How do women improve their metabolism as they age? This post is the woman’s ultimate guide to help increase metabolism after age 40.
Something happens to a woman’s body after she turns 40. Everything slows down. Muscle Mass decreases, which leads to muscle weakness, and the body’s ability to burn energy decreases.
Women lose 3-8% of muscle mass after 30. So, if one is not careful, it is easy to put on unwanted pounds and fat. So, take preventive steps to keep this from happening. Metabolism is the biochemical way your body breaks down food and converts it to energy.
Aerobic Cardio Exercise
You probably don’t want to hear it, but cardio exercise is essential for boosting metabolism. Exercising is like starting your car. You burn energy and, as a result, burn fat. One of the best benefits of exercise is that you continue to burn energy or calories for a while after your workout.
Remember this, the more you move your body, the more fuel or calories your burn. The more energy you burn, the more muscle you build. The more muscle you make, the less fat is stored in the body.
Strength Training
Strength training is essential because it builds muscle. The more muscle power you build, the less fat you will have. The mistake some make is only doing cardio or only doing strength training. It would be best to do both to boost your metabolism and lose weight.
Try strength training using free weights or your body weight to exercise. Examples of weight-bearing exercises include pushups, pullups, planks, squats, and lunges.
Drink More Water
Most people drink less than the body’s daily requirement for water. Water helps the body to burn calories. So, instead of grabbing that warm or cold beverage, pick up a water bottle and drink that instead. Drinking water can increase your metabolism by 10 to 30 percent.
Dehydration slows metabolism and causes the body to conserve energy. Instead of burning fat, you hold on to and store it. But, staying hydrated and drinking water do the opposite. The more you drink water, the less you crave sugary, unhealthy drinks, and the more you increase your metabolism.
Increase Protein
- Protein builds muscle
- Protein increases a gut hormone that makes you feel full and satisfied.
- Protein decreases muscle weakness from aging
- Protein gives you energy
Protein burns calories. Protein requires more calories to digest. Proteins also make you feel satisfied for more extended periods, decreasing the urge to eat things that are not healthy. Healthy protein includes beans, nuts, seeds, tofu, and whole-grain foods.
Increase Whole Grains
Tufts University states that those who eat whole grains instead of refined foods burn an extra 100 calories per day! Fiber also takes up more space and has bulk. Whole grains can decrease your feelings of hunger. Entire grains include rice, wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat, bulger, Millett, whole grain bread, crackers, popcorn, and Quinoa.
Increase Fruits and Vegetables
For starters, fruits and vegetables are low in calories. Once you eat fruits and veggies, the body uses this food as fuel to burn, whereas sugary refined foods store in the body as fat. Fruits and veggies contain vitamin C, vitamin B, and Calcium. So, replace foods such as sweets, snacks, white bread, and crackers with these healthier choices.
Get Adequate Sleep
Many negative things impact the body when you don’t get enough sleep. It’s somewhat of a domino effect. You wake up late, skip breakfast because you’re running late, and eat unhealthy options at lunch because you need something to satisfy your hunger because you skipped breakfast.
You’re too tired to cook when you get home and choose an unhealthy option. Then, you snack late at night because you haven’t eaten well all day. Oh yeah, forget about working out. You’re exhausted. Sound familiar?
Sleep is a restoration process for the body. Web MD says:
- Too little sleep triggers a cortisol spike. This stress hormone signals your body to conserve energy to fuel your waking hours.
- Translation: You’re more apt to hang on to fat.
- Researchers found that when dieters cut back on sleep for 14 days, the amount of weight they lost from fat dropped by 55%, even though their calories stayed equal. They felt hungrier and less satisfied after meals, depleting their energy.
Eat Regularly (Don’t Skip Meals)
Food is fuel to the body. Our bodies cannot function properly without eating. Skipping meals has the opposite effect of what home people realize. Not eating regular meals causes you to conserve and hold on to fat. It’s the body’s way of preserving itself from starvation. Skipping meals does not do you any favors, but eating regular, well-balanced meals helps increase metabolism.
Eat Breakfast
If you are interested in boosting your metabolism but skipping breakfast, you are fighting a losing battle. Depriving your body of the fuel or energy it needs to burn fat is like driving a car without power. You will get nowhere. Breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism for the day. Breakfast burns more calories. Not eating breakfast slows metabolism down, and you are teaching your body to hold on to fat. Eat! Enough said.
Decrease Stress
Stress causes some to lose weight and causes others to gain. Some people who may lose weight while stressed also deal with stress by eating. What do most people eat for comfort foods? You got it, junk food. But, even if you aren’t eating junk foods but more foods over time, your body will put on pounds. Sleep increases your metabolism.
Decrease Sugar and added Sugar in Diet
Sugar is full of empty calories, so there is little or no nutritional value. If you are in the habit of adding Sugar to a lot of your food, stop this now. Secondly, these keep you craving for more. After all, they don’t fill you up because they’re lacking in fiber. So, put the breaks on things such as desserts, candy, lemonade, sports drinks, fast foods,
Eat Whole Foods
Earlier, we mentioned eating whole grains. Now let’s talk about eating whole foods. Eliminate refined foods and eat whole foods. Examples of whole foods include beans, lentils, vegetables, fruit, grains, nuts, and seeds,
Get Your Thyroid Levels Checked
The thyroid has hormones called T3 and T4 that help regulate the body’s metabolism. If the hormone level is too low, it can cause you to gain weight; if it is too high, you can lose weight rapidly. Thyroid hormone influences metabolism and body temperature and helps to regulate your appetite. If you are trying to lose weight, the thyroid level may be the key to increasing your metabolism after 40.
Watch What you Say: The Blame Game
Stop blaming weight gain on your slow metabolism, DNA, thick build, etc. In other words, stop blaming your weight on people, places, things, and situations. Blame puts the responsibility for your problem on someone else.
When you take responsibility, it is more about how your mental state affects your metabolism and weight. You are responsible for what happens to you. Turn your gaze from the distractions to what you need to do for yourself.
Get Up Hourly and Walk Around
If you are in the office or at home, get up hourly and walk instead of sitting all day. Go down the hall and come back, go downstairs, come back, go to the mailbox, and come back. Keep your body moving to boost your metabolism.
Stop Depending on Supplements to do Everything
We live in a society of quick fixes. We want everything fast. Fast food, fast weight loss, fast everything, and if there is a corner to cut to get where we want to go, we will cut corners. If you want to increase metabolism, don’t look for quick fixes.
Supplements cannot exercise for you nor magically produce all the nutrients you need in a day in one capsule or pill. Put in the work you need to live a healthier lifestyle. Invest in your health! Yes, you can increase your metabolism after 40.
Conclusion
We spend money on cars, homes, massages, manicures, pedicures, entertainment, and clothing. Isn’t it about time we spend money on our health?
Money and time invested in health will never go to waste. Decide to put your health at the top of your priority list and remove it from the bottom.
Another blog post that may be helpful to you is “Meal Prep and Weight Loss.”
