What is the best diet for women over 40?
A couple of things that start happening to our bodies as we age and go through perimenopause. Things start shifting and changing and our bodies begin to hold fat differently, usually in the mid section. All this is due to the H word…that’s right…HORMONES!
Most women are more estrogen dominant at birth, so we hold fat in our hips and thighs, and in the back of our arms. As we get older and past that age of 40, birth a couple of kids, deal with stress, lack of sleep, all of the above, our body starts shifting into being a little bit insulin resistant. So when you get older, you become a little bit of both of those, estrogen dominant and insulin resistant. As women over 40, we are looking for a diet that works with these changes and helps prevent insulin resistance and weight gain.
DIET TIPS FOR WOMEN OVER 40:
- Eat a lower carb diet. As we age, our body becomes less efficient about what to do with carbohydrates. Your insulin levels can become high and low with just a little bit of carbs. So if you can get your body to keep insulin on that same playing field instead of going super high and super low with peaks and valleys. I have found through my experience, that’s about 75 grams or less for most females
- Increase the amount of good fat you eat. Avocados, olive oils, pistachios, cashews, nuts. Adding good fats will help when it comes to burning body fat and keeping that insulin level stable. You want your body to become a fat burner. Right now, it’s probably a carb burner. And what has happened is your body has been constantly looking for the carbs that you are consuming too much of. So if you reduce the carbs and you add the fat, your body’s going to stay on this playing field and it’s going to start burning fat more readily. Therefore, you’re going to become a fat burner, and that’s what you want.
- Drink a ton of water. The most simple thing that you can do over the age of 40 is drink more water. Not vitamin water, not water that looks fun at the grocery store that has all sorts of other stuff in it. Plain old, simple water. If you don’t like water, learn to love it. It is literally, it’ll make your hair better, it’ll make your skin better. It will give you more energy.
All of those things will help you in becoming fit over 40. You will feel better, you’ll have more energy. You’ll lean out naturally.
