Top 10 Weight Loss Mistakes in your 40’s
Relying on the Gym alone as a way to lose weight - We see it all the time in our weight loss clinic. I call these people “fit and fat”. I know, as I have been there too. At age 49 I was getting in lots of walking, cycling, hiking, gardening and lifting weights, but my weight kept going steadily up. My problem was that I hadn’t adjusted my diet. If you want to exercise to lose weight, I suggest you also learn about diet and how to select healthy foods, that together with exercise will get you to the finish line.
Eating in your 40’s like you are still in your 20’s - Wasn’t it great when you were in your 20’s and you could eat just about anything you wanted! I never thought about the calorie content of the food I was eating - it didn’t seem to matter - my weight hardly fluctuated. As you age you have to consume fewer calories or risk continuing to gain weight.
Dining out too often - For many of us life in our 40’s is very busy. It is often a combination of work, marriage, raising children, community commitments and increased travel. Perhaps you are juggling all of these. It’s easy to start dining out more often - fast, convenient and time saving - but the calorie content of those foods will take a toll on your health and your weight.
Increased alcohol intake - Once I started earning more money I could afford to buy more wine, beer and alcohol. It was great to have that luxury, but the calories are formidable. Take a look at how many empty calories you consume per week in alcohol alone.
Eating to the point of feeling full - When we are younger it is not unusual to “stuff our face with food”, sometimes to the point of having a bloated stomach. This is clearly overeating. Our culture promotes eating too much at one meal. Everything is super-sized - from restaurant portions to the size of our dishes, bowls, plates and cups. We have to learn to stop eating before we are full.
Eating too quickly - Once again, due to a busy schedule many of us fail to chew our food and down it as quick as possible. Slow down. Chew your food, take time to enjoy the flavors and taste, and you will find that you eat less
High calorie beverages - whether it be regular soda pop, sweet teas or juices, all of these drinks with calories add up. Start reading the labels of your beverages and you will likely find ways to cut back on some calories
Neglecting hormonal changes - Between age 35-40 testosterone levels in both men and women start to decline. Although this is a normal physiologic change, it has been associated with increased weight gain, especially mid body fat
Not getting enough sleep - Again, life in your 40’s can get very busy, and sometimes we sacrifice our time in bed at night. We may think we are getting by on less sleep, but medical studies show chronic sleep deprivation negatively affects our weight in many ways, including slower metabolism leading to weight gain
Waiting too long to get help - If you are like me, I thought I could figure it out on my own but instead my weight kept climbing. When my BMI hit 30 and I was officially obese I realized I needed a plan. I had recently opened a med spa in Omaha NE, and it made sense for us to offer a weight loss plan. I read books on the popular diets and educated myself about nutrition and food calories. The result was the evolution of The Omaha Weight Loss Diet, or OWL Diet for short. My wife and I both lost weight by following The OWL Diet and we have made permanent food behavior changes to help us keep it off.