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Many people don’t think about weight maintenance when they are in their 20s and 30s. But truthfully, the body goes through many hormonal and metabolic changes once the 40s hit, especially for women.
As we age, our body changes the way it metabolizes food. After our 20s, the rate at which our metabolism breaks down food begins to slow by as much as 10% every decade. This means that once we hit 40, our metabolism has slowed down by 20%, making it a lot easier to gain weight despite keeping the same diet and exercise habits.
Without proper guidance, many opt for “quick fix” weight solutions, leading to a damaging cycle of weight loss and regain. This not only increases the risk of chronic conditions but also severely affects mental health and life quality.
If this sounds like you, it’s time to ditch the diet and get down to what really matters, your metabolic health.
This means prioritizing nutrient-rich foods, getting into a regular exercise routine, managing your stress, and prioritizing sleep while also setting realistic goals for yourself along the way.
“Staying consistent is key. It’s great to have goals, but without consistency, without commitment, we will struggle to reach those goals”, says Mia Dige, women’s health specialist and metabolic coach at Lumen.
Lumen, a metabolic health tracker, helps members understand how their body uses food for energy in real time. These insights are personalized to your body and, therefore, can be invaluable to getting your nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle decisions right so you can reach your health goals.
Before diving in, it’s important to know where your metabolism stands right now.
“In order to personalize your weight loss plan,” says Mia Johanna Dige, “you first need to assess your current metabolic health, taking into consideration your current nutrition habits, including what you are eating, when are you having your meals, and how much is your alcohol consumption. Integrate how much you normally move in your routine, as well as your sleep quality and stress levels.”
If you’re interested in understanding your metabolism in real-time, check out the Lumen metabolism tracker and get $50 off with discount code PRIMEWOMEN.
Understanding Weight Management and Aging
The key to weight loss and management lies within our metabolic health. To maintain a healthy weight without strict monitoring and attention, a high-functioning metabolism is required. Unfortunately, metabolic function can slow down around the age of 40 because of challenges with hormonal fluctuations, insulin resistance, and a natural decline in muscle mass, along with lifestyle changes that occur as we age.
Hormonal Changes and Their Impact on Weight
After the age of 40, women begin to enter perimenopause or menopause, during which the body gradually decreases the production of the vital hormones estrogen and progesterone. This is a result of the slowdown in the function of the ovaries with age. Low estrogen levels can cause alterations in metabolism and influence body fat distribution. Although the changes in hormones alone don’t directly result in weight gain, they make it a lot easier to gain weight.
Although men don’t experience menopause, they, too, have changes in their hormones around this time. After 40, low levels of estrogen and testosterone are associated with higher body fat percentages in men and women, specifically in the abdominal region. Low levels of testosterone are also associated with a loss of muscle mass, also known as sarcopenia, which can further influence weight gain.
The Role of Muscle Mass in Metabolism
In addition to hormone fluctuations, our body begins to slowly lose muscle mass as we get older. Although this is a normal sign of aging, it can cause a major impact on our metabolic function. It’s also common for our activity levels to decrease during this time, which can lead to further losses in lean body mass.
Muscle burns more calories than fat. Because of this, people who have more muscle have a better functioning metabolism. Additionally, the hormone testosterone increases muscle mass by stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS), the process of building muscle. Low levels of testosterone in both men and women can further contribute to increases in fat mass.
Along with aging, frequent restrictive dieting can take a toll on your body’s muscle mass. With rapid weight changes often comes muscle loss. This is why slow, sustainable lifestyle changes lead to better success with weight.
The Impact of Insulin on Your Body
Insulin resistance can also occur with age and can impact weight and metabolic function. Consuming a diet high in processed carbs and not enough protein can worsen our body’s ability to be sensitive to insulin.
When we consume carbs, our pancreas releases the hormone insulin. We need insulin because this hormone helps move glucose from our blood into the cells.
However, consuming an excessive amount of carbohydrates over time will lead to more insulin needing to be released by the pancreas, which in turn can cause our body’s cells to become insulin resistant. With the rising level of insulin in the blood, your body’s cells become resistant to its effect. This leads to insulin resistance.
When the body is unable to move blood sugar into the body’s cells, it will store it in the body’s tissues as fat. If left uncontrolled, it can lead to conditions such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Diet and exercise are essential to counteract this.
Tips for Effective Weight Management After 40
Below are some tips from Lumen experts on mastering weight management after 40.
Eating for Your Metabolism
Diet is an essential component of a healthy metabolism. You cannot have one without the other. When we choose our foods, they can be broken down into different macronutrients: carbs, proteins, and fats. Consuming these foods, especially carbs, in the right quantities at the right times makes a big difference when it comes to weight loss and metabolic flexibility.
