It is already difficult to lose weight. As you get older, especially for women, that fat seems to hang into the midsection with much more determination. Losing weight permanently feels like a losing battle. You lose some and it comes back later with friends.
When exercise and diet don’t seem to make a difference and the weight just won’t come off, it’s time to look at what is causing it. Here are a few reasons it’s difficult to lose weight after 45 and how to combat it.
After 45, Learning How to Lose Weight Changes
As humans age, it’s natural for them to put on a couple extra pounds each year. Your body is also far more likely to hold onto that weight more stubbornly. You can’t lose pounds like when you were younger because your body isn’t the same any more.
You are undergoing normal hormonal changes at this age as well. Most women go through menopause between ages 45 and 55. The hormones start to change even before then.
Menopause causes a significant drop in estrogen, causing even more weight gain. Most women are chronically stressed at this age as well, causing extreme imbalance in even more hormones.
This stress is one of the main reasons your body won’t let go of the fat hanging around your midsection. Human bodies react to stress and inflammation by holding onto and storing more fat. It’s a natural reaction in an attempt to protect against strenuous or life threatening situations.
A Calorie Deficit Won’t Help You Lose Weight
Most people believe that eating a calorie deficit diet or exercising to create a higher deficit will help. In truth, it’s either not going to work or cause you to gain even more weight later. Humans have a built-in emergency switch to protect them against famine and starvation. When the calories get cut, it triggers this switch.
Once the switch is triggered, your body will want to hold onto all the fat it already has. Those energy stores are important during times of actual starvation and it can’t tell a diet from a famine. Even if you do lose the weight, once you let up even a little in your diet all that weight will come back.
Once it has rebuilt its stores, it will then prepare for the next famine by storing even more fat. This is the main cause of yo-yoing weight no matter how much you diet.
Natural Foods are the Best Way to Lose Weight
Instead of changing how much you eat, change the content of what you eat. Focus on filling your diet with whole, natural foods, the more organic, free range, and untampered, the better.
These foods are naturally anti-inflammatory and low glycemic and will help heal what stress has harmed. Nutrient dense foods will also help you get all the nutrition you need without over eating.
The foods to focus on are proteins, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. Lean meats like chicken, fish, and turkey, are packed with the protein that is essential for supporting your systems.
Vegetables have vitamins you need and are anti-inflammatory. Fruits have the good kind of carbs your body needs. It is essential to remember that not all carbs are bad carbs.
Cutting out an entire food group is only going to harm you. Pick quality content to feed your systems instead of depriving yourself entirely.
Dairy, wheat, and legumes are foods that while good for you, require a little more caution. Not everyone’s body can handle these foods and they can actually trigger more inflammation instead of soothing it.
Start with an elimination diet to ensure your body can handle these foods.
Lose Weight Easily after 45 with Metabolism Reboot
If you have tried diet after diet and still feel like you aren’t making progress, contact us today to learn how Metabolism Reboot can help you make a real change. Learn about sustainable weight loss without extreme dieting or exercise with Metabolism Reboot. We teach you how to reboot your metabolism to promote permanent weight loss. Schedule a call to learn how to rebalance your hormones and reduce inflammation.