Losing Weight After 40 Female; A Weight-loss Challenge That You Must accept

 Why is so hard to lose weight after 40?

 Losing weight after 40 in females seems to be a very difficult task. A large number of women face the problem of weight gain once they hit 40, especially the reduce belly fat becomes very difficult despite a healthy diet, active lifestyle, and regular exercise because your metabolism starts to slow down and it often becomes harder to lose weight.

You may have noticed and remembered the days of youth that it was easier to maintain a healthy weight. you could eat whatever you wanted, without fear of calorie counter or if you were supposed to have put on, you easily shed those few extra pounds. by making simple modifications to your diet and ramped up your workout routine With getting older,  all of us become vulnerable to age-related weight gain What the golden time it was when you were in your teens and twenties, losing weight was easy to achieve a goal often as simple as turning down a little bit extra or you were able to get back your slim body and charming figure by adding some easy to do exercise to your routines. With getting older,  all of us become vulnerable to age-related weight gain reason is that as you grow older and enter in your 40's,  there is a drop in your metabolic rate and now you need a serious and effective routine of workout and a comprehensive diet plan diet, so weight loss after 40 is not an easy task to accomplish. For women, hormonal changes can make weight loss after 40 even more difficult.

Being in your 40's doesn't snatch from you the right to look charming and slim. Yes, It is absolutely possible to lose weight and get a trimmer figure while getting middle-aged in your 40s.

Mostly the age-related weight gain is thought to be genetic. It's taken as a byproduct of aging or the ultimate effect of getting older. While there are a number of reasons and factors involved in why most people, specifically women gain weight after 40, and why it is harder to lose weight after 40.

How biological factors play their role in weight gain after the 40s

Here are some biological factors involved in why you gain weight as you age.

• Hormones
• Genetics
• metabolism
• Muscle loss

Hormones

 The hormones are the real culprit behind the weight you gain when you enter your 40s, and this is the change in hormones that makes losing weight difficult after 40.. The hormones are the chemical messengers who are responsible for the control number of your physiological activities ranging from appetite to reproduction. Mostly when you are around the mid-30s and into your 40s, your hormones start to change and this shift involves less estrogen production for women causing fat to start to accumulate around the middle of your body. Fluctuation in the level of hormones causes lean muscle mass, lower bone density, mood change, and increased body weight.

 According to research hormonal changes caused by the onset of perimenopause and menopause play their role in changing the composition of your body, distribution of fat, and accumulation of fat. When you reach 40 and losing weight becomes a challenge, you should not feel alone, but to join friends community, the females of your age group going through similar internal changes, it will be good therapy to maintain your physical fitness while growing older without getting demotivated, and enjoy your aging process with optimism and zeal.

Genetics

It is also the fact that if you are genetically predisposed to weight gain. studies have shown that it is determined by specific genes how many fat cells you can have and where these cells will be stored.  If you look at your parents and relatives, you may notice there are certain areas of the body where your parents or other family members may tend to store excess fat. This is something that is considered as you can't avoid or change at all.

Metabolism 

At your teenager or in your 20s, the rate of your metabolism is relatively high. But, around your 30s, you start to lose a little bit of muscle and put on a bit more weight due to the accumulation of fat. Much of the weight gain occurs around your belly.

After 40, the speed of your body of converting food into energy, which is called your metabolism, decreases, your thyroid levels go down, and when your hormone (estrogen) level drops it causes your insulin (a hormone that helps your body use sugar) to rise. The result of this combination appears as your risen feeling hunger. You eat more and burn a lower number of calories.  you start to lose half a pound of your muscle every year from this stage, and here's The time starts when you gain weight.

The rate at which you consume energy to burn calories is called your metabolic rate. BMR (basal metabolic rate)  also becomes low,  and your total energy expenditure throughout the day becomes lesser, as a result,  you gain weight in your 40s.

How you can speed up your metabolism?

By eating regular breakfast, eating spicy food, taking regular exercise, sleeping well, and drinking cold water you can boost your metabolism.

Stay active, drink plenty of water to keep your metabolism rate high.

Sometimes, a little adjustment and modification in the lifestyle can help you lose weight without feeling deprived but stay nourished and satisfied. Luckily, women can lose weight after even their 40s with simple lifestyle modifications and very simple changes in dietary habits.

Muscle loss

This question is possibly arising in your mind that why men lose 25 pounds in two months easily by making some simple dietary modifications and lifestyle changes. Losing weight after 40 males seems to be comparatively an easier and more attainable task.  Studies have shown that women generally possess a greater percentage of body fat lower muscle mass than men. At age 40, you lose muscle mass twice as fast as men do and most of the muscle loss occurs in your core muscles, responsible to support your abdomen and the fat accumulates as "belly fat"  the fat that is an alarming signal of diseases such as diabetes,  dementia, certain cancers, and heart disease. Another reason for muscle loss is when you eat a very low amount of calories, in a short amount of time to lose weight fast but not use your muscles. Muscles are more metabolically active than fat. it consumes a greater amount of energy in the form of calories. As the size of an average man is larger than an average woman, men can consume more calories to maintain or lose weight than women can do. Because it takes more calories to maintain a larger body mass. 

