Losing weight for women over 40 can be a frustrating process and, for some people, it may seem like they reach a plateau where weight stops coming off. However, these five tips will help you to overcome weight loss resistance.
1. Reduce Stress Although stress can often be unavoidable, long-term stress can have a serious impact on your weight. During periods of prolonged stress the body releases the hormone cortisol. Research conducted at the University of New Mexico has found that high levels of cortisol can lead to an increased appetite and can move fat stores around the body. As a result, you should try to take steps towards reducing your stress levels. Meditation, yoga and other forms of exercise have all been proven to reduce stress. Cutting down on your workload also helps. If you are the one who is always saying yes to everything, give yourself permission to say no. You can say, "my schedule is pretty full right now."
2. Make Sure You Eat Enough Food
People often resort to extreme measures to meet their weight loss goals and a common mistake is not eating enough food. While it is true that reducing your calorie intake will aid weight loss, it is vital that you are sensible and continue to eat enough. Drastically reducing your food intake may initially prove successful, but eventually your body will go into 'starvation mode'. The body's response to this is to conserve energy and slow down your metabolism. A slower metabolism means fewer calories will be burned, making further weight loss incredibly difficult. 3. Include Strength Training In Your Workout
Cardiovascular exercises are fantastic for burning fat. However, it is important that your workout routine does not rely entirely on cardio. In order to maximize weight loss, a person needs to include a weight lifting routine in their workout, ideally three times a week. According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, in the 24-hours after exercise, people who lift weights as part of their routine burn around 100 calories more than those who do not.
4. Increase Your Daily Activity
Another common problem people make when attempting to lose weight is adding a workout routine, but reducing their overall daily activity. Spending half an hour in the gym is good, but the benefits are going to be less noticeable if you come home and sit down all evening. If you really want to get the weight off, try being active after dinner instead of watching TV. Go for a walk, garden, clean the house, do some laundry, talk while walking on the phone, take an exercise class, move during the commercials. Nowadays the commercials are so long, you can really get some calorie burning time!
Make sure you do what you like and that way you will stick to it.
I remember a lady who came to my class and she was at the gym all evening. I asked her why she would stay for all my evening classes and she said, "as long as I'm here, I'm not eating." She lost 50 lbs, looked and (more importantly felt) amazing!
5. Reduce Your Toxicity
Toxins are absorbed, inhaled and consumed in a variety of ways. Your body naturally copes with most toxins, however, reducing excessive toxins from the body may have many health benefits, including aiding weight loss. Extreme cleansing diets have been proven to be unsafe, however, a good way to reduce the number of toxins you consume is to cut down on the number of processed foods you eat. Fast foods are toxic and should be eaten in very limited quantity. Processed foods are filled with unnatural ingredients and can harm your health. How to remove toxins? According to Dr. Carlos Mercado, sweating helps remove toxins, so don't be afraid to work up a sweat!
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