Women over 40! Would love to hear from you!

(Well you be blessed too! Anyone can do this at any age. There really is no mystery. I used to think my metabolism was broken, low thyroid, adrenal fatigue, menopause, stress (well stress is certainly a factor in managing hunger hormones). I did the frustrating diet yo-yo for 15 years and finally achieved my dream at age 50 and have been maintaining for over a hear now (I'm almost 52). I finally realize thyroid medicine and everything else to address my myriad of age related health issues were not a magic pill. It all comes down to calories for weight loss and exercise for building your lean body mass (especially weight lifting). You cannot out exercise too many calories.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.

All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.)

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Brilliant advice!!

Looking for 40+ friends too, feel free to add, love all the support I can get and will give it right back! My life is not as hectic as some of you. I divorced 2 yrs ago, which was a positive thing for me. Raising a teenage son solo, work full time+ job and have started doing activities that I love, like cycling, running, kayaking, and did my first sky dive last weekend. Life is good, just want to push through these last 20 pounds so I'm happy with myself and proud that I could accomplish it.

Way to go!!! Keep up the good work

Hi ,

I am 42, mum of 2, stepmum to 2 more, work full time and studying for degree. Weight has spiralled up and up especially since my hysterectomy 2 years ago and I am now between 4 & 5 stone overweight. My Dad had a heart attack this year (recovering well) and it gave me a wake up call - time to take control and lose the excess once and for all. Anyone who wants to add me - feel free!
My initial goal is this: 17 weeks til Christmas....17lbs to lose. I am convinced it can be done!!:happy:

Felt like this prior to turning 40; but I grabbed a hold of the reins and took control at age 38...that just happened to be when it really hit me.

I'm 44 now and I won't say things are easy by any stretch of the imagination, however I have learned how to better handle situations, no matter what they are and to take everything a "bite" at a time. Everything is manageable if you break it up into smaller pieces and work one piece at a time.

Turn 46 in a few weeks. I'm healthier now than I was at 40 and am happy with where I am going. I'm a single mom with a high demanding job and work.........but that's life I guess. I still have some work to do but I'm not afraid of a little work.

I am 44 and working on me! Please feel free to add me.