Do you want to live healthier, but wish it was easier? Check out these 14 easy health hacks that can help you live healthier and feel better!

I was recently reading my Weight Watchers magazine (March/April 2018), that I got for free by the way from freebizmag.com. I read an article that I really liked about 31 health hacks. It was written by Jessica Cassity. (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.)

Jessica mentions 31 different health hacks that can help you feel fantastic. I just chose 14 of them that seemed like something most people would enjoy doing.

14 Easy Ways to Help You Live Healthier

*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.

1. Try Dancing. Dancing is good for your brain and your physical health. It can help make your brain younger, according to a brain health researcher, Marc Milstein, PhD. You also get a good physical workout from dancing. (If you’ve ever been a dance mom like me, you know how hard those girls work!) Your brain gets the most workout from learning something new, so learn a new dance. There’s lots of Youtube videos that will teach you how to dance. It’s even something fun that you and your kids can learn together!

2. Eat more at breakfast. I’m sure you’ve always heard how important it is to eat your breakfast! Well, it’s actually true. In the article it talks about a 2013 study that the journal Obesity did. They found “that women who ate the majority of their calories for breakfast lost more weight and felt more full than women who consumed most of their calories at dinner.” Wow, sounds like it’s worth the try! Here’s some healthy options:

3. Eat Mediterranean food. My doctor even suggested this to me just recently at my latest physical. This diet is full of healthy fats that have lots of health benefits. One thing it talks about in the article is that it can help relieve acid reflux. Scientists from The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and New York Medical College did a study on this. They gave people an acid reflux medicine and had others follow the Mediterranean diet. Amazingly, following the diet worked as well as the medicine. That’s awesome! Especially for someone like me who’s allergic to lots of medicines! This is a great way to live healthier! Here’s some examples of what to eat on a Mediterranean diet:

4. Exercise to your favorite song. This one sounds like something I would love to do! You already know listening to your favorite song can make you feel happier. Well, it can also make working out easier. Personal trainer, Katie Dunlop, suggests, “Start up the song you just love and challenge yourself to do a specific exercise until it ends. I often do this with squats, seeing how many I can do and trying to add more each time.” Since I like to walk, I think I would see how far I can walk during the song. Then, challenege myself to walk further the next time.

5. Don’t just sit there while waiting for your dinner reservation to be called. When you get to a restaurant and have to put your name on the list, don’t just look for the nearest place to sit down. A lot of places have pagers now that they give you when you put your name in. So, you’re not tied to staying in the restaurant. So, go outside and take a walk! You are burning calories and building up your appetite for dinner. Plus, you get a chance to have a nice conversation with your dinner companions without having to shout over everyone else in the restaurant.

6. Get encouragement from someone else. This doesn’t have to do with healthy eating or exercise, but it’s still very important to living healthier! If you’re feeling down, get in touch with someone who can offer you encouragement. This can be through a phone call, text, social media, etc. The article suggests asking, “What’s the best thing about this week?” or “What’s the coolest thing you heard today?” Then, when they tell you their answer, you’ll feel better and more positive too!

7. Listen to a book while you walk. This was suggested in the article by personal trainer, Erin Oprea. She suggests, “Download a book you know you’re not going to want to put down. Then, only listen to it during your walk.” That way, you’re bound to keep walking because you don’t want to stop before you get to the end of a chapter. Plus, you’ll want to walk again the next day, because you want to know what happens in the next chapter.

8. Try a HIIT workout. HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. Kari Saitowitz, founder of Fhitting Room, explains how to do a HIIT workout.

• For 20 seconds, do an intense power move such as burpees, squats, or sit-ups with all-out efort.
• Rest for 10 seconds.
• Repeat the 20/10 cycle 8 times. In four minutes, you’re done!

The article says if you do these kinds of exercises regularly, it can give you similar benefits as doing a moderate 20 minute workout. That’s amazing that you can only work out for 4 minutes! If you don’t have much time, this sounds like something you might try. If your dr. approves, of course.

9. You can exercise while you watch t.v. You don’t have to give up watching your favorite t.v. show! James Shapiro, founder of Primal Power Fitness in New York City gives a great suggestion. He says, “As the opening and closing credits of each episode roll, hold a plank for as long as you can.” If you’ve never done a plank before, you can put your hands on the back of the seat or sofa.

