Celebrate the Journey!

You are here: Home / Archives for Weight

Struggling With Belly Fat?

By

scale_wrapped-smallFrustrated because you’re putting on your bathing suit and see belly fat around your middle? Do you see a lumpy, bumpy silhouette when trying on a new dress? Or worse yet, do you see something resembling a spare tire around your abdomen?

Are you frustrated with your body putting on the extra pounds? If you’ve been there, if you know what I’m talking about, you just may be ready to lose your belly fat!

Ask yourself why you want to lose the fat around your abdomen? After all, don’t all or most older women have some degree of belly fat?

Do you simply want to lose fat around your middle so you feel great wearing that new bathing suit this summer, your clothes will fit better once again or so you can stay healthy?

If you’ve been wondering how to lose some fat around your midline, it’s time to take the next step; it’s time to take action.

Start with gathering information so you can craft a plan of attack.

Needless to say, there are a variety of sources out there: books, the internet and weight loss centers all ready to help you in the battle. And of course there are the first hand experiences from friends and family members you might find helpful in finding the approach that’s right for you.

Go over all the information you have found and decide which approach will work best for you. Set a goal for yourself including how much you would like to lose in pounds or inches, how you will do it, and by what date you will accomplish your goal.

And this one is important, write down your goal. Remember the saying: “A goal not written is just a wish”?

Write your goal out clearly! Include the steps you will take and the date/dates by when your goal will be accomplished.

When you have all the information you need, it’s time to put your plan into action. This might just be the hardest part of losing the inches around your middle.

You’ll need to arrange your life so that you can begin losing weight! Chances are you need to do the following:

  1. Adjust what you eat, how you eat and when you eat
  2. Make sure you have specific foods in your pantry
  3.  Avoid the foods you know trigger fat accumulation
  4. Have your “Plan B” ready before going out to eat
  5. Arrange your schedule so you can get enough sleep, because it will help you losing the weight and
  6. Remove as much stress as possible so you’re not tempted to “stress eat’

Losing weight in general is not an easy task for most of us and tends to be more difficult for us women over 50. Losing belly fat can be even more challenging (but can be done…). Put the odds of success in you favor by planning ahead.

When you have identified what changes you’ll need to make to lose the fat, stick to your plan until you reach your goals.

Don’t get discouraged if things take a bit longer… stick to the plan! As a matter of fact, plan on getting derailed a few times while on course to lose abdominal fat.

Once you have reached your goal, you have a critical decision to make – maintaining your success.

This part of your plan will allow you to continue keeping your body in good shape after you’ve lost the fat around your waistline. Decide to stick with the new habits that allowed you to shed the extra inches.

After all, if you go back to your old habits, fat will find its way back to your middle in no time at all.

Menopausal Weight Gain

By Leave a Comment

I’m frequently asked if it is it normal to start gaining weight during menopause. By weight I mean anywhere from 10 to 35 plus pounds in a matter of months, without changing eating habits significantly.

Many women notice weight gain (average of 1 pound per year), especially around the waist at midlife. Unfortunately we cannot put all the blame on our diminishing hormones.

While our metabolism does slow with age and decreasing muscle mass, the main culprits appear to be diminishing physical activity and eating more than our bodies require.

Does genetics play a role? Well, sort of. We can be predisposed to waistline weight gain, but basically it only means we have to work harder to keep it off.

Will hormones help? In a word, no.

The concern about weight gain is that it puts you at risk for high cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure, and insulin resistance/diabetes. All of this increases your risk for heart disease, which is a serious issue for women.

What can you do to prevent or reverse the weight gain? The simple, yet difficult answer is to increase your exercise and reduce your calories.

Increasing your exercise has a multitude of benefits. Not only does it help you pump up your metabolism and burn fat, but that muscle mass also strengthens your bones (not to mention the cardiovascular benefits and the prevention/control of diabetes). Most of all, you just feel good.

A healthy diet is essential. With a lower metabolism rate, we don’t require loads of calories; however, no one says you should starve yourself either.

Eat smaller portions (measure them), lots of fruits and vegetables and eat only when hungry. If you need to lose weight, you will need to have a deficit of about 500 calories daily for one week to lose 1 pound.

Categories