Weight loss at 40

[Kanin]

Well... it finally happened. Turning 40 and I need to lose some pounds. This is new territory for me because I've always been blessed with a fast metabolism. Apparently not anymore! So far I've lost ONE pound in a week with actual intentional daily exercise (an increase from daily walking) and eating less. What's to keep it off next week though? Do I need to restrict what I eat forever?

This bites!

[Laura Corin]

What has worked long term for me - I'm 60 - is not restrictions but moving from processed to mostly unprocessed food. I eat tons of veg, some fruit, a fair amount of whole grains and pulses, nuts, some fermented dairy, and I  don't feel the need for more than small amounts of meat.

When I feel like a cookie or a piece of cake I eat it, but mostly I am very full and satisfied. 

I am 5'4" and weigh around 132 pounds. I do also exercise,  but the change in way of eating has - I think - been more important in weight management. 

Good luck! 

[mlktwins]

It gets worse the older you get (I'm 56). I would start implementing things now that you will be able to keep in place long term. It really gets worse once you reach menopause. I wish I had started earlier, but am trying now. My GYN kept saying to lose the weight before menopause and she was right.

[Pawz4me]

Re menopause -- I'm the same age as Laura and eat very similarly to her.  After losing a large amount of weight in my mid-20's (which is when I revamped my eating habits to mostly vegetarian/very little processed foods) I had very little trouble maintaining until I was around 56-57, when my body decided it was going to put on ten pounds. My exercise/NEAT was the same and I was eating less than ever due to appetite naturally waning a little with age, but nothing I did to try to stop the gain mattered a bit. It was very similar to going through puberty--my body was determined it was going to change and what I wanted was irrelevant. My PCP said that was a "very acceptable and normal" amount of weight for someone my age to gain (bless her). I don't like it, but I've accepted it and made peace with it. I feel good most of the time, and it's not worth the massive effort and hits to my QOL that it would take to lose the weight, even if I could.

I'm not posting that to say "well, 40 was easy peasy for me" but to say that I think at some point most women are going to experience the same thing, with exceptions for people who are genetically predisposed to remaining more on the thin side. When it happens probably varies a lot with individual genetics.

But all that aside--losing a pound a week with reduced calories and increased exercise is exactly what most of us have to do to lose weight. It's how it's done. To keep the weight off that I lost in my mid-20's required revamping my diet and moving to a permanently less caloric diet than I was eating before, and making sure I moved a lot.

[KrissiK]

5 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

It gets worse the older you get (I'm 56). I would start implementing things now that you will be able to keep in place long term. It really gets worse once you reach menopause. I wish I had started earlier, but am trying now. My GYN kept saying to lose the weight before menopause and she was right.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but this. I am 55. Never been rail thin, thanks to genes, but never had a weight problem. If i needed to shed a few pounds, it was fairly easy. Then menopause hit.  I am now about 40 lbs. overweight. I will be honest that there are some stress factors/cortisol issues in my life that others may not have that are contributing to my problem,  but still, I went from having to take in the waistband of every pair of pants I own to having a muffin top. Weight distribution also drastically changes. 

[Kidlit]

1 minute ago, KrissiK said:

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but this. I am 55. Never been rail thin, thanks to genes, but never had a weight problem. If i needed to shed a few pounds, it was fairly easy. Then menopause hit.  I am now about 40 lbs. overweight. I will be honest that there are some stress factors/cortisol issues in my life that others may not have that are contributing to my problem,  but still, I went from having to take in the waistband of every pair of pants I own to having a muffin top. Weight distribution also drastically changes. 

49 here and can attest to this.  I hate it but can't muster the energy to make it different (in whatever ways I could). 

[KrissiK]

10 minutes ago, Kidlit said:

49 here and can attest to this.  I hate it but can't muster the energy to make it different (in whatever ways I could). 

This, too.  

[freesia]

I am 55. The most I can ever manage to loose a week is half a pound. One pound would be great. As we age we just need to get used to eating less and moving more—or at least being aware that we need to move as much as we used to. It is hard. 

[heartlikealion]

A pound a week is a healthy rate. I did it and it was a slow process, but time will pass whether or not you are looking at the scale. You will need to make lifestyle changes, but gradual is good. 

