The Best Weight Loss Plan For Women Over 50
You’re right, you’re doomed. Once you hit 50 it’s over. Weight loss isn’t happening. Women, do you hear that?
Well, just like about every mainstream media nutrition information, it’s false as fuck. Just because you hit 50 and just because you are heading into menopause or are all the way through it, does not mean you are doomed. This does not mean you can’t lose weight as you age.
Weight loss for women can happen after age 50, but more importantly, fat loss can happen over the age of 50. Because when I say weight loss, I really mean fat loss, because that’s the stuff we are looking to lose. Mainstream says weight loss, so I will be using the terms interchangeably here. I’m going to give you the best weight loss plan for women over 50.
I want you to really pay attention here. I want you to really read what I am saying. All the information is going to help you learn how to lose weight. So buckle up, grab your coffee and let’s go for a ride.
THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS PLAN FOR WOMEN OVER 50
If you are new here, my name is Peggie, and everyone calls me well, Peggie. In the picture on the left, I still hadn’t got my crap figured out yet. It would still be another year before my day one. It would still take more time before I realized it was all me. It would take more time before I owned my shit and before I owned my excuses.
I lived practically my whole life in diet mode. I was desperate to lose weight for as long as I can remember. As you can see I am a normal middle-aged woman. I call middle-aged over 50. I have fat. I have stretch marks. I have wrinkles. I’ll take them. I age. I don’t anti-age. After an eating disorder in high school and then living my life on a constant diet, about three years ago I decided I needed to own my health. I was using the excuse that I was too old. I told myself it had to be hormones. I mean for fuck’s sake I was having hot flash after hot flash after hot flash. That does something, right? I know. I finally had enough and owned my excuses and changed my life.
Also, I had the added pressure of looking a certain way because I am a personal trainer and kettlebell instructor. It’s kind of a higher standard, if you will, even though people say it’s not. So that, combined with being over 50 and trying to find a weight loss plan for us over 50s, it was a lot of pressure. It took a doctor giving me the look when I complained about not being able to lose weight no matter what I did. I was sure it was something wrong with me and not just my lifestyle.
This is my friend, Heidi. She is stronger than most 30 year olds. She came to me wanting to tighten things up and see where she could go with her body. She is also over 50 and look what happened to her in 12 weeks.
Let’s look at this weight loss over 50 stuff a little bit closer and see where all this falseness comes from.
Are studies showing us and telling us that we are doomed? That’s a big loud no!!
When we get older, we usually start moving less, but we don’t adjust our eating for that. That is why we end up getting stuck in that mindset of thinking we are doomed as we age. It’s such a common phenomenon. I always hear people saying, “Well, once you hit 40, everything goes downhill.” I wonder what they say about hitting 50. It’s just not true. Age is just an idea. How you think about it is how you proceed with your life.
Another client, Pam, came to be in July of 2020 and on New Year’s of 2021, messaged me and let me know she had lost over 30 pounds. She is also in her 50s.
Marie came to me because she was sick of yo-yo dieting and and feeling like crap. She dropped 30 pounds and over 6 inches from her waist and feels fantastic. She’s also over 50.
Tamara came to me because she always struggled with her weight and being over 50 had made it so much harder to lose it. She lost 33 pounds and 7 inches from her waist.
I’m not just throwing up these pictures and stats up to show off. I put them here so you can see the results of what can happen. It is possible. You are not doomed to gain weight as you age.
When you use the principles of the best weight loss plan for women over 50, you will see how possible it really is. Let me tell you all about it.
THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS PLAN FOR WOMEN OVER 50
Most weight loss plans I have seen tell you to restrict foods that are considered “bad” or “unhealthy.” They try to restrict all the foods you love. What do you think that does to you mentally? I mean if someone tells me I can’t have something, I constantly think about having that. That is why dieting is so hard. Diets work. They just don’t work once a person goes back to doing what they were doing previously. If you don’t build the foundation with good habits and behaviors, you aren’t going to be able to sustain any kind of fat loss.
Villifying food is not the answer. Telling people food is good or bad is not the answer. Telling people food is fattening is not the answer. It does not matter what you eat. What matters is calorie deficit.
So let’s talk about what calories are and what a calorie deficit looks like.
