Developing habits that enable you to lose weight as you age is crucial to overcoming weight loss resistance. Plus knowing when you need more help!
Are you struggling with menopause weight gain? Maybe you’re not quite there yet but have started to notice the changes in your body that signal perimenopause. One of the most notable being weight gain or the inability to lose weight at the rate you did a few years ago.
As women age, hormones, stress and lifestyle begin to change and contribute to weight loss resistance, especially after 40. However, there are ways to make losing weight after 40 more manageable!
4 Ways to Manage Weight Loss After 40
Focus on Quality Nutrition for Menopausal Weight Loss
You know that eating healthy is a key component of overall wellness and a maintained, healthy weight. It is easy to get overwhelmed with the numerous diets and pills marketed to women and especially those gaining weight in menopause. However, keeping it simple may be the best way!
A recent study found that a, “high adherence to a traditional Mediterranean Diet would enable menopausal women to lose fat mass and maintain muscle mass with no significant difference to younger women. Fat mass reduction provides menopausal women with improved cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors.”
A Mediterranean Diet consists primarily of plant-based foods including whole grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. A moderate amount of fish, seafood, dairy and poultry. A scarce amount of red meat and sweets, and olive oil as the main source of added fat.
Other helpful nutrition tips:
- Reduce alcohol
- Reduce added sugars like soda, sweets and sweetened beverages
- Avoid processed and packaged foods
- Avoid additives and preservatives
- Chose organic as often as possible
It’s not just what you eat, it’s also how you eat! Practice mindfulness as you eat by eliminating distractions, scrolling on your phone, driving, watching TV, and actually focus on eating so your brain registers that you’re eating and you can pay attention to your fullness cues.
Incorporate Muscle-Building Physical Activity and Fitness After 40
As you age, you begin to lose muscle naturally. The problem with this is that muscle mass is directly related to a healthy metabolism. And your metabolism is what burns calories. So it is no wonder that you begin to gain weight as muscle mass decreases. That is, if you let it decrease!
Muscle burns more calories than fat. So incorporating strength training, like weight lifting or even body-weight exercises, that builds and preserves muscle tone is a great way to combat menopause weight gain.
This could be a change if you’ve been an avid runner your entire life. However, incorporating a more strength-focused movement regime will contribute to a healthier weight.
Get Your Hormones Checked for Weight Loss Resistance
Hormones largely contribute to weight loss resistance, even before menopause. For women, the thyroid and ovaries produce hormones necessary for maintaining the body’s processes. However, as you age, the amount of hormones these organs produce fluctuates leading to weight gain or sometimes loss.
Get your thyroid checked, especially if you feel that you’re not yet going through menopause and suffering from weight gain, fatigue, mood imbalances, always cold, or other unexplained symptoms. If left untreated, a imbalanced thyroid can lead to:
- Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
- Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
- Hashimoto’s disease
- Graves’ disease
- Thyroiditis
- Goiters and nodules
- Thyroid cancer
Consider Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. Testosterone and estrogen imbalances cause a wide variety of issues, weight gain being one of them! Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is a therapeutic treatment used to increase hormone production to normal levels. BHRT with estrogen has been shown to help women reduce the accumulation of fat in the abdomen.
Know When It’s Time for Extra Help and Lose the Weight for Good!
Maybe you’ve tried everything. Even all of the above listed here, and still haven’t lost the weight. That happens, and it’s not your fault. Everyone needs extra help sometimes!
Health coaching can be a great option if you tend to yo-yo from diet to diet and have a difficult time building long-lasting habits. A health coach provides accountability, support and the structure you need to succeed. With programs like our Gut Detox with GDRx, you can reset your gut and build lasting habits to keep the weight off.
Explore groundbreaking weight loss with peptide therapy. Peptide therapy has proven successful for weight loss and is making a significant difference in people with weight loss resistance. Some of our Forum Health providers use Semaglutide for weight loss as it mimics a hormone in your body responsible for hunger and fullness. To learn more about losing weight with peptide therapy, visit a Forum Health provider near you.
Looking to learn more about weight loss during menopause? Or struggling with weight loss resistance? Contact us to discuss your options to achieve optimal health!
