As a personal trainer in San Jose, I hear this a lot from my female clients over 40 : “I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn’t go back to sleep”. Interuppted sleep patterns seem to be an issue with a lot us of peri-and post menopausal women.
As much as I like to be the answer-gal for you and the women in San Jose with whom I work personally, I’ve been rather stumped by this one. I know it’s related to our changing hormones–but I’m not sure what to do to help you!
So, I decided to call in an expert. I asked a local physician who I respect if she could help me shed some light on why women over 40 often have interuppted sleep and what they can do about it.
It is with great pleasure that I give you Dr. Ann Haiden, and osteopathic physician in Los Gatos, California. She’s one of my “go-to” doctors here in my area, and she discusses below why women over 40 often have sleep issues and what they can do about it.
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Menopause and Insomnia. The Bigger Picture…
Why is it that so many women have trouble with sleep in the years around menopause? There may be more to the answer than just peri-menopausal and post-menopausal hormones.
Both getting to sleep and staying asleep can be a significant problem for many women.
The good old hot flash, otherwise known as vasomotor symptoms, is the hallmark of hormone related sleep difficulty. Hot flashes remain one of the reasons to consider careful hormone replacement therapy.
But there are other reasons for insomnia as well. And they don’t go away just because we hit the menopausal years.
Overweight, gastro-esophageal reflux (or GERD), irritable bowel syndrome, sleep apnea, restless legs, night-time urination, and fibromyalgia can all contribute.
There also appears to be a correlation with blood sugar problems such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes), as well as an altered stress axis (HPA axis or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis).
So what is a woman to do?
Working on sleep hygiene is worthwhile for everyone. In a hectic world, it is easy to get in the habit of falling into bed late in the evening, exhausted, after taking care of all of the inevitable chores.
In the natural scheme of things, we should sleep about eight hours and to go to sleep and get up according to the cycle of natural sunlight. Work out how you can get in the requisite hours, even if it means having to re-examine how many things really need to get done in a day. Go to bed at the same time every day and take at least 30 minutes to wind down. If you wake up in the dark, try using a daylight spectrum lamp that comes on gradually over 15 to 30 minutes.
Try not eat for 2-3 hours before bed. Make your evening meal easy on the simple carbohydrates and sugars and make sure any late night snacks have a fair amount of protein. Think peanut butter with some apple slices. Aim for a low glycemic load diet. Eating a carb heavy meal late at night puts you at risk of having a surge of glucose and insulin followed by a dip with an adrenalin rush. That could prevent you from falling asleep, or wake you up.
Eating earlier can also help prevent acid reflux. Not everyone with acid reflux has actual heartburn. Sometimes the refluxing gas is “silent” but can wake you up.
You may want to ask your doctor about sleep apnea. If you sleep with a partner, ask them if you stop breathing periodically.
Losing weight is one of the best things you can do. Excess weight actually is turned into extra estrogen and alters the balance of hormones. During menopause the belly fat around your internal organs also starts to be regulated differently.
Estrogen binding hormones also affect hormone balance. You can include ground flax seed in your diet to help regulate these binding hormones and estrogen.
A little magnesium at bedtime may help restless legs.
And lastly intestinal health can affect sleep. Studies have looked specifically at irritable bowel, which can be associated with fibromyalgia. The intestines are much more complicated than we previously thought. Digestion, the immune system, the nervous system, the hormonal system and even the bacteria that live there, all play a part.
Next time you find yourself counting sheep in the middle of the night, try thinking of how some of these ideas might help you sleep better.
Dr. Ann Haiden, DO, is a physician focusing on prevention and wellness medicine. She is trained in internal medicine and has a private practice in Los Gatos, California. She also offers informational and coaching webinar programs to take charge of your life and health. You can find her at http://www.DrHaiden.com.
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If you are a”boomer” woman who has found a healthy solution to help you sleep soundly through the night, please leave a comment here telling us about your experiences!
Committed to your success,
Becky
Sadly, the prevention of osteoporosis starts long before most of us are even thinking about it! It starts when we’re young.
Most women don’t even begin to think of osteoporosis (with regard to themselves ) until they’re over 50. We think it’s a condition of very old, withered women. Not so.
In this month’s issue of The Ladies Home Journal, writer Margery Rosen details my and other women’s experience with bone loss issues WAY before we thought we’d ever deal with them. It’s a great article that illustrates how important good nutrition and regular, weight bearing exercise is at an early age in order to prevent brittle bones in our later years.
