As women age over 30, additional family responsibilities and natural hormonal changes make weight gain common. Plus, as women get closer to middle age, they naturally increase their risk of health-related issues, such as heart disease. Therefore, reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight in their 30s, so they don't further increase their health risks, is important for women. To lose weight, a woman needs to both incorporate regular exercise and eat healthy.
Weight Loss
For women over 30 to lose weight, they must put themselves in a position in which they're burning more calories than they consume. The amount of calories burned is dependent upon a woman's resting metabolism and her physical activity. The amount of calories consumed is solely dependent upon the calorie totals of what a woman eats and drinks. Fitting in regular exercise and scheduling healthy meals can be difficult with family and work responsibilities, but there are ways to achieve both successfully and thus lose weight.
Changes After Age 30
As you get older, your metabolism naturally slows, meaning you burn fewer calories at all times of the day. As a result, as women get older and maintain their same physical activity and eating habits, they have a tendency to put on weight. A slower metabolism also means it's more difficult to lose weight, as the total calories burned will ultimately be less. In addition, it's typical for women in their 30s to have recently had children, and the hormonal changes after childbirth have a tendency to slow down metabolism further.
Exercise
Exercise is exceptionally important for women over 30 interested in losing weight. Exercise will increase the total amount of calories burned and will also increase overall resting metabolism. Cardiovascular workouts should be completed on most days, and each session should last 30 to 60 minutes. Cardiovascular exercise, such as swimming, running, rollerblading, jumping rope and biking, is the most effective type of exercise to burn calories. Ideally, women over 30 also should incorporate regular weight training. The natural decrease in muscle mass that occurs around the time that women turn 30 plays a part in the decrease in metabolism. The increase in lean muscle mass from weight training directly increases resting metabolism.
Nutrition
Nutritional habits have a direct impact on weight loss. Eating high-calorie, high-fat foods will cause your workouts to be ineffective and won't allow you to create the caloric deficit necessary to lose weight. To ensure that you set yourself up for weight-loss success, calculate how many calories you should eat to lose weight, and then monitor your eating and drinking totals. To do so, first calculate how many calories would cause you to maintain your current weight by using an online calculator, such as the one provided by Mayo Clinic. Subtract 500 from that total to calculate how many calories per day would cause you to lose weight.
Planning Meals
For women over 30, planning meals and snacks ahead of time is essential to weight loss success. Because you're likely to have a busy schedule with work and family obligations, it's typical to order or purchase quick food options, many of which are high in calories and fat. Plan all meals and snacks for the week ahead. For women 30 and above, eating healthy snacks every three to four hours instead of three large meals is ideal, as this will help keep your metabolism elevated.
Additional Exercise Tips
You can further combat your naturally slowing metabolism by incorporating short walks throughout the day. Taking a break to briskly walk 10 to 15 minutes per day will cause your metabolism to be elevated throughout the day. If you work at a day job, incorporating a walk while you're at work will allow you to maintain the same amount of time with your family once you get home. If you stay at home with children, make your exercise a family affair and be active with your kids.
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