How to Lose Weight As a Middle‐Aged Woman

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1Changing Your Diet

2Exercising Effectively

3Minimizing Stress

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After 40, your body starts changing, and you might find that you're gaining weight despite your best efforts. When your metabolism slows in middle age, the diet and exercise that may have kept fat at bay in your 20s becomes less effective. To lose weight as a middle-aged woman, you typically need a multi-pronged approach that includes not only diet and exercise, but also a conscious effort to control stress.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Changing Your Diet

1. 
   1
   Eliminate refined and processed foods. Processed food contains substances and chemicals that your body doesn't recognize as food, and that has no nutritional value. The more highly refined and processed foods you eat, the more likely you are to gain weight – particularly around your midsection.

   • Most of these foods can be fairly easily replaced with their less-processed counterparts without adding too much to your grocery bill.
   • For example, you can replace highly refined white bread with whole wheat. It serves the same purpose but has fewer carbs and sugars and isn't as processed.
   • Look at ingredient labels on the foods you buy, and steer clear of foods that have long lists of chemicals. Replace these with products that list items you recognize as food as ingredients.
   • Keep in mind that fresh foods won't keep as long as more highly processed foods, which tend to be packed with preservatives. This means you may have to go to the grocery store more often, but the food that you're eating will be better for you and help you lose weight.
2. 
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   Limit your sugar intake. Sugar can cause you to gain weight, but limiting sugar isn't as simple as not eating candy, cupcakes, and other sweets. Various types of sugar, particularly high-fructose corn syrup, are lurking in some of the most unexpected places.

   • Check the ingredients, even if the label proclaims that the product is low calorie or sugar free. Sugar substitutes can be just as bad as sugar itself if you're trying to lose weight.
   • If you have a sweet tooth, buy fresh fruits or dark chocolate to keep the sugar cravings at bay.
   • When you eat something sweet, try to eat it slowly and savor the taste, rather than scarfing it down.
   • Avoid sweet snacks or mindless munching, especially late at night.
3. 
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   Increase your consumption of lean protein. Protein helps build muscles. In middle age, your body naturally starts losing muscle mass. You can help slow this process by eating foods such as eggs, fish, and yogurt that are high in lean protein.

   • Protein also gives you an energy boost. Adding high-protein foods such as eggs or yogurt to your breakfast can provide you with energy throughout the day.
   • Keep in mind that you need to consume about 10 percent more protein as a middle-aged woman than you did when you were younger.
   • Eating high-protein foods not only boosts your metabolism, but enables you to burn more calories during the eating and digestion process than you do when you're eating foods with high fat or carbohydrate content.
4. 
   4
   Stock up on healthy snacks. You don't necessarily have to eliminate all snacking between meals to lose weight. However, you do need to be conscious about what you're eating and make sure snacking isn't piling on additional calories you don't need.

   • Almonds can be good snacks, as well as vegetables such as carrot and celery sticks.
   • Many of these healthy snacks can be found in small packages that are easy to carry around with you or take to work.
   • However, if you buy a large bag and split it up into smaller portions yourself, you typically can save a little money.
   • If you decide to buy pre-packaged trail mix or energy bars to snack on, make sure you read the ingredient list carefully. Some of these so-called "healthy" snacks nevertheless have significant salt or sugar content that can set back your weight loss goals.
5. 
   5
   Eat smaller meals more often. As your body ages, you need fewer calories – but that doesn't mean you'll be less hungry. Adjusting your eating schedule so that you're eating five or six small meals a day can keep your body from storing excess fat.

   • If you allow more than two or three hours to elapse between meals, your body may enter "starvation mode" (even though you're clearly not starving) and start storing excess calories as fat.
   • You can thwart this process by eating smaller meals periodically throughout the day.
   • In other words, if you normally eat three meals a day, transition to six meals a day, each of which is roughly half the size of any of the three meals you normally would eat.
   • Consume the bulk of your calories during daylight hours. Food you eat during the evening is more likely to go straight to your midsection.
   • If your schedule doesn't lend itself to six meals a day, you can still keep a similar schedule by having slightly larger meals along with smaller snacks in between.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Exercising Effectively

1. 
   1
   Increase the intensity of your cardio workout. You may have been able to maintain a healthy weight in your 20s with a brisk morning walk around the block. However, as you age, the same cardio routine will become less effective.

   • Cardio can help you lose weight – especially around your middle – while at the same time slowing muscle loss and keeping you strong.
   • To promote weight loss, don't walk or run with the same intensity the whole time. Intervals can step up the calorie-burning power of your cardio exercise.
   • For example, if you're walking for exercise, walk at a brisk pace for five minutes, then break into a light jog for two minutes, then slow back down to brisk walking for another five minutes.
   • If you listen to music in headphones while you walk, you can design a playlist with varying beats that corresponds to your intervals and pushes you forward.
2. 
   2
   Use strength training to increase muscle mass. In your 40s, you start losing muscle mass. Building stronger muscles means you burn more calories every day – even when you're sitting at your desk doing work.

   • Many women avoid adding strength training to their workout routine because they are afraid of bulking up or looking like a body builder.
   • However, strength training really isn't going to do this. Building bulk muscles involves a different type of weight lifting than the work you will do with strength training.
   • Basically, you can strengthen your muscles simply by adding some resistance to the exercises you already do.
   • Even if your exercise routine consists of little more than a walk around your neighborhood after dinner, you can add a strength training component by using wrist and ankle weights for short periods of one minute at a time. Wearing wrist and ankle weights for too long can injure your joints.
3. 
   3
   Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Doing little things to stay active, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, can help you keep your body active and enable you to burn additional calories throughout the day.