Osteoporosis doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over years. It sometimes happens to people whom you wouldn’t think it would happen. As a physically active woman with good nutrition, I had NO idea my bone mass wasn’t what it should be at 38 years old. You can read about my particular situation in detail in the article.
You can pick up a copy of the May issue of Ladies Home Journal at a newsstand near you, and you can read a short blog post on the topic of osteoporosis here:
http://www.lhj.com/health/conditions/osteoporosis/how-to-prevent-osteoporosis/
So, for those of us who can’t turn back time and put more in our “bone bank”, what should we do?
I’ve blogged about it in the past, but here’s my two cents on what we, as women over 50, should do to keep our bones healthy. Oh, and by the way, most of these activities will also keep us leaner and younger looking.
- Add some sort of impact to some of your workouts. If your workouts involve impact such as running or playing tennis, you’ve got this covered. However, if you’re a walker, a swimmer, or a cyclist, your exercise doesn’t really stress your bones much. Even jumping rope for 25-50 jumps after your regular non-impact cardio workout will be sufficient.
- Lift weights. Get off the machines and use free weights, and cable machines in a standing position. Standing while you lift weights requires you to use your core muscles to stabilize you. Standing while lifting weights also helps your balance.
- Eat a diet rich in calcium. Ask your doctor if calcium and Vitamin D supplements might be right for you.
- If you smoke, STOP.
Committed to your success,
Becky
Congratulations to the following ladies for winning a copy of “Walkout”, Jane Fonda’s new cardiovascular training DVD:
Cindy
Janet R.
“Whim”
I’ve sent a personal email to all of you to let you know. Please respond to that email to let me know where you’d like me to send the DVD.
I’ll look forward to seeing your thoughts/experiences with the DVD on various Social Media platforms. And, of course, feel free to comment here at my blog if you’d like!
Committed to your success,
Becky
Jane Fonda is back in the exercise business. She recently released two new exercise DVDs.
In this post, I’ll review her cardiovascular training DVD, “Walkout”. In a previous post, I did a review of “Fit and Strong” her strength training DVD.
If you haven’t seen this DVD and want to try it out, I’ll be giving away some FREE copies of “Walkout”. More about this at the end of my review.
I must hand it to Jane because at 72 years old, she looks terrific. Whether or not her new DVDs are right for you, she is a testament to the fact that women past 50 can stay lean if they put some effort into it. Keep it up, Jane!
In “Walkout”, Jane takes you through two aerobic training workouts (Level I and Level 2). Each workout is about 18-20 minutes long.
Great things about the video
- Jane gives an excellent monologue “intro” that is very pertinent to older women and our value judgements/perceptions of ourselves
- The exercises in this DVD are very easy to follow
- If you did traditional “aerobics” in the 1980’s, you’ll find a lot of familiar movements in this DVD (remember the “Grapevine”??)
- She has a bonus section on this DVD entitled “Kegel Exercises”. This segment is relevant to the market she’s trying to reach and is a well done segment
Not-so-great things about the video
- The music on this DVD isn’t too inspiring
- Women who are in relatively good shape might find both Level 1 and Level 2 workouts too easy
- I would like to have seen some cueing on how to increase the intensity of some of the moves
- I would like to have seen some functional movements like squats and lunges in the workouts. Although squats and lunges are thought of as strength moves, they have a place in cardiovascular workouts as well
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The Bottom Line: Jane has created a very basic, but safe cardio workout.
Ideal candidate for this DVD: A woman over the age of 50 who is sedentary or at a beginning fitness level, or a woman under the age of 50 who is significantly overweight and currently sedentary.
Were you a Fonda follower in the 80’s? Want to check out her “Walkout” video? If you’re active on either Facebook or Twitter and are willing to post to Jane’s Facebook page or your Twitter account with your feedback, you could win a FREE copy of “Walkout”.
Leave me a post here and tell me why I should choose YOU to be a social media reviewer and on which Social Media site you’ll post.
I’ll picking three winners on Monday, April 11th. I’ll mail a brand new DVD to the three winners!
Committed to your success,
Becky
Congratulations to readers Vicky S., Nancy B. and Karoline R., who won copies of Jane’s “Fit and Strong” DVD due to their posts following my review of “Fit and Strong”.
Thank you to the women that wrote in telling me why they’d like to win a Jane Fonda DVD and how they will use Social Media to review the DVD and tell their friends about it. I wish I had enough DVDs to give one to everyone who left a comment . However, I will be giving you another chance to get your hands on a free copy of her “Walkout” DVD.