Also, I think if you can’t do a plank, just do something else that you can do during the opening and closing, or even the commercials. Maybe walk around the living room, do some leg raises, arm lifts, etc. Anything you can do in those few minutes will help you live healthier.

10. Make sure you drink enough water. In the article, holistic health coach MaryAnn Jones suggests, “Choose a beautiful glass or bottle for your water then add in a rainbow of fruit, veggies and herbs.” It will be so pretty, that you’ll want to drink it! I talk more about this in Step #4 in this post: 7 Easy Tips on How to Lose Weight Under 40

11. Make cleaning fun! Instead of dreading cleaning, turn it into something fun to do. You can set your timer for 4 minutes. Katherine Corp, co-owner of Pilates on Fifth in NYC suggests, “then make it a game to see how much you can run around and clean in that amount of time. You’ll be amazed how tidy your house looks.” If you can get in 30 minutes of cleaning, you’ll even burn some calories! If you’re 165 lbs, you can burn 112 calories in that amount of time!

I think this would be a fun way to get your kids to help you with the cleaning too! You can have a contest to see who can complete their cleaning task before the timer goes off. Or, who got the most cleaning done in the 4 minutes! Here’s some things to get you started:

12. Workout with a friend. It’s so much more motivating to workout with someone else. It can make the time pass much quicker if you’re walking with a friend, enjoying the conversation. Plus, for those of you that say you don’t have time to exercise, yet you have time for coffee with your friend, why not do both? You can walk to your local coffee shop with your friend, and enjoy a cup of coffee. Then, walk back together.

13. Salmon has lots of health benefits. There’s lots of healthy food trends that are popular for a moment, but then fade away. However, salmon is something that has always stood the test of time. It’s really good for your heart because of its omega-3 fatty acids. I talk about this in my post, How to Shop for Heart Healthy Meat and Nuts.

14. Bike to work. More and more people are biking to work nowadays to live healthier. When I would take my daughter to the train in the mornings on her way to her college classes, we saw people arriving on their bikes. In fact, one of the ladies that works at her college, bikes to work. She leaves it at the train station and then rides home. Other people take their bike with them on the train. Even buses have bike racks on the front of them now.

Also, if your work is within biking distance, you can just bike all the way to work. Before the school year ended, they had a bike to school day, and some teachers even participated.

The article mentions that if you pass a gym while you’re on the way to work and feel guilty about not working out, here’s a solution! You can still get your exercise in and the health benefits from it “without adding another item to your to-do list. In a recent study, people who biked to work lost just as much fat as car commuters who did high intensity exercise at the gym.”

So, as you can see, no matter what you’re doing, you can find a way to get some health benefits into your day.

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Related Posts

• 7 Easy Tips on How to Lose Weight After 40
• How to Make a Smart Goal and Stick With It
• Practical and Easy Ways to Start Living Healthy

Are you afraid of gaining weight or getting out of shape while on vacation? I know that’s something I always worry about. So, I found these 20 easy ways to exercise on vacation. This will help you stay fit while still having fun!

I was recently reading my Weight Watchers magazine (July/August 2017), that I got for free by the way from freebizmag.com. I read an article that I really liked about getting exercise on vacation. It was written by Aleisha K. Fetters. (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.)

Aleisha mentions tons of ways you can sneak fitness in while you’re on vacation. I just chose 20 of them that seemed like something I could do.

20 Easy Ways to Exercise on Vacation

*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.

1. Bring a carry on. Besides the fact, that it’s easier to be on your way when you get off the plane, you are getting exercise! Carrying your bag around the airport will help build your arm and shoulder muscles.

2. Walk while waiting to board your plane. Instead of just sitting there on your phone waiting to board the plane, start walking. If you’re afraid of going too far and missing the boarding call, just walk around the sitting area. It’s big enough, that it would be like walking around a track. If you have your carry on, walk with it to get more exercise.

3. Get an aisle seat. When you’re allowed to get up from your seat, take advantage of that. You can walk around the airplane and get a little exercise. If you’re not allowed to get up, at least you’ll have room to stretch your legs and arms and maybe even do some leg lifts. That will give you a chance to keep your circulation going and burn some calories.

