Okay, the time has come. In your twenties, you didn’t have much of an issue. In your thirties, you didn’t mind because you were still young. Now you are in your forties, it is time you need to lose weight once and for all. Here are five strategies for losing weight after 40 that can help you shred the pounds.
I understand, I have been there. And almost there again in 2022, thanks COVID.
I struggled for years with diets before I discovered the real techniques that work. I tried almost every diet style in the last 25 years you can imagine. From low fat to low carb and some.
These 5 techniques helped me finally lose the weight and keep it off.
#1 Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a complete game-changer and one of the best ways of losing weight after 40 in my experience.
When you eat matters as much as what you.
Knowing this concept has been revolutionary to me. It is amazing and makes so much sense when you think about it. It is so simple. Usually, the best things are.
It all has to do with insulin and autophagy. Autophawhat you might say!
Autophagy is a kick-ass state your body gets in after about 12 hours of fasting. That’s where your body decides it’s time to clean house and start recycling your bad cells. It takes the old dysfunctional cells, recycles them and builds new ones. This helps clear the body of old inferior cells making your skin and pretty much everything age better.
As far as weight loss, controlling insulin is huge. Eating and spiking your insulin constantly leads to weight gain. Insulin tells your cells to absorb nutrients when you eat, so without it, you would starve.
The problem is when you eat too much and too often, your body continues to absorb those extra nutrients which are then stored as fat. Winning this battle is a big win for you!
Intermittent fasting is as easy as skipping breakfast or dinner. Where did you think breakfast got its name?
If you want to know more benefits of intermittent fasting check out my article on How the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting Go Beyond Weight Loss.
#2 Strength Training
Men are made to walk, sprint, and lift heavy things. The latter will be your ticket to take those extra calories and turn them into steely hard muscles. This muscle will intern burn more calories for you and promote that weight loss for years to come.
Lifting heavy shit also energizes you so you can take the day by the balls and crush it!
It teaches you about failure. Lifting sets to failure teaches you how to push towards a goal and experience failure.
You will learn it’s about the process and not the goal.
You will fail (if you are lifting correctly) and that’s the point.
The extra muscle you gain will keep you losing weight after 40 and well beyond.
If you don’t think you can build muscle after 40 then you might want to check out my article on this topic.
#3 Cut the Carbs
Keto, Paleo, South Beach, and Atkins all have this in common. They cut the carbs in order to turn your body into a fat-burning machine.
While paleo doesn’t necessarily mean low carb, the sheer act of eating like a caveman promotes a low carb lifestyle, and for good reason.
Reducing carbs is key to losing weight after 40.
Cutting the carbs doesn’t mean going into ketosis either. I understand ketosis isn’t easy nor is keto for everyone. It does take about three to five days to eat very low carb to get into ketosis and that isn’t for everyone.
If you cannot fully abstain from the carbs you can still cut back to get the benefits of going lower carb. Have bacon and eggs for breakfast instead of cereal. Get the steak instead of the burger and skip the potato for the broccoli once or more a day. Be creative and find ways to cut back on carbs.
If you eat low enough carbs for ketosis, you will become a fat-burning machine losing weight after 40. Combine that with intermittent fasting and your results will be off the chart. If you are 50 or more pounds overweight you can expect almost a pound-a-day loss if you can stick to this.
Ultimately, the exact combination of carbs, fat, and protein that turn you into the perfect self is for you to determine but the lower the carb the faster you will see results.
#4 Have Good Morning Rituals
Having good rituals is another key to losing weight after 40. Transforming your body doesn’t come without transforming your mind.
Sorry, you can’t stay the same person, do the same thing, and expect different results. That’s where morning rituals come into play. It is your mindset and your daily game plan for weight loss.
If you plan out your days each morning, you are programming your mind to execute that day as you planned. That will include your ideal foods, your purpose, and your goals. You will envision a successful day that will build neural pathways towards your goal of losing weight.
Morning rituals are not only for weight loss, having a good morning ritual can set you up for success on any goal you want to accomplish.
#5 Long-Term Fasting
Okay, we talked about intermittent fasting and how powerful it can be but long-term fasting is the ultimate weapon to be used for an all-out war on fat!
Think of intermittent fasting as the small arms and long-term fasting as going nuclear.
Doctors are finding that fasting can actually prevent cancer.
Throughout human history, men have long term fasted for various reasons, not least of which was due to periods in the past where humans had to go without food for long periods of time.
If we could not have survived the occasional famine, we wouldn’t have ever made it this far.
So you won’t die not eating for a few days and it actually can have profound benefits.
Long term fasting obviously sheds pounds but that is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to benefits. Benefits of long term fasting include:
- Weight loss
- Reduced inflammation
- Reduced insulin resistance
- Boost brain production
- Naturally, increase HGH levels
- Delay aging
- Aid in cancer prevention
- Improve immune system
I think not considering the long-term fast occasionally is a mistake. You don’t have to do a full 7 days. Long-term fasting benefits really start after 12-24 hours.
Much of the benefits can be seen during a 3 day or less fast. So start planning for a good time to try a long-term fast and be losing weight over 40 like a champ!
#6 Have Some Flexibility
Finally, another key to success in losing weight after 40 is to just realize you are not perfect and there are no perfect diets, and there are situations that make it tough to stay on your plan. Guys in our forties have busy lives and it won’t always be perfect.
As they say – Man Plans and God Laughs
That’s why we take time to envision a perfect day but sometimes things happen.
Losing weight is not about being perfect all the time but about having a vision of where you are going and who you are. You can slip up from time to time, but just keep in mind where you are going and don’t beat yourself up too bad.
Other ways to be flexible include using sweeteners, having a cheat meal, or taking a lazy Sunday. Giving in a little here and there won’t kill you. You just have to be smart about it.
Is that diet coke good for you? No, but is an occasional one gonna kill you and your diet? What about using a quality sweetener in your coffee or making a low carb dessert?
Ultimately, eating should be fun and that means mixing in some excitement from time to time, just don’t overdo it. If you follow these steps you will be on track to lose weight in your forties and keep it off for good.
Daily rituals are also important to help you stay on track and transform your life. If you want more information on fasting check out my Ultimate Guide to Fasting.