I lost a lot, then gained some back (but that's no surprise, I got off routine and ate badly). 80% of the process is food. 

I can tell you when I lost a significant amount of weight some of the changes I made:

All liquid intake was water and I tried to increase my water intake (50% of your weight in ounces was the rule of thumb I loosely tried to follow... but usually fall short. Recently read that clear urine is not the goal. The goal is light colored. Clear may mean an excess of water).

I switched breads. If I was going to eat a sandwhich I used a complex carb/no sugar bread. Ezekiel is one brand. Found in the cooler section. For taco night I try to get the carb balance tortillas or make a taco salad instead and forgo the tortilla.

I stopped eating deli meat because I was trying to reduce my sodium. I haven't bought it in many months and don't really miss it. 

I don't feel like each meal needs a carb. Chicken and veggies is adequate. I might fill up extra on veggies to get full (yes, I guess veggies can be a carb, at least some of them but I meant I'm less likely to serve potatoes as a side. I do sometimes, mainly if the kids are with me). 

If I wanted a sweet treat I would buy Yasso bars (100 calories, made of Greek yogurt). 

Started counting steps with a pedometer and went through a few crappy ones so that's part of my issue now. I want to buy another. 

Only weigh myself in the morning after going to the restroom, but before drinking water/eating. Other times of day it will be different.

Making conscious decisions to pack food for the road. I sometimes pack yogurt in a food thermos (Greek yogurt, fruit, nuts). This has protein which I need and better than a drive-thru. Lately I have NOT been disciplined. You can also get 100 calorie granola bars as a quick snack. 

I would say to plan on having something more than walking in your daily or weekly routine as I find I burn more calories biking than walking. You may want to add strength training. That is something I'm working on. And HIIT burns calories after the exercise is over but I do not like HIIT... I did a 12 week program. I might redo some of the videos but I'd rather not LOL. 

[Paige]

You might want to get your thyroid and other basic bloodwork checked just as a precaution. Mine went a little crazy last year and it's been a roller coaster. For the first time in my life I've been gaining a little weight. I'm not sure if it's age or my thyroid meds but I cannot stop the creep despite reducing portion sizes. What actually helps the most, however, is I have been doing strength training 4 days a week. I may not be able to stop the weight gain, but I can kind of redirect some of it into muscle gain which I know will be protective as I get older. 

[Annie Elle]

I’m 51. For most of my adult life, I was over weight. I was able to lose 60 lbs in my 40s and have been able to keep it off for the past 4 years but it was a slow process and took me a few years. Towards the end, I was happy to lose a pound a month. I did through life style changes and pretty much cut out junk carbs and sugar. When I eat that stuff now, I feel terrible. It will make my muscles and joints ache in the mornings and makes my menopause symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety and insomnia) flare up with a vengeance. Over the past year, I noticed the only way to maintain my weight was to eat like a bird. I also noticed more brain fog, fatigue and if I did stray from my normal diet for a meal, I would gain a few pounds. In trying to improve my over all health, I started reading more about improving my micro biome. This past winter, I put my self on a very restricted diet for 30 days and only ate foods that support the micro biome. For me, this was very helpful and I was able to learn a few ways to improve my health through food. The brain fog and fatigue have improved and thankfully I’m no longer having to eat like a bird. 

[Kanin]

1 hour ago, Paige said:

You might want to get your thyroid and other basic bloodwork checked just as a precaution. Mine went a little crazy last year and it's been a roller coaster. For the first time in my life I've been gaining a little weight. I'm not sure if it's age or my thyroid meds but I cannot stop the creep despite reducing portion sizes. What actually helps the most, however, is I have been doing strength training 4 days a week. I may not be able to stop the weight gain, but I can kind of redirect some of it into muscle gain which I know will be protective as I get older. 

I will do this, thank you. I already have an appointment scheduled for next month. Thyroid issues do run in my family, and I've been feeling a bit blah for the past few months. 

[Kanin]

Well ladies, none of this perimenopause/menopause stuff is sounding appealing! Can I pass?

[Laura Corin]

25 minutes ago, Kanin said:

Well ladies, none of this perimenopause/menopause stuff is sounding appealing! Can I pass?