4. If you’re on a road trip, stop every 2 or 3 hours. While you’re out of the car, walk around and stretch. You can also even do some jumping jacks and high knees. If you have your kids with you and you’re all doing these exercises, you won’t look so silly. You’ll just look like a great mom helping your kids get their energy out!

5. Pick a hotel in a place where you can walk around. If you pick a hotel in a city, make sure there are places nearby you can walk to. When we visit my mother-in-law we stay at two different hotels, depending on availability. One of the hotels is right across the street from a healthy market. So, we can walk there and buy our healthy food. There’s also some other stores and restaurants nearby, so we can walk around the area and get some exercise while we look around.

The other hotel has great places to walk. There aren’t any stores nearby, but it’s in a business park, so there’s plenty of little walking paths around. This is a fun and relaxing way to exercise on vacation.

6. When you check in, ask for a room far away from the dining area. That way, when it’s time to eat breakfast, you’ll burn some more calories on your way there. Same thing on your way back, you’re burning off some of the calories you just ate. The article says, “Every minute you spend walking can score you 100 steps or more.”

7. Buy something to play with. Once you’re all settled in where you’re staying, look for somewhere to buy something to play with. Or, if you have room, bring something with you. You can run at the beach while flying a kite. You can buy a big rubber ball and toss it with your kids at a local park. If you like to play Frisbee, you can buy one to toss around at the beach or the park. Sometimes hotels even have little grassy areas where you can play with your kids. That way you’re all getting some exercise. If you don’t want to keep the toy, pass it on to someone else staying there. That way you’re helping other people get exercise on vacation too!

8. Borrow from the hotel. Don’t use the excuse that you can’t exercise because you forgot your shoes at home! Some hotels will loan you whatever workout wear or fitness equipment that you need. In fact, most hotels have a workout room. Also, the article said that “Westin hotels offers guests the use of New Balance shoes and clothing for only $5 the whole stay.” That’s a great deal!

9. See if you can take a drop-in class at a nearby fitness studio. Either find out ahead of time or ask at the front desk, what fitness places are around. Some of them allow people to take a drop-in class. If there’s a fitness studio or workout gym you’ve always wanted to try, now’s your chance! Go take that cycling class or aerobics class you’ve always wanted to try! You’ll get in some good exercise and maybe even discover something new you’ll want to add in to your fitness routine when you get home.

10. Clean your hotel room yourself. Did you know that cleaning burns calories? I remind myself of that every time I’m cleaning the house while everyone else is playing on the computer. Anyway, if you clean your hotel room yourself, you’ll be burning calories! If you don’t feel comfortable cleaning the bathrooms, at least tidy up in the main living area. That’s still better than sitting there doing nothing. Plus, you’ll feel more relaxed if the place isn’t a disaster area all the time.

11. If you’re visiting relatives, help out. Especially if you’re visiting older relatives, like your in-laws or grandparents, help out. You can ask if you can help do yard work or dishes. Maybe they have a task they’ve been putting off because they couldn’t do it themselves. You’ll feel good because you’re helping them, and you’ll be burning calories at the same time!

12. Go ahead and go shopping! I mentioned in point #5 that we pick a hotel near a shopping center. So, why not go shopping? Most people expect you to bring them back a souvenir anyway, so you might as well get them one. While you’re walking around the shopping area, guess what? You’re getting some exercise on vacation!

13. Visit a farmer’s market. Lots of places have farmer’s markets in their city that you can go and visit. You can just take your time and walk around. The article says that “a leisurely 30-minute stroll through the stalls can burn 100-plus calories.” You might even find a healthy snack to enjoy while you’re walking around, or even a souvenir.

14. See if you can rent a bicycle. I know around here, there are lots of places popping up where it’s really easy to rent a bicycle for the day. Some of the places, you don’t even have to return it to the same place, there are other drop off stations. So, it’s easy to grab a bike and ride around the town. You’ll get to cover more area on a bike, and it’s much cheaper than renting a car or a cab. Plus, you don’t have to wait on anyone. You can come and go as you please. The best part is, you’ll be getting lots of exercise and enjoying yourself at the same time!

