Here’s the best diet plan for women over 40. This way, you can finally see the results you deserve!
We’ve worked with so many women over forty who felt stuck because they didn’t know what they should be eating to get the scales moving. They were trying all the things which had worked in their 20s, such as keto, low carbs, shake diets, and meal plans. The list is endless.
But nothing was really working.
They’d step on the scales after a long week of dieting and see zero movement. And when you’re not seeing results, it’s very hard to stay motivated.
The reason this happens is simple. Women’s bodies and hormones start to change as they get older, which can make it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it again.
But with the right nutrition approach? You can quickly and easily get the scales moving, drop a couple of dress sizes and feel incredible wearing anything you like. All in as little as 12 weeks!
In today’s blog we’re going to reveal the best foods to eat for women over 40, so you can do exactly that!
There are no good or bad foods
This is a common mindset taught by diet plans. Yet, it can be a very unhealthy mindset, as you end up seeing everything as black or white.
In our experience, this can lead to throwing in the towel as soon as you’ve eaten a ‘bad’ food.
Instead, what we find works much better is to learn to read and understand nutrition labels. And we mean the numbers, and NOT just the traffic light system. Portion sizes are manipulated for the traffic light system, as they’re often tiny and unrealistic. Instead, you need to compare like-for-like, such as 100g of this yoghurt to that yoghurt.
Read the label, compare calories, protein and sugars, and then pick the best one for you.
If you can’t do this, you’re at risk of getting conned by all the marketing on food labels that make it look healthy.
We teach all our clients to do this inside our program, so they don’t have to rely on diets to lose weight anymore.
Avoid foods that are naturally high in calories and low in nutrition
These are typically foods that are high in fat and simple carbs (sugar or flour). Usually, these foods are designed to light up your taste buds and be very hard to resist. The more you eat them, the more you want them.
They’re not filling, as they digest very quickly and you soon want more. For the high-achieving women over 40 we work with, it doesn’t take eating many of these foods before they’ve undone all their healthy eating from the week.
It’s best to go cold turkey for 1-2 weeks to eliminate the cravings and break the bad habits. Then, reintroduce them in moderation, like 1-2 times a week. We do this with members of our program using a process called the Diet Makeover – which stops them from craving these foods.
Women over 40 need to eat foods that are higher in protein
Protein is a very filling food, and sends signals to the brain which stop you from feeling hungry. So naturally, you’ll eat less calories over the course of the day. This means you’ll see more movement on the scales without feeling hungry.
Plus, 30% of the calories eaten from protein are taken up by digestion. So, you only actually absorb 70% of the calories you put on your plate!
For women over 40 in particular, it’s important to take in enough protein. This is because it’s used by the body for growth and repair of your muscles.
One of the effects of ageing is a decrease in muscle mass, which in turn decreases metabolism. So getting enough protein, in combination with weight based exercises, can help to prevent and reverse this. This means you’ll lose more body fat and feel stronger and more toned!
We recommend our clients get protein with every meal, so that they stay fuller for longer – and they’re not tempted to snack.
Stick to foods that you don’t have a tendency to overeat
Some people have certain trigger foods that “once they pop they just can’t stop.” These are often foods that are very high in calories, which can put a stop in your progress before you know it.
If you know there’s a food or drink that’s like this for you, you’ll need to eliminate it from your diet. However, to avoid making it totally boring, it’s best to find a healthy substitute. For example, opt for a slimline gin and tonic over wine. Or go for low calorie hot chocolate when you have a craving for sugar.
Avoid too much alcohol in your diet plan
Alcohol is very high in calories, and it’s not remotely filling (or nutritious). Because of this, people don’t generally adjust their food intake to compensate for the extra calories from alcohol. This can quickly lead to gaining a load of extra weight.
For example, if you drink one glass of wine every evening, you’ll take in enough calories to gain around a third of a pound of body fat every week. So, over the course of a year that could add up to more than a stone!
The approach we recommend for our clients inside our Fit Over 40 programme is not to cut out alcohol completely, but just to make it fit in with their overall calorie allowance.
So if they have an evening event coming up, they might have a smaller breakfast and lunch to allow themselves a bit more flexibility in the evening!
