Weight Loss over 40 [part 1, blood sugar]

Weight Loss Over 40

Have you noticed that the things you used to do, in your 20 and even 30s to maintain your size and fit into all your favorite clothes don’t seem to work anymore?

As much as you may not want to believe it, your body does change as you age.

When I say ‘change’ that does not necessarily mean BAD.

Yes, your body can change in ways you don’t like and that would be considered ‘bad’.

More often than not the reason for ‘bad’ change in a mostly healthy body happens because…

You aren’t doing anything to control how your body is changing.
1. Probably due to the ‘I’ll deal with this later, when I have more time’ thinking.
You’ve been working to control your body change but what you’re doing isn’t working
1. You may be doing all the ‘things’ right but not actually doing the ‘right’ things.

For Women

When women hit their 4os they are very likely to be in a state of perimenopause which is definitely a major body change.

Many of the hormones that have been working in the background to keep you feeling good (high energy, health libido, curvy in all the right places) are dropping.

This is 10 or more years BEFORE menopause which is when most people expect to feel different in their body.

Here’s a secret about peri-menopause and menopause, you don’t have to suffer. Yes, your body is in flux but you can adjust how you do things to help manage your body’s response to these changes.

Healthy Aging Tips

Get serious about what you eat because it matters
Take specific action to reduce and eliminate stress from your life
Prioritize sleep
Make sure you’re moving daily. Extra credit if that movement is actual exercise
Investigate if Bioidentical Hormone Replacement is right for you

If you’re interested in other blood lab markers associated with healthy aging please make sure and check out my post: Know Your Health Markers

Download my Health Markers Info. Graphic

Food

What you eat has always mattered but now your body is getting serious.

In your 20s and even 30s you had hormones that helped offset all insults to your body: processed foods, sugary treats, alcohol, lack of sleep.

At 40 and beyond a lot of the hormones that worked to keep your body in balance just can’t do it anymore.

Think of this as METABOLIC DEPT – your body is looking to cash in on that DEPT and…

YOUR BODY NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Balance Your Blood Sugar

Weight loss over 40 [part 1] is about how to balance your blood sugar naturally.

We’re back to two ideas mentioned above:

What you eat matters
Doing the RIGHT things vs. doing all the things right

Are you asking yourself – ‘Do I need to balance my blood sugar’?

This may help you answer that questions: The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

Does your day look like this??

Eat when you get up (not really noticing if you’re hungry or not)
Maybe also hit Starbucks on your way to work for a yummy coffee treat
Start losing focus at work, thinking about food, realize you ‘need’ a snack
Lunch time! Yay, just in time you were starting to fade (again)
Couple hours after lunch brain fog setting in, tired, cranky, need a snack
Finally home start nibbling while thinking about making dinner (or just skip dinner and have a huge pantry binge)
Have dinner (might not even be that hungry due to the nibbling)
Evening munchies, snack time (again)
Morning… begin again

This might not be exactly what your day looks like but what I want you to take away from this is, do you NEED…

regular food breaks to keep your energy from fading and wanting to nap
regular food breaks to keep yourself focused on your task(s)
regular food breaks to manage your mood and not get snippy
regular food breaks to avoid headaches or even feeling shaky or dizzy

Maybe you’re someone who eats very little during the day because you’re so busy. Because of that you tend to have ZERO control over what you do eat when you finally have the time – fast food, pantry binges.

What I’ve described above is your body ON SUGAR.

Sugar is a fleeting fuel that creates swings from high, highs (feeling great) to low, lows (if I don’t eat NOW I may die).

When you’re living on the blood sugar rollercoaster your body is primarily using sugar and only sugar for fuel.

Your body is NOT metabolically flexible – able to easily tap into a different source of fuel when the sugar has been used up.

The 1st step in learning to manage your weight (and how you feel) after 40 is retraining your body to not NEED sugar.

Get off the Blood Sugar Rollercoaster!

HOW To Get Off The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

The first thing to understand is that you are not feeding your tummy.

You are feeding every cell in your body. The food you eat is for your cells.

Until those cells get what they need to function (what they require) your body will continually ask you to feed it. You will feel hungry all the time.

Your body has a daily protein requirement and studies have shown that humans will over eat FUEL (calories) in an attempt to reach that protein requirement.

