MY TOP 10 HEALTHY WEIGHT TIPS FOR OVER 40!

The weight loss industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. That’s right, Folks. That’s “billion” with a “B.” And if the Jenny Craigs or Weight-Watchers of the world actually worked long-term, they would all be out of business, and we would all be skinny.

Unfortunately, Americans have gotten increasingly larger (and sicker) in the process of “dieting.” Well, my friends, the way to escape the yo-yo dieting often associated with the weight loss industry is to never “diet” again! Stop falling for the marketing traps that expand our waistlines and shorten our lives.

Instead, I propose easy lifestyle changes that help you reach a healthy weight for YOU. I stress the word “you” because we come in various shapes and sizes. What is a healthy weight for me may not be a healthy weight for you.

My Top Healthy Weight Tips Over 40!

1. Intermittent Fasting: We were not meant to have bounties of food at our disposal. Instead, our bodies are designed to go for large spans of time without eating. I.F. has nothing to do with what you eat and everything to do with the time you eat. Check out my YouTube video on Intermittent Fasting to learn more!
2. Lift Weights: Muscles are calorie-burning machines! The more muscle mass you have, the more calories it takes to maintain them. When you weight-train, you create tiny tears in your muscle fiber. Tears that need to be repaired by your body. It takes time and energy to fix those tears. These muscles can take 3-5 days to recover. So, long after you remove your weightlifting gloves, your body is still hard at work repairing the damage you’ve created. Read my blog on how lifting weights boosts your metabolism.
3. Eat a Real Food Diet: This is the ONLY diet I recommend to clients. If you can pluck it, pick it, or (if you are a meat eater) kill it, then that is a “whole food.” Watch my YouTube video, “The Real Food Diet,” to learn more.
4. Drink a full glass of water before every meal. We often mistake thirst for hunger. Before you reach for that snack, or sit down to a big meal, drink a full glass of water first. Check out my YouTube video to find out how much water you need daily!
5. Add a fiber-rich food at the beginning of every meal. Fiber is our friend, folks! You can take a fiber pill with a large glass of water or eat a fiber-rich whole food. This will not only fill you up but also mitigate the way any sugars hit your bloodstream. The slower sugars hit your bloodstream, the less likely they will be stored as fat.
6. De-stress! De-Stress, and you will weigh less. That’s right; stress can make you fat. Increases in cortisol levels due to stress cause inflammation, resulting in numerous detrimental effects on our health, including expanding our waistline. My favorite way to de-stress is through grounding. Check out my YouTube video to learn more.
7. Sleep: Getting your 7-8 hours of shut-eye per night will not only help with disposing of cellular debris but also help you maintain a healthy weight. Guess what we do when we are tired? Research shows we make poorer food choices and reach for high-carb, high-sugar foods to make us feel better. Learn how to create “The Best Night Sleep Ever.”
8. Eat Organic: I know this seems bizarre when discussing weight loss, but pesticides wreak havoc on our entire systems, causing inflammation. Inflammation, as I’ve said, is not only at the root of all chronic diseases but also plays a significant role in weight gain.
9. Check your hormones! If you are over the age of 30, now is the time to get your hormone levels checked to get a good baseline. Levels of estrogen (among other hormones such as testosterone, DHEA, and progesterone) drop with age, so as we approach perimenopause (the time before menopause characterized by a decrease in hormones), we may want to consider Hormone Replacement Therapy. Not only will HRT decrease your risk of heart attack, osteoporosis, and dementia, but it will also help you maintain a healthy weight as you age. Learn more here! In addition, a full thyroid panel is suggested. The thyroid is the master gland for the entire body and plays a significant role in metabolism.
10. Limit or Eliminate Alcohol Consumption: I know, I know! Don’t shoot the messenger, please! But it’s just math, Folks. There are 625 calories in a bottle of wine! Not that we all drink a bottle daily, but there are 123 calories per glass. That’s counting five glasses per bottle, not the big-gulp-sized wine glasses most of us have in our homes. So, 2 small glasses of wine per night x 5 days per week = 4,920 calories per month! It’s simple math. Cut the alcohol, and you WILL lose weight and improve overall health in the process.  I know this is easier said than done… because I’ve done it.  I know the struggle. To eliminate alcohol in your diet while living in a culture that glamorizes alcohol consumption as fun and celebratory, and even additionally promotes it as a form of stress relief is challenging, to say the least. But it IS possible. A book that really helped me was “The Easy Way to Control Your Drinking.”

So, there you have it. Let’s stop dieting and start striving for a healthy weight that prolongs our lifespan and increases our health span. Implementing these healthy weight lifestyle changes is a really good way to Live Young!

Ready to reveal your most slender, fit self? Book a one-on-one nutrition and exercise consultation with me!