How to lose weight after 40

According to the Silver & Grace body image survey, very few of us are satisfied with our weight. Nor are we least bit happy with our thickening middle. However, as guest post author, Myln, points out, we can lose weight. It just takes a patience and perseverance.

In one of Eliza’s articles, she talked about the main reasons why women gain weight after 40 (understanding weight gain after 40). The hormonal changes are such that make weight gain easy and weight loss more difficult. In this post I will talk more about how to lose weight. There are not many differences in the weight loss process for women below and for women above 40 besides the fact that older women and people in general are more prone to injuries (from exercise) and also that their metabolism becomes slower. This does not mean that you cannot shed those extra pounds; it simply means that you should have more patience and willpower to stick to your goals until the end.

One of the most important parts of weight loss is the foods you eat. As you get older and try to manage your weight there are some foods that you need to make sure that you are eating and there are some foods that you need to make sure that you are not eating.

The items you should avoid are those that contain high grams of fat, sugar, and generally foods that are high in calories as these foods will help you gain weight. In order to follow a healthy diet, you must ensure that you are eating healthy foods that are beneficial for your diet and wellbeing such as yogurt, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats as well as foods that contain complex carbs, such as whole wheat bread and oatmeal.

Along with a good diet you will want to make sure that you are getting the exercise that you need. Exercising is a very important part of not only being able to lose weight but managing your weight properly so that it does not fluctuate. When you get on a good exercise routine you will be able to regulate your body weight, lose a few pounds, and feel better about the way that you look.

The best way to burn those extra pounds is through cardio exercises. Try to find some cardio exercises that you feel comfortable doing and that you can follow for a long time. It’s of no use trying to follow an exercise routine that is hard and efficient but only for a limited amount of time. The key for losing weight with exercise is consistency and frequency.

Exercising regularly (2-3 times per week) for a couple of months will give you results while exercising once every couple of weeks will not. There are a lot of different cardio exercises so there should be no problem with trying to find a few to build your routine. You can choose from things such as swimming, aerobics, jogging, cycling, or other great exercises that will help you to burn calories very quickly and lose weight.

If you are a woman over 40 there is no sense letting the changes that your body is going through dictate the way that you look and feel. You will be able to better manage your body’s appearance and the way that you feel by adopting a proper diet and a good exercise routine. Just because you are getting a little older and going through some changes does not mean that you cannot lose weight and take control over your body. Make sure that you follow these tips and you will have a better looking appearance that you will love before you know it.

More information!

Myln maintains a weight loss blog where she talks about how to lose weight using natural ways and methods.

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A woman’s journey from anorexia to self-love

Interesting how someone can throw out a hurtful, but seemingly innocuous comment, and cause long lasting damage.

When I was 11 years old, I stood outside a boy’s house with my best friend. She, through her giggles, asked the boy if he would ever consider going out with one of us. He looked at her and said “Oh, I would go out with you for sure.” Then, pointing at me, he said, “But I’d never go out with her. She’s too butch.”

Thirty-five years later, I can replay this event in my mind like a movie reel. It became one of several defining moments in my life that led to poor self-image. I love my body now, but to be honest, to this day if I were to ever happen across this man I would likely feel compelled to bop him right in the nose.

A single hurtful comment won’t send someone down the rabbit hole of anorexia, but you will see how it can contribute to an already faltering self-image. Fortunately, Silver & Grace guest post author, Joanna Cake, crawled out of that rabbit hole with a renewed and healthy sense of self.

“I’m determined to at least try to get through this difficult time in a woman’s life without recourse to prescription medications and maintain the body that I abused with anorexia for so many years. It’s tough when you’ve just realised how beautiful you actually are, only to watch the effects of the change take it away before you’ve had a chance to enjoy it.”

That’s what I wrote as a comment on Eliza’s post on Rosacea.

It’s been a long journey, but I’m finally coming to terms with things. Learning how to face up to the ‘stuff’ that made me hate my body so much that I wanted to punish it by starvation.

I think it’s well-known that anorexia is often about control. Things are going on around you which you can’t, so you focus on a process which you can.

And I think that was partly it. But it was also about rejection by some of the most important people in my life at a time when I was hormonally vulnerable.

They didn’t want to be with me, so there must be something wrong with me. It didn’t help that a boy upon whom I had had a crush for the previous five years told me that I had a ‘fat arse’… as we British say.

It was an elephant that was to follow me into every room for the next three decades. I hated it. It stuck out and I considered myself a fat bloater as a result. It didn’t matter how little I ate, how thin everyone else thought I was, my big butt was there proving them all wrong.

After my 20 year marriage finally bit the dust, a new relationship with an extraordinarily patient and special man was the turning point. To suddenly be told every day that you are beautiful and see the lust in his eyes, feel the love in his heart wrap you up and cosset you…. I cannot begin to describe how soothing that balm was.