Simply put – you willing but likely unknowingly over eat because you’re chronically hungry for the nutrients you can only get from protein.

So, for example, if you have a breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese, coffee, orange juice and a banana you have:

given your body a TON of sugar and you’re now riding a sugar high and feeling good and ready for the day, at first…
given your body a fleeting fuel that will quickly burn off (1.5 -2 hrs.) and leave you hungry, fatigued and looking for a pick-me up
given your body some nutrients but not the most important ones, amino acids which come from protein so your body is forcing you to eat more

The need to constantly eat, many times a day will most likely result in way more calories than your body needs or can use. Over time this compounds to weight gain. That extra fuel must be stored and fat is how your body stores excess fuel.

Chronic hunger –> Over Eat –> Weight Gain

What you eat matters.

When you give your body what it needs, it will stop asking your to feed it (less hunger). This will naturally allow you to eat less without trying.

So, instead of that high sugar breakfast outlined above how about a nutrient dense breakfast:

3 eggs
1/2 an avocado
1-2 pieces of bacon
sliced tomato

Calming your blood sugar is a process so yes, you may still need a snack or two as you settle comfortably into more time between feeling hungry and needing to eat.

Look for snacks that have protein, low carbs and fats that are equal to or less than the protein grams.

THE GOAL – eat three meals a day without feeling the need for snacks.

How To: 3 Meals, No Snacks

Build your meal so it includes protein and low-sugar veggies (fiber) – volume matters and will help you feel satisfied at the end of a meal. The size of your meal will be individual to you. Test and evaluate how much food you need to feel satisfied at the meal but also satiated (comfortably full) for hours after the meal. Shoot for about 4 hours between meals.
As you’re transitioning to more nutrient dense food and dialing in the size of your meals you’ll likely need snacks while making these adjustments. Keep the snacks low-sugar (watch the carbs). The reason low-carb is so popular is because it is a very effective way to balance your blood sugar quickly (calm the food cravings).

Doing the RIGHT Things

The ability to do ‘things right’ is being efficient = spin in circles, well

Knowing and doing the ‘right things’ is how you become effective = create results

Example of doing ‘things right’:

cut calories to lose weight – you’re really good at counting calories and cutting way down on your food intake so good in fact that you get to repeat the process regularly – yo-yo weight gain and loss. You’re efficient at managing a symptom of body imbalance, weight gain but you’ll continue to have to manage this symptom because you haven’t effectively addressed the root cause issue (why your body is putting on weight, feeling sluggish, waking at night, feeling cranky).

Example of doing the ‘right things’:

Give your body the food it requires – calm your hunger, bring your blood sugar to a healthy level eliminating sugar cravings, feel full for hours so you eat less without trying, tap into fat as a fuel source so you lose inches/weight. You’ve effectively addressed the root cause of your excess weight, imbalanced metabolic hormones. Hormones that control appetite, energy, mood, body size and overall health. You don’t regain the weight because you’re working with your body not against it.

The Benefits of Balancing Your Metabolic Hormones and getting off the Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

You get way more time in your day – thinking about, finding and eating food takes a lot of time
You’re energy goes up – no more highs and lows, just a nice level of constant energy all day
Your brain fog clears – no more low fuel emergencies zapping your brain
You regain control over what you choose to eat – the sugar doesn’t drive your choices, you get to decide
You eat less without feeling like your forcing yourself to eat less – no hungry or deprivation
Your clothes start to feel more comfortable – your burning fat (body composition change) as a fuel source not just sugar
You’re sleeping better – no more blood sugar swings waking you during the night

Know Your Health Markers

If you’d like more information about RED FLAGS your body throws out to let you know things are moving in the wrong direction check out my post:
Know Your Health Markers.

You also find a free info. graphic you can download and print that outlines the health markers you should watch.

Here are some resources that you may also find interesting:

All my best

Amy White, Functional Nutritionist

I’m Amy a board certified holistic nutritionist, certified functional nutritionist and lifestyle practitioner and certified Life Coach. I help women in midlife understand the changing needs of their body so that they can stop dieting and lose weight permanently. At 56 I live what I teach. Don’t believe the story that your best years are behind you. They are not. Your best years are just starting!

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