Researchers believe that the number and size of muscle fibers decline as we grow older Mostly the process of losing muscle mass gets stats by the time a person reaches his 40s and this steady decline continues as he gets older.

 Muscle mass is the main calorie-burning engine in your body, and with the loss of lean muscles, you can not burn calories in the same way you could do in your 20s.   The loss of muscle reduces the number of calories you require to maintain the current weight you have, and if you continue to eat the same amount of calories every day without changing your lifestyle or daily routine of physical activity or workouts, you'll gradually gain weight 

How to rebuild your lean muscles

Physical workouts suggested by a physical trainer and light workouts compatible with your stamina and medical health can be helpful tools to rebuild your lean muscle and minimize muscle loss.

With aging, muscle mass decreases, this gradual loss of muscle reduces the number of calories you actually need to maintain your current weight, and if you continue to take the same numbers of calories every day without changing your lifestyle and the rate of burning calories with more physical activity, you'll gradually gain weight.

How lifestyle factors play their role in your weight gain after 40

Here are some lifestyle factors involved in why you gain weight as you age.

• Sleep deprivation
• Excess calorie intake
• Sedentary lifestyle
• No or less workout
• Unhealthy eating habits
• Stress

Sleep deprivation 

If your routine is night-waking due to the type of your working responsibility, or hot flashes from the onset of a new phase, perimenopause, in your 40s your sleep quality declines.  Research shows that Lack of sleep has a strong relationship with an increased risk of obesity and diabetes, the inability of the body to regulate the number of glucose results in insulin resistance, which can be a reason to weight gain.

There is a large number of women having difficulty sleeping or just don’t feel rested even after having asleep for the full night as they enter their 40s it means they have less energy to workout or to stay physically active. The major two causes of that disruptors for your sleep are night sweats and hot flashes caused by your shifting hormones.

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How to avoid sleep deprivation

Before you go to bed minimize the use of the blue screens, wear a comfortable dress and if possible take a shower before going to bed, Avoid the excessive use of caffeine and minimize the use of alcohol in your daily routine. Make a healthy sleeping routine.

Excess calorie intake

A major cause of weight gain is when you are taking in more calories than the number of calories you're burning. You eat a meal that contains more calories than you actually are in need of as the result of you gaining weight.

How to control calorie intake?

The USDA  dietary guidelines recommend that you should reduce 500 calories a day to make it possible for a sustainable rate of weight loss, which, can be 1–2 pounds per week. For instance, you are supposed to cut back approximately 1,000 calories per day, if you want to go for a,1500   calorie diet. keep in mind that this number may vary according to gender,  age,  level of physical activity, height, and weight. 

Nutrition experts recommend counting calories.  For cutting back on calories and losing weight, estimate your daily calorie needs with a calorie calculator, it will help out you find out the actual number of calories you need. . A food diary can help you to track your weight loss meals and the number of calories it contains for you to costume on each day, this can cut back on the specific food item you find responsible for more calorie intake.

Sedentary lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle has become a bye product of technological advancement and the formation of a facilitated society. Not only the assimilation of the screen in our daily routine the t.v, mobile, and tabs have become essential ingredients of our life recipe, but the desk jobs and work from home have given rise to a new lifestyle that may be termed as "a laptop lifestyle" is, unfortunately, in your 40s these sedentary behaviors associated with so many health risks particularly, obesity weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. 

How to change a sedentary lifestyle?

 You can use a pedometer to monitor your step count or you can go with a wearable fitness tracker. you can try to get up during your office hours, from your desk at least once an hour, and do a little movement like stretching your legs and moving around. Standing desks can be a very helpful and useful alternative to sitting. For maintaining your weight, adding a couple of walks each day will lower the risks that are associated with too much sitting because you will manage to burn some extra calories.   

No or less workout

 A common cause that you find it hard losing weight after 40 is not getting enough exercise, but   Of course at this stage of life you are very busy dealing with multiple tasks of life including personal and professional, and social responsibilities and in juggling with your different roles of life, sometimes or somewhere you keep your own fitness and health priority aside. Some medical or health reasons may also prevent you from doing a workout, consequently, you put on extra pounds.

How to work out at 40?

 Workout is the best answer to How to reduce belly fat after 40 females? In your 40's physical activity, exercise, and workouts can efficiently help you prevent muscle loss and regulate the body's metabolism. Building muscle can boost your metabolism and your active metabolism can prevent weight gain 

At this phase of your life, in your 40's, you should keep in mind that to lose and maintain weight. your body needs more physical activity and workouts.  But you have to be wise in choosing the type of workout or physical activity for yourself because you are not in your 20's now, and any kind of exercise that is too hard for you to tolerate can be the reason for injury to burnout. Always set a realistic goal and make an easy and consistent exercise routine that can give you better and more reliable outcomes.

