Are you a woman in your 30s who is trying to lose weight? If you are, give yourself credit for making your weight and your health a priority. The habits you establish now will carry you through your 40s and into middle age. If you want to be lean for life, now is the time to get serious and make critical decisions for lifelong health.
Before you begin your weight loss journey, use these five tips to evaluate your lifestyle and find the best diet for you. The advice is specifically tailored to address the unique challenges you face when you try to slim down during your third decade.
- Evaluate your barriers. Everyone faces a few roadblocks during the weight loss process, but when you’re in your 30s the challenges are likely to be environmental. For example, many women say that theydon't have enough time to diet and exerciseduring the years when they are having children and settling into a career.
To win the weight loss battle, you need to know what you’re up against. Almost any barrier is surmountable but you have to know what it is before you can develop a plan of action. At the start your weight loss process, take at least 20 minutes to identify your weight loss barriers. This simple step will save you time and energy from setbacks later.
- Understand muscle and metabolism. If you want to keep a healthy metabolism, you need to maintain muscle. Ariane Hundt, M.S. trains 30-something women as part of herSlim & Strong 4 Week Fat Loss Program in New York City. She says that women in their 30s need to be especially careful about building and keeping muscle mass in order to support a healthy metabolism. “Women start losing muscle in their 30s and unless that muscle is challenged and maintained with regular workouts, muscle loss will slow the metabolism.”
So how does a woman with a busy life work out to keep her calorie burning fires from fizzling? If you can't get to the gym, there are simple strength workouts you can do at home. Short, intense exercise sessions will also help you to burn more fat.
- Get organized. It might seem like life will settle down when the kids are older or when you career is more established, but trust me, it won’t. Now is the time when you need toset up healthy lifestyle habits that will help you lose weight and keep it off for life.
Meal planning for weight loss is one of those routines. Learn to set aside one day each week to shop for healthy food, prepare meals and snacks in advance and even schedule your workout sessions. Ask your spouse or family members to help if necessary to make this habit a priority.
- Stop falling for fad diets. Women in their 30s are too smart and too sophisticated to fall for the popular diet trends that younger women fall for. Ariane explains why these fads can cause harm. “If you’ve dieted on and off until your 30s, chances are your metabolism is confused. With every new diet attempt, you may put your body into starvation mode and weight loss is harder and harder, ” she says.
Your first step to healthy eating is to evaluate your daily caloric intake. You should alsokeep a pre-diet food journal. Then make sure you eat enough protein to maintain a healthy metabolism, limit your sugar intake, and monitor your carbohydrate intake to stay energized and satiated throughout the day.
- Learn to manage stress. Your 30s may be the most stressful time in your life. Babies, job stress and relationship issues can keep you awake at night. Even the simple act ofdieting can cause stress. But those challenges can cause problems if they are not addressed. “Life stress can challenge your metabolism by activating the stress response and in turn fat storage,” says Ariane, “so balance in lifestyle is key.” Get support from friends and family or reach out to a certified professional if you think that stress is preventing you from losing weight.
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