How to Lose Weight for Women Over 40 – 7 Steps

Losing weight at 20 is FAR different than after 40, so let’s explore how to lose weight for women over 40 in just 7 steps!

According to Dr. Oz, a woman’s metabolism slows down by 5% every ten years after she hits 40. Ouch.

It’s no wonder that we find ourselves packing on the pounds, especially around the mid-section, no matter what we try to do to keep it off. It’s almost like our body gives up on us, right?

Wrong.

After age 40, it’s more like our body needs to find new ways to work properly.

Think of it as a new body and deal with it head-on. Like, “Okay, body, what do we need to work on today to get you to where you need to be?”

Sure, there will be a lot of tweaking after 40 to figure out what your body needs from you to keep the extra weight off.

But, it can be done when we learn about the 40-year-old body and take the right steps to put it back on track.

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1. Get to Know Your Body

First things first: You need to understand your new body.

This takes time, and that’s okay.

A woman’s body after 40 usually needs different nutrition and exercise to keep it going than it did when you were in your 30s. And, you have likely changed.

Spend some time getting to know yourself and your body. What still works in the losing weight department and what doesn’t work as well?

Your body may not be able to handle a mile-long run for daily exercise anymore, but yoga may be both calming for you and toning for your body.

Did three cups of coffee in the morning never seem to influence your weight gain before? Try cutting back to one or two cups and see if your weight goes down.

It seems simple, but the point is this: CHANGE THINGS UP! 

During this discovery process, you may be able to pinpoint some trends in your weight gain and loss to help you more effectively target problem areas through your 40s.

2. Get Plenty of Sleep

According to Health, sleep problems tend to begin in our 40s.

You may find yourself tossing and turning at night, not being able to avoid naps during the day, or waking up extremely early in the morning.

Lack of sleep can directly impact your weight loss. Sleep issues can come from medications, underlying health problems, stress, and numerous other factors.

If you’re having trouble getting a full night’s sleep, check with your doctor first. He may recommend lifestyle tweaks or further testing to rule out health factors.

You can also try some small tweaks yourself, like cutting back on caffeine, spending more time outdoors during the day, or spending at least an hour unwinding with your favorite relaxing activity before bedtime.

3. Reset Your Hormones

Once we near the menopausal age, our hormones can do some wacky things. Since they control just about every bodily function we have in one way or another, our bodies can be thrown off track, too.

Estrogen is much to blame for weight gain in our 40s.

One study shows that decreased estrogen levels lead to lower insulin production, which can increase the risk of diabetes and obesity (1).

But, other hormones also play a role in weight gain when medications, stress, and even the foods you eat disrupt their normal levels.

You can reset your hormones by making some lifestyle and diet changes.

First, de-stress yourself. Stress is one of the leading causes of weight gain at any age. So, do more of what you love and less of what you don’t! Try some beginner yoga if you need a little extra help!

Then, look at your diet. 

An overload of sugar and refined carbohydrates over an extended period of time can essentially “break” your hormones and insulin receptors.

This is exactly what our 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge does through a diet and carbohydrate detox that allows your insulin to become more sensitive and your hormones to reset. You can read more about it at the bottom of this article.

4. Boost Your Metabolism

Since your metabolism decreases rapidly in your 40s, it’s important to find natural ways to increase it through lifestyle and diet changes.

Possibly the most important change you can make to your diet is keeping track of your daily protein intake.

Protein acts as the building blocks for your cells and bodily processes.

The nutrient gives your body energy and helps build muscle to give your metabolism a jump. Plus, protein will help you gain better results from your workouts.

According to Prevention, women over 40 should aim for 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day to combat muscle loss from aging.

And, make sure you’re distributing your protein evenly through your meals to give your metabolism a consistent lift.

And, make sure you’re distributing your protein evenly through your meals to give your metabolism a consistent lift.

Try some chocolate-flavored protein powder if you need some help getting in the required amount of protein on a daily basis.

5. Switch Up Your Routine

The exercises that once worked for your body may no longer be as effective after you hit 40.

According to Dr. Mercola, even active people lose some muscle mass beginning in their 30s, which can eventually lead to limited mobility and more pain.

After 40, it’s important to continue building muscle without doing more than your body can handle. The best way to do that is with variety in your exercise routine.

Lisa Corsello says that women shouldn’t be afraid to challenge themselves after 40 through a varied workout that can keep all your muscle groups working their hardest while increasing overall metabolism.

Of course, sticking to low impact workouts is also important to prevent injuries.

This video from eHowFitness demonstrates some toning exercises that are perfect for helping women over 40 to retain, and gain, muscle mass.

6. Drink More Water

You’ve likely heard this one before, but hear us out.  As a society, we have been slowly replacing the liquids that we drink with all kinds of abnormal tasting beverages, including soda, diet soda, flavored water, vitamin water, kombucha, etc.

Now, kombucha is really great, so don’t get the wrong message there.

The point is that we either forget to just drink regular ole’ water throughout the day, and many people shy away from it because they don’t like it.

Challenge yourself to drink 100 ounces of water every single day. (Remember to space it out throughout the entire day).

It will keep you hydrated, feeling full, flush out the toxins, and away from the pantry.

7. Stick to Real Foods

So, losing weight over 40 isn’t about dieting, but it is about making over your diet. The good news is, this doesn’t mean you must get rid of everything you love eating.

Instead, it’s about learning to incorporate more real foods into your diet instead of the pre-packaged, processed foods you might be eating.

According to UCSF, sugar hides in about 74% of packaged foods.

Sugar is ENEMY NUMBER 1 for losing weight.

When you use real, fresh foods when cooking, you know their contents without having to find sneaky ingredients on the labels.

Cook with fresh fruits, veggies, and proteins, and you may find yourself losing weight easier than you ever have.

You should also skip the refined grains, like white bread and pasta, because they act similarly to sugar in the diet. Remember what we said about “breaking” your insulin receptors above.

Do swap them out for healthy, complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, and brown rice.

Lastly, if you need some help to incorporate all of these into a solid, easy-to-follow plan that is laid out step by step and day by day, our 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge does just this.

Most of our clients are between 35 and 60, and they lose an average of 10-21 pounds in just 21 days of the diet.

More than that, it helps our clients establish long-term, healthy eating habits that will help them keep the weight off.

The 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge can be repeated in multiple ’rounds’ if you have more weight to lose, and most of our clients have turned it into their lifestyle and claim that “It’s just how they eat now.”

If you are ready to make a positive change in your diet and dive into YOUR Challenge today, click here to get started!