EP 74: Fat Loss Over 40: Why It Feels Harder and What Actually Works

0:00Hello and welcome back to Becoming Her, Fitter, Better, and Stronger over 40. I'm your host and coach, Shauna. I'm 46, a wife, a boy mom, and a fitness and nutrition coach helping women over 40 become their best. If you're over 40 and you feel like you've been doing everything right, you are eating less, you are working out more, you're trying to stay consistent, but your body is not responding the way that it used to, you're not imagining it. There are things that are changing, but some of those changes are actually from the old methods that we used to use that cause more harm than good. The truth is we were never actually taught what builds a strong, lean, healthy body.

0:34And if you grew up in the 90s like I did, we were taught that success meant getting small by any means possible. That meant dropping calories, cutting out carbs, sweating more, burning as many calories as we possibly could. And if the scale went down, that meant we were doing something right. But what we didn't realize is that a lot of those old methods that we were using were actually working against us. They were breaking down muscle. They were slowing down metabolism and negatively impacting our hormones. Now we're here feeling stuck, doing more, eating less, and not seeing results. If that sounds like you and fat loss seems harder right now, it's because you were taught to use a strategy that never really worked well for your body.

1:17But the good news is when you shift your focus to the right things, the right habits, your body can and will respond. And I say all of this because I have lived it. I have been overweight, underweight, and everywhere in between. I have spent years dieting, doing more cardio, trying to burn my way to lean, and only ended up softer, more frustrated, and honestly confused. And everything changed when I finally stopped trying to shrink my body and work against my metabolism and focused on building up my body and focused on working with my metabolism. I'm going to show you and teach you how you can do the same.

1:56Today, I'm going to walk you through my Fat Loss Over 40 Blueprint step by step and treat this like a little mini masterclass. If you don't have it, I've linked it below. You can download it and follow along and take notes. By the end of this, you're going to understand exactly what your body needs now so that you can actually start to see the progress that you want. Now, before we get into what to do, we need to have an understanding of what's actually changing that is impacting our bodies and our metabolisms at this age. Because once you understand this, everything else is going to make a lot more sense.

2:28First up, we have muscle loss. After age 30, we start to lose muscle if we're not actively trying to preserve it or to build it. Then if we add in chronic dieting, cardio-based workouts, and not eating enough protein, then we've likely just accelerated that muscle loss. And this is the last thing that we want. Muscle is our metabolism. It determines how many calories our bodies burn at rest and how well your body responds to insulin, your mobility, your longevity, and how defined and sculpted you look. So when muscle goes down, metabolism goes down with it, which is why what used to work is not going to work anymore.

3:02The other thing that's changing is we start to move less. Even if we're working out, our daily movement usually tends to decrease as we get older. And that really matters. Your activity outside the gym accounts for far more of your daily caloric output than your activity inside the gym. And then we have hormones. As estrogen and progesterone decline in our 30s and our 40s, we're going to notice things like worse sleep, lower energy, more cravings, and now fat gain will be stored more in our midsection. So when you combine all of those things, it creates what feels like a perfect storm to be soft and stuck.

3:34But now that you understand what's happening, we can shift how you approach fat loss so that you improve all of these things and actually start to build a body that looks and feels its best over 40. Let's dive right into the habits that are going to help you. First up is we want to eat to support our goals. And this is where I see a lot of women get stuck. They either go straight into eating as little as possible, picking a random number of like 1200 calories, thinking it's going to help them get results that much faster. When in reality, what happens is that calories are so low that adherence drops off.

4:07They can't stay consistent or they try to just eat healthy, but they're not actually tracking anything. So things like salads, smoothies, and snacks with healthy foods, but no real awareness of how many calories they're taking in. And so many healthy foods like avocados, nuts, oils, pack in a ton of calories. And while I'm all for focusing on healthy foods, just doing that alone doesn't ensure that you're going to lose fat or be in a calorie deficit. So both ends of that spectrum can leave you stuck. Instead, we want to be intentional and we want to have a calorie target and then use something like MyFitnessPal or Macros First to build awareness and track.

4:46You don't have to do this forever, but it will streamline you to your results. And I like to compare this to money. If you never tracked what you made and what you spent, you would likely be in the red and struggle financially. Calorie tracking works the same way. What gets measured gets managed. And keep it simple. Track your calories, track your protein. And if you don't know your numbers, I have a calculator that you can use linked below. The next habit we want to focus on is sleep. And this is one that a lot of women underestimate. When you're not sleeping well, your body increases cortisol, which is your stress hormone.

5:18And when cortisol is elevated, your body is likely to hold on to fat, especially around your belly. On top of that, your hunger hormones increase. You feel hungrier and less satisfied. Your energy drops, so your workouts aren't as strong. So we want to aim for seven to eight hours of sleep and start treating sleep like it's a non-negotiable part of your fat loss plan. Get to bed on time, have a routine, and I bet that one change alone creates massive changes for you. Next habit, also very important, is that we want to have enough protein. And this is something I used to not get enough of until I started tracking my food.

5:51And now that I'm getting enough, my body actually has the resources that it needs to build muscle, and I look like I actually spend time in the gym versus before when I was in the gym six days a week but still looked soft. When our protein is too low, especially during a calorie deficit, that's when our body is more likely to use muscle for energy, resulting in muscle loss, which again is only going to slow our metabolism. Protein also helps you stay fuller longer. It has a higher thermic effect to food, meaning your body burns more just to digest it. And we need more after 40 because our bodies don't utilize it as well.

