Weight Loss Slow With Age? 3 Ways to Speed Up Weight Loss Over 50
Does weight loss feel slow?
Is this a problem you never experienced in your 20’s or 30’s, yet with each passing year it feels harder?
Is it possible to speed up weight loss over 50, even a little?
Let’s talk about why weight loss is slow with age, and 3 action packed strategies you can start doing today to speed up your healthy weight loss over 50, just a little.
An Admirable Reason it Becomes Harder to Lose Weight Over 50:
One huge reason weight loss slows down with age is because you are making health and weight loss a part of your lifestyle instead of an extreme and restrictive short term strategy.
You’re done putting yourself through restrictive, depriving diets. You’re not going to do that to yourself any longer!
Without extreme diets, you lose weight more gradually, but you’ll sustain your weight loss for a lifetime.
Sure you could follow another 500 calorie diet, but you’re wise enough to know it’s not sustainable.
You’re losing weight in a way that is healthy and sustainable.
Extreme measures are off the table.
I admire this. In fact, it is one of the big reasons I chose to specifically work with women over 50. You get it. This is a healthy new and exciting way of living.
You lose weight slowly because you’re making habit changes, mindset changes and lifestyle changes and that take time to solidify.
It’s not about doing all of the tactics at once, it’s about making one small change at time, until you’ve reached your goal and it feels easy and doable to maintain.
This also means you’re getting off the yo-yo diet roller coaster. You’re losing weight for the last time! That’s a huge reason to celebrate every inch you lose and every ounce of energy you gain, no matter how fast or slow the progress.
But I get it. It’s motivating to see results, and the more results you see, the more momentum, and motivation you’ll feel to continue.
So, let’s dive in to these 3 action steps to make your weight loss journey a little bit faster!
1. Incorporate a Challenging yet doable weight training program 2-3 times per week.
Another big reason weight loss slows with age is the loss of lean muscle.
Lean muscle is metabolically active. It takes a lot of energy to maintain the lean muscle you have.
If you’re not using your strength and actively working on increasing lean muscle, you’ll lose it.
With the loss of lean muscle, you lose a heightened fat burning metabolism.
Notice the suggestion to “do a challenging yet doable weight training workout”.
This means you dedicate time to specifically focus on weight training alone.
Many assume that carrying some ankle weights or some light 2 pound dumbbells on their morning walk means they ‘ve weight trained.
No, this isn’t enough of a challenge to speed up your metabolic rate.
Your weight training workout must feel challenging yet doable in order to increase lean muscle that will burn fat at a faster rate, and you can’t achieve that level of a challenge unless you’re focusing on weight training alone.
2. Get Your Hormones Checked
Especially if you’re going through perimenopause or menopause, hormone fluctuations can greatly affect your appetite, the amount you eat, the way you sleep and your energy levels.
All of these factors can slow down weight loss.
It’s not enough to ask your doctor for an overall hormone panel. You’ve got to ask your doctor for thorough hormone testing.
For example, TSH is a standard thyroid test which may determine if your thyroid is slow and therefore your fat burning potential is low.
Yet, this simple test alone may not share enough information on your thyroid health. Free T3, Free T4 are 2 important thyroid test that may be overlooked, but could dictate the speed you’ll lose weight, or gain it.
Once you’ve figured out whether or not your hormones are making it harder to lose weight, you can find solutions to speed things up.
For example if:
- Stress hormone Cortisol is high, you can work on stress management, relaxation techniques and carbohydrate timing.
- Estrogen is low, you can focus on exercise and nutrition that meets your estrogen levels where they’re at.
- Progesterone, DHEA or testosterone are low, you may want to talk to your doctor or naturopath about hormone balancing solutions.
If you know what’s going on with your hormones, you can take action to speed up weight loss over 50.
In my program Over Fifty Fit & Fabulous we have a whole phase dedicated on exactly how to eat and exercise for your hormones, as well as what hormone testing you must do in order to make weight loss faster, healthier and lasting over 50.
To learn more, join the waitlist to Over Fifty Fit & Fabulous.Click here.
3. Reduce Your Calories a Little, Change Macros Alot!
When it comes to weight loss, calories do matter. You can’t eat a 3,000 calorie diet and expect that because you’ve added weights and you’ve added cardio you’ll lose weight.
Weight loss doesn’t work like that. You need to have a calorie deficit in order to achieve weight loss.
However, you may not need to cut back on calories as much as you think.
In fact, if you cut back on calories too much, you could be stalling or slowing down your weight loss.
This is because you’re trying to readjust what is known as your “set point”, the weight your body naturally settles at, too quickly.
The longer you’ve been at a higher “set point” (a higher weight) or the longer you’ve slowly gained weight over the years, the higher your setpoint.
This is why many say, “It’s so hard to lose, and so easy to put on. I just look at the donut and I gain the weight back”. That’s because your Set Point (the natural weight your body settles on) is high. You maintain a higher weight naturally.
When you lose weight too quickly, you may feel starving, as hormones that regulate your appetite are activated when you veer away from your Set Point fast.
As a result, your portions may get bigger, your snacking becomes more frequent or your metabolism slows down to save precious energy in case you’re experiencing starvation.
All of this is exacerbated with age, because this mechanism taps into hormones that could already be experiencing fluctuations, making it even harder to lose weight.
The solution:
Create a slight calorie deficit, instead of an extreme calorie deficit so you can continue to lose weight at a faster pace.
It seems counterintuitive, but it works.
You adjust your Set Point gradually which reduces a surge of hunger hormones that make weight loss more difficult.
You may only need to drop a mere 250 calories from your current calorie needs.
Focus on Macros Alot
You also need to focus on nutrients that balance hormones, including hormones that may be triggered when your body is pushing below your current set point.
To do this, you’ve got to find the perfect balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins (otherwise known as macronutrients).
As you may already know, the foods you eat have a huge effect on hormones, but unlike fad diets would have you believe, cutting out full food groups is not the answer.
When you cut out food groups, you cut out vital healthy nutrients that not only promote fat burning, but ensure you feel energized and achieve optimal health.
It also exacerbates hormone imbalances that slow down weight loss and increase the probability of weight gain.
Instead of cutting out food groups, find the right balance of macronutrients based on your exact age, and your hormone needs.
If you want to know your exact macronutrient needs click the link here. I’ll walk you through exactly how many carbohydrates, fats and proteins you’ll need to slim down faster, feel energized and strong in your 50’s, 60’s 70’s and beyond.
See you next time!