I’ve chosen the winners for the “Fit and Strong” DVD , and the winners are:
Vicky S. Karoline R. Nancy B
Congratulations, ladies!
I will be emailing you privately to request your mailing address and to give you information on how to post your review. Once I get your contact information, I’ll package up a DVD and get it out to you pronto!
I’ll be interested to hear your feedback on the workout, and I’m sure the folks over at Jane’s Facebook page will want to hear your experiences as well .
In case any readers are interested, Jane’s Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/JaneFonda
I will be posting a review of Jane’s other new DVD, “Walkout” in the next couple of days—and, yes, I have three copies to give away to guest reviewers!
Committed to your success,
Becky
She’s baaaack. Yes, ladies, Jane Fonda is back in the exercise business. She recently released two new exercise DVDs.
In this post, I’ll review her strength training video. “Fit and Strong”. I’ll follow up next week with a review of “Walk Out”, her cardiovascular training workout.
If you haven’t seen the video and want to try it out, I’ll be giving away some FREE copies. More about this at the end of my review.
Now, before I begin, I must tell you that I have a personal bias about exercise videos featuring celebrities. I’m of the belief that the public should get their exercise advice and programs from qualified fitness professionals who have formal education in an exercise science as well as certifications from nationally recognized organizations. But I realize also that the public would rather work out with a known figure such as Jane Fonda (or Christie Brinkley, or Cindy Crawford or that “Situation” guy from Jersey Shore). Presumably these celebrities have qualified professionals behind the scenes designing the workouts, but I’m not really sure.
First off, let me say that at 72 years old, Jane looks terrific. Whether or not her new DVDs are right for you, she is a testament to the fact that women past 50 can stay lean if they put some effort into it. Keep it up, Jane!
In “Fit and Strong”, Jane takes you through two strength training workouts (Level I and Level 2). Both workouts are about 20 minutes long. She incorporates elements of balance into some of the exercises which is an excellent practice for any woman—not just those past 65 or 70 years old.
From my perspective as an exercise professional and an “older” woman (just hit the big five-o a few months back), I found some positive things and some negative things in “Fit and Strong”.
Great things about the video:
- Jane gives an excellent monologue “intro” that is very pertinent to older women and our value judgements/perceptions of ourselves.
- Jane provides good explanations on how to execute each exercise
- She emphasizes form and posture throughout the workouts
- In the Level 1 workout, she demonstrates a “forward bow” type of exercise that most women wouldn’t ever try to do, but it’s a great exercise for the muscles of our back side. Glad to see it in this video.
- She’s very easy to follow
- The workout uses minimal equipment
- She has a bonus section entitled “Improve Your Balance”. Her information is timely and relevant and the exercises she shows are good ones
Not-so-great things about the video:
Too many single joint exercises are shown
This makes the video easy to follow, but I consider this “old school” now. Multi-joint, functional training is considered the new way to strength train—even for older people. I’d like to see a few more functional, multi-joint exercises in the video.
Example: Jane demonstrates a seated leg extension combined with a biceps curl. It’s great that she’s utilizing several muscle groups in the movement, but I’d rather see a wall slide or wall squat with that biceps curl. The exercise she shows is best used by someone with poor mobility or severe balance issues. A wall squat or wall slide is more functional and will serve an older woman better. To her credit, she demonstrates a “chair squat” in the Level 2 workout. A much better choice.
The theory of “overload” is not addressed in this video
No matter what our age, we must overload our muscle to some extent in order for it to adapt and become stronger. Whether you’re 25 or 65 , you must fatigue the muscle in order for it to adapt.
Example: Jane demonstrates a standing hamstring curl (pulling the heel of the foot to the rear end while standing). As a knee replacement recipient, she probably did this exercise in rehab. It’s a valid single joint exercise in a rehab setting, but not all that great without some external resistance (like an ankle weight) in a strength training setting for most people. Although strapping on an ankle weight is a hassle, we want to get benefit from the exercise. Standing hamstring curls without some resistance isn’t going to load a person’s hamstring enough to make the muscle adapt and get stronger. Jane’s forward “bow” type exercise in the Level 2 video is a much better functional exercise for the hamstrings (and it also works the gluteus muscles).
Jane uses one set of very light dumbbells throughout the whole workout. These light weights might be enough to overload a small muscle, but larger muscles will require heavier resistances. I would liked to have heard some coaching on the fact that the weight chosen should fatigue the muscles by the end of the set. We “older gals” may be lifting lighter weight than we did when we were 25, but if we can do 35 repetitions of an exercise without fatiguing—it’s time to ramp it up a bit!
