Why do our waists get bigger as we age?  And what can we do about it???

 

Do you have the same waist size you had when you were 21?

 

If you’re north of 40, the answer to that is probably a massive “No!” ☹️

 

You’re certainly not alone!

 

It’s not a nice feeling eh?

 

It’s certainly not something that makes us feel sexy or attractive.

 

Clothes just don’t look as nice as they used to and that can take any joy out of clothes shopping…if you ever enjoyed it 😉

 

And it can affect your intimacy with your other half…if you don’t feel attractive, your libido’s hardly gonna be raging, is it?

 

Once you hit 40… and start to creep towards menopause, the situation only gets worse and it seems harder and harder to keep the weight away from your tum.

 

But trust me, it really doesn’t have to be this way.

 

If we know what’s causing it…we can do something about it, right?

 

If you know why your car is broken, you can take it to a garage to get it fixed and it’s in full working order again. 

 

In its simplest form, weight around your tum is no different.  If you know what’s causing it, you can reverse those things to reverse the weight gain.

 

So what’s causing it???

 

Your hormones are changing…as we head towards the menopause (even if that’s many years away) our hormone levels change. 

Without getting geeky on the science, this leads to us having less muscle on our bodies.  Muscles burn calories so the less you have, the fewer calories you will burn every single day….and if your diet isn’t great, those excess calories are going to be laid down as fat. 

But there’s not a great deal you can do about the natural change in your hormones…or is there?

Well, yes and no 😉

Clearly, some of this is out of our control but we can boost some helpful hormones through the way we live our lives….here are the TOP 4 things you can do to reverse your weight gain…

 

1)     Eat more protein and fat and fewer carbohydrates. 

Many of us simply eat the wrong foods.  Protein is needed to build those muscles we so desperately need as we age and refined carbohydrates such as pasta and bread are often consumed in excess by those not needing the energy.  If that energy isn’t needed, it will simply turn to fat.  Lots of meat, fish, veggies and healthy fats instead of pasta bakes and sandwiches will transform your body AND your health.

 

2)    Use your muscles!! 

Muscles are a “use or lose” tissue!!  Chances are as you’ve aged, you’ve become more sedentary…and don’t kid yourself that walking the dog every day is enough…it’s not.  You need to use weights or some form of resistance frequently and consistently to build muscle…your ultimate key to shifting that tum!

 

3)    Manage your sleep and your stress. 

You can have the BEST diet and exercise regime but if you’re stressed to the eyeballs and don’t sleep, it will have limited effect.  If you know you’re not sleeping, don’t ignore it…tackle it.  Sleep deprivation affects your appetite too…and NOT in a good way!

If stress is your companion, it’s about time you divorced it.  Intervening with simple, short, stress-management activities throughout your day such as deep breathing or brief mindfulness exercises can make all the difference.

 

4)    Get off your backside! 

Stand up for as much of your waking day as possible.  This alone has been shown again and again to massively reduce the fat we carry both round our middle and on our internal organs.  Find reasons (or excuses!) to stand and walk…standing desks, walking meetings, walking lunches, walking to work or the local shops.

 

The power really is in your hands to reverse that ever-expanding waist…start small and consider one thing that you can change today to start making a difference.