As you age, your body begins to slow down, causing you to gain weight in your 40s and 50s. Whether or not you continue this weight gain as you approach your 60s and 70s is often determined by how you react to this increase during your 40s and 50s.
Weight Loss Tips During Your 40s & 50s
Here are a few tips to help you lose weight now, while also giving you lifelong strategies you can develop to keep those pounds off as you age gracefully.
Make Yourself Accountable
If you want to keep yourself on a path to a slimmer you, it is important to make yourself accountable by telling a few close friends or family members. Knowing that these individuals are aware of your struggles might give you the motivation to keep trying, even on days when it seems that nothing you do is working.
Including the people closest to you in your decision to lose weight might make it easier for you to avoid high-calorie foods and beverages. For example, they can make a conscious effort to help in your goals whenever you eat meals together by choosing healthier eating venues and/or meals.
Avoid Temptation
One of the best ways to avoid eating high-calorie foods that are going to derail your weight-loss goals is to stay away from temptation. Whenever possible, avoid locations where your favorite treats exist. For some people, this strategy means to stay away from fast food, while for others, it means to avoid bakeries. Whatever your irresistible temptation is, you should avoid bringing it into your home so that you aren't tempted to eat it.
Drink Water
Most people know that the body needs water to stay healthy. The body also needs water to help you feel fuller, while also making it easier to decide if you are hungry or just thirsty. Sometimes, it isn't easy to determine whether your body needs fuel or hydration. Drinking water throughout the day can help you avoid unneeded calories, helping you to achieve your weight-loss goals more easily.
Avoid Prepackaged Food
Salt and sugar are often added to prepackaged food items. You can cut out a lot of calories, particularly ones that do little more than pack pounds onto your body, if you simply begin to cook from scratch. You decide which ingredients to use as well as how salty or sweet you want your food to be. Cooking fresh can help you lose weight if you incorporate this practice into your daily eating habits. Choose natural over processed each time you eat, and you should begin to notice a healthier, slimmer you in just a few months.
Weigh Yourself
While you might have heard that it is a bad practice to weigh yourself every day, you need to evaluate this idea as it relates to you. Some people derive motivation from the fact that they have stopped gaining weight, are staying within a predetermined range of weights, or they are making progress losing a couple of ounces a week.
Since your goal for weight loss is a personal one, the strategy you use should be as well. If weighing yourself every day to make sure you haven't gained five pounds helps you to stay within your targeted weight loss, then, by all means, you should continue to weigh yourself.
It is important to understand that your weight is going to fluctuate from one day to the next, particularly as your level of exercise or intake of food is going to vary. Give yourself a two to five-pound range of acceptable numbers on the scale so that you don't lose motivation. If you notice your weight is edging toward the higher end of your acceptable limit, you can always exercise more or choose foods with fewer calories for the next couple of days to get back on track.
Keep Muscles Strong
Muscle mass begins to decrease in most people after the age of 40. The loss of muscle begins slowly, but continues throughout a person's lifespan. People who are physically inactive are more likely to experience a quicker loss of muscle mass, giving rise to the belief that strength training can help slow this process down. Incorporate strength training into your routine to help keep your muscles strong.
Find Personal Motivation
Obviously, you must be motivated to lose weight or you wouldn't have started this journey. However, it is important to find a way to keep motivating yourself, particularly during those times when fresh weight loss is going to elude you. Everyone hits a plateau that must be broken, and staying motivated is one of the best ways to help you discover how you are going to reach your next weight-loss goal.
Hanging old photos of yourself on the mirror might work, particularly if you can also put up a new photo showing that you have begun to lose weight. Additional ideas to hang up include a new swimsuit, dress, wedding invitation, high-school reunion invite, or upcoming vacation tickets to give yourself the motivation you need to continue losing weight.
Prioritize Exercise
Finding the time to exercise is often the most difficult aspect of this activity. If you are so busy during the day that you cannot find the time or energy to exercise, it is time to cut back on the activities that are keeping you from exercising on a regular basis. Perhaps you need to say no to one or more social activities during the week or on the weekend so you can take care of your personal goals. Whatever it is that is keeping you from exercising, take the time to figure out a way to carve out a few hours a week to help you in your weight-loss goals.
Weight Loss Tips During Your 40s & 50s Conclusion
Losing weight is never an easy process, particularly as you round the corner into middle age. Doing nothing to encourage your goal of weight loss, however, is perhaps the worst step that you can take. If you want to lose a few extra pounds and keep them off, take a long look at your life and make a few changes to encourage the weight loss you are hoping to achieve.
