Is weight gain inevitable now that you’ve hit your 40’s or 50’s? You’re sure you’re not eating any more food than you usually do. Processed foods and the usual “junk” foods are rarely a part of your diet. You haven’t indulged in your favorite baked treats in what seems like months yet you’re clothes are feeling tighter and you step on the scale only to find you’ve gained a few more pounds.If you’ve had gastric bypass surgery like I have you probably thought these frustrating dilemmas were behind you. I’m sorry to tell you that even weight loss surgery won’t give you a free ticket out of these middle age woes.
What’s going on? Is this possible? Unfortunately, it is, especially if you’re a woman over 40, working at a stressful job and putting everyone else’s needs before your own.
Although you thought your current diet was healthy you’ve been considering going on the Keto Diet or the Paleo Diet. Or maybe the vegan diet is what you need? Intermittent fasting (not starvation!) seems like it could be a good solution too. But before we start talking about major diet and lifestyle changes let’s look a little closer at some of the underlying reasons that might be causing your weight gain.
So what’s happening to your body? Is gaining weight an inevitable part of getting older?
We’re now learning that the whole “calories in, calories out” is an overly simplified view of weight that doesn’t take into account individual biological differences or the type and timing of the foods we eat.
A lot of this comes down to your metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is affected by many things including your activity level, the type of activity you do, how long you’ve been overweight and your history of dieting, genetic differences, body composition, what you eat and when you eat.
Let’s look beyond the “calories in, calories out, eat less, exercise more” advice we’ve been given for years and dive into some of the less obvious reasons why you might be gaining weight.
Today we’ll look at five common reasons for those extra pounds and snug fitting jeans once you’ve hit your 40’s and beyond.
1. AGING
Strange things seem to happen as we get older. Our bodies seem to fight us on everything. We experience lower energy levels, brain fog, digestive discomfort, weight gain and what seems like new aches and pains every morning.
Aging can cause hormonal changes in both women and men. Hormonal changes often contribute to loss of lean muscle mass which slows your metabolism. These changes can leave you feeling weak and tired, not wanting to get out and move your body or do some weight training to keep your muscles strong. As you exercise less and less your muscles get weaker and weaker and your metabolism slows further.
Hormonal changes and loss of lean muscle mass can also cause more fat to be stored on our bodies since we need fewer calories. As we get older our bodies have a harder time processing carbohydrates like we used to so every little cookie seems to go straight to our hips and bellies. Adding weight training 3 or 4 days a week will help build muscle and increase your metabolism.
Not only does weight training help you build strong muscles it also releases human growth hormone which contribute to an increase metabolism and also helps to firm and tighten the skin giving you a more youthful appearance. Give it a try, your body will thank you.
2. HORMONES
I’ll write a more in depth article on hormones in a future post but for now we’ll discuss thyroid hormone and insulin since they are two key players in your weight.
Your thyroid is the master controller of your metabolism and can be a major contributor to sluggishness and weight gain. When your thyroid gets off course and produces fewer hormones your metabolism slows down and you gain weight even though you’re eating exactly what you’ve always eaten. And if you’re too tired to get the exercise your body needs to stay healthy your metabolism slows even further and you have even more weight gain.
If you’re gaining weight, feeling sluggish and your skin, hair and nails have become dry and brittle consider talking with your doctor about having your thyroid tested.
Another major hormone that contributes to weight gain is insulin. Insulin is also known as the fat storage hormone. When insulin is high your body isn’t burning fat. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas when we eat carbohydrates and protein. Fat does not cause insulin to be released, one of the reasons for the popularity of the high fat keto diet, but eating too much fat can still make you gain weight.
To keep insulin in check and reduce insulin spikes cut back on starchy, sweet carbohydrates such as breads, pastas, cakes, cookies and candies and increase vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables.
3. SLEEP
There’s plenty of research that shows how much influence sleep has on your metabolism as well as the hormones grehlin (the hunger hormone) and leptin (the satiation hormone).
As we age it becomes harder and harder to get a good night’s sleep. Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep can be caused by hormonal fluctuations. We’re also more sensitive to lights and noises that keep us awake at night. Science has shown that we need 7-9 hours of sleep every night to stay healthy and avoid weight gain so it’s important to look for ways to create a calming, peaceful environment at bedtime.
And speaking of hormones, grehlin (the hunger hormone) production goes up when you get less than 6 hours of sleep at night making you hungrier during the day. I don’t know about you but whenever I get less than 7 hours of sleep I end up eating unhealthy, blood sugar spiking carbs all day long. When you get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep, leptin production increases causing you to feel less hungry during the day.
