.Weight Gain over 40 - Watertown,MA

no.
i run 2-6 days per week, and lift weights. at LEAST one run is over 6 miles. i've run 2 half marathons and would love to get the full monty before i'm too old.
and i'm 40lbs overweight. i LOVE food. i eat very healthy, but i eat a lot, and in addition to my green smoothies and whole grains and raw milk and homegrown veggies and massaged kale salads i eat too much candy.
i can't imagine what shape i'd be in if i DIDN'T run.
i wish i had a good answer.
khairete
S.

I'm 43 and just lost 20 pounds EASILY after not being able to lose it despite every effort. Like you, I'm a huge exerciser. Unlike you, I have always had a slow metabolism, so I've always had to be very conscious of my calorie intake. Every so often, I have to get even stricter with my healthy diet. Like you, I am HUNGRY, so the calorie restriction and counting methods do NOT work for me. I relapse the minute I lose the weight. but I CAN eat endless HEALTHY food and do really well.

I used the Fit For Life book (Diamond from the 80's) and shed weight faster and easier than I ever have in my life with a huge energy boost and unlimited healthy food. I got clearer skin and stronger nails too. After 8 months though, I realized I did need to add back in a bit more animal protein than I was eating due to some tooth aches and aging that a little research attributed to NO animal products. I had gone sort-of raw vegan (on my own, the book doesn't advocate that) and was seeing some deficiency despite all the great results.

A big myth, especially in the fitness community, is that you need PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN all day long. A healthy vegetarian diet with SOME animal protein has plenty of protein in beans, avocados, hummus, nuts, and SOME meat and dairy (not much). you don't need to "pump the protein products" and when you keep to a 75% raw fruit/veggie ratio per day, you don't have to exercise nearly as much to stay trim and toned.

I recommend the book. I look and feel better and skinnier than I did before I had kids, and I've been in shape my whole life with lots of work, but now it's much less work AFTER 40!

Gosh, of all jobs to have, we'd think you'd be the one to offer us advice.

If your exercise ain't cutting it, not sure what there is to do, except cut back.

After 40, our protein and calcium requirements go way up. So, do you consume enough of those?

Here are the basic weight management tips I see my 50+ friends swear by:

Eat like a King at breakfast, a Prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. Meaning, eat your big meals early in the day. Have the so called Power Lunch, with simple soups and very light meals for dinner.

You're meals should be 75 % protein and veggies/fruit and 25 % complex carbs.

Eat only very small portions of desserts, not more than once a week.

Drink water, rest enough, take a good multi-vitamin, etc.

It all goes downhill at 40...
:)

40 sucks (for me it was 42) and I have gained twenty or so pounds in the past few years. I am a lazy soul so recently started biking and walking but the weight doesn't seem to go anywhere :(

I wish you luck.

I actually do better with almost constant grazing - as long as the grazing is healthy food. For example, half a bagel for breakfast, then a yogurt around 10, then a sandwich (something very simple made at home) at noon, then some fruit at 2. Then dinner with some protein and veggies. And either decaf tea or water on my desk all day.

If I try to cut out eating between meals, and just have the traditional Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, then I overeat at the meals.

I find it's not too hard in the summer, when I can buy yummy watermelon and eat it all week, or canteloupe, strawberries, etc. They make great healthy snacks. It's harder in the winter when the fruits and veggies aren't local and taste like plastic.

No doubt it is harder to keep weight off after 40 though...

This is the story of my life, except I'm not a fitness trainer or any of that good stuff.

But, my metabolism slid to a disastrous standstill at 40. It's really the way I show my age -- the way weight gain is so terribly effortless and weight loss is beyond hopeless all of the sudden.

If you find a solution, can you please, please, pretty-please pass it along to me?

Well at 44 I am down to my lowest weight since about forever...

The trick is what and how much you are eating and drinking. You don't say what you are eating so it hard to suggest changes. Exercise without eating right won't won't work in the long run.