I began to look at myself in the mirror with a strange curiosity, trying to ascertain what it was that he saw. And, slowly, very slowly, the veil started to be lifted.

After I began blogging, I became aware of a feature called half-nekkid Thursday and this was the vehicle that really brought everything into focus. To expose myself physically after years of enveloping myself in huge baggy clothes that were far too big was a real mental test. But, with a few admiring comments, I began to tap into a narcissistic streak that I had no idea existed.

To know that you are considered a beautiful woman and start to appreciate the features that influence that assessment changes so many facets of your personality. Confidence and self-esteem sky rocket. Of course, you’re still sensitive to criticism and rejection but a protective covering starts to grow from the many compliments – if you know how to accept them, rather than pushing them away and focusing on your own malevolence.

For a few months, I glowed.

And then my Menopause kicked in. I started to notice the patches of saggy skin on my neck and the inside of my elbows. And the taut flesh of my belly suddenly registered the stretching that it had endured through two pregnancies. Previously defined muscles began to become ‘unpumped’ and soften.

Part of me wanted to go back to the exhausting punishment of the physical schedule I had followed but the new me understood that part of getting older is learning to be kinder and more accepting of yourself.

I’m not giving up without a fight, but it will be a battle fought in a less gruelling arena. Yoga, Pilates and tai chi are the way forward. Exercise regimes that work with the body to promote all-round health. A mental relaxation that calms the busy mind to promote inner peace and a physical conditioning that will tone and stretch but not pump and expand.

The old me was frightened and insecure, a little girl trapped inside a woman’s body and desperately fighting it.

The more mature Joanna observes a fabulous figure and will take every opportunity to maximise its full potential whilst gently growing older.

In finally learning to love my body, I have also found that I quite like myself.

More information!

Joanna Cake writes about everything that life has to throw at her at Having My Cake and Eating It Too and regularly contributes to Tighten My Vagina, a site that tries to address the sexual effects of the Menopause.

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Body Image: Are we satisfied with our weight?

Time for more body image survey results. This time we talk about our best kept secret: our weight.

That’s right, best kept secret. Seriously, how many of us are willing to broadcast our weight? It’s something we guard closer than our age.

We are either uncomfortable with our own weight and don’t want anyone knowing what it is. Or, we are comfortable with our weight, but are reluctant to share in case we make someone heavier than us uncomfortable.

Ah, we are such complex creatures.

The survey question asked was in two parts.

Would you like to lose weight? If yes, how much?

How did we do?

• No, I do not want to lose weight – 13%
• Yes, 5 pounds or less – 14%
• Yes, 5 – 10 pounds – 24%
• Yes, 11 – 20 pounds – 21%
• Yes, over 20 pounds – 28%

Actually, I am pleasantly surprised that 13% of us are happy with our weight. I realize the number is low, but a huge percentage of us, according to the survey, are dissatisfied with our midriffs, presumably because of the weight that sits there.

Those last 5 pounds

Ah, the elusive last 5 pounds. Why are we fixated on losing them? I weigh 131 pounds, which is a BMI (body mass index) of 23.2 and well within the healthy range. And yet, my WiiFit keeps encouraging me to get down to a BMI of 22. I would have to lose about 5 pounds to get there.

Why?

My lower body is very muscular which accounts for some of that 5 pounds. I have a waist. Yes, I have a little bit of a belly, but is that really going away if I lose 5 pounds? Or will it come off somewhere else? Like my boobs! They seem to be the first to shrink.

So, why kill myself to lose that last 5 pounds? What does it gain me?

Healthy weight range

Speaking of BMI, I am sure most of you calculated yours at some point. If not, there are lots of online calculators, such as this one: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/ I find it very useful for realizing that there is quite of range of weight that is considered healthy for one’s height.

A healthy BMI range is 18.5 to 24.99. That means I can weigh anywhere from 105 pounds to 141 pounds. That is a range of 36 pounds!

Are we realistic?

My point being, I wonder if we are realistic about our ideal weight?

There are so many factors such as muscle density and body frame. I weighed 104 pounds when I got pregnant with my first child at age twenty. Seriously that was way too skinny for me and unhealthy. I also weighed in the 140 to 145 pounds range at age 40. This was too much weight for my frame and I felt equally as unhealthy.

In both extremes, I had very little muscle mass. My ideal weight, therefore, is around 130 pounds. I am muscular and have tons of energy. For someone else the same height as me, 130 might be too heavy or too light.

All of this rambling to say, would it not be better to focus on fitness than weight? … just saying.

Have your say:

In figuring out your ideal weight do you go by a number on the scale or your fitness level?

Upcoming body image post:

May 5 – Are we looking forward to aging?

