Are you over 40, over 50 or over 60 and trying to get in shape? Have you encountered a few hurdles since becoming older like me?
I have spent the last 5 years trying and testing different methods of staying in shape and I am here to tell you when you get older it doesn’t get any easier.
In fact, you will know if you are reading this and over the age of 40, that staying in shape as you get older for most women gets more difficult.
Factors like menopause, having children, the body changing, to name a few will make things a little less easier than when you were young.
But don’t give up hope! You can have a fantastic shape going into your 40s, 50s and even in your 60s without spending hours in the gym every day and starving yourself (in fact you definitely shouldn’t be starving yourself!).
You can sign up for my free eating plan here and find out how you can get in shape and reach your full potential in 2020.
The two biggest weight loss mistakes that I made and I see quite commonly are:
- Not paying enough attention to what you are eating. I spent years training really hard and staying the same shape and even getting bigger once I hit my 40s. I ran a lot, did Crossfit, circuit training and even did Insanity. It wasn’t until I really paid attention to what I was eating that I noticed and improvement in my physique. My fitness pal is a good place to start recording what you are eating and working towards a consistent eating plan. This doesn’t mean starving yourself or going on an extremely low-calorie diet. It also doesn’t mean denying yourself the odd treat and some of the foods you enjoy. It is about having a sustainable eating plan with the right balance of carbohydrates, fats and protein to meet your needs. You can download my free meal plan here to see what this looks like.
- Doing too much cardio. Yes, I was that person that used to do too much cardio like running for miles and miles. And while I’ll admit there is a small benefit to doing a bit of cardio, for older women, the focus really needs to be lifting weights. There are many reasons for this and I won’t go into all of them here. One reason is that if you are doing say, one hour of running every day, because your body has got used to and adapted to that, once you stop, this is going to cause more weight gain. Another reason is the focus should really be about adding the muscle that you have lost over the years as an older woman, and lots of cardio won’t help you build muscle. Don’t be scared to build a bit of muscle, you are only adding back in what you would have naturally had in your younger days, but have lost due to the aging process. Plus the muscle will make you look more toned and burn calories. The free weights area in the gym is your friend! To find out more about the benefits of weight training for women read my blog here.
To help you understand and take control of your eating I have developed a free eating plan which you can download today. Just click this link and sign up for my plan
What are your biggest weight loss mistakes? And what is preventing you from reaching your goals?