35 Tips to Lose Weight After 40

Part of getting older is unwanted weight gain. While exercising can be harder as you get older because of your body weakening, there are ways that you exercise so you can stay fit. There are also ways that you can diet if just exercise doesn’t get you where you want.  Here are some tips and things that you can do to lose weight after 40.

 

Diet and Exercise Tips to Lose Weight after 40

1. Listen to Your Body

Your body knows how far you can be pushed or how far you can go. If your body cramps or starts to get sore, stop the action. Going further with the action can do damage to ligaments, muscles, and other parts of your body.

2. Switch Things Up

Doing the same exercise day after day can also tire your body. Switch up what part of your body you exercise. Do your legs one day, arms the next, then your abs. Mix it up and take breaks between cycles if you think it’s going to help.

 

3. Your Body is Your Gym

Rather than spending money on a gym membership, you can simply use your body as weight resistance. By doing push-ups, sit-ups, planks, pull-ups, squats. These exercises are not just cheaper, they are also good for building core strength, increasing your heart rate, and for giving you more endurance.

 

4. Form a Group

Getting a group of friends together for a regular workout session is not a bad idea. Your group can help each other to watch for good form, you can provide each other with motivation, and you can help each other with different exercises. Sit-ups are always easier when you have someone else to hold your feet down.

 

5. Bulge is Normal

For most women over 40, the thing that gets them wanting to exercise is the small stomach bulge that can come with menopause. This makes some women self-conscious, but don’t let it get the better of you.

Rather than worry or feel bad, do exercises that limit the chances of a back injury until you feel that you’ll be safe to all of your workout again. Planks are a fantastic core exercise you can do without having to worry about your back like you might with crunches and sit-ups.

 

6. Cardiovascular

Doing cardiovascular exercises can decrease the chances of getting heart disease. All kinds of cardio help your heart. If you swim, use a rowing machine, dance, run or jog, those are all extremely beneficial.

There have been studies that have shown if you do cardio for half an hour two or three times a week at 80 percent of your max heart rate, then the exercise will help your heart to stay healthy even better.

Another way to look at the 80 percent is a scale of one to 10. If 10 is the hardest you can push yourself, then you should be trying to stay at an eight. Keep tip one in mind while doing this, however. It may also be healthy to ease yourself into the 80 percent. Start low and add a percentage that feels right or best to you until you reach 80 percent.

7. Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition that one in two women have trouble with as they reach the age of 50. This condition causes your bones to be easier to break. To help stave off osteoporosis, you should attempt what is called ‘high impact’ exercises a time or two a week. Some of the exercises to try are dancing, tennis, jumping jacks, and gentle jogging. These gentle high impact exercises are important for keeping osteoporosis at bay because they help your bones and muscles to build endurance.

8. Knockout Arthritis

Arthritis normally comes with join point and sometimes even difficulty with moving your joints. You can prevent arthritis by doing strength training twice or thrice a week.

Now you might have to go the gym for two of these three workouts, but squats you can do at home. The other two, overhead presses and deadlifts, you are going to want someone to spot for you so you do not get hurt.

 

9. Stretch Away from Depression

Doing yoga once a week, whether you take part in a class or follow along to a YouTube video, yoga can decrease your stress and depression levels. It is also a great way to get moving without straining yourself, which is an important thing for those trying to lose weight after 40.

 

10. Straighten Out Back Pain

Strengthening your core does not only toughen your abs, it also helps your back muscles. To help keep back pain away, try doing 90-second planks three times a week. This another exercise you might want to build yourself into. Plant as long as you can every day until you eventually build yourself up to a 90-second plank.

 

11. Sleep

Sleep, though it does not sound like an exercise, is vital for keeping your body and muscles healthy. Getting proper sleep allows your body to keep and retain the muscle it has been growing, as well as letting your muscles rest as they relax while you sleep.

12. Turn Negative to Positive

Instead of saying that you hate exercising, that it takes too much time, try turning it around instead. Instead of the ‘it takes too much time’ aspect, think of it as “what is an exercise that I can do in five minutes?”. There are so many ways that you can turn negative thoughts into positive ones so you don’t lose motivation.

 

13. Doing it Simply

You don’t have to go to the gym in order to work out, and you don’t need a lot of time. You can even work out while watching TV. See how many sit-ups or push-ups you can do during a commercial break; every time a specific thing happens on the show do a crunch. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.

 

14. Keep Moving

Everyone thinks that exercise is going to the gym; it does not have to be. Just keeping moving is good for your body. Go on a walk around the block, go swimming, and if you can do so many other simple little things. Simple aerobic exercises like these are not strenuous, but they are great for weight loss after 40.

 

15. Fresh Air

Breathing fresh air is always good for you. If you go walking or running, change the scenery every time; do some push-ups and sit-ups in soft grass. Being outside every now and again is extremely healthy for you.

 

16. Change Your Diet

Looking at your food and making sure you are not eating too sugar is one of the first things you can do when starting a diet. You might want to talk to your doctor to double check your findings, but eating healthier is always a safe way to go since your metabolism is not as quick as it used to be.  

 

17. Find Confidence

Some people worry about the 40’s being closer to the end of your life. That’s not the case. Some women (and even men) say that they feel sexier in the 40’s than they did in the 20’s. So take pride in that you are reading this article and failing to keep your body healthy. Not everyone is willing to do that.

