Aditya Sahu ‧ CPT & Head Coach
Aditya is an ACSM certified personal trainer and exercise physiologist with more than 7 years training various people and transforming people's lives. He has written various publications for various sports and fitness magazines.
A human can do anything. If he has rebuilt his mind, reality will follow his thinking.
But if you are 45+, you can’t compare yourself with those who are about 30. You need to remember that losing weight at 45 doesn’t follow the same way as at 30.
It can be dangerous. You can start irreversible processes without noticing anything in your weight-loss excitement.
So manage your priority! Health, good health, sound sleep, a high level of energy, the joy of communicating with loved ones or an unhappy blue dress that you "got into" 20 years ago?
So, to lose weight or not to lose?
It is popular to "fight" with the physiological extra weight of premenopause and menopause by the most radical methods. It has its consequences: extreme calorie intake - plateaus - disruptions - extreme calorie intake - an even larger weight gain.
And then all of followings: increased cortisol, fat accumulations on the arms, back and abdomen, jumps in sugar and insulin, prediabetes.
!
It is better to be in the balance of calories and not lose weight than to "jump" like this. Constant breakdowns turn you into a sick person. It means this.
But for those who are losing weight quickly and actively, the health situation is also not very good. They can face cases with such things as high insulin, high stress levels, bone problems, a total deficiency of important trace elements.
It happens because "you need to eat everything and a little bit". A ton of fruit for a snack, ready-made business lunches, pilaf for dinner. Actually, it works but what about health?
What to Take Into Account When Losing Weight After 40
Let's figure out what is happening in general and how to deal with it.
1. Estrogens
They begin to decline after 35. [1] This is happening constantly, steadily, and slowly in the best case. Many people believe that this is a group of hormones associated with the synthesis of adipose tissue. Therefore, it seems like estrogens are bad.
But no. Absolutely not.
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That’s clear. With menopause, estrogens stop being produced by the ovaries, and first of all you notice a deterioration in the quality of muscles and skin, no matter how much you train.
What will help in this case? Subcutaneous fat.
Yes. It is very important not to "squeeze" the last kilograms. You need this five (and someone has a ten) kgs. This is your protection.
Adipose tissue partially takes over the function of estrogen – it even releases it itself.
This allows you not only to look younger, but also to maintain the density and strength of bones, move normally, without creating conditions for the development of osteoporosis.
2. Testosterone
It’s been already said a lot about testosterone. In general, all steroid hormones are human protection. [4]
What to do? It is impossible to give up working out in any way. Actually, the mandatory raw material for all steroids is saturated fat, at least a little.
3. Growth hormone
It is possible to stimulate it: these are amino acids and a normal protein content in the diet, about 1.5 grams per kilogram.
Also, early dinners, up to 18-19 hours, protein, going to bed until 23.00.
Why so? Because it is produced at midnight, by this time you should already come to a state of complete rest. Increased insulin after a heavy meal at night will not allow the hormone to be produced normally and restore you.
So the best dinner is a salad of greens with a couple of drops of olive oil and quite a bit of meat, fish or egg whites. Here, huge portions are definitely not needed. 100 grams of protein product is enough.
4. Vitamin D
It is also a defender, and its level should be monitored at least once a year. Fatty fish, cod liver - fine, but the best producer of vitamin D is the sun, so in temperate latitudes, I think, you can not do without an additive. [5]
5. Progesterone
It should always be monitored in conjunction with estrogen. Their imbalance is the basis of a huge number of diseases. It is generally a precursor of both estrogens and testosterone. In menopause, it drops to almost zero. [6]
6. Thyroid hormones
People suffer due to extreme calorie restriction. So it is necessary to control it, and no super-low-calorie diets, otherwise it will be difficult to get out of this loop later.
You dramatically reduce calorage - the thyroid gland reduces activity - and this reduces energy consumption for all metabolic processes. [7]
If you stop losing weight, you reduce calories even more - the thyroid gland suffers more.
!
You see, the whole problem is that people lose weight with what is available: with carbohydrates and ready-made products.
Do not be surprised that it is difficult to lose weight, stressful, always hungry.
It is not necessary to reduce the caloric content on pies, but to choose each product according to its value and satiety index.
Rules of beautiful and healthy weight loss in middle and old age:
• provide yourself with enough protein (and even additional amino acids), then you will maintain a healthy level of energy and satiety. Growth hormone also depends on this.
• don’t run away from fats and get rid of your own completely, you will give the body raw materials for the production of steroids.
• don’t chase the super-dry form - when losing weight during menopause, keep your health, optimism, and well-being.
• no breakneck speeds. It is necessary to lose weight slowly, confidently and with taste.
• Control. The most important word in this situation. If you do not pass the basic markers at least once a year, this is wrong. To help control the process, use our weight loss motivation tips.
What Else Will Be Useful?
It is necessary to check: insulin/ glucose, c-reactive protein, sex hormones (at least progesterone, testosterone, estrogen series, prolactin), ferritin, growth hormone, thyroid hormones, vitamin D3 levels, trace elements.
Measure your waist circumference. Up to 90 should be for a woman and up to 100 for a man approximately.
Hormones are not high in calories. They do not accumulate fat in the body.
But with age, the main metabolism really falls - due to the fact that muscle mass is lost and some metabolic functions are turned off or reduced.
You will need a little less calories. Loads - even if not more, but enough and most importantly, regularly.
For a woman of average parameters and with small loads, 1500 kcal for weight loss and 1800 kcal for weight maintenance is quite enough.
And remember, that any decisions about changing your diet and lifestyle, taking supplements and medications, taking tests should be coordinated with your doctor.
References:
1. Sara Gottfried, MD, What Happens to Our Hormones After 35, retrieved from https://www.saragottfriedmd.com/what-happens-to-our-hormones-after-35/
2. Veena Taneja, Sex Hormones Determine Immune Response, retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6119719/
3. Susan Stevenson, Julie Thornton, Effect of estrogens on skin aging and the potential role of SERMs, retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2685269/
4. George Krucik, MD, MBA, Ann Pietrangelo, The Effects of Testosterone on the Body, retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/low-testosterone/effects-on-body
5. National Institutes of Health, Vitamin D, retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
6. Steven R. Goldstein, MD, Progesterone, retrieved from https://www.healthywomen.org/your-health/progesterone
7. Rashmi Mullur, Yan-Yun Liu, Gregory A. Brent, Thyroid Hormone Regulation of Metabolism, retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4044302/
