Just turned 40 and seem to be gaining weight

[Anonymous]

Op - well so far I am doing ok for today. Definitely helps to log calories. I have only eaten 317 calories so far today and burned 246 in working out.

[Anonymous]

Have you had your thyroid checked? I am very much like you and gained about 7 pounds in a year but in addition to that was feeling fatigue and was having dry brittle hair. My thyroid numbers were out of the roof and once I got on meds and everything stabilized. I’m back down to my normal weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you had your thyroid checked? I am very much like you and gained about 7 pounds in a year but in addition to that was feeling fatigue and was having dry brittle hair. My thyroid numbers were out of the roof and once I got on meds and everything stabilized. I’m back down to my normal weight.

Op - no I haven’t but I will try and get it checked. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

OP, you can input your numbers in macrosinc.net to find out how many calories you should be eating and what the macro breakdown should be in a weight-loss phase.

Your meals don't sound like they give you enough calories. So then you eat junk for snacks in between (probably). Once you get your numbers from Macrosinc, use FitnessPal to track what you are eating and try to hit those macros.

Also, go to the doctor and make sure you get a blood test to see if there is anything else that could explain the weight gain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop the lifting, do a strict 1200 calorie diet, up your cardio. Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.

No don’t stop lifting. It’s important for your metabolism and your bone health at you get older. Not to mention people who
lift look better! OP-lifting and IF worked for me.

[Anonymous]

It's time to count calories. It helps to repeat meals so that this is less burdensome.

I would focus on getting more protein (this helps with snacking) and if you do snack, make sure it's something healthy, like a low GI fruit.

A good breakfast (Greek yogurt with berries and seeds) and lunch (greens + avocado salad and your choice of protein) will set a solid foundation for the day. I tend to snack if I don't have a filling breakfast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do your meals typically look like? Do you snack in between meals and what do those look like? It sounds like you're relatively active, so I would take a closer look at your nutrition.

And no, that doesn't mean you should go down to 1200 calories. What does the fat content look like? How many carbs are you hitting a day? You may just need to eat the same amount of calories but shift the types of foods you're consuming.

OP - I have no idea what my food breakdown is. I have never tracked it before. I just signed up for MyFitnessPal to start tracking.

For example today I have eaten the following:

Coffee
1 container of greek zero sugar yogurt
1/3 cup of granola

Lunch:
Will have a pre-packaged meal from a meal delivery place

Dinner:
Same as lunch

I am trying not to snack - this is probably my downfall. Also I tend to snack on my kids leftovers when they have dinner. Not the best idea.

This is not good. Ditch the granola, add in frozen blue berries. Lunch should be a green juice and some carrots and hummus. Then dinner should be 6oz of a lean protein, a green vegetable (kale, broc, bok choy, spinach) and a colorful veg (beets, carrots, red pepper). Maybe a little quinoa on the side. Dinner can also be beans in a red sauce, various stir frys with tofu/lean protein and veg. Just do not overdo the portion size and carbs.

That sounds miserable. I eat carbs and yes sometimes even sweets and I’m a perimenopausal woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do your meals typically look like? Do you snack in between meals and what do those look like? It sounds like you're relatively active, so I would take a closer look at your nutrition.

And no, that doesn't mean you should go down to 1200 calories. What does the fat content look like? How many carbs are you hitting a day? You may just need to eat the same amount of calories but shift the types of foods you're consuming.

OP - I have no idea what my food breakdown is. I have never tracked it before. I just signed up for MyFitnessPal to start tracking.

For example today I have eaten the following:

Coffee
1 container of greek zero sugar yogurt
1/3 cup of granola

Lunch:
Will have a pre-packaged meal from a meal delivery place

Dinner:
Same as lunch

I am trying not to snack - this is probably my downfall. Also I tend to snack on my kids leftovers when they have dinner. Not the best idea.

This is not good. Ditch the granola, add in frozen blue berries. Lunch should be a green juice and some carrots and hummus. Then dinner should be 6oz of a lean protein, a green vegetable (kale, broc, bok choy, spinach) and a colorful veg (beets, carrots, red pepper). Maybe a little quinoa on the side. Dinner can also be beans in a red sauce, various stir frys with tofu/lean protein and veg. Just do not overdo the portion size and carbs.

That sounds miserable. I eat carbs and yes sometimes even sweets and I’m a perimenopausal woman.

And I’m 5’1 and 110.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop the lifting, do a strict 1200 calorie diet, up your cardio. Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.

Do not stop lifting!! But agree just move more generally to increase your NEAT

[Anonymous]

You probably eat more because your workouts are more intense. Do a few weeks of tracking, that should give you the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have alway been able to maintain my weight without dieting. Just exercise moderately (like run 3 times a week and lift weights 2 times a week) and I am good.

For reference I am 5’7” and have consistently weighed 140ish my whole adult life. Have had 3 kids in the past decade and after third kid I have maintained around 145. Not ideal but had baby during Covid and then with 3 kids it’s been hard to lose the weight.

I started weight lifting around a year ago. Nothing super intense - just peloton classes 2 times a week. And I had to stop running but still walk 5-7 miles a day with walking dog and life.

I weighed myself today and I weigh 153! What is going on?!? Other than upping my working out if I just stop eating other than a small lunch and dinner will I be able to drop the weight? I know I snack too much now. I will cut that out.

What is going on is you stopped running and you snack too much. You're eating more calories than your burning. Plain and simple. Workout more and eat less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have alway been able to maintain my weight without dieting. Just exercise moderately (like run 3 times a week and lift weights 2 times a week) and I am good.

For reference I am 5’7” and have consistently weighed 140ish my whole adult life. Have had 3 kids in the past decade and after third kid I have maintained around 145. Not ideal but had baby during Covid and then with 3 kids it’s been hard to lose the weight.

I started weight lifting around a year ago. Nothing super intense - just peloton classes 2 times a week. And I had to stop running but still walk 5-7 miles a day with walking dog and life.

I weighed myself today and I weigh 153! What is going on?!? Other than upping my working out if I just stop eating other than a small lunch and dinner will I be able to drop the weight? I know I snack too much now. I will cut that out.

As a fellow 40 year old who is also gaining weight for the first time in my life, the bolded is most likely the problem. I just eat all the time now, and I kid myself that the little bites here and there don’t add up and I’m still eating at an appropriate caloric intake, but… seriously tracking everything for a week, and nope. I’m just eating way too much.

Now the “why?” is an interesting question (I suspect it’s because I’m always tired) but it’s obvious how I’m managing to put on the weight.

[Anonymous]

Op here - tracked calories today for the first time and I ate 1500 calories. I walked 6.5 miles and lifted weights for 20 minutes.

The biggest change today was that I didn’t mindlessly snack on things and didn’t take bites of my kids food when they were done. I also measured out my food so I could put it into my app calculator correctly.

Fingers crossed I can continue this so I can lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Yes, this is normal. From now on, you probably need to be more vigilant about diet, exercise more and accept that you might gain a few pounds with each decade. It's really not a big deal. If it is a big deal, you might need to examine your attitudes about weight and body image. I was consistently 140 and 5'8" my entire life. At 51 I'm now 150. It's ok.

[Anonymous]

The tracking is really the key here - you don’t have to do it forever, but a few weeks will get you used to it. It helps stop you from taking those extra handfuls because you don’t want the hassle of logging it