Are You A Woman Over 40? Is Your Weight Loss Coming to A Standstill?

by Perry Permann

Are you trying to lose weight as a woman over 40? And the scale does not budge? It’s quite common and very frustrating- especially after a couple of weeks losing weight successfully. Often it’s like that: You’ve started to lose weight, things are going great, and after a couple of weeks you hit a plateau. Your weight just does not go down any more, often it goes a little bit up again. This is one of the challenges women over 40 encounter when trying to lose weight permanently. In this short article I’d like to give you some ideas on how to overcome a weight loss plateau.

Have you ever heard the saying “What brought you here might not bring you there”? After some weeks of losing weight your body has adjusted to what you are doing. So just by continuing to do what brought you the first successes might not bring you to your dream weight.

Your body adjusts at various levels: The nutritional level, the exercise level and your energy level.

To target the nutritional level you will have to change your eating habits. If you are still eating 3-4 meals a day, you need to stop that. Eat 5-6 small meals a day- but be clear on that small portions add up too. I strongly recommend keeping a food journal where you write down what you have eaten and the portion size. It costs you 5 minutes a day, and is really worth it.

You will probably have to change what you are eating too. Avoid high glycemic foods- everything containing sugar. This includes fruits. Fruit sugar goes into the blood stream easily, so fruits make you feel better in a short period of time. Unfortunately, after eating fruits your blood sugar will go down fast as well, making you crave for more.

Good substitutes for fruits are whole starchy foods, like whole grain bread, carrots or oats. No granola or muesli please: It often contains sweets or sugar. Combine these starchy foods with low-calorie vegetables, like broccoli or spinach.

For the exercise level you will have to change your exercise routine, especially if you are doing the same routine more or less every day. Your body gets used to it, so it will not work anymore. Do your workout routine on 2 days a week, and on 4 days of the week at least 2 different workouts. For example: Monday and Thursday jogging, Tuesday and Friday strength training and Wednesday and Saturday Yoga.
In addition, if you are doing the same workout all the time, you need to step up the intensity level. Consider getting one of these little devices measuring your heart rate- you might realize that you not challenge yourself as much as you could.

For the energy level you might feel less energized after a couple of weeks on a weight loss program. To find out the exact reason for this we would have to look into your specific situation. Check the following:

Your stress level is too high
You’ve used to balance emotional challenges by eating what is not possible anymore because you are on a weight loss program
You feel lightheaded and low energy at times because you try to lose too much weight in a short period of time
You do not get enough sleep
Since you are eating less, you are getting not enough minerals and vitamins

The last point is very important: Successful weight loss cannot be accomplished just by eating less. You have to change what you are eating too- and it should include more vegetables and salads as you are used to eat.

Generally, what you need in a weight loss program will differ from what somebody else needs. I’ve created a personalized weight loss program that adjusts to your situation and helps you with personalized advice to lose weight permanently: