I am 46 and I’ve reached that “magic age,” that really isn’t that magical, where you start to gain weight. I’ve worked so hard my whole life to stay in shape. We’ve also been on a heart healthy diet for 5 years. So, I thought when I hit that magic age of perimenopause, I would be fine. Wrong! I have started to gain a little bit of weight, and I’m not happy about it! So, I’m learning all that I can about how to lose weight after 40.

While reading my Family Circle magazine (August 2017), I read an article that I really liked about how to lose weight after 40. It was written by Martica Heaner, PhD. I saved the article to refer to later when I need it. Well, I definitely need it now, unfortunately!

Martica recommends 7 different ways to help you lose weight after age 40.

7 Ways to Lose Weight After the Age of 40

1. Increase Your Cardio. As you’re starting to go through perimenopause, your hormones are fluctuating. I’m sure I didn’t need to tell you that. I’m sure you’ve noticed! If you’re like me, your whole family has noticed too! Anyway, these lovely fluctuating hormones make you “more likely to gain body fat, especially in the abdominal area, according to experts.” No kidding!

So, how do we try to get rid of that fat? You need to increase your cardio. It’s recommended that you get more than 2 1/2 hours of moderate activity. This can be something like a brisk walk. Or, if you’re going to exercise more vigorously, you should get more than 75 minutes of activity. This is something like running.

I want to tell you that this actually works! I already walked 50 minutes per day, 5 days a week. That’s a little over 4 hours of walking a week. Well, when I started to gain a little bit of weight, I started walking faster. My usual pace was 15 minutes per mile. So, I worked on increasing it, and now my pace is about 14 minutes 30 seconds per mile. Last week I lost one pound!

2. Add in some strength training. Once you start increasing your cardio, it’s important to also add in some strength training. An exercise physiologist, Richard Weil says, “You can experience sarcopenia, the loss of muscle with age. Cardio will break down muscle and lower your resting metabolism.” So, in order to keep your muscles strong, you need to also do some strength training.

I do different back exercises every day. Some of these are stretching, and some are with an exercise band. All of these are designed to strengthen my back. You can also add in some light weights to help strengthen your arms.

One of the fellow moms at my son’s school is a nurse. She carries weights with her when she walks. She uses the weights to exercise her arms while she walks. It’s easy and doesn’t take any extra time. You can get your cardio and strength training done at the same time.

When I was younger, I used to strap on ankle weights when I ran to help strengthen my legs even more.

3. Take a quick nap. If you’re perimenopausal like me, you know that sleep is hard to come by! These lovely hormones mess up your sleep patterns. “This may make you tired during the day and impact hormones that influence your appetite,” explains Neil Kline, DO.

I definitely know that! I can be sitting at the computer and all of a sudden feel like I want to nod off. Or, if I’m subbing in a class, and the kids are working hard and I’m just observing them, I can feel tired.

A quick, 30 minute, nap can help with this.

Of course, I can’t stop and take a nap while I’m teaching (can you imagine the chaos that would occur)! So, if you’re like me and can’t take a nap, you can work on other things. You can only have caffeine in the mornings. It’s also been said that sleeping in a cooler bedroom around 60 to 67 degrees, can help you get a better sleep. Also, try to turn off electronic devices before you sleep. I like to read a devotional before bed to help me wind down. Saying a prayer before falling asleep also helps relax your mind and help you sleep.

4. Pay attention to the medications you take. Lots of medicines can contribute to your weight gain. Here we think medicine is supposed to help us, yet sometimes those side effects can cause you to gain weight! So, what do you do about it, especially if you need those medicines to survive?

An obesity researcher, Donna Ryan MD, says that sometimes “antidepressants, steroids, antihistamines and beta blockers can be culprits. Talk to your doctor about alternatives. Some are weight neutral or may even produce weight loss.”

So, that’s good news! Talk to your doctor and see what he can do to help you eliminate that nasty side effect of gaining weight.

5. Make the time between eating longer. *This is definitely one you should talk to your doctor about before starting.*

A lot of people have recently been talking about eating dinner early and breakfast later. So, an example is to eat dinner around 6 pm and then don’t eat breakfast until around 12 pm. A registered dietitian, Julieanna Hever, says, “It’s an easy way to limit calories without counting them.”

This is not one that I can try because I have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and I have to eat every 2 hours. Obviously, I don’t wake up in the middle of the night to eat, but I do eat a snack after 9:30 pm, and then eat breakfast around 6:50 am.

However, I have worked on eating less at my 9:30 pm snack. In fact, my doctor suggested doing that. I usually eat low fat ice cream or a baked dessert I made (made healthier with egg whites, applesauce, etc.) and some chex mix or rice cakes. So, my doctor told me to work on eating a little less sweet stuff and a little more of the not sweet stuff. This has actually been working to help me lose weight! I don’t feel deprived because I’m still getting to eat some sweet stuff, just a little bit less.

6. Make sure you eat enough fiber. The magazine article says, “Your metabolism is slowing down, but your hunger may not be.” Oh my goodness, this is so true! I find myself starving half the time!

So, we know we can’t just give in and eat what we want. However, we can eat things that will make us feel fuller. Food with fiber will do that. The next time you’re starving, try eating something with whole grains, legumes, fruits or vegetables. I also talked about this in my recent post, What You Need to Know About Protein.

7. See your doctor regularly. You’ve seen me mention, in a couple of the points, how my doctor has been giving me some of this same advice. I only know that because I asked him about it at my recent yearly physical. Luckily, my slight weight gain wasn’t enough to cause him concern. However, since I didn’t like it, and didn’t want it to continue, he was willing to give me advice to help. Since your doctor knows your individual health issues, he would be the best person to ask.

Plus, an MD, Alpana Shukla, suggest also getting “a comprehensive blood test that includes the full thyroid panel.” Sometimes as we get older, we’re more prone to having hypothyroidism. That can add to your weight gain. So, it’s good to get it checked, because it’s treatable. The treatment can sometimes help you lose weight.

2 Free Things to Help You Lose Weight

Now that I’ve given you all of these tips on how to lose weight, how do you really put it all into action? Well, I have a blogging friend that wants to help you with this, and it’s all for free!

My friend Sam is a “certified weight loss coach. personal trainer. colon cancer survivor. RN.  over 40. coffee drinker. hot flasher.”

She has 2 different free things to help you learn how to burn fat and see results quicker.

You can sign up for her free tips where you only have to make, “5 simple changes you can make to start seeing results quicker and easier!” It’s called “How to Eat to Burn Fat.”

Or, if you want a little more, and prefer a free course, you can take her 5 day challenge. “Go From Storing Fat to Burning Fat.”

Here Are Some Products to Help You Apply These Tips to Lose Weight

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (This means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

If you enjoyed this article, please pin the image below or the one at the top of the page and share it with your followers. Thanks!

Also, here’s a week’s worth of healthy meals to help you and your family stay on the right track!

I’ve reached that magic age where a woman starts gaining a little bit of weight no matter what she does! Even though I’ve been preparing for this day by staying within the lower weight range for my age and height, I still don’t like gaining a little weight! I don’t think any of us do. The other thing is, I’m hungry all the time! I can’t just give in and eat whatever I want. So, on my latest doctor’s visit, he suggested I start eating more protein.

While reading my Weight Watchers magazine (November/December 2017), that I got for free by the way from freebizmag.com, I read an article that I really liked about protein. It was written by Toni Gerber Hope. By the way, I’m not a member of Weight Watchers. I just figured I could get some good healthy living tips from the magazine.

What Are the Benefits of Protein?

Protein functions as building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. It’s also important to help you have a healthy heart.

Protein can help you maintain your weight, and can even help you lose weight. This is the main reason the doctor suggested I get more of it. It does this by helping you feel fuller quicker, and for a longer amount of time. “You may even consume less at your next meal,” says Maria Kinirons, RDN, director of science and nutrition for Weight Watchers International. The reason for this is that protein doesn’t break down as easily as carbs or fats. This means it burns more calories too!

Studies have been done on people who follow higher-protein diets. They’ve ended up losing more weight and body fat than people on other diet plans! “There’s evidence – at least in the lab – that if our bodies don’t get enough protein, we may overeat as a way to compensate for its lack,” says Christopher Morrison, PhD. He’s a professor of neurosignaling at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Also, people that continue to follow the high-protein diet, even after reaching their goal weight, are able to maintain their weight! They do better at that than people following other plans.

How Much Protein Should You Get Every Day?

In the Weight Watchers Magazine article, they get their information from the Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes. They say, “the acceptable range for protein is 30-35 percent of daily calories. People trying to lose weight should aim for the middle of that range, Kinirons suggests-or about 20-25 percent of their calories. That would equal about 60-75 grams of protein on a 1,200-calorie diet.”

Unfortunately, most of us are only getting about half the amount  that we need. That’s another reason why my doctor suggested I get more of it, and he suggested that for my daughter too. Protein is important no matter how old you are!

The article suggests looking at choosemyplate.gov for more information about protein foods. I found a really cool thing while looking there! It has a My Plate Checklist Calculator where you can put in your age, gender, weight, height, physical activity, and a few other things, and it will calculate a food plan for you! It told me I need 2200 calories to maintain my current weight. When I clicked on that, it told me how much I need from each food group, and suggestions of what to eat. It even has a worksheet where you can keep track of what you eat and your exercise for the day! What an awesome free resource!

Here’s what that website says about the amounts of protein in some foods:

“In general, 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or ½ ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as 1 ounce-equivalent from the Protein Foods Group.” You can see more of this table if you click here

Where Can You Find the Protein You Need?

Protein can be found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, beans, peas, soy products, nuts, and seeds. Make sure when you’re trying to get your needed amount every day, you get it from a variety of sources. Don’t just eat one kind of protein all day!

Here’s the selection tips from the Choosemyplate.gov website:

Selection Tips

• Choose lean or low-fat meat and poultry. If higher fat choices are made, such as regular ground beef (75-80% lean) or chicken with skin, the fat counts against your limit for calories from saturated fats.
• If solid fat is added in cooking, such as frying chicken in shortening or frying eggs in butter or stick margarine, this also counts against your limit for calories from saturated fats.
• Select some seafood that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, sardines, anchovies, herring, Pacific oysters, and Atlantic and Pacific mackerel.
• Processed meats such as ham, sausage, frankfurters, and luncheon or deli meats have added sodium. Check the Nutrition Facts label to help limit sodium intake. Fresh chicken, turkey, and pork that have been enhanced with a salt-containing solution also have added sodium. Check the product label for statements such as “self-basting” or “contains up to __% of __”, which mean that a sodium-containing solution has been added to the product.
• Choose unsalted nuts and seeds to keep sodium intake low.

That website also has a tips page that gives you suggestions on how to vary the protein you get throughout the day/week. Some suggestions are eating seafood a couple of times a week, eat lean meat and poultry, like 93% lean ground beef. Also eating eggs is another good choice. It’s also a good idea to eat plant protein foods like beans and and peas, soy products, or nuts and seeds.

I also have some more tips in the “Related Posts” section near the end of this post.

It’s also good to make sure you get some protein at every meal. That will help keep your meal portions from being too big.

You can get protein from whey powder, protein bars and drinks, but those shouldn’t be the only way you get it. I eat a protein bar and have a protein drink once a week, but those aren’t my main sources of protein. Your main sources should always be real food because otherwise you might be missing out on other important nutrients, like iron.

Some Examples of Where I Get My Protein

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (This means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

In the morning, I eat homemade muffins, pancakes, waffles, or cereal. The homemade goods have some protein in them because of the grains they’re made with and also because of the egg whites in them. The Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal that I eat actually has 19% of my daily protein, so that’s pretty good. My sons like to eat oatmeal with their breakfast, and that’s another good source.

My morning snack is a variety of granola bars and crackers. All of those have protein in them, but the highest amount is in the Nature Valley granola bars and the Triscuit crackers.

At lunch, I get my protein from the whole wheat bread and low fat, low sodium lunchmeat in my sandwich. Sometimes we’ll have egg salad or chicken salad too. Even my Sun Chips have 3 grams of protein in them! I also eat light yogurt, which has 10% of the daily value I need.

My afternoon snacks are a variety of foods. The potstickers and spring rolls have the highest amount of protein in them; up to 9 grams.

Dinner always consists of some kind of lean meat, brown rice or whole wheat pasta, and some kind of vegetables. Most of that has a really good amount of protein in it.

A couple of times throughout the day, when I’m feeling a little hungry, I’ll have a handful of smoked almonds.  They have 6 grams of protein.

So, once you know why you need protein and where to get it from, it’s pretty easy to find ways to fit it in your meals throughout the day.

Here are some other foods that might help you get that needed protein:

If you have questions about protein or want more suggestions about where to get it, let me know in the comments. If I don’t know the answer, I will research it for you.

Also, if you liked the post, I’d love it if you’d share it on social media for me or pin the image below or at the top of the post. Thanks!

Related Posts

• How to Shop for Heart Healthy Meat and Nuts
• How to Shop for Heart Healthy Dairy Products
• How To Make Whole Grains Part Of A Heart Healthy Diet

I recently talked about how most people think living healthy is a difficult transition. In my post, Practical and Easy Ways to Start Living Healthy, I gave you 5 ways to make the transition easy. So, I wanted to get into this further by helping you learn how to make a SMART goal and stick with it.

I was recently reading my Weight Watchers magazine (January/February 2018), that I got for free by the way from freebizmag.com. I read an article that I really liked about SMART goals. It was written by a Weight Watchers leader, coach and ambassador named Tina Gillaspie. By the way, I’m not a member of Weight Watchers, I just figured I could get some good healthy living tips from the magazine.

What is a SMART Goal?

SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. I really like this idea because it goes along with what I said about about not jumping head first into a goal. You need to start gradually, rather than try to make a transition all at once.

An example of a SMART goal that Tina Gillaspie gave in the article was, “I’m going to train for a 5K that’s in six months. I’ll do this by running three miles in the park, four times a week – on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, at 4 p.m.”

So, as you can see, her goal is:

Specific – training for a 5K in 6 months

Measurable – running 3 miles in the park at specific times

Achievable – 3 miles a day is something she can actually do

Realistic – she has the time and days available for her runs

Time-bound – the race is in 6 months

How do You Set a SMART Goal?

You should look at what it is you want to achieve first. Do you want to lose weight, run/walk a race, change your eating habits, etc. Some of you may have a goal that involves all 3 things I mentioned!

Now that you’ve thought of your big goal, you need to make it a SMART goal.

Specific – Name exactly what you want to achieve. Maybe it’s lose 4 pounds a month for 3 months. Or, you want to walk 30 minutes, 5 days a week by 3 months. Maybe, it’s to start eating heart healthy, like my family had to do, and your goal can be to achieve this totally in 6 months. Whatever it is, name your specific goal, and write it down.

Measurable – Have a goal to accomplish every week that will help you succeed at your final goal. So, if your goal was to lose 4 pounds a month, then that would be a pound a week.

If it’s to walk 30 minutes a day in 3 months, break it down by month. That would be 10 minutes a day by the end of the first month. 20 minutes a day by the end of the second month. Then, 30 minutes a day by the end of the third month.

In order to eat heart healthy in 6 months, break it down by month and pick a habit to change. Maybe your first month will be research. The second month will be modifying your existing recipes.  The third month will be eating less sweets, etc.

Achievable – Make sure the goal you set is something you think you can actually do! Don’t make the goal so unrealistic like, losing 60 pounds in 3 months! Or like, running a marathon in 3 months! Eating heart healthy totally in one day! You get the idea.

Realistic – You need to look at your schedule and see if you have the time to fit your goal in. If not, adjust it a little. Maybe give yourself more time to accomplish it and break it down even further.

Time-bound – This is so important! If you don’t put a time in your goal, you won’t have any reason to stick to it! If you give yourself forever to accomplish something, you’re always going to say, “there’s always tomorrow.” However, if you give yourself a time, then you’ll say, “Oh, I better go on my walk today so I can make my goal by next month.”

How do You Stick With Your SMART Goal?

Well, since you set a goal, and broke it down by week or months, it’s easy to check in with yourself.

Make sure you write down whatever you decided for accomplishing your SMART goal, and put it on your daily/weekly/monthly planner. If you like to do things on the computer or your phone, do that instead. Just make sure it’s somewhere visible, that you’re going to see every day. That way you can’t miss the reminder to get it done!

At the end of the first week, look and see if you’ve accomplished your goal for that week. If not, look at why it’s not working, and modify next week’s goal.  If you have made it, that’s great, your plan is working!

Also, at the end of each month, look and see how you’re doing with your goal. Looking back over the past month and seeing how far you’ve come, will be very encouraging! You will be so proud of yourself and will want to keep going!

If you have anyone that can help keep you accountable, that would be great too! Maybe you have a best friend, sibling, parent, online Facebook group, in person meet-up group, etc. that can help keep you on track. I will be happy to be your accountability partner! You can leave me a comment and let me know you want me to partner with you, or send me an email, etc. I will gladly partner with you and give you all the help and support you need.

It’s Okay to Change Your SMART Goal

If when you check in after, maybe about a month, and you find that things just aren’t working, it’s OKAY!

Sometimes unexpected things happen in life that interfere with our goals.

Maybe the goal you set seemed reasonable at the time, but ended up being totally too hard to reach!

You might need to, as Tina says in the article, “make the goal fit into his or her life in a more reasonable way.” Maybe you just need to set a totally different goal.

DON’T get down on yourself! Look back and see if you accomplished anything, and if you did, be proud! Tina says, “You may have started here, and you may not have reached that specific gaol because (you now realize) it was unrealistic. But see what you have achieved! You learn from your experience and use it to move forward so you can succeed.”

Get Started on Your SMART Goal Today!

So, set your big goal, and look at the example from “What is a SMART Goal.”

Make your SMART goal, looking at “How do you set a SMART goal?” and write it down.

Check in with yourself and your accountability partner, or me, every week and every month.

Modify your goal if needed. Remember you can even change your goal if needed.

Look back at what you’ve accomplished and be proud!

I would love it if you make a SMART goal, if you share it in a comment. Also, remember to let me know if you want me to be your accountability partner. I will also gladly answer any questions you have or if you need help with anything. I’m excited for you! Let me know how you’re doing!

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (This means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Here are some things that might help you achieve your goals:

If you liked this article, I would appreciate it if you would share it on social media so that your friends can meet their SMART goal too! You can pin the image below or the one at the top of the post and share it with your followers. Thanks!

When you start thinking about living healthy, you may think it’s going to be a really frustrating and difficult process. Well, I have great news! Living healthy can be an easy transition! I know because my family and I have been through it, so I want to help make it an easy transition for you and your family too.

Start Living Healthy Slowly

I know when you get motivated to do something, you just want to jump right into it and go full-force. A lot of people do that when they want to start living healthy. Then they fail because it’s too hard to make that transition all at once.

It’s much better if you start living healthy slowly. You and your family will be much more likely to accept this transition if you do it this way.

I know, because we had to switch to a heart healthy diet a few years ago since my husband passed down heart disease genetics to my oldest son. Lots of men in my husband’s family passed away at an early age due to heart disease; including his brother who passed away at age 30.

