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Nov 3rd 2025
Weight Loss Over Forty
. . . resisting the stealthy encroachment of middle-age spread!
I’m not going to lie. If you’re a woman whose had weight problems all her life, it’s not going to get any easier once you hit forty and beyond. Even women who’ve never been overweight tend to gain 7-10 pounds after menopause.
Your metabolic rate decreases with age – as much as 5-15%. There’s also a tendency to lose muscle mass, and less muscle burns less fat. Adrenal and thyroid functions tend to decline as well, contributing to a slower metabolism. Declining estrogen levels affects weight distribution in your body; fat no longer gravitates to your hips and thighs but centers in your waist and belly – the unhealthiest site for fat accumulation.
Fortunately, if you take a proactive approach you can prevent and minimize “middle-age spread.” 
Start out by reading or rereading my book Never Be Fat Again for the fundamentals of weight loss.
For preventing weight gain or losing weight after the age of 40, exercise is key. Exercise helps to preserve and build muscle. Morning exercise raises your metabolism for the entire day. Interval training is especially good. This involves alternating moderate aerobics with one to two-minute spurts of full-out intense exercise that gets your heart rate up. For example, if you jog on a rebounder, jog at an easy pace for 4-5 minutes and then ramp it up for a minute or more. Repeat this for a full session of 20-30 minutes. Include strength training to build muscle. This happens automatically on a rebounder, especially if you include arm as well as leg movements in your routine, since you are increasing the force of gravity as you go up and down.
Diet is also going to be central. Get your 10-12 fresh fruits and vegetables daily, along with healthy fats, at least 35 grams of fiber, some nuts and seeds, and ample amounts of protein, primarily plant protein. And of course cut out the Big Four (sugar, wheat and refined flour, processed oils and dairy/excess animal protein).
As your metabolic rate declines, you won’t need the same amount of food you did when you were younger. Debra Waterhouse, MPH, RD, author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell, recommends listening to your body as you age. Notice if you’re eating out of habit or if you are actually satisfied with a little less.
She also believes that when you eat may be just as important as what you eat. Many working women don’t eat much during the day but then eat a big dinner and may even snack during the evening. This is the reverse of what’s optimal. Metabolism is lowest at night, so there’s less chance to burn off those nighttime calories. Waterhouse suggests taking advantage of retirement to make breakfast and lunch your main meals and eating a light supper.
Also avoid very large meals. As we age we become less able to handle them without gaining weight. In a study done at Tufts University in Boston in 1997, eight 20-year-old women were compared with eight 70-year-old women after they consumed meals providing 0, 250, 500 and 1,000 calories. Although the 70-year-olds were able to utilize the smaller meals in the same way the younger women, they stored more of the 1,000-calorie meal as fat.
Last, consider having your doctor measure your hormone levels. If they are out of balance, there are many natural ways to strengthen and balance hormones, which can be crucial to maintaining energy and weight, or losing excess pounds.
It takes some commitment to stay healthy and fit with age, but don’t you want to want to be one of those wise old women who remain productive and generative and seem to just get better with age? Whatever age you are, becoming that woman starts now!