There’s still plenty of time to get in shape before summer. Here are four ways to lose weight before lockdown ends.
During lockdown, we’ve helped hundreds of women over 40 to lose between one and four stone of stubborn weight. These clients have learnt to keep it off long term… and are feeling more confident than ever!
These women had all previously struggled to lose weight. They weren’t seeing any movement on the scales, no matter what they tried.
For many of these ladies, this had a huge impact on their self-esteem… making it difficult to enjoy life to the fullest. They were choosing clothes to cover ‘problem areas’, rather than wearing what they love… which is never a nice place to be in!
We helped these women to remove the barriers that were blocking them from seeing deserved results.
Can you lose weight before lockdown ends?
Lockdown is the ideal opportunity to shift unwanted weight. It provides the perfect chance to focus on yourself, and take control of your health and fitness… all while we don’t have the typical stressors of everyday life.
So, now could be the perfect time to take advantage of the last few months of lockdown. We have some easy tips to help you get in shape quickly… without having to sacrifice your career, family time (or that glass of wine!)
Step 1: Reset your brain-food connection
Trying to eat healthily when your brain is hooked on sugary foods never works. If you’re relying on that glass of wine or bag of chocolate, you’ll fall at the first hurdle.
A high-sugar diet can disrupt your hormones, which actually makes the problem worse. So, how do you cut out sugar successfully?
In our experience coaching thousands of women over forty, it’s almost impossible to wean yourself off gradually.
We recommend all our clients to go cold turkey. This offers an excellent chance to reset your cravings. Like a computer running slowly, you need to restart to get it working properly. Start with curbing wheat, alcohol, dairy and sugar from your diet. We talk about this more in our blog on how to snack successfully!
Control your cravings for just one to two weeks to reset these cravings… and improve your food habits. We do this inside our Fit Over 40 programme using a process called the Diet Makeover.
Step 2: Reduce stressful exercise
By exercising in a way that keeps stress levels low… you’re much more likely to see results.
With more of us working from home and not leaving the house as frequently… It’s likely that your activity level is quite low at the moment. Your daily energy expenditure is probably limited, which has a negative impact on weight loss efforts.
However, the opposite is also true! Too much exercise, combined with a stressful lifestyle, can cause chronically high stress hormone levels. Whether this is through HIIT training, spinning or long runs… your exercise might be doing more damage than good.
We recommend exercising in a way which keeps stress hormones low, while delivering big results. For example, LIST training (low-impact strength training) is widely beneficial for women over 40. This style of training builds muscle, tones your body, and burns fat… all while keeping stress levels healthy!
We use this method inside our Fit Over 40 programme with just three sessions a week. Our clients typically lose 1-2 stone over a 12-week period this way!
Step 3: Proactively manage stress levels
As a woman over 40, it can be difficult to remove external stressors. From work pressures, back-to-back meetings, family responsibilities, and a busy social life… stress can be difficult to keep under control.
If stress isn’t managed appropriately, it can cause difficulties when trying to lose weight before lockdown ends. This disrupted stress hormone balance can manifest in unhealthy ways.
From drinking a glass of wine on the sofa – finishing work that didn’t get done – to eating a sharing bag of chocolate every night… you might find yourself spiralling with your weight without realising.
There are plenty of ways to manage these behaviours. We do this inside our Fit Over 40 programme using a process called the Stress Shield. This is a daily mindset routine that takes 7-8 minutes a day… to help you avoid stress levels becoming too high.
Step 4: Stop struggling alone
At the end of the day, if you knew how to get results on your own… you’d already be where you want to be!
It can be increasingly difficult to stay motivated when you’re working from home. Equally, it can be hard to stay motivated to exercise and eat well when you’re doing it by yourself. This is even harder if you’re not sure where to start.
For most women over 40, losing weight before lockdown ends is a new challenge that can be hard to figure out. With fluctuating hormones, a busy lifestyle and a stressful working week… there’s plenty to consider.
So, what’s the solution?
In our experience, there are two things which can help:
- Firstly, try being part of a group of like-minded women on the same mission. This way, you don’t have to struggle alone.
- Secondly, have someone to help you. Having a helping hand to guide you and keep you accountable can take the stress and uncertainty out of the process. Plus, you’re much more likely to reach your goals!
This is exactly what our clients get when they join our Fit Over 40 programme. We’re here to make the whole process easier!
If you’re interested in finding a long-term, sustainable diet which is designed for women over 40, you can find out more about working with us here!