I researched all I could about living heart healthy, and then slowly, one by one, we started changing things in our diet. You can read about our first change in my post, Grocery Shopping for Fruits and Vegetables.

If I had just thrown all of the changes I read about at my family all at once, there’s no way we would’ve been able to stick with our heart healthy diet. Everyone would’ve been too frustrated and discouraged and just given up.

Learn How to Make Substitutions for Living Healthy

When we first had to start living healthy, I wanted to be able to use the same recipes I’ve used over the years. I didn’t want the change to be so drastic that we didn’t have anything familiar left to eat. That would’ve been hard on my husband and I, and especially the kids.

So, thankfully, I found lots of ways to just make substitutions to the recipes I was already using. That way, we were still eating something familiar, it was just changed a little bit. You can read about how to do that in my post, 14 Ways to Adapt Existing Recipes to be Heart Healthy. 

Want to know what one of the best parts is about learning to make substitutions for health living? You can still eat out! As long as you know what to look for. Many restaurants have meals that are low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. If not, you can ask them to prepare your food to order.

I wrote all about how to do this in my post, How to Eat Heart Healthy Even When Eating Out. 

It’s Still Okay to Snack When You’re Living Healthy

If your family is anything like my family, we love to snack! We eat three main meals a day and three snacks.  Thankfully, snacking isn’t “bad” if you do it in moderation and make healthy choices. It’s important to choose snacks that have lots of nutrients in them. Thankfully there are lots of different kinds of healthy snacks available.

In my post, Heart Healthy Snack Ideas, I wrote about several different kinds of crunchy, munchy, sweet, and thirst-quencher snacks.

There are lots of different kinds of healthy kids snacks available too, so it won’t be hard to get your kids on board with living healthy too. You can read about 37 different kinds of kids’ snacks in my post, Healthy, Quick and Easy Snack Ideas for Kids.

You Only Need 30 Minutes to Start Living Healthy

If you’ve never exercised before, or haven’t exercised in awhile, it’s a good idea to start slowly (check with your doctor before starting any exercising). You definitely shouldn’t just go and try to run a marathon when you first start out! If you want to be successful, you need to ease in to exercising so your body gets used to it and you don’t hate it.

The American Heart Association recommends  “at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week.” The nice thing is, you even get 2 days off! If you don’t have 30 minutes all at one time in the day, you can split it up into two 15 minute sessions or three 10 minute sessions. I think it would be good when you’re just starting out to break up your exercise sessions throughout the day. That way you can slowly get used to the routine.

You can read about this more in my post, How Just 30 Minutes a Day Can Help Your Heart.

If you can’t do three 10 minute sessions at first, just start out with one 10 minute session every day for a week. Then slowly start increasing it little by little every week.

When my doctor gives me a new back or hip exercise to do, he tells me to just start out by doing 5 of them for a week. I add 1 more each week until I reach my maximum goal number. This gives my body a chance to get used to the exercise and then I don’t get sore.

So, start off slow, just do what you can do. That way you don’t get discouraged, and you don’t get too sore. Then, you’re more likely to stick with it.

More Resources to Help You Start Living Healthy

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (This means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

• I have lots more posts that can help you in my Healthy Living Category on my Menu Bar.
• In the Recipe Category on my Menu Bar, I have a couple recipes made healthier for you and plan to add more each month.
• There’s also a Healthy Living Resources Category on my Menu Bar where I share with you all the resources I’ve used to help me learn how to start living healthy.
• My Amazon Influencer Page lists all of the cookbooks and other resources I use to help me meal plan.

So, see, now you know that when you decide to start living healthy, it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming and scary process. It can be an easy transition if you just take it slowly and learn how to make substitutions to what you already make. Once you’ve got all of that down, then you can gradually start to make more and more changes.  Before you know it, you and your family will be enjoying living healthy!

If you need any help getting started or if you have any questions, please feel free to leave it in the comments. I answer every one, usually the same day.

If you enjoyed this post, please pin the image below or the one at the top of the post and share it with your followers. Thanks!

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