 

18. Keep Your Energy Up

This doesn’t mean drinking energy drinks like some people might try. There’s a healthier way to get the energy you can use throughout the day. Getting real sleep, adjusting your diet so that you’re eating more healthy and filling foods. By just doing this, you should get energy without all the unnatural chemicals that can actually do your body harm.

19. Find a Diet that Works for You

While friends may suggest different types of diets for you, everyone’s body is different and reacts to each diet in different ways. You might have to do some trial and error or speak with your doctor to get pointed in the right direction.

 

20. Lean Proteins

This is something you are going to want to spread throughout the day. Getting enough protein is huge for helping your metabolism to keep some of its speed as it starts slowing down. There are plenty of protein-rich foods that you can eat for snacks or include in meals. Some of these foods are chicken, peanuts, fish, beans, dairy, lentils, and lean pork or beef.  

 

21. Calcium

Getting enough calcium is a great way to strengthen your bones. Your bones are always being used, so they can always use some fortifying. To get more calcium into your system, you can take supplement pills, eat more fatty fish, or eat more dairy products.

22. Smaller Portions more Often

This is a dieting trick that really helps a lot of people. If you eat smaller amounts, like having multiple snacks rather three large meals, then it puts less stress on your digestive tract. It does not take nearly as long to digest smaller amounts as it does a large three times.

When your body is digesting something, it sends a stress hormone from your brain to help break things up. So if you are going to go for smaller snacks, don’t eat for at least an hour before bed because the stress hormone for digesting can keep you from sleeping.

 

23. Fiber

Fiber is needed to help a lot of things moving in your body. Fiber helps your body to flush toxins out faster, it keeps you more full between meals, and it lowers your cholesterol. Fiber can do wonders on your heart. Cholesterol, when built up around your heart, can clog arteries and increase your chances of getting heart disease and other problems.

 

24. Stick with Healthy Carbs

Just like with sugars and fats, there are good carbs and bad carbs. Bad carbs can raise your insulin levels which can cause weight gain. Eating slow burning carbs can help your insulin levels to stay at a good place and help to keep you full for longer so you don’t crave sugar as strongly. Some slow burning carbs can be found in things like berries, sweet potatoes, grains, pasta, and beans.

 

25. Do Not Skip Meals

This is one of the most important things to know when starting a diet. Skipping meals can screw your metabolism and can also cause bloating. The bloating is caused by your body storing calories away because it thinks it has to start going into survival mode. Skipping meals also leave your craving sugary things to make up for the energy you would have gained from your proper meal.

 

26. Savor the Flavor

Metabolisms start to slow down when you reach your 30s and 40s, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up snack foods and treats; it also doesn’t mean to you have to lose weight. Just be careful of what you eat.

If eating one thing leads to a binge, don’t eat the one thing. Find a new tasty snack instead and make sure to save some of it for later. Make the snack or treat last and enjoy it over a couple of days instead of going crazy with it.

27. No Alcohol

This might be harder for some than others, but dropping the nightly bear can really help. Alcohol is sometimes made from wheat or different grains. While the carbs from the grains are good when eaten, it can terrible things to weight gain when drinking.

 

28. Swim

Swimming is a low impact sport that can help you to burn calories without the worry of doing damage to your ligaments and tendons. Swimming once or twice a week can do immense levels of good.

 

29. Green Tea

Green tea is a detox, as well as a weight loss trigger. A cup or two green tea can help to clean out your body and it can help to trigger hormones to help you lose weight.

30. Different Smells

Using scents in shampoos, conditioners, body washes, performs, etc., like peppermint, apples, and tree tea can trigger signals in your brain that can help you to lose weight after 40. Chewing gum or using aromatherapy may be able to help.

 

31.  Busy Your Hands

When people get bored, they eat because there’s nothing else to do. So take up a hobby. It can be anything. Knitting, origami, sudoku, a book club, painting. Have fun with it.

32. Depression

Getting older can depress people, don’t let it get you down. Being depressed can cause you to gain more weight than you are gaining because of the chemicals and hormones it releases from your brain.

 

33. Cool Air

Keeping cool can help to boost your metabolism so you can lose a couple more pounds. So turn the thermostat down, put on a fan, or choose a lighter sweater.

 

34. Asparagus

This leafy green can limit your chances of colon cancer, it can lower your blood pressure, and it can even regulate hormonal changes. There are a lot of different ways you can cook asparagus so try a little. 

 

35. Be Realistic

Losing weight is good a healthy thing, and it’s a good thing to look forward to when you are wanting to stay in shape. However, with the excitement of losing weight, you have to remember that this isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. Know that it may take you longer than it takes others, or that it may take you a shorter time than others.

 

Keep these tips in mind as you try to lose weight. Losing weight after 40 can be more difficult than when you were younger, but it is still possible. Try these tips and comment below to tell us how these tips worked for you!

   

 

References

https://www.virtua.org/articles/5-exercise-tips-for-women-age-40

https://www.prevention.com/fitness/a20449775/5-exercises-for-over-40/   

https://www.eatthis.com/exercises-for-over-40/

http://www.gregcarver.com/over-40-exercise-tips/  

https://www.verywellfit.com/weight-loss-for-women-over-40-3496403 https://www.rd.com/health/diet-weight-loss/best-diet-over-40/

https://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/a20465042/lose-weight-over-40/

https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/7-weight-diet-loss-tips-men-over-40/cut-way-back-on-meat/

https://www.eatthis.com/lose-weight-after-40/