Losing Weight In Your 40s: What Women Need To Know

We’ve already established that it’s harder for seniors to lose weight, but even the ladies as young as 40 will face some challenges they wouldn’t have had to a decade earlier! Let us break it down for you.

Our basal metabolic rate starts to decline when we’re in our 40s, and a slowed down metabolism paired with lower estrogen levels is not an ideal recipe for weight loss. Our 40s is when our hormones start to spiral, even before menopause! 

It’s around the time when people tend to gain the notorious “middle aged spread”, the fat around the belly. Thanks hormones! We also begin to lose some of our lean muscle mass, so focus on getting enough nutrients for bone strength like calcium, magnesium and vitamin D.

Since we can’t control our hormones, we need to take charge of what we can control – our eating habits. This means more protein! Since we’re losing some of our lean muscle mass already, it’s important to focus on supporting the preservation of our muscles. Our bodies need protein to lose weight, read more about it here. 

There’s a difference between fat loss and weight loss, and when we’re trying to lose weight, especially in our 40s and older, we want to preserve as much muscle mass as we can to prevent conditions we could be at risk of later in life such as osteoporosis. 

Alongside packing more protein into your diet, eat your meals earlier. You should have a two to three-hour gap between your last meal to the time you go to sleep. While eating before bed doesn’t have a direct link to weight gain, sleep does! 

Eating too close to bedtime can cause sleep disturbances, and if you’re sleeping poorly then that can lead to weight gain. Read our guide on how to get a good night's sleep here.

Too many ladies believe lifting weights will make you bulky. This really isn’t the case. Lifting light weights with high repetitions is a great way to keep your muscles defined without bulking. It’ll help strengthen your bone density while you lose weight, which is what you want to do as you age. Read more about why women should be lifting here!

Alternatively, you could do exercises with resistance bands which will help keep you toned as well. You should check out The Lady Shake Resistance Bands and The Booty Band! 

Your body goes through a lot of changes in your 40s, so you should expect your weight to fluctuate more than it did in your 30s!

Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet while paying more attention to your protein intake and incorporating strength training activities into your routine will help you lose weight and keep it off.