Life begins at forty.

It is also the time when your body begins to undergo big changes, while this might be a time when an individual reaches the summit of her career. You might begin to notice that no matter how much you exercise, you are now retaining fat. Metabolic and hormonal changes ruled the day when you reached years old. Weight gain is almost always come with by menopause. When you begin to lose muscle mass, your metabolism also slows down. This is an inevitable consequence of aging.

This doesn’t mean that staying fit isn’t possible.

There’s every reason to maintain your bodies healthy during this period and tone. Because your metabolic rate slows as a result of the hormonal changes in your body, reducing your caloric intake is the cornerstone of your weight reduction program. Take note that what is highlighted is a reduction of calories. Going into any restrictive dieting or worse, crash dieting, isn’t only ineffective, when you’re over forty, it’s also potentially dangerous. At this age, your body begins to lose bone mass, and any form could cause your bones to become more fragile. This could lead to leg fractures and osteoporosis or hip.

Fitness for women over 40 entails eating healthy foods at stress management cardiovascular and resistance training exercises and the right amounts. The focus of your nutrition should be more healthy foods that provide you fewer calories. You should be consuming more fruits and veggies and less of donuts and the cakes that provide you more calories. While protein from fish and lean meat will do wonders in boosting your 25, fiber-rich foods must be included in your menu. Do not forget to drink your milk, so you can meet your calcium needs every day. If you can not drink milk supplements may be required. Then you want to create a calorie deficit by eating less or exercising more or blending both if you are some pounds over the ideal according to your height, age, activity level and other factors.

Fitness for women over 40 needs exercise.

However, exercises aren’t enough. You want to incorporate strength training into your routine because your muscle and bone mass starts to weaken at forty. Weather you intend to enroll in a gym for a weight lifting program or do body-weight workouts at home, strength training is a part of your regimen. This adds muscle mass that can help rev up your metabolic rate for a larger calorie-burn.

Stress management is essential to finish your fitness for women over 40 regulars.

The kids might have already moved from the house, but the responsibilities of moving up the corporate ladder might lead one to find comfort from food. Women at whatever age are more prone to overeating stresses take a toll. Squabbles and divorce are other stressors which need to be handled well. So you can stay fit and fab even if you’re over forty, setting aside time for yourself is important.

Full Body Workout For Women Over 40:

Squats – 3 sets of 8 reps
Bench Press – 3 sets of 8 reps
Bent Over Rows – 3 sets of 8 reps
Leg Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
Shoulder Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
Walking Lunges – 2 sets of 12 reps
Superset* Bicep Curls with Tricep Extensions – 2 sets of 15 reps
Superset* Lateral Raises with Front Raises – 2 sets of