Over 40 and Want to Lose Weight? 2 Simple Steps

Have you reached that age when it becomes harder to lose weight? Has your weight yo-yoed for years, or do you just want to maintain your ideal shape for life?

 Whether you are very overweight, or just overweight, none of us started this way, most of us become like this through years of unbalanced eating, so now it's time to do things differently as let's face it everything we have tried in the past has not worked, at least not in the long run. Those of us who are over 40 and want to lose weight aren't usually after a short term solution; we want to stay slim for years to come in order to be healthier and fitter and let's face it... to look nicer and younger; In order to lose weight when we're over 40 and stay slim and healthy, we need to change the way we eat and the way we think.

Step 1. Change your Mindset 

Find a photo of yourself taken at your fattest. Think back and you will probably recall that the diet you undertook back then to lose weight was very strict, which led to feelings of deprivation which in turn set you on an emotional roller coaster when it came to food. Consequently any diet you undertook after that time would have been governed by these earlier feelings, which probably led to a cycle of initial weight loss, followed by an almost inevitable gain. It is therefore essential that you stop thinking in terms of "diet" and start thinking about eating healthily for life.

Many of us think that if we can control our hunger we can also control our eating. Rather than eat when we feel hungry we try and resist temptation till our next scheduled meal thus resulting in our sugar levels crashing so low that we are more likely to make the wrong choices when we finally eat. We should instead try and see food as the fuel our body needs, and eating as refuelling instead of potential diet failure.

Many of us turn to comfort eating when we experience negative emotions, such as loneliness, boredom, frustration and stress; this is especially relevant to us over 40's when life's changes, including hormone unbalances occur and leads us to indulge in foods such as chocolate, instead of dealing directly with the situation. When faced with these situations try and address the problem differently - instead of reaching out for that bar of chocolate go for a walk, it will help you forget about it and the fresh air will make you feel better; pick up the phone and talk to a friend, drink a cup of camomile tea, take up a hobby you enjoy to ease boredom and low self-esteem; do whatever it takes. Some of us might have overweight parents and have been overweight ourselves for as long as we can remember; this might have something to do with the fact that our parents always gave us extra large portions and we grew up thinking this was quite normal; It's about time we changed all this.

Step 2. Change your Lifetime Eating Habits

To effectively manage hunger, the key is to combine the three food groups ( carbohydrates, protein and fibre)at each meal; If what you eat satisfies more than just hunger, you are less likely to overeat. Try eating different textures of food together and aim to eat a variety of foods, in this way you will feel more satisfied. Try dividing a small sized dinner plate into three sections and putting one third protein, one third carbohydrates and one third fibre except for the evening meal when you should have half protein and the other half fruit or vegetable as you don't need so much carbohydrate for energy; In order to avoid low sugar levels, you should eat every three hours and ideally the same sort of amount every time; little and often is the new rule when you are over 40 and want to lose weight, rather than three large meals a day.

It is not a good idea to forbid yourself any foods because as soon as something is forbidden it becomes a must have! Allow yourself anything in moderation, just try to minimise sugar intake as this converts to glucose very rapidly and leads to hunger and cravings so try and avoid it as much as possible and you will greatly minimise any sweet cravings you might have; try brushing your teeth and the craving should go away; the other thing to be careful about is alcohol which is full of empty calories, so try and limit your intake to special occasions or week-ends.

Above all don't beat yourself up, there is no good or bad, you should know by now that the most valuable reward is losing weight and staying slim and healthy for life!

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