6:24A good rule of thumb is to aim for about one gram per pound of your goal body weight and then spread it across your meals throughout the day so that you get doses all day long to help stimulate that muscle. And when it comes to hitting root protein, keep it simple. My favorite sources are eggs, egg whites, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, chicken, ground beef, and then whey protein. I use Legion's whey protein. It's lactose free. It digests like a dream. If you want to try it, I will leave it linked below. But don't overthink it. Find your favorite sources of protein, build your meals off of those, and your body will thank you.

6:58Next up, we have my favorite because it has been what has single-handedly changed my body in the best of ways, and that is strength training. This is where we shift from just losing weight to actually changing the shape of our bodies and changing our body composition. If you're not strength training, your body has no reason to hold on to muscle. Even if the scale drops, that could mean that you're losing muscle and not fat. then trust me, you're not going to like how you look or feel with less muscle. Strength training tells your body that we need to keep this muscle. We need to build more muscle.

7:30And strength training, by the way, is different than exercising. It's not moving around, holding dumbbells, using things like classes or YouTube videos. Those will not build muscle optimally. I know this because I've tried. Training looks and feels very different. You focus on one program for a set amount of weeks, train close to failure with each set. You track your workouts and try to get stronger week after week by adding reps, adding weight, or improving your form. It also means allowing rest days so that your muscles can repair and grow. I have a full episode on how to lift over 40, which I will link below if you want a deeper explanation.

8:07But I promise when you start to lift with intention, your body is going to change in the best of ways. And if you need a place to start, you can always join my Strong by Shauna membership. I'll also leave information below and a link for a three-day trial. Next up, we want to focus on moving more. We know what we're doing for our workouts, but then we want to make sure we have daily movement or non-exercise activity. Non-exercise activity makes up a larger portion of our daily calorie burn, even more so than our workouts do. That means you can be training hard, but if you're sitting all day long, your overall activity is still going to be considered low.

8:44That's why I love walking because it's so powerful and it's a great way to increase your daily activity. Increases your daily caloric output without stressing your body or competing with muscle building. It also helps with insulin sensitivity, stress, digestion, and it's easy to do anywhere. Aim for about 30 to 60 minutes a day and you can always break that up into 10-minute walk snacks if you need. The next habit we want to focus on is drinking more water. Now I know you might be saying to yourself, okay, these habits sound boring, but trust me. The boring basics bring those exciting results, especially when you dial them in.

9:18When you're under hydrated, it impacts everything. Energy, digestion, hunger, performance. So try to aim for about half of your body weight in ounces of water. Get a cute little tumbler, add some electrolytes for some flavor and even more hydration, but make sure you are hydrating every single day. Now, the next thing we want to focus on and be aware of is reducing our alcohol intake. And this might not be a fun conversation to have, but it's an important one. And this isn't just about how many calories are in alcohol. Alcohol impacts our sleep, which then impacts our hormones, our recovery. It increases cortisol, making fat loss harder and muscle growth harder.

9:56It lowers inhibitions, which can lead to overeating. Reducing it or eliminating it can make a big difference. You know, about four years ago, I took a little bit of a break and I decided I loved life so much better without it. On Sundays, I used to have one to two glasses of wine, which at the time I didn't think was too impactful, but it always impacted my sleep, which meant I would start the week under-rested, just not feeling my best. And the next two days, I was really recovering just from those two glasses of wine. When I took the break, I actually noticed how much clarity I had, how much better my sleep was, how much better my workouts were.

10:32And I just started to really enjoy life without it. I'm not saying that that's what you need to do, but if you find that it's impacting your day-to-day, it might be worth taking a break or reducing it, and I bet you're going to feel and look a lot better. And finally, the last habit we want to focus on is practicing balance. And this is where a lot of women fall off, including me. I used to be that perfectionist because we think we need to be perfect, and when we can't be perfect, we quit. But fat loss or changing your body doesn't mean you have to be perfect. it means you have to be consistent and you're going to have off days.

11:06That's completely normal. You know, just this week, my son was sick, so I made it to the gym once. But something that's become my default mode, especially now that I'm older and a little bit wiser and a business owner and trying to juggle a lot of things, is that I focus on what I can control because life will always be life in. There's always going to be something to navigate, but our ability to focus more on solutions versus problems can be our superpower. So focus on what you can do when you can't do it all. Hold yourself accountable, but also recognize not going to get it right 100 % of the time.

11:40You will slip, but don't let a slip become a slide. Get back on track. What matters most is that you keep going. Don't quit when it gets hard. Just focus on what you can do and keep going. And that wraps up all of the habits and tips to focus on on the Fat Loss Over 40 Blueprint. I hope you found it helpful and I hope it brought you some clarity and inspiration to know that you can change. And if you want help applying these habits, that's exactly what I do inside my membership and my one-on-one coaching programs. You can find all of the information on both options below. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode.

12:14I hope you enjoyed your time here. If you did, if you found it helpful, please leave a rating or review. I'd be so thankful if you did. And if you have show ideas, please DM me on Instagram. I would love to hear from you. And until next week, keep getting stronger and I will see you in the next episode.