Tips to Keep Midlife Weight Off

Now that you’re in midlife, do you find yourself in an endless battle to keep weight off? You’re just not comfortable in your skin anymore? Sometimes, the best way to tackle an issue is to go old school. Today, I want to revisit those old school tactics for keeping weight off. 

1. Keep a food diary. Don’t kill me for suggesting this! But, they work! If you’re not a big fan of a food diary, then, do it for three days: two typical weekdays and a typical weekend day. But don’t just keep track of your food. Note how you feel BEFORE you ate the food, both physically and emotionally? Note how you feel AFTER you ate the food both physically and emotionally. Then, go over the food diary and be a detective. Start to see where issues are that you would not have seen had you not put pen to paper. 
2. Identify pitfalls. Start to look for a time of day or situation or a mood that triggers you to over eat. If you become aware of the situation, then you can plan ahead for how to react to it next time it happens. 
3. Eat a complex carbohydrate, a protein and a healthy fat together. Having those three elements together creates the best nutritional balance for your body. I always encourage people to play around with this. Have an all carb meal and see how you feel. Then, have a meal with protein and healthy fats added and see how you feel. I’ve had clients come back to me and say, “I just upped my protein, and I’m feeling a lot better.” It’s that’s important. It’s important to experiment too, with what you’re eating and how it’s making you feel. Switch it up and see if you feel better or worse. 
4. Support gut health. Gut health and a happy, healthy microbiome is everything. Hippocrates stated “All disease begins in the gut.” Amongst other things, having a healthy microbiome has actually been shown to link to a healthy body weight. How do you keep a healthy microbiome? May whole plant based foods. Don’t eat processed and sugary foods. Eat fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha. Take a high quality probiotic and prebiotic.
5. Stay hydrated. Sometimes we forget to stay hydrated. And sometimes we confuse thirst for hunger. So next time, you’re feeling a little hungry have a big glass of water and see if that takes the edge off. Because sometimes, your body is thirsty and not hungry. 
6. Avoid or reduce alcohol and caffeine. I prefer reduce versus avoid because I think everything in life should have a balance. But, you need to be mindful when you’re drinking. How much are you drinking? Why are you drinking? How are you feeling before and after? Remember, too much drinking can have an effect on your weight. It’s not just the empty calories, but, it can lead you to make bad judgement about eating. 
7. Change the way you talk to yourself. I’m a huge fan of this. Do not beat yourself up. When that mean little voice inside your head mouths off, ask, “Would I talk to my best friend this way?” Think about it,  if your best friend came to you and said, “I ate like crap yesterday.” Would you say, “You’re a horrible person? You’re a loser. 
8. Avoid quick fix diets. We could build a mountain with the amount of diet books that have been written. And if one of them was the solution for everybody, then they wouldn’t have to write any more diet books. We’re all individuals. We’re all unique. We all respond to food differently. That’s why I highly encourage you to test what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. Eat a mostly whole plant based diet. Eat mindfully. Don’t eat until you’re stuffed. Don’t wait until you’re so hangry you don’t even realize what or how much you’re eating.

Peace & Love!