Food cans and water bottles are suggested for use in the workout if you don’t have weights.
Food cans and water bottles should be used for nourishment, not workouts. In most cases they’re WAY too light and the circumference of these items is not ideal for long term gripping.
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The Bottom Line: Jane has created a very basic, but safe strength workout.
Ideal candidate for this DVD: A de-conditioned woman over the age of 60, or a woman under 60 who is significantly overweight or has mobility issues.
Were you a Fonda follower in the 80’s? Want to check out her “Fit and Strong” video? If you’re active on either Facebook or Twitter and are willing to post to Jane’s Facebook page or your Twitter account with your feedback, you could win a FREE copy of “Fit and Strong”.
Leave me a post here and tell me why I should choose YOU to be a social media reviewer and on which Social Media site you’ll post.
I’ll picking three winners on Friday, March 25th. I’ll mail a brand new DVD to the three winners!
You are a woman over 40 and you want to be fit. You know how much you should weigh. You know your ideal pant size (you probably have a couple pairs in your closet!). You know that as you get older, you’re more at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis. And you KNOW you need to improve your current eating habits.
So why aren’t you living life in your ideal body?
There are many complex reasons that make weight loss for women over 40 a challenge; reasons that go deeper than simply calories-in versus calories-out.
Yes, we can talk about hormones all day–but the purpose of today’s post is to talk about the life issues that get in the way of your success.
Quite frankly, these are the things we boomer women do (unintentionally in some cases!) to sabotage our weight loss.
I’ll list below the 5 ways that I see boomer women sabotage their weight loss efforts, and I’ll give you suggestions after each one to help you get out of that situation if you recognize yourself in it.
1. You avoid the “pain” of lifestyle change
It’s in your DNA to avoid pain and seek out pleasure. Unfortunately this works against you when trying to get fit. In your mind, it’s painful (or at least uncomfortable) to deny yourself the tasty food that you crave and to exert yourself with exercise.
There’s a simple way to work around this obstacle: Find something painful about being fat to motivate yourself towards healthy eating and exercise. Focus on the negative impact your current weight has on your health, self-esteem, lifestyle and longevity. Write these things down and post them somewhere! Remind yourself that the pain of being out of shape is much greater than the discomfort of losing weight.
2. You seek “pleasure” in food
Just as you wish to avoid pain, you are also an expert in seeking out pleasure – namely food. This served the cavemen well, but these days it ends up as extra pounds around your waist and thighs. Good food SHOULD be enjoyed, but many of us are enjoying too much high calorie, high salt, high fat food.
I have two solutions here
- Seek to re-train your taste buds over time. Limit high fat, high salt, highly sugared foods.
- Seek pleasure in other ways. Extra calories are not your only option to stimulate the pleasure center of your brain. Find an activity or two that make you smile and indulge in those regularly, Ideas: A workout with a friend, a good book, a night out with friends, a spa day, a trip to the movies.
3. You are crazy busy
Let’s face it, you work too much, commit yourself to too much and don’t even get enough sleep most of the time ( I’m guilty of this one!!). The fast-paced way you live leaves you exhausted, stressed and hungry for comfort food. You even begin to feel too busy to take care of your health.
It’s time to reprioritize. Let go of your perfectionist standards and remove a few commitments from your schedule so that you are able to cook healthy meals, exercise and get a good night’s sleep. Remind yourself that taking care of your health is not a luxury – it’s a necessity. If you don’t make time for your health now, you may one day be taking time and money to take care of a chronic illness (how does diabetes, heart disease or osteoporosis grab ya??)
4. You don’t deserve it
I think you deserve the best health and physique you can have, but many women over 40 with whom I interact on a daily basis act like they don’t deserve to live in a lean body–or that they’re “too old” to be lean. Huh? That’s just crazy talk! Take a moment to think back on all the times you have self-sabotaged your weight loss efforts. If you don’t believe deep down that you are worthy, you’ll never give yourself a chance at a fit body.
Take the time to take care of yourself. Write down why you deserve to be healthy, and why you must take time for yourself each day. You are important. You DO deserve it.
5. You are afraid
You’re afraid to start because you just might fail, and wouldn’t that be embarrassing? You’re also afraid to start because you just might succeed–and change makes you uncomfortable – even if it’s change in the right direction.