Calories are a measure of energy. If you eat more calories than you are burning, you will gain weight. If you eat less calories than you are burning, you will lose weight. Calorie surplus and calorie deficit. Simple. Not easy. Because we are humans and we aren’t a textbook model of what happens as someone diets.
All food is made up of calories. Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. These are called macronutrients. Protein is meat, eggs, fish, tofu, etc. Carbs, well, we all know about carbs and how much people think they are to blame for the whole obesity epidemic. Carbs do include fruits and vegetables as well as breads and potatoes. Carbs are very nutritious and good for us. Carbs are the main source of energy that the body uses. Fats are things like butter, oils, avocado and nuts. They are delicious too.
So, how does a person get in a calorie deficit?
First, you need to find out what your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is. There are many ways to do this and many formulas for this. Luckily, there is an online calculator that does the work for you. It’s a good starting point. http://www.tdeecalculator.net
Another easy way to find your calorie deficit is to take your goal body weight (GBW) X 11, 11.5 or 12. If you go 11, obviously calories would be lower and if you go 12, calories will be higher. It all depends on how you want to proceed. I feel slower is better as it just makes life way more enjoyable, and therefore more sustainable. So, for example, let’s say my GBW is 125. I would multiply that X 12 and get 1500 calories per day. That is quite a bit of food and I think I could live with that.
I used to think eating clean was the best weight loss plan for women. What a joke that was. A person can definitely take in more food than needed while eating clean. I could never figure out what I was doing wrong. I constantly felt stuck and realized I was never in a calorie deficit and was still playing that blame game.
The thing is, you aren’t doomed. Research has shown that if you get in regular activity and pay attention to your diet, those two things can offset most of the age and hormone-related effects of gaining weight as you age. It gets harder as we get older, for sure, but it’s not inevitable. It’s not a for-sure. You are always in control of what is going on.
Get a checkup and make sure you have no hidden issues. Get blood work. Get a clean bill of health and then incorporate the changes so you can live a healthy life.
Weight loss for women over 50 is very possible. Here are several things you can incorporate into your lifestyle as you age.
Eat nutrient dense foods most of the time and emphasize protein. Protein at every meal. Have the treats once in a while. Be aware of your alcohol intake. If you ever wonder if you’re drinking too much, you probably are.
Make sure you are getting fiber. Fiber is super important for gut health and digestion. It helps to get rid of all the waste going through our bodies.
When your calories are low, make sure the volume of your food is high. Lots of vegetables and fruits.
Drink zero calorie drinks, such as well, water, for one, but there is also nothing wrong with zero calorie pop as well.
Get some weights and strength train. Preserve that muscle mass. Keep your bones healthy. We lose muscle mass as we age. That sucks, but it’s the truth. You can slow down muscle loss by strength training. I like 3-4 times per week. It doesn’t have to be hours. 30 minutes can do it. Do what you can with what you have. Your body will thank you.
Get some kind of movement in every day. Walking is super underrated and is a great exercise for everyone. If you start out with two minutes. Awesome. Add more every single day. You will be amazed how fast you feel better.
Get adequate rest. Sleep – it’s a great thing.
Minimize stress. Some stress is good, but we all know how too much stress feels. It’s not fun and it can disrupt our health and well-being pretty easily. Learn how to manage it. Either by exercising or meditation or any number of things that help you relax.
Don’t be in a hurry. It takes time to lose fat. Slow is better. Be patient. Be consistent. Those two things right there, patience and consistency, will become your best friends on your fat loss journey. Embrace them.
That is the best weight loss plan for women over 50.
But How Do I Know If It’s Working?
If you are in a calorie deficit and losing fat, you should start to notice your clothes fitting looser. You should start to notice your waist is getting smaller. You should start to notice that the scale is going down. It can take time to get the numbers that are going to work for you. But, try whatever numbers you got from the calculator and be consistent with those numbers for at least 30 days. Do not change them until you have tried it for 30 days and been consistent for 30 days. You don’t have to be 100 percent consistent, but you want at least 80 percent consistency. That usually equates to about 5 off days during the month. If you try for a month and are at 80 percent and are seeing results, that’s great. The next month try for 85 or 90 percent consistency. That’s the key. That’s the golden ticket.
The thing is being aware of what is going on and taking the steps to be where you want to be in your body. These years are our best years. Zoom out and see how you want to be living your life. Keep moving. Your body will thank you later.
Find what works for you and live your best life into those 50s.