rate.
- Stroke: A higher BMI level, which indicates being overweight, can increase the chances of stroke as a person turns 40.
- Coronary Heart Disease: Weight gain leads to higher cholesterol levels, which can increase the chances of coronary heart disease.
- Gallbladder Disease: One of the risk factors for gallstone development in the body is obesity and it’s prevalent in older women more than men.
- Low Mortality: Normal weight women worldwide are approximately at an 18% lower risk of dying than overweight and obese women.
How do I know that I’m Overweight?
The easiest way to know whether you are overweight is by calculating your BMI (Body Mass Index). It is a method that indicates whether you are normal weight or underweight or overweight according to your height.
You can open a BMI calculator from your browser and input all the information such as your height and weight. The calculator will automatically measure your BMI and let you know if you are slightly overweight or obese.
Suppose your height is 5 feet 6 inches and your current weight is 165 pounds. The calculator will show that your BMI is 26.6, which means you are slightly overweight. If you were 195 pounds, it had shown you that your BMI is 31.5, which means you are obese. Based on the BMI calculator, you can also estimate how much weight you need to lose to become a normal weight.
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What are the Benefits of Losing Weight after 40?
Here are some biggest benefits of losing weight after 40 years of age:
- Lower Blood Pressure: Weight loss can lower the levels of blood pressure if you are suffering from hypertension.
- Lower Triglyceride Levels: Once you start losing weight, the levels of triglyceride in your body will reduce gradually.
- Better Heart Health: The risk of heart disease lowers as you begin to lose weight, which leads to better heart health.
- Improved Flexibility: If you do stretching exercises daily, you will lose weight as well as improve your body flexibility.
- Reduced Pain: Weight gain can trigger body pain in the muscles and bones, which can reduce with weight loss.
- Improved Mood: Your mood will improve once you start to lose weight because of physical activities and hormonal changes.
- Higher Self-Esteem: As you see a better version of yours in the mirror, you’ll feel fit and healthy from the inside.
- Improved Sleep: Proper diet and exercise mean a healthy lifestyle, which can improve your sleep quality and pattern.
A Beginner’s Guide to Weight Loss After 40
Now, we’ll explain to you some of the most effective techniques that can help you to lose weight after 40 years of age. These techniques include diet, eating habits, exercises and some other lifestyle changes. Once you follow these tips for at least a month, you will start to see the results.
However, since these are natural methods, showing results will take some time. You need to have patience and follow them without any alternatives.
Eat a Protein and Fiber Rich Diet
It’s crucial to eat a lot of protein to boost muscle health once you plan to lose weight. Protein doesn’t get absorbed in our body easily and hence, you will feel a lot more heavy. Protein-rich foods are pulses, legumes, seafood, meat, eggs, milk, and others. Also, increasing fiber in your diet can also help you to keep your bowel movements proper. Fiber-rich foods are vegetables like broccoli, beans, and fruits like berry, apple, avocado, and more.
Reduce your Carb Intake
As you reach a certain age like 40, it’s time to cut down on your intake of carbohydrates irrespective of whether you are normal weight or overweight. In case you are overweight, you need to focus more on lowering your carb intake.
Carbohydrates include grains such as cereals, pasta, noodles, bread, rice, vegetables like potatoes, sugar, and other foods. All you need to do is replace these foods with complex carbohydrate-rich foods such as whole grains, legumes, beans, carrots, broccoli, and more.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
One of the biggest mistakes we make while starting a diet is skipping breakfast. It is a common trend among crash dieters, which leads to worse conditions. Skipping breakfast is a strict no because it lowers your metabolism and also makes you feel weak during the whole day. If you exercise, you won’t be able to achieve your best levels by skipping breakfast.
Drink Plenty of Water
A weight-loss diet requires at least 2.5 liters of fluids daily. As you wake up in the morning, the first thing you need to do is drink one or two glasses of water. During the day, you can drink a glass of water as many times as you need to complete the 2.5-liter quantity. It will boost your metabolism, make you feel less hungry, and keep your body muscles hydrated. When you exercise, the chances of muscle cramps will reduce, keeping you fit and flexible.
Exercise Daily
You need to plan an exercise routine that includes aerobics exercises such as walking, running, cycling, swimming, and dancing along with some strength training workouts. For most aerobics exercises, you don’t need any additional equipment whereas you may need to invest in some equipment for strength training workouts.
Planks, squats, spot running, push-ups, and some best exercises that you can easily do at home. If you are a beginner, you can start with a 15 minutes session daily and then gradually increase the time after one or two weeks.
Change your Commute
You will automatically lose weight once you replace your commute with walking. However, if you need to travel to a higher distance where you can’t reach walking, you can plan to park somewhere near the destination and then cover the rest by walking. Changing your commute will have a better impact on your overall health apart from helping you to lose a significant amount of weight.
Sleep Properly
Your sleeping pattern may change when you start to lose weight. You will automatically notice the improvement after one or two weeks. The main reasons for this improvement are your body activity and a better lifestyle. However, if you still are unable to see any results or you are having a stressful work life, you need to focus on having a good night’s sleep daily. You can ensure the same by maintaining 8 hours of sleeping time daily.
Conclusion
Now that you know how a beginner can lose weight after 40, go ahead and make the most of it. If you have some physical conditions for which you are thinking of consulting a doctor, we suggest you do it before making a lifestyle change. If the above diet plan or exercise doesn’t suit you, consult a nutritionist and a physical trainer.