Previous Body Image posts:

Do we love our bodies?
Are we willing to go under the knife?
How do we view our body parts?
Who do we compare ourselves to?

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Graceful Women: The social impact of body size

Nobody can question the unrealistic and unhealthy emphasis our society puts on body size. I think a jean size of zero is quite metaphoric. The health and welfare of the person inside those jeans means nothing, notta, zip.

I am as guilty as the next person. I struggle with body image. I am trim and athletic, but I constantly fight a fear of not being that one day. My size is part of my self-image. Despite the fact that rationally I know this is a ridiculous thought process. My spiritual and physical health are part of my image, not my size.

However, it never occurs to me to question another person’s size and weight. It’s a non-issue to me, so I was shocked when a reader left a comment on my post Surviving all the holiday food choices that her weight makes other people uncomfortable.

I want to thank Patrica, of Patricia’s Wisdom, for agreeing to share this very personal account of how she is treated by other people for being a larger woman. Here is her story:

One of the hardest things about being FAT or overweight is how uncomfortable one makes the people around them feel.

I wish I were not so heavy and I work very hard on my health and in working towards achieving a more “normal” or acceptable body size. My goal is to be the healthiest, whole person I can be.

I learned early on how physical appearance can make folks feel uncomfortable. Having had several rounds of cancer in my youth, I was witness to other folks concerned that they might “catch” it from me, and at that time most of the people who had cancer were dying or dead. It was a matter of no knowledge or inadequate information. Other children did not wish to stand next to me in choir for fear they would inhale this unknown- children often tell it like it is. All the scars made the locker room a nightmare experience in my self-conscious teens.

In 1994 after ovarian cancer surgery my body started protecting its self by putting on weight. I carry around about 95 extra pounds. I walk 5 miles daily, I have worked with dieticians and I stretch and lift weights. My thighs and upper arms are 3 clothing sizes bigger than my torso.

I am not funny or even jolly. I do not tell jokes all the time to keep folks from noticing my weight.

At public gatherings, people watch what I eat. I have found that unless I want to acknowledge some special dish or something the chef has prepared with individual care, I do not eat and I fill my glass with water.

People are afraid they will look like me. I feel their pain. I have had people come up to me after a dinner and say, “I did not know what to do, I saw you just put your folk on your plate and did not eat anything!” “Were you drinking straight vodka?”, one guest asked me at a party. One cannot miss that people are watching.

Men are often very overt in their feelings; one said to me, “Why did you let yourself go? You used to be so intelligent and pretty?” At the theatre one said, “you could move faster if you got that blubber off your butt.”

My presence makes people feel afraid that they will get large and out of control; that they will have to wear unfashionable clothing and learn standup comedy.

I usually get diet tips and exercise advice and information about the tricks that movie stars use. I even get referrals to plastic surgeons and spas that “really” work.

Being this size makes people afraid. They might become just like me. They would no longer be appealing. Everyone would know they are lazy.

I know I have lost job opportunities because of my appearance. I have very few clothes because I would rather look good and meet someone else’s standards in public than look sloppy and make them feel afraid.

The worst is the moment that the other decides that you are lying – making up and defending your lack of control and ugliness. This is also the moment, when I know yet another doctor has no answer and rather than fail – they are going to give up on me very soon.

Getting defensive just makes the stress hormones send the message to add more weight.

Only a few want to be seen with the “B List”.

What hurts the most still is that so many think the heavier you are the less intelligence one has.

A post script by Eliza: I normally post a photo of my Graceful Women. Patricia asked that I post a lady bug as it is her symbol of a woman recreating herself. I was very happy to do so.

Surviving all the holiday food choices

I am proud to say I survived my first Christmas Open House. Or should I say, my first Christmas Food Fest. I am determined this year to come through the holiday season with the very same weight I entered into it with.

As a total bonus weight loss would be even better … but let’s not get carried away.

I started my mental preparation hours before the event. I got up in the morning and ate a hearty healthy breakfast. Then 30 minutes before we left a healthy lunch. This meant I could honestly tell myself that I did not require any food at the party due to hunger.

Then I had over 30 minutes on the drive to the party to prepare the following strategy. Which actually worked!

Drink several non-alcoholic drinks for every alcoholic one

I started the event with one very small glass of wine which I sipped slowly. I then switched to water. An hour later I had another very small glass of wine, followed by more water. One very small glass of non-alcoholic punch then more water.

I probably consumed about 100 calories in beverages.

Fill up on veggies and fruit

I immediately started with the veggie tray. And since there snap peas this was actually a treat, as I never think to buy them for myself.

My rule was one full tray of veggies for each single frivolous treat.