Exercise  for losing weight  After 40 female 

When you are frustrated with the weight gain while aging keep in your mind that it's never too late to decide to workout. Studies have shown that to lose weight in your 40's is only possible through a good combination of a balanced diet and physical activity. Exercise and workouts are not only a tool for weight loss but the physical activity or staying active is a key to mental health and a powerful preventive measure against many diseases. It is not necessary to initiate from the hard type of exercise, demanding a higher level of effort and stamina, but you can start from a simple brisk evening walk, a morning routine of walking with a buddy, or you can just start with simply keeping on moving and staying active throughout the day. You can also take the benefit of streaming a cardio class.  Around 30 minutes of walking every day, can be another good idea then after a few weeks you can gradually increase your time. Gradually and slowly you can increase the time and type of your exercise and work your way up to more challenging and intense workouts. This routine will be helpful for a lower cholesterol level and a healthy heart. Gardening, dancing, and playing your favorite sports may also be your choices to stay physically active.

How to stay consistent in exercise?

  Be moderate in your goals, set goals for each week if your goals are flexible they will be easy to achieve and will have the ability to be an integral part of your lifestyle, For losing weight you need 300 minutes a week when you hit this figure, and achieve your target weight, now the question is to maintain it, and this can only be done through the flexible routine of around  150-250 minutes per week. With this flexibility, you can easily keep yourself consistent for this target. Your strategy of staying flexible and consistent with your workout routine can help you prevent the hazards of weight regain.

Unhealthy eating choices 

A poor diet and lack of nutrition is a significant reason for weight gain in the 40's Research shows that unhealthy eating choices, habits, and patterns that primarily rely on refined carbohydrates, heavily processed foods, added sugars, and excess alcohol promote weight gain. 

There is no need to be obsessed with your problem of age-related weight gain or to choose any diet plan promising for quick weight loss, with too many restrictions, because it will not work for the long term and you will regain your shed pounds. Instead, you should go for a balanced diet routine

 When you grow older and it becomes difficult to lose weight and get a trimmer body again,  the most important question is what do you eat? You need protein you can get by adding meat, dairy, nuts, fish, and beans to your diet, the source for carbohydrates you need should be whole grains, you can go for a healthy oil for essential fats.  You need vitamins, minerals, and sufficient water. A balanced food choice helps you in disease prevention, while a poor diet with a lack of nutrition becomes a reason for many diseases like high blood pressure,  osteoporosis,  diabetes, heart disease,  and certain cancers.

How to improve eating habits

By adding a variety of vegetables, or fruits whether starchy or non-starchy to your diet. Beans, and peas, whole grain, low-fat dairy or fat-free dairy, like yogurt, fortified soy products or cheese,
Healthy protein should be a part of your every meal including eggs, lean meat (chicken), seafood, beans, soy products, peas, seeds, and nuts. Choose any healthy oil like olive oil which is a really good option for the balanced meal plan. Make sure that the number of your routine calories from desserts and processed food must not be more than 10%, same is the case with saturated fats which you get from high-fat dairy and red meat, they also must not exceed fro the 10% and the recommended amount of sodium is not more than 2300 mg per day. Vitamin A and vitamin C, Calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber, potassium should the part of your diet. Avoid alcohol.

You can avoid mindless eating by writing down everything you eat, this will be a helpful strategy to control yourself from all-day snacking and mindless eating.

Stress

when you are in your 40s, life, career, children, juggling with social responsibility, and many other factors combined make you feel more stress which in turn becomes the source of fluctuation in homes, sleep deprivation, mindless eating, and an unhealthy lifestyle. nearly all of us experience stress in middle age, from managing our jobs, and finances caring for both our kids and parents. When you feel stress your body secretes cortisol, causing blood sugar levels to drop, which elevates your hunger, especially sugar craving.

 
How to deal with stress?

Exercise, yoga, and a well-maintained sleep pattern can save you from stress and anxiety. A good routine of workout, walking, or running with buddies can be a well-balanced combination of emotional and physical therapy to minimize stress.

Activities such as coloring, reading books, and meditation are also good options for this purpose.

Be yourself 

Losing weight after weight after 40, success stories are present around us to inspire us.
Remember, a healthy diet and exercise can be the best starting point for getting back in tune with your body as  move towards aging while entertaining your 40s

But keep in mind that aging is part of life and it brings many changes to your body as a natural process. Love yourself as you age, this is a blessing itself to enter a new phase of life.

If you're eating a healthy diet and taking exercise but all the healthy methods to improve your strategy to burn fat are going in vain and your body is not responding, You should give break to your body from monotonous diet and workout routine, after a short break by varying the workout methods and diet routine you can achieve your desired targets.
We can only do what we can for our bodies as we age. Sometimes our efforts combined with acceptance bring the fruit we want. We should do the best we can with the body we have and take care of it with healthy, regular exercise and well-balanced food

Before choosing any diet plan or going for a weight loss product consult your nutritionist or healthcare provider for advice.

Despite a hard workout and a wise menu with calorie counting, if you are not losing weight, you should contact your healthcare provider to find out the cause for your weight gain you may get some useful suggestions and solutions, to accelerate your weight loss journey and bring you closer to your destination.