So it’s true…lack of sleep is linked to weight gain! Maybe you really can sleep your weight off! Try implementing a calming bedtime routine (warm bath, chamomile tea, read a book, lights out, no tech and a cool, dark room) to help you fall asleep easily so you can get at least 7 hours every night.
For additional information on the importance of sleep for weight loss click here and click here
4. STRESS
This is another important topic that I’ll write more about in an upcoming post but it needs to be mentioned here since we live in a time of enormous stress. Stress is everywhere and it causes a negative stress response in our bodies. And you know that chronic stress is not going to help you sustain healthy habits or maintain a healthy weight, right?
Chronic stress causes a near constant release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline gives you that feeling of a racing heart and agitation. Cortisol increases your blood sugar prompting a release of insulin. The release of insulin brings your blood sugar back down but then you end up craving sweets and comfort carbs. This cycle of stress, cortisol and insulin prevents your body from burning fat and can even cause weight gain. And you didn’t even eat anything!
While you can’t necessarily remove all your stressors you should look at removing the ones you do have some control over and adjust your stress response to the ones you can’t remove.
A tech detox, yoga, meditation or walking in the morning all help you gain control over your day. Try walking throughout the day or after work to help you calm down and de-stress. Physical movement is one of the best stress reducers there is and walking is one of the easiest, cheapest, safest ways to reduce stress and lose weight. Aim for a minimum of 10,000 steps every day.
5. MEAL TIMING
Meal timing is an often overlooked as a reason for weight gain but it’s incredibly important to be mindful of how often you’re eating throughout the day.
Over the past 40+ years we’ve been brainwashed to believe that the best way to stay lean and keep your blood sugar balanced is to eat 5, 6 and sometimes 7 smaller meals and snacks throughout the day. There are a few problems with this way of eating (aside from the fact that it’s obvious this advice is simply not working).
Your body was not designed to be eating all day every day. Our paleolithic ancestors, and even our own grandparents, did not eat all day long. They ate 2 or 3 meals a day spaced 5-6 hours apart with a proper ratio of low glycemic vegetables, fats and moderate protein. They didn’t eat mini-meals and snacks all day long and they certainly didn’t have processed, packaged foods.
Intermittent fasting is becoming increasingly popular as a simple, effective way to lose weight and help maintain a healthy weight. It’s more than likely that our paleolithic ancestors experienced frequent periods of forced intermittent fasting when food was scarce. Your body evolved to survive and thrive during these times of scarcity if it didn’t, we wouldn’t be here today.
So try cutting out snacks and mini-meals (which often end up being more than “mini”). Try condensing your eating into a 6 or 8 hour window but don’t eat more than 2 to 3 meals a day. Space your meals out at least 4 hours apart but preferably 5 to 6 hours apart.
One other very important thing to remember is that every time you eat one of those mini-meals or snacks your blood sugar goes up and then insulin is released. The job of insulin is to store the sugar that your body doesn’t use right away into fat cells. So if you’re eating all day long you have insulin being released all day long and, as mentioned above…
insulin is a fat storage hormone so you’ll have a difficult time losing extra weight if you constantly have insulin being released.
My day begins with a cup of organic black coffee and a morning walk for 30 to 60 minutes. Starting my day with exercise before breakfast is the only way for me to have any kind of appetite control throughout the day. And since I haven’t eaten anything yet my body is burning off fat instead of burning off calories from food. I also follow a plant based keto diet as much as possible which prevents blood sugar spikes and helps me control cravings for sweets, pizza and pasta.
After I shower and head to work I’ll have a moderate protein/higher fat breakfast (a smoothie or ketogenic muffin) at my desk around 10:00AM. Lunch/dinner is usually a salad with some chicken somewhere between 3:00PM to 4:00PM. After that I don’t eat until the following morning at about 10:00AM. That’s it. It’s that simple. And it works.
So you can see there are many factors that can affect your weight, I’ve only touched on a few of them here. Aging, hormones, stress, sleep food and meal timing are all interconnected and part of a much bigger picture of the state of your health. Hopefully I’ve given you a few things to think about to start looking for possible reasons for your weight gain. I’ll dive deeper into each of these factors in upcoming posts so sign up below to get on the list to get these posts when they come out.
And please be sure to check with your doctor before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
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References:
https://authoritynutrition.com/lose-weight-in-menopause/
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/sleep-stress-and-fat-loss
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