Only eat ‘out of the usual’ treats

When I looked at the table, there were a lot of food items that I eat throughout the course of the year. For example, crackers, cheeses, hummus, pitas, meatballs.

I significantly narrowed the selection down by only eating items that I wouldn’t think to buy or prepare for myself. Not only did this mean there was less to eat, but it meant I truly savoured each bite rather than mindlessly stuffing food down my throat.

Back away from the table

This one, I have to admit was tricky. Not because I couldn’t get away from the table. Rather, it was because the thoughtful and generous hosts had food in every nook and cranny of the house. Even on the stairs!

Fortunately for me, the food items found on side tables and stair treads fell into my ‘usual fare’ category, so weren’t on my eatable list. Otherwise, I could have been in really big trouble!

Talk … a lot

This one was my favourite strategy. Although Holiday Open Houses appear to be all about the food, they are really about catching up with old friends and meeting new and interesting people. And since it’s rude to talk while chewing, this cuts down on the time spent consuming food.

I ended up in quite a number of very interesting conversation, and met people I would not have if my face was buried in the food trough.

Keep up with the exercise

When I got home, despite really just wanting to curl up on the couch, I did my daily 20 minutes of yoga. This woke me right up and I was able to enjoy an evening of movie watching with Mr Very Right.

In the end, I nibbled on some special treats, enjoyed great conversation, and still had energy left over for a relaxing evening with my man. All while consuming very little extra calories.

Your turn:

• Do you accept the average 5 pound holiday season gain, or do you take steps to maintain your weight?
• What tricks to you use to keep holiday food temptations at bay?

Suggested reading:

Christmas ‘stay healthy’ tips
Maintaining Weight Over the Holidays
How to stay ahead of the Christmas weight-gain game

Understanding weight gain after 40

I have always been fairly trim, but now that I am in my forties, trim is becoming a very hard shape to maintain!

I am already moderately active.

I run a couple of times per week. I do Wii Fit daily. I garden. I walk. I work on home renovations. But still my weight is going up, and my waist is spreading out.

It seems that I am experiencing one of the frustrating consequences of perimenopause.

What are the primary reasons for weight gain during perimenopause and menopause?

Weight gain is mainly due to fluctuations and decline in our hormone production:

• Estrogen – as our ovaries start to produce less estrogen our body turns to our fat cells to meet its estrogen needs;
• Androgen – this hormone becomes more abundant and builds up fat around our middles;
• Progesterone – responsible for regulating water retention, our body retains more water leading to bloating when progesterone drops;
• Testosterone – our metabolism drops because testosterone is no longer creating as much lean muscle mass.

Are there other explanations besides fluctuating hormones?

Along with hormonal imbalances, there are other reasons why we start to gain weight:

• Insulin resistance – after years of eating processed foods and refined sugars our body rebels and starts converting every calorie into fat;
• Stress – stress hormones, such as cortisol, block weight loss to prevent perceived famine;
• Drop in energy levels – we probably are not sleeping as well, which is another pesky symptom of perimenopause, and we just aren’t as active during the day.

What can we expect?

Most women will gain some weight, and it will go their abdominal area. The average weight gain between age 45 and 55 is between 12 and 15 pounds.

What are the risks associated with this weight gain?

Certainly, there are the emotional and psychological risks of looking in the mirror and seeing our changing body shape. However, there are also health risks:

• heart disease and stroke;
• high cholesterol;
• high blood pressure;
• type 2 diabetes;
• osteoarthritis;
• breast cancer;
• kidney disease.

Are we doomed to middle-age spread?

No, we are not. Although it certainly becomes harder, and requires more disciple, to maintain our weight, it is not impossible:

• eat less, more often – once we enter our forties, we need 200 calories less per day to maintain our weight; even more to lose it;
• eat a balanced diet – increase fruits, vegetables and fibre dense foods and avoid refined sugars;
• forget fad diets – these will slow down your metabolism even more as your body protects itself from perceived starvation;
• reduce stress – work on stress management using yoga, meditation, journal writing, or whatever works best for you;
• cut back on alcohol and caffeine – both these beverages worsen water retention and alcohol is empty calories;
• increase exercise – get more active, making sure to include aerobic and strength activities;
• seek medical advice on balancing out hormones – there are many options available for helping to alleviate the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

I am slowly incorporating these changes into my life, as it is hard to change any habit overnight. I admit to having trouble with the look of an increasing waist line, but my bigger motivation is to stay strong and healthy for a very long time. And since I should have been eating my fruits and veggies all along, the changes I need to make really aren’t a hardship.

Suggested Reading:

Weight Gain During Menopause
perimenopause weight gain – Is “middle-age spread” inevitable?
Gaining Weight During Menopause

Your turn:

• How does middle-age spread impact you psychologically and emotionally?
• What have you found effective in helping to maintain your weight?