Why Is It That Weight Loss Gets Harder To Lose, After The Age of 40? Here is Why...

weight loss after 40 Mar 10, 2021

When I pasted 40 years old it was all I kept hearing with friends and women in my family is, "after 40 your body starts to go down hill". I was not ready to accept this but it became my reality. It seemed no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop my body from becoming my mothers body. I didn't like looking at myself in the mirror "nude" anymore.

It was worse when I slept because my stomach would turn over with me. That was when I realized how real the struggle was. 

It’s a struggle right?

There are so many factors that makes losing weight difficult at this point in your life, here are a few that I have had to address either for myself or a client.

  • culture and religion

  • state of health

  • social and emotional influences

  • dining with colleagues

  • family dinners and events

  • food industry and the media

Coupled with the aforementioned there is "the holiday season" with even more stress than usual.

It's a never ending cycle of eating which only encourages weight gain.

But the good thing is that this "new weight gain" is controllable because it is the result of you allowing emotional eating that was created to calm a stressed mind.

Does this make you feel better? It's not your fault and you're not weak.

I know from experience that losing weight and reducing stress are not always as easy as it seems.

What you may be surprised to learn is that the two actually go hand in hand.

If you have been trying to lose weight or even attempt to maintain it, I want you to know in order to take control, you must realize that stress-induced eating is not beneficial for any women over the age of 40, and here is why.

  1. As women, we tend to be ‘multi-taskers’.

  2. We juggle through the day at warp speed.

  3. Our intent is to get more done in the minimum time.

So if you consistently maintain a high-stress level life, not only is this harmful to your healthy but to your waistline as well.

So, why are you gaining weight?

I have many friends who are expats living or working in a country that is not their own native land. When you find yourself suddenly in a country that is not your homeland this causes more anxiety and stress which leads to weight gain.

Sadly, when you allow yourself to be overtaken by situations that are stressful and emotional, you will not give much thought to what you’re eating which is considered “mindless eating”.

Mindless eating on a consistent basis can make you put on weight.

But it doesn’t happen overnight as one may thing. Little by little until your favorite skirt no longer fits you the way you desire.

Or even worse the moment you have a big event to attend, nothing seems to fit.  This is so stressful, and trust me…I have been there.

When you mindless eat, you are not listening to signals that your body is giving you to warn you it is under stress.

Signals your body gives you when you are under stress

The signals that your body gives you when you are under stress will manifest itself with your bowel habits, your stomach, the small and large intestines, as well as the endocrine system,

So, when you are constantly under stress, your hormone levels like Cortisol and Insulin are elevated.

The elevation of these 2 major hormones can sabotage your weight loss efforts.

This is the real issue behind the undesired weight gain instead. See...it's not totally your fault.

Cause and effect, is the culprit.

Stress eating can create a wide variety of physiological changes:

  • feeling of depression

  • not as confident

  • lethargic all the time

  • sleep deprivation

  • knee/back problems

  • raising triglyceride numbers

  • insulin and cortisol levels changes

So, while you may thinking “I have a handle on it” as far as your stress level goes, you aren’t meant to be under constant stress levels.

When you are, this eventually takes a toll on your body which exacerbate menopause symptoms.

If you normally have a pretty healthy nutritional intake, then there could be something you are overlooking that warrants immediate attention.

Then if feel that you’re still feeling stress every day and you can’t seem to figure out why, you’re not going to see or feel the results you want with your weight loss goals.

This may be time to step back and allow someone who looks at the body as a whole to help you reach your goals in a sustainable way.

So, what are some ways you can reduce your stress level?

Is there something you can start doing this week?

Long term sustainable goals requires baby steps to achieve them. Sometime in life you can crush goals but when it comes to your body it just doesn’t work that way.

If this has been a struggle for you, I would love to see how I can support your goals to create effortless weight loss when dining out with colleagues, when traveling for business and stress eating from personal life issues then -> ->Schedule a complimentary 30-minute ‘Chic Women Don’t Diet’ makeover consultation.

See you soon!

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