15. Don’t go on a bus tour, go on a walking tour instead. You can ask the place you’re staying at if there are walking tours instead. You can even have a chance to experience more if you go on a guided walk. That’s better than just hopping on and off a bus all day. You’ll feel better afterwards because you got to really spend some time seeing what you’re interested in, and you got some exercise on vaction!

16. Exercise while you’re in line. If you go to a theme park and are waiting forever in line, exercise! While standing there, you can do calf raises or toe taps. Everyone around you is busy talking to each other or trying to keep their kids entertained. So, no one will notice that you’re busy exercising!

17. Stay at a campground. If you like to go camping, even if it’s in an r.v., you can get some exercise. You’ll be walking around setting everything up, and maintaining it. You might even have to haul your own water and carry wood for the campfire. Also, you’ll be cooking and cleaning so that will give you some exercise too.

18. Go on a horseback ride. I never thought about horseback riding being a form of exercise. My daughter would absolutely love to do that! According to the article, “staying upright in the saddle – which engages the core, legs, and entire upper body – can burn 149 calories or more in just 30 minutes for a 155-pound person. That’s the equivalent of walking a 17-minute mile.” I had no idea! What a fun way for the whole family to enjoy time together and get some exercise on vacation!

19. Find some water. You can either go to the beach or lake. There are great fitness activities you can do there like snorkeling, kayaking, jet skiing, stand up paddleboarding, surfing, and more. It’s usually pretty inexpensive to rent equipment, especially from a resort. If you don’t know how to do anything of these things, many places offer classes too. How fun to learn something new and exercise on vaction!

20. Stay up front on a hike. If you go on a hike, don’t just stroll along with all the leisurely walkers. Stay up front and walk a quicker pace. You’ll still get to enjoy the hike, but you’ll get more exercise while doing it.

So, as you can see, no matter what kind of vacation you go on, there’s lots of ways for you to exercise on vacation.

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!

Related Posts

• 7 Easy Tips on How to Lose Weight After 40
• How to Make a Smart Goal and Stick With It
• Practical and Easy Ways to Start Living Healthy

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

Previously, I wrote a post about, 7 Easy Tips on How to Lose Weight After 40. Since, my readers are a mix of age ranges, I wanted to make sure and give weight loss tips for all of them. So, this time, I want to let you know how you can lose weight under 40.

While reading my Family Circle magazine (August 2017), I read an article that I really liked about how to lose weight under 40. It was written by Martica Heaner, PhD. I saved the article to refer to later when I need it. I think now is a great time to start!

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

7 Ways to Lose Weight Under the Age of 40

*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.

1. You can’t lose the weight by dieting only. It’s great to work on eating the proper things in your diet, but you also need to exercise.

“If you reduce calorie intake and lose weight without exercising, up to 35% of the weight you lose could consist of muscle,” says Richard Weil, an exercise physiologist. I know I don’t want to lose muscle! We’re all going to get flabby arms soon enough, so why make it start sooner than it should!

That’s why it’s important to also exercise. When you do your cardio exercises, you will help minimize that muscle loss. When you add in some strength training, you can build up your muscles.

2. Stay active throughout the day. I know that you think, “Well, I did my exercises this morning, so it’s okay to just sit here the rest of the day.” Wrong! You need to purposefully move throughout the day.

Marc Hamilton, PhD director from the Texas Obesity Research Center says, “If you’re inactive more than you’re active, you’re on the wrong side of the seesaw.” So, that means we need to make sure we get up and walk around throughout the day.

When I’m subbing, and the kids are working on something at their desks, I make sure I get up and walk around every 10 minutes or so. This is obviously to make sure they’re doing what they should. However, it’s also to make sure I’m walking around and not just sitting.

At home, when I’m working on the computer, every half an hour, I get up and do something. I’ll put away the dishes in the dish drainer. I’ll complete one of my “to do” list tasks, like putting the water bottles in the refrigerator for tomorrow. This is also a great way to make sure things get done around the house too!

Getting up and doing something is much better than just sitting. Hamilton also said, “Food consumed by an inactive body is likely to be stored as fat.” I don’t want that to happen! Maybe we need to all put that on a sticky note on our computer screens as a reminder. Every time we look at that note, it will remind us to get up and go complete a household task.