   • Look for opportunities to get a little exercise into your daily routine. For example, if you go to the grocery store or the mall, you might park further away instead of looking for the closest spot.
   • When you're shopping, carrying things in a basket or bag instead of pushing a cart is another way to sneak in a little exercise.
   • Even cleaning around the house can burn a few calories, while at the same time giving you a sense of satisfaction that you've made your home a neater and more comfortable place to live.
4. 
   4
   Switch up your exercise routine regularly. If you stick to the same exercises day in and day out, you'll get bored after a while – and your body will too. Changing your routine doesn't just keep you mentally engaged and motivated, it keeps your muscles alert and active.

   • If you have the time and the ability to do so, you might consider taking a fitness or exercise class to add a little variety to your exercise regimen.
   • Joining a community sports league is another way to add variety, and you don't need to be a skilled athlete to do so.
   • Many areas have adult leagues for sports such as kickball in which everybody can participate.
   • Your local YMCA or community center may offer inexpensive exercise classes if you don't want to join a gym just to take an exercise class.
5. 
   5
   Work with a personal trainer. As you get older, your risk of injury while exercising increases. Even if you can't afford a personal trainer every day, consult an expert at least once every few months to go over your exercise routine with you.

   • When you explain your goals to a personal trainer, they can assess your exercise routine and let you know if the exercises you've chosen will help you fulfill your goals.
   • A personal trainer also can suggest additional exercises or tweaks to your routine that will kick your fat-burning up a notch.
   • If you're stuck in a workout rut, a personal trainer can help motivate you and push you over the next hurdle to keep your weight loss on track.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Minimizing Stress

1. 
   1
   Get sufficient sleep each night. As a middle-aged woman, you probably have a busy life trying to balance work and family life along with other commitments. However, a solid night's sleep is essential to decrease stress and battle weight gain.

   • If you work during the day, try to start slowing down around 8 or 9 at night, rather than doing physically taxing or intense things later in the evening that will give you a burst of energy and make it difficult to go to sleep.
   • You also should avoid eating late at night – particularly sweets – and avoid caffeine in the evening or late in the afternoon.
   • When you work later hours, it can be more difficult to get the sleep that you need, especially if you have kids.
   • You can decrease the effects of sleep deprivation by trying to squeeze in a short 15- or 20-minute nap at some point during the day.
2. 
   2
   Try meditation. Setting aside even as little as 10 minutes a day for meditation can provide substantial health benefits. Over time, meditation and deep-breathing exercises can make it easier to lose weight as a middle-aged woman by lessening the impact of daily stress.

   • Cortisol, a stress hormone, bears much of the blame for "middle age spread," particularly if you've noticed an increase in belly fat that seems resistant to diet and exercise.
   • Meditation has a calming effect on your body and can decrease your body's production of this hormone, helping you lose weight.
   • Using meditation to reduce stress also can help you fall asleep at night and get more restful sleep after you do fall asleep.
   • If meditation doesn't appeal to you or you find it difficult to clear your mind, take a few minutes to practice deep-breathing exercises, or carve a little time out of your day to do something you find relaxing, such as coloring in an adult coloring book or reading a light-hearted novel.
3. 
   3
   Invest in yourself. As you age, self-care becomes all the more important. At the same time, spending time and effort on yourself and your own needs typically takes a backseat to other commitments.

   • Pay attention to your body and recognize that your self-care needs also will change as you age.
   • When time is at a premium, you still can do little things for yourself that will ease your stress and brighten your day.
   • For example, you could buy a scented candle in a relaxing or calming fragrance such as lavender or vanilla and light it for a few minutes each evening as you wind down from work.
4. 
   4
   Build your own support group. Maintaining deep and fulfilling relationships with family and friends can decrease stress and anxiety. That lowered stress level will in turn make it easier for you to lose weight as a middle-aged woman.

   • Make an effort to listen to and support the people in your life in positive ways, and they will likely return the favor.
   • Make time with your friends and loved ones, even if you don't have the time or energy to do the things together that you might have done when you were younger.
   • For example, if you and a friend both have dogs, find a time when you can meet each other at a local dog park. You can talk while your dogs get a little exercise.
   • If you and your friends or family members have kids, plan play dates that will give your kids time to bond while the adults catch up on each others' lives.
5. 
   5
   Attack problems head-on. Procrastinating or avoiding dealing with something you don't enjoy doing can turn a small nuisance into a huge problem. Taking a proactive approach to issues as they arise can help you keep stress in check.

   • If you have a larger task ahead of you, break it down into smaller pieces so you can take care of it over time rather than trying to find a time to do it all at once.
   • When faced with a problem, ask yourself if you can do anything about it right then. If you can, do whatever you can do immediately.
   • If there's nothing you can do immediately, try to put it out of your mind. Worrying about something that's out of your control will only increase your stress level, making it much more difficult for you to lose weight.
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Expert Q&A

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• Question

  What is the best diet for a middle aged woman?

  

  Laura Flinn
  NASM Certified Personal Trainer

  Laura Flinn is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer, USA Olympic Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach and Certified Fitness Nutritionist, with an additional qualification as a TRX Suspension Trainer. Laura runs her own personal training program based in the San Francisco Bay Area and specializes in topics such as weight loss, muscle growth, cardiovascular training, and strength training.

  

  Laura Flinn

  NASM Certified Personal Trainer

  Expert Answer

  Limit the amount of sugar you consume. Try to replace complex carbohydrates, like French fries, with simple carbs, like sweet potato. Swap out red meats for lean proteins, like fish and chicken. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. When it comes to fats, opt for healthy fats, like olive oil and avocado. If you can stick with a healthy diet, you'll have a much easier time losing weight.

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