6 Ways To Lose Weight Healthily
Lose weight after 40 the right way presents three plans to help you reduce calories from your meals without counting, dieting, or feeling deprived. Fat makes you fat. No, it is sugar, No it is carbohydrate. So the argument goes on. The truth is, when it comes to losing weight, it is all about calories. Essentially you have to burn off more than you take in to shed weight.
However, over the years, that message has gotten lost due to increased calorie consumption that is not complemented by an active lifestyle. In other words, few women burn enough calories to justify the amount they eat. As such, experts say this is precisely why women in their 40s are 25 pounds (11.4kg) heavier now. And why getting calories right is the only way to reach your ideal weight.
The 3 plans below will show you how many calories you eat, what you need, and how to make good choices all day.
How Many Calories You Eat
Since women often underestimate how much they really eat, it is important to follow these suggestions:
Monitor, Don’t Count
Although you do not need to become a human calculator, you need to get a basic idea of what you are consuming every day. This means you should get a grasp of precisely what you are eating as this can help you find out where the bulk of your calories come from. Then you can make simple substitutions that remove excess calories without sacrificing taste or satisfaction. For example, trading a handful of French fries (chips) for 3 cups of honey-popped popcorn saves no less than 100 calories. Also has more fiber while increasing your portion size.
Read Labels Right
The nutrition facts information on a package lists the calorie count in one serving. But do not forget to compare that with the amount you actually eat or drink. This is the reason that many packages contain two servings or more. For example, a 20-ounce bottle of organic lemonade contains 110 calories per serving and 2 ½ servings per bottle. Drink the whole bottle and you have taken in 275 calories; which is nearly 20% of a day’s calorie needs for most women.
Look For Total Calories, Not Type
Surveys show that women look at grams of fat and sugar before calories. A habit that can mislead you into eating more than you should. Especially when it comes to reduced-fat or low-sugar foods. For example, let’s say three regular choc chip cookies provide 240 calories. However, four of the reduced-fat version of the same choc chip cookies may end up with 280. This means you have only saved 10 calories on each cookie. Also, keep in mind sugar-free does not mean calorie-free. For example, a 33cl bottle of sugar-free fresh pineapple juice may provide still 190 calories compared to a sugar-added pineapple drink that contains 230 calories per the same bottle. While a 33cl bottle of reduced sugar malt drink may just save you only 20 calories when compared with a regular malt drink.
How Many Calories You Need
By knowing your ideal goal, you prevent weight gain which helps you lose. Therefore, you can use this simple equation to find your daily calorie needs:
Let’s say your weight goal is 120 pounds (54.5kg), multiply 120 by 10 if you don’t exercise at all. Or multiply by 13 if you rarely exercise or only play the occasional weekend golf or tennis game. Or multiply by 15 if you exercise regularly like walking, jogging, or swimming for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week.
From the calculation above, your total daily calories will be 1,200. Or 1,560 or 1,800 depending on your activity level. Hence, try to aim for this number every day to reach and maintain your weight goal.
Summarily, in order to increase your daily calorie allowance, you need to move more. Going from being inactive to walking daily means you can multiply your weight goal by 13 rather than 10. Hence for a 150-pound woman (68.2kg), that is an increase of 450 calories per day to consume. This means you can add to your daily calories one slice of whole wheat bread, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 cup of grapes, and 1 glass of thick creamy yogurt. Alternatively, if you decide to indulge, add 1 large scoop of ice cream to your daily diet without gaining weight.
Then again the real problem is that 40% of those who say they are trying to lose weight are not making an effort to reduce the calories they consume.
Make Smart Choices All Day
Making smart healthy choices every day so you can lose weight after 40 the right way is easier than you think. The trick is to remember a few tips around the sample menu provided below. The meals total 1,600 calories, the number that most moderately active women need per day to support a healthy weight.
Breakfast
8 oz natural yogurt
1 large tangerine or orange
Egg sandwich
- 1 small whole-wheat roll
- 1 egg scrambled in 1 tsp soya oil
- 1 slice reduced-fat Cheddar cheese + ¼ avocado (sliced)
- 2 tomatoes, halved
Total calories Breakfast: 498
Lunch
6 oz fat-free strawberry yogurt
Garden salad with chicken
- 1 cup salad greens
- ¼ cup shredded red cabbage
- 10 baby carrots
- 5 yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 oz grilled skinless chicken breast)
- 2 tbsp chopped peanuts (cashews or walnuts)
- 2 tbsp reduced-fat Italian dressing
Total calories Lunch: 479
Dinner
½ cup steamed spinach
¾ cup local rice
Shrimp stir-fry
- 15 large shrimp and
- 1 ½ cup broccoli stir-fried in
- 2 tsp peanut or soya oil with
- 1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
Total calories Dinner: 493
Snack
1 cup green and red grapes, 1 large apple, or 1 large banana
Total calories snack: 104
Key Tips To Lose Weight After 40 The Right Way
Opt for whole fruit over juice. One cup of orange juice has more than 2 ½ times the calories of the tangerine. Plus, it is absolutely portion-controlled.
Choose bread with holes in it. There is more air (and fewer calories!).
Have only one high-fat food (such as full-fat dressing, nuts, salami, or cheese) per meal. High-fat foods pack more calories into a smaller serving, which adds up quickly.
Make veggies half the bulk of your meals. Produce contains a lot of water, which makes it naturally low in calories.
Pick “slippery” salad dressings such as oil and vinegar or reduced-fat vinaigrette. They coat your salad more easily than thick ones like mayonnaise, so you can use less.
Always measure these foods: rice, cereal, peanut butter, and oil. They are hard to estimate with the eye and calorie-dense. A heaping cup of rice has 25% more calories than a level one.
Snack on a baseball-size portion of fresh fruit. It provides about 50 to 100 calories, the amount in only three Ritz crackers.
Bottom Line
And remember, in order to lose weight after 40 the right way, focus on total calorie intake. It doesn’t matter where the calories come from, whether from sugar, protein, carbs, or fat. The fact is that if you eat too many calories; they get converted to fat at the same rate. So, pay more attention to overall calories irrespective of the food source.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-diet-plans
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