3. It’s best to plan what you’re going to eat ahead of time. If you’re hungry, and you haven’t already planned out what you’re going to eat, you’re more than likely to grab something that’s not healthy for you. It’s so much easier to just grab what’s nearby, like your kids’ leftover holiday candy, rather than to get up and make something.

Susan Pierce Thompson, PhD, says “When you’ve been making decisions all day, your brain may be overworked by the time you’re trying to figure out what to eat. That’s why you’re less likely to be able to resist tempting foods.” So, if you plan ahead, you’re already going to have something there and available to eat.

I talk more about how to do this in my post, 10 Best Ways to Prep for a Healthy Family Dinner.

4. Drink plenty of water. I have to admit, this is one of the things I struggle with the most! I hate water!

Water is important to help flush out toxins and things your body doesn’t need. It can also help you feel full. I definitely know this is true. I have to drink a whole cup of water with my vitamin, and I’m so full after!

So, if you drink a glass of water before you eat, you won’t eat too much. Also, if you drink it throughout the day, you won’t be as hungry. That means you’ll be less tempted to grab that extra cookie or piece of candy.

Since I don’t like plain water, I’ve found other ways to get my water everyday. I discovered infuser water bottles and water pitchers. If I’m subbing, the water bottle is great to carry around with me. If I’m home the pitcher is nice to pour from throughout the day. (Plus you have to get up to go pour that water!)

5. Eat the good for you, healthy foods first. I know we’re like our kids and we want dessert first! We all prefer to eat what we like first, which isn’t always what’s healthiest.

If you eat your vegetables and proteins first it can actually help you fight weight gain. I talk more about this in my post, What You Need to Know About Protein.

Plus, when you eat these healthier foods first, you’re making sure you’re getting a nutrient rich diet. Also, you won’t have much room leftover for the bad stuff. Alpana Shukla, MD, from the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Cornell says, “Eating processed carbs last can lower the hunger-stimulating effect of a dip in blood sugar that typically occurs after a processed carb-rich meal.”

So, in other words, you know how when you start eating a few chips or cookies, you end up eating the whole bag? Well, that’s because those carbs are actually making you feel hungrier. So, if instead, you eat the healthy foods first, you’ll be satisfied and won’t want to eat anymore.

6. Technology can help you keep on track. Lots of exercise apps are really popular right now! It’s a great way to share with all of your friends on Facebook or Instagram, what a great workout you just did.

Well, this technology is also great for keeping you accountable. You certainly don’t want to have to share with your friends you didn’t make the time to workout today. Also, if you’re competitive like me, you want to show your friends you worked out more than they did, and even burned more calories!

Plus, you can also see how you’re doing day to day. I have a walking app, and on Sundays, it sends me an email with my weekly stats. I can see on the graph, which days I walked longer and faster, and which days I walked slower and shorter. It’s a good motivation for me to do better next week.

A professor of nutrition at the University of South Carolina, Brie Turner-McGrievy, PhD, RD, says, “Tracking what you eat and how much you exercise can help you spot problematic patterns and find ways to improve your health.”

7. Make sure you get enough sleep. This is a tough one for me. I have so much to do and don’t go to bed until 11. Then, I have to wake up before 5 to get my daughter to the train to head to her college classes. Sleep is so important for you, though!

“Not getting enough sleep is associated with hunger and increases your risk for obesity,” says Neil Kline, DO, speaking for the American Sleep Association. I can see how this is true. On our way to the train station, after less than 6 hours of sleep, I’m starving!

They say it’s better to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Your hormones, even if you’re under 40, still cause you problems. When you don’t get enough sleep, one hormone drops and another rises. That combination, makes you more likely to eat.

We all need to turn off our electronic devices earlier and go to sleep!

So, lets all work on doing these 7 steps together! These are 7 tips that you can easily implement to help you lose weight under 40. If you need an accountability partner, or just want some practical help in how to do this in your life, please let me know. You can let me know in the comments below. Or, you can email me at brenda@brendalovessharing.com. I’m here to help you. Know, that it’s something I struggle with too, so we can do this together!

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!

Related Posts

• • 7 Easy Tips on How to Lose Weight After 40
  • How to Make a Smart Goal and Stick With It
  • Practical and Easy Ways to Start Living Healthy

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

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.

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