If you think losing weight after 40 feels like an uphill battle, you’re not alone, but it’s not impossible to lose excess weight, says dietician Jennifer Laurence. There are healthy, well-studied steps you can take to eat better, build muscle, and feel better than ever.
The truth is that many factors conspire against us as we enter our 40s: busy family schedules, stress at work and other obligations can take a toll on the time we have to take care of ourselves, says Laurence. Of course, hormones also shift during perimenopause and menopause in our 40s and 50s, causing oestrogen decreases, which may lead to mood swings, night sweats and, yep, weight gain!
Plus, falling oestrogen levels during perimenopause and menopause (which can begin in your 40s) can increase insulin sensitivity, says bariatric surgeon Dr Caroline Cederquist. If your blood sugar levels constantly spike and crash, your snack cravings may increase, Dr Cederquist says.
But that doesn’t mean you have to throw up your hands in defeat. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to get moving. “Be active, whether it’s lifting weights, even very light weights, such as a can of beans,” says dietitian and health educator Deborah Cohen.
“Yoga, Pilates, tai chi, walking, gardening, running, swimming, playing tennis, vacuuming or washing the car all count. Anything that gets the body moving is great for weight and fat loss and for maintaining muscle mass, which declines as we get older.” Read on for more steps you can take to stay healthy and lose weight after 40.
1. Create a list of reasons you want to lose weight
People who are most successful at losing weight after 40 do it when they have a very clear reason why they want to get leaner. Maybe you’ve been watching the scale creep up a kilo or two every year and are ready to nix bad habits, or you’ve been given a wake-up call by your doctor that it’s time to get serious about how your weight is impacting your overall health.
“You need to have a mental awakening that puts you in a state of readiness to change. If you’re not engaged mentally, it’s not happening,” says Dr Pamela Peeke, author of The Hunger Fix.
2. Make protein a priority
Protein helps our body repair, preserve and build muscle tissue, says Laurence. When you eat carbs, such as white pasta, they’re broken down into glucose, causing blood sugar levels to rise. Insulin is released by the pancreas, transporting glucose from the bloodstream to your cells. But once the cells reach glucose capacity, insulin transports leftover glucose to the muscles and liver, which also have limits to what they can hold. After that, insulin converts any leftover glucose to fat.
Protein also takes longer than carbs to digest, which can help the body use more glucose as short-term energy and store less as fat. You’ll also feel full longer, so you won’t be as tempted to grab a sugary snack in late afternoon, says Laurence. Aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein at meals and 10 to 15 grams for snacks. See how much protein is in everyday foods like eggs and yoghurt.
3. Focus on fibre
Fibre helps meals feel more filling to give you that feeling of satiety. “This is important because often people who do not get this sense of satiety tend to overeat until they feel full,” says Cohen. “High-fibre foods also tend to be lower in kilojoules and nutrient dense.”
Fibre-rich foods take longer to digest, too, so blood sugar levels rise and fall at a steadier pace. You’ll find fibre in many plant foods including veggies, fruits, whole grain breads and pastas, brown rice, air-popped popcorn, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds. Aim for about 30 grams per day, says Laurence.
4. Eat healthy fats
Fats get a bad rap, but some fats are part of a balanced diet. Healthy unsaturated fats like omega-3 fatty acids in foods such as fatty fish, walnuts and flaxseed block the production of inflammatory hormones. That’s important because high levels of inflammation can make the body more susceptible to insulin resistance, making maintaining a healthy weight more challenging, says Laurence.
5. Be mindful of portion sizes
“When it comes to losing weight, what actually moves the needle is always dietary change,” says Dr Cederquist. It doesn’t matter if all you eat is grilled chicken, brown rice and broccoli. If you don’t cut back on your portions, you won’t lose weight.
To find out your daily kilojoule requirements, see this kilojoule calculator. Everyone’s kilojoule needs are different, but on average removing 2,000 kilojoules a day from your current eating habits is enough to trigger gradual weight loss, reports The Conversation.
6. Consider intermittent fasting
There are different methods for practicing intermittent fasting, including the 16:8 diet, which restricts eating to an eight-hour window and fasting for a 16-hour period. Studies have shown that intermittent fasting be beneficial for healthy weight loss.
7. Eat fewer kilojoules, more frequently
Increased insulin resistance might leave you feeling hungrier. Dividing up your food into three moderately sized meals and one to two small snacks will keep your blood sugar levels steady while combating the urge to nibble on less-nutritious food, Largeman-Roth says. Piling your plate with more low-kilojoule, high-volume foods, like fruits and vegetables, can help fill you up, too.
8. Save sweets for a true treat
Instead of mindlessly dipping into that bag of chips just because it’s there, think about what would truly satisfy you. Our guide to healthy snacks for weight loss is designed to help you get that crunch, sweetness or saltiness that you’re looking for, except with foods that fuel your day.
9. Watch your alcohol intake
Try a break from alcohol or low kilojoule alcohol options to avoid empty kilojoules. “You could also fit two to four glasses of wine per week into a weight loss program,” Largeman-Roth says.
Just make keep track of your standard drinks, since it can be easy to over-pour when you don’t pay attention. For example, a 150ml serve of white wine is around 1.4 standard drinks, reports the Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation.
10. Add strength and resistance training
As we age, we tend to lose lean body mass (LBM). “LBM has a higher metabolic rate and burns more kilojoules at rest compared to adipose, or fat tissue,” says Cohen. “When a person loses muscle, you also tend to feel more weak and thus, less likely to be active.”
Regular resistance workouts also can improve cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, plus it will help keep bones sturdy, too, by increasing bone density and preventing bone loss. Aim for 20 to 30 minutes of resistance exercises twice a week, says Laurence.
11. Get good sleep
Sleep is essential to your overall health, and it regulates hormones that affect hunger levels. Ghrelin prompts you to eat when your stomach is empty, while leptin prompts you to stop eating when you’re full. But studies have shown ghrelin levels are higher and leptin lower when we get less than seven hours of sleep per night, which makes overeating easy, says Laurence.
Insufficient sleep has been associated with increased kilojoule intake. “There also may be a relationship between sleep and diet quality,” says Cohen. “Several studies found that eating a healthy diet was associated with better sleep quality, while eating lots of processed and high-sugar foods was associated with worse sleep quality.” The ideal time for sleep is different for everyone, but aim for seven to nine hours per night.
12. Pay attention to gut health
Scientists are learning more about the microbiome, the microbes in your gut, which help digest food. “The gut microbiome plays a big role in weight and the ability to lose weight,” says Cohen.
“Leptin is an appetite-suppressing hormone produced and secreted by adipose tissue and signals the brain to tell you when to stop eating, which reduces food intake and body weight. There is accumulating evidence that an altered gut microbiome could change leptin levels.”
Research has found that leptin also seems to be lower in people with fewer strains of healthy gut bacteria. And some studies suggest that the microbiome has a role in regulating ghrelin, the hormone that causes you to feel hungry. Eating a variety of gut-healthy foods that include a wide range of microbes is the best way to keep everything balanced in the gut, says Laurence.
Start with probiotic foods like kimchi, yoghurt with active cultures and kombucha. Fibre and prebiotic foods are also important for gut health.
13. Eat mindfully
Eating mindfully means paying attention to emotional and physical hunger cues and eating only until you’re full. “Eating in front of the computer, while driving, or while on your phone, distracts you from the act of eating,” says Cohen. “Those who are distracted tend to eat more kilojoules and faster, often ignoring your satiety signal.”
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