For example: Cut down on refined carbs and replace them with whole grains, bump up your protein intake during meals and snacks, and incorporate a ton of non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc.
Metabolic flexibility is the ability of your metabolism to easily shift from burning carbs to burning fat and is essential for metabolic health. “A metabolically flexible person wakes up more often burning fat and shifts efficiently to burning carbs after eating without storing it as body fat,” says Lumen’s metabolic health expert, Mia.
Following a personalized nutrition plan that emphasizes whole foods and limits processed carbs while providing you guidance on these ratios can help your metabolism function more efficiently. This allows our body to move more skillfully between fat burn and carb burn. The Lumen metabolism tracker provides a nutrition plan that is personalized to your metabolism and what it needs in real-time.
Everyone’s ideal macronutrient proportions vary, but consistency is key. Small, gradual changes over time, rather than sudden shifts, make maintaining consistency and seeing progress easier.
Integrate regular exercise and muscle maintenance.
It’s normal to slow down as we age; unfortunately, this can further hasten muscle loss. To master maintaining a healthy weight in our 40s, we need to keep moving. Aim to get in a combination of cardio and strength training exercises consistently.
This doesn’t mean you need to dedicate hours to a workout every day; simply incorporating a 30-minute movement routine most days of the week will do.
For optimal workout results, whether you’re a regular or beginner, it’s vital to properly fuel your body. Include a pre-workout snack or meal, like a banana with peanut butter, that has quick-digesting carbs and some protein. Use your Lumen to assess if you’re adequately fueled for your workout and to measure post-workout impact.
Incorporate a fasting schedule personalized to your body
Intermittent fasting for women is widely discussed in health and fitness due to its benefits. Strategically timed meals can enhance metabolism, foster healthy eating habits, and promote sustainable weight loss.
But, with so many fasting schedules and methods to choose from, selecting the right one for your body might be tricky. Fasting for excessive hours can lead to a stress response in the body, causing carb instead of fat burn. This is not ideal, as we typically want to burn fat upon waking, assuming we’ve efficiently burned through our carb stores overnight and didn’t overeat the previous evening.
By periodically measuring your metabolic state during a fast using the Lumen, you will be able to pinpoint when this is happening and end your fast. You will then learn the optimal fasting window for you.
Set Realistic Goals
When setting goals, it’s easy to get carried away. When we know where we want to be and what it’s going to take to get there, it’s tempting to want to change everything all at once so we can sprint our way to the finish line. Unfortunately, this can set us up for failure. Instead of going from 0 to 100, pick a place to start and go from there.
For example, if you are someone who drinks 3-4 sodas a day, try focusing on cutting that number down to whatever feels realistic to you. Once you have cut down and have gotten comfortable with that, you can continue to cut down further until you are only consuming sodas on occasion.
Once that feels easy, switch to another goal, such as adding an extra serving of non-starchy vegetables to lunch or swapping out your slice of white toast in the morning for a whole-grain option.
Remember, achieving a healthy lifestyle is a marathon. Making small, incremental changes in your daily routine is a lot more sustainable while still giving you the results you are looking for.
Aim for a better quality of sleep and find your stress relievers
Although diet and exercise are incredibly important when it comes to weight management after 40, sleep and stress can also have a major impact on our metabolic function. According to Mia Dige, “Sleep deprivation can actually cause changes in your glucose levels, metabolism, and hormonal fluctuation.”
These are the best tips for prioritizing quality sleep and stress management:
Sleep
Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to numerous health problems. That’s why getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep a night can help maintain immune function, metabolism, and mental health.
- Create a consistent bedtime and waketime.
- Get into a nightly routine that helps you wind down, such as taking a warm bath, listening to calming music, or reading a book.
- Avoid exposure to blue light 1-2 hours before bed (TV, tablet, smartphone, computer)
- Limit caffeine, alcohol intake, and sugary foods.
- Incorporate regular physical activity (but not right before bed, as this can disrupt your ability to fall asleep)
Stress
Chronic stress can have detrimental effects on health and can accelerate the aging process. Effective stress management is crucial for extending the health span.
- Try your hand at meditation and/or deep breathing exercises
- Get out and go for a light walk
- Spend some time outside or with friends
Embracing Healthy Aging with Lumen
Healthy aging is an essential part of life, and Lumen provides a practical tool to make this journey more manageable and efficient. By helping you understand how your body is using fuel, Lumen can support more informed decisions about diet and exercise, which can aid in weight management and overall health. With one breath, you will be able to track, understand and optimize your metabolic health with personalized nutrition tailored to you.
If you’ve been working on getting to that healthy weight that makes you happy, but you are struggling to get there, be sure to check out Lumen’s blog post on how to beat your weight loss plateau.
If you’re interested in trying the Lumen metabolism tracker, get $50 off with discount code PRIMEWOMEN.
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