Just turned 40 and seem to be gaining weight

[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

[Anonymous]

Im 44 and I’ve been there. I have slowly gained 10lbs since I turned 39. I am not gaining now. I’ve held steady but I am frustrated because the scale hasn’t budged. I was/am hoping to lose 5-10lbs.

[Anonymous]

I would also get your hormone levels checked (estrogen and testosterone). There could be a hormonal deficiency behind the weight gain.

[Anonymous]

Three square meals only. Absolutely no snacking. Let yourself get hungry BTW meals. You won't die. If thr urge to snack is too difficult drink sparkling Perrier or cup of tea, herbal, no sugar. Ditch fake sweetners. Up fat bc it's satiating. While you're trying to drop weight consider doing 16 8 fast. So your first meal would be say at 11am, big early lunch. Then finish dinner by 7pm. Ditch meal services and start meal prepping and cooking basic stuff. It's not difficult. No ultraprocessed food. You don't have to start with 16 8 right off bat. Try three square meals first in 12 hr window for one week and see if you drop. If you're still not dropping do 16 8
But you're active so I think 3 square meals you'll find success. Good luck! You got this!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Three square meals only. Absolutely no snacking. Let yourself get hungry BTW meals. You won't die. If thr urge to snack is too difficult drink sparkling Perrier or cup of tea, herbal, no sugar. Ditch fake sweetners. Up fat bc it's satiating. While you're trying to drop weight consider doing 16 8 fast. So your first meal would be say at 11am, big early lunch. Then finish dinner by 7pm. Ditch meal services and start meal prepping and cooking basic stuff. It's not difficult. No ultraprocessed food. You don't have to start with 16 8 right off bat. Try three square meals first in 12 hr window for one week and see if you drop. If you're still not dropping do 16 8
But you're active so I think 3 square meals you'll find success. Good luck! You got this!!

Not OP but if I snack I have carrots or other veggies. I have been eating a protein bar too but I think I need to cut those out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three square meals only. Absolutely no snacking. Let yourself get hungry BTW meals. You won't die. If thr urge to snack is too difficult drink sparkling Perrier or cup of tea, herbal, no sugar. Ditch fake sweetners. Up fat bc it's satiating. While you're trying to drop weight consider doing 16 8 fast. So your first meal would be say at 11am, big early lunch. Then finish dinner by 7pm. Ditch meal services and start meal prepping and cooking basic stuff. It's not difficult. No ultraprocessed food. You don't have to start with 16 8 right off bat. Try three square meals first in 12 hr window for one week and see if you drop. If you're still not dropping do 16 8
But you're active so I think 3 square meals you'll find success. Good luck! You got this!!

Not OP but if I snack I have carrots or other veggies. I have been eating a protein bar too but I think I need to cut those out.

I'm the three square meal poster above. I agree all snacks need to go. If someone can't cope with not eating BTW lunch and dinner, then they need to have a bigger lunch. It's not complicated. But we need to build an appetite for dinner. Remember in the days of our grandmother's snacking wasn't really a daily thing. I do not believe in counting cals. Waste of time. Use that time instead to meal prep. Only eat real food. There is no protein bar tree. Excess protein is also converted into glucose. By the way I am a 51yo woman in meno, and the same weight I was (and same measurements) as in my 20s. My bmi runs about 19 to 19.5 or so. Low normal weight. I do allow myself occasional chocolate. But probably now that I'm in meno I'll have to be more careful with that.