Some ideas though:
5 smaller meals (smaller breakfast lunch and dinner with a snack in between)
Make sure you drink a lot of water and always before you sit down to eat
Eat high fiber foods they will leave you feeling more full
Skip juice - a lot of calories but not as much benefit as the fruit itself
Log your calorie intake - while it is a pain in the neck at first it is useful to actually see what you are eating
Track your fat and protein too - you are probably getting more of both than you need

Good luck!

Sadly, you just have to eat less.
Your body doesn't need or process food as efficiently as it once did. Even with all of the working out.

I took 20 lbs off just by eating less. It was the only thing that worked.
Pay attention to portions and count calories. You should aim for no more than 1500/day - INCLUDING eating back what you work off in your workout.
Keep in mind that one cafe latte can completely undo everything you worked off.
Don't cut out specific things. Don't try to focus on protein vs. carbs, etc... Eat what you always have...just less.
That's the only way you're going to see a change, unfortunately.

Hi G.,

There's been some good advice here....my only caveat is that since nutrition is essential, you have to have it. Our food supply is deplete in what we need and at 40 you body recognizes it so much better :)

You need a good ABSORBABLE multivitamin. Most don't absorb. They crystalize in your system and either exit the body with nothing good or they settle in organs like your kidneys or liver. My husband lost a ton of weight with no diet change or activity change after the age of 40....with the help of the right vitamin.

Regards,
M.

No helpful tips other than everything in moderation, eat lots of protein and fewer carbs. Snack on fresh veggies, fruit, low sodium cheese, etc. And avoid "white" bread if you can (wheat is better). I still drink a ton of milk and eat lots of peanut butter. An unrelated side effect is eyesight. I'm 46 and my perfect eyesight has deteriorated since 40. Even the doc confirmed that your body really changes at this point. Good luck!

I'd recommend a nutritionist. You have the exercise part down so s/he will be able to let you know what you need to eat to lose weight/maintain it. Good luck!

Hi G., boy do I hear you! It's not you...it's the food. It does not nourish us like it used to. So cutting back on food...not a good idea...exercise more...doesn't work. I have seen it all...and the only thing that works is...

Nutritional Cleansing works. Feed the body the right foods, cleanse the body the right way and the weight drops, the muscles get firm and you anti-age...you really do.

I will PM you the info.

B.

I know exactly what you mean. You really have to figure out your own body. There are some things that are supposed to keep your metabolism up (and it definitely changes despite lots of movement and sweat) and some that people might tell you will and you can feel totally confounded because that six pack of white wine helped them lose ten pounds and put three on you. Sadly, we are all so obsessed with our bodies. If you are working out all the time and used to eating whatever you want, perhaps you just modify what it is that you are eating til you know you are happy. Some people skip bread, some eat more cereal. Make yourself your own challenge and just feel good. Have fun with it and then let us know what you did!!

Say goodbye to bread, pasta, rice and all the other bad carbs and you will drop the unwanted weight. Since you are not eating carbs you will increase your protein and fat intake and you will not be hungry. Not magic but it will work.

I so hear you! Right before I got pregnant with my last, I had gained 5 lbs for no apparent reason. I was working out more than usual, eating my normal diet, etc. but I have always had a good metabolism and I've always eaten a lot of food! But all of a sudden t was like my metabolism just stopped!

I'm breastfeeding at the moment, so I'm eating everything in sight--including junk! But when she weans, I know I will be back where I was.

I'm a vegetarian, so my plan is to eat less potatoes and more lentils -:)

I ran into the same thing at 40. Metabolism hit a brick wall. I eat a fraction of what I did in my 20s and still gain.

What really made a difference for me was Weight Watchers. It's really sensible -- no cutting out foods -- and keeps you full. No deprivation. I did their online only program and lost the stubborn 20-25 lbs. that just wouldn't budge.