Not pass, but one can make some changes with the hope of reducing the effects

https://www.google.com/amp/s/joinzoe.com/learn/menopause-metabolism-study.amp

[Carrie12345]

I’m 46. My best successes are still weight training and high protein eating at only a slight deficit. Very little cardio, mostly just to get the heart pumping.

Currently in the throws of peri menopause.

[wintermom]

7 hours ago, Kanin said:

Well... it finally happened. Turning 40 and I need to lose some pounds. This is new territory for me because I've always been blessed with a fast metabolism. Apparently not anymore! So far I've lost ONE pound in a week with actual intentional daily exercise (an increase from daily walking) and eating less. What's to keep it off next week though? Do I need to restrict what I eat forever?

This bites!

Measuring body weight isn't the best way to approach the concept of a healthy body, because:

- it is inaccurate (scales aren't always accurate if they haven't been callibrated regularly),

- a scale weighs everything together (bone, fluid, muscle, "fat", organs, etc.) What you really want is to maintain muscle mass and reduce "fat" (adipose tissue both under the skin and around internal organs). Weight change measured on a scale isn't going to let you know what the weight change was caused by - it could be fluid loss/gain, muscle/loss/gain, etc.

- strength and endurance, flexibility and range of motion, are all wonderful to have in a healthy body, but none of these are measured by a scale

- many factors beyond one's control can affect how much your body weighs, such as age, gender, medications, medical issues, etc. It's much more motivating to focus on things that you CAN control, such as being physically active, stretching, maintaining strong muscles, sleeping, eating healthy, etc.

Edited July 11, 2023 by wintermom

[Beth S]

100% agree with all this advice.
I'm 59, switched to eating a bowl of broccoli every supper.
And exercising, not for weight loss, but to maintain agility & flexibility.
I'm committed to do this for the rest of my life?!?  Regardless of results....

This is a great group for these kinds of issues!

 

[Arcadia]

6 hours ago, KrissiK said:

I went from having to take in the waistband of every pair of pants I own to having a muffin top. Weight distribution also drastically changes. 

Exercises that target the core helps a little on the muffin top issue.

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

scale weighs everything together (bone, fluid, muscle, "fat", organs, etc.) What you really want is to maintain muscle mass and reduce "fat" (adipose tissue both under the skin and around internal organs)

This. You don’t want to lose weight by losing muscle mass. In my house, we joke about toning up and losing our “blubber”. Even my kids need to tone up after being too sedentary during the pandemic.

[Pawz4me]

13 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

 

You don’t want to lose weight by losing muscle mass. 

Or bone mass.

[Ginevra]

52 here and medication-induced menopause (though some overlap surely with natural timing). I could not lose weight, and just kept losing and gaining the same ten pounds, until I greatly reduced sugar and simple carbs. I also increased my veg and whole food intake. I almost totally stopped drinking any sugar. (I drink black coffee, straight tea and water most of the time; a glass or two of red wine on weekends.) This made a difference. I have lost 7 or 8 lbs while also improving my muscle tone.
 

The biggest difference, though, is that my gut health seems far better. So long as I consume little sugar/simple carbs, my stomach is flat (not bloated) and I don’t have “noisy” intestines. I can really tell the difference in how sensitive I am to sweetness. Now I am adapted to things not being sweet and if I do eat something very sweet, it does not taste good to me *and* it leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. (I went to a party and had a piece of bakery cake and some cookies and a) it tasted gross, and b) my gut hurt for two days.) 

I do exercise and I think that’s very helpful but, like @Laura Corin, I believe the eating choices make the biggest difference. The exercise is good for a lot of reasons but I don’t think weight loss has very much to do with exercise, at least initially. 
 

I love both books by Dr. William Li: “Eat to Beat Disease” and “Eat to Beat Your Diet.” 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Ginevra
Correct spelling

[Amethyst]

When I was about 46, I was determined to get back to pre-baby weight before I hit menopause. So, I took up running for the first time in my life. Hated it at first. But man oh man, I lost the weight. I eventually had to stop for a variety of reasons. I wish I could still run. Because I did indeed gain weight after menopause. Overweight for the first time in my life. If you can consider running, I highly recommend getting in the habit now.