Let’s look at this from a different angle for a moment: Even if you don’t reach your ultimate weight loss goal, the things you do to try and lose weight (more exercise, better nutrition choices, more sleep, etc) are all great things to do for yourself. How could that be failure? You’ll be better off than when you started 
.
If you’re afraid of success and what that might bring, focus on all of the ways that losing weight will make your life better. Envision that better life everyday so that it goes from being new and scary to familiar and comfortable.
I could list more ways that Baby Boomer women sabotage their weight loss goals, but I don’t want to create a novel here!
If you find yourself in one of the five situations above, commit to making changes to avoid self-sabotage.
If you have been guilty of self-sabotage in the past, and have found ways to overcome your self-destructive behavior, please post a comment here so that other women can learn from your success!
Committed to your success,
Becky
Happy Fall!
Hopefully by the time you read this, you’ve thrown out any leftover Halloween candy. If not, it’s time to move it out! Why? It is said that between Halloween and New Year’s day, the average American gains 7 lbs. If you’re like most “boomer” women, you don’t have the bandwidth in your jeans to accommodate this. I know I don’t!
As we enter this holiday season which is full of additional social events, food related celebrations and shorter, darker days, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a list of no- and low-cost resources that can help you maintain your weight over the holidays.
Essentially, what you need to do is get very focused on what you eat, create accountability for yourself, and plan for the occasional indulgence. You also need to exercise enough in order to create the energy balance you need to maintain your weight. To that end, here is my list of resources that will help you stay focused and accountable.
Food journaling websites
Yes, I know, it sounds tedious. But here’s the truth: Research shows that women who journal their food lose TWICE as much weight as those who don’t. So, perhaps a little tedium is worth it, yes?
www.fitday.com FREE. Although they charge a small fee ($7) for their downloadable software, it’s free to set up an account at FitDay. I have an account there myself. The site has areas to journal your food and find out not only how many total calories you’re eating, but also the breakdown of protein, fat and carbs in your daily meals. There are other nifty features at the website, as well.
www.dailyburn.com This site gives you a one-week free trial, and then after that it’s $9 per month. They have a huge food inventory, so just about anything you could eat will be found in their inventory. You can track what you eat, record your workouts and even find an accountability partner at the forum at the website (accountability is a crucial factor in weight loss).
SmartPhone apps
DailyBurn FREE (www.dailyburn.com). With this app you can track your exercise, nutrition and fitness progress on the go. It auto-syncs with your Daily Burn account if you have one.
FoodScanner $2.99 (www.dailyburn.com). This app allows you to use your SmartPhone camera to scan UPC labels and download the nutrition information.
E-books
What to NEVER eat after you work out FREE. This 39-page booklet explains exactly what happens in your body when you make bad food choices (and what better time of year to learn about this than NOW!?). It’s written by Registered Dieticians Jayson Hunter and Cassandra Forsythe. I’ll admit, it gets a little technical at times, but it really illustrates the biology of post-exercise metabolism and how you can sabotage your weight loss efforts by poor post-exercise nutrition.
The Carb Rotation Diet $47 (also known as the Dramatic Dress Size Reduction Diet). This is also written by Registered Dietitican, Jayson Hunter. I’ve had several personal training clients get this book, and they’ve done amazingly well. Once again, Jayson really educates you on the whys and hows of weight loss, and how to do it right. My only beef with this e-book is that it has “diet” in the title. To me, the word “diet” translates into “I’ll do this temporarily”. This book really is a primer on how to eat well for life.
Software
Meal Plans 101 $87. Most meal planning software is geared toward nutritionists and dieticians and costs hundreds of dollars. This modestly priced software is for consumers. It works w/most Windows versions (it does not work on Macs). This software allows you to figure out exactly how much you should be eating, and then creates meal plans for you based on whether you want low or moderate carbs, moderate or high protein, etc. It also helps you with that critical issue of portion control by calculating exactly how much of each food item you should be eating.
Armed with one or more of these resources, you’ll be well-prepared and well-informed in order to STOP holiday weight gain before it can even take hold.
If you have a weight loss resource you love, please share with other boomer gals and leave a comment below!
Committed to your success,
Becky
“Toning shoes”. I see them on lots of “boomers” feet and I see the ads in some of my health and fitness related magazines. These shoes are marketed as a great way to tone your lower body while you walk. Perhaps this is the holy grail of getting shapely legs without doing anything more than walking the dog???
Most of you know, I’m kind of a skeptic about some things (and I’d put toning shoes in as one of those “things”). I’ve had my doubts about these toning shoes (plus I don’t think they’re all that attractive), but I’ve seen no real proof to back up my doubts. Lo and behold, now there’s proof!
A recent study done at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse put the shoes to the test. The research team designed the study to evaluate the exercise responses and muscle activation that takes place while walking with toning shoes versus traditional athletic shoes. The test subjects were women aged 19-24 (I know, I know, they’re not boomer women—but I suspect they’d see similar results with boomer women!). The toning shoes tested were Skechers Shape-Ups, Masai Barefoot Technology, and Reebok’s Easy Tone. The “regular” athletic shoes tested were New Balance running shoes.
All three toning shoes tested showed no statistically significant increase in either exercise response or muscle activation during treadmill walking trials. There was no evidence to indicate the the toning shoes offered any enhanced benefits over traditional sneakers.
Some consumers who have worn these shoes claim that they feel the shoes are working their muscles due to localized muscle soreness after wearing them the first few times. Study researchers suggest that this feeling is due to the shoe’s unstable sole design, which causes wearers to use slightly different muscles to maintain balance than they would while wearing traditional shoes (I’m not sure that’s a good thing long term).
So, if you’re a boomer gal who owns a pair of toning shoes, should you throw them out? I’d say—” it depends”. If the shoes motivate you to get out and walk, they’re probably okay. If you’re one of my exercisers in my boot camp for women in Willow Glen, I’d ask you to leave them at home. Not because they don’t do what they advertise, but because they’re so darn clunky. We move in all directions in our workouts, and I’d be afraid you’d trip over your feet!
So, as always, buyer beware. Just because the ads TELL you a product does something for you doesn’t mean it really does.
We baby boomer women absolutely need to exercise in order to stay fit and maintain our weight, but we don’t need toning shoes to tone our legs. A good pair of traditional athletic shoes (I like the Brooks Ariel) and some great lower body exercises are what we really need!
Are you a “toning shoe” wearer? What’s your experience with them? Not a toning shoe wearer? What shoe works best for your workouts? Leave a comment and let’s talk shoes!
Committed to your success,
Becky
Yes, we’re getting older. Yes, there may be a few more aches and pains or pops and creaks in our joints than there were 10 years ago. Our joints are going to age as the years march on. But, do we have to settle for getting pudgy and out of shape as we get older? A lot of us in the boomer generation are doing just that, thinking it’s a natural part of aging, but I submit to you it doesn’t have to be that way.
At this time in our lives, our hormones will come and go (okay, admittedly, they’re pretty much “going” at our age!), and this will affect our metabolism, but we can’t blame it all on hormones. Let’s be honest. As you sit at your computer reading this, you’re living in the body you’ve EARNED. Good or bad—-you created it.
Although I am a fitness coach for people of all ages, I do have a contingent of Baby Boomer women in a my San Jose personal training practice, and I teach a boot camp for baby boomer women in San Jose as well. While helping Baby Boomer women lose weight, I find it interesting that our generation holds a number of weight loss myths near and dear to our hearts.
Here are my top three weight loss mistakes/myths held by the Baby Boomer generation:
1) Do more cardio to lose more weight
Now, please don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of benefits to cardiovascular exercise such as brisk walking, running, cycling, etc. However, doing MORE cardio to lose more weight may be counterproductive, and there’s a more time efficient way to burn more calories: Interval training. Interval training gives your body a metabolic boost that lasts hours after your workout is over. Plus, an interval workout can be shorter than a long, drawn out lower intensity cardio workout, and it will yield better fat loss results for you.
2) Eat a REALLY LOW calorie diet to lose more weight
Decreasing calorie intake to some obscene level (it makes me hungry just thinking about it!) is a surefire way to mess up your metabolism and make your body shed muscle in order to survive. Yes, you need to have a negative energy balance in order to shed body fat—but if you drop your calories too low for too long, your body will compensate by slowing down the rate at which it burns calories.
3) Avoid strength training for fear of “bulking up”
This one really bugs me. Most women just don’t have enough testosterone to get big, bulky muscles. Women who don’t strength train will begin to lose muscle mass as they age and get fatter every year. Women who DO strength train will have better posture, a higher resting metabolic rate, a leaner physique as they age.
Are YOU holding on to one or more of the above false beliefs about what it takes to get slim and stay slim in middle age??
If you’re hosting a “spare tire” around your waist right now, and you see yourself in one or more of my “weight loss mistakes”, here’s your chance to bust that myth and start working on creating the “boomer” body you want!
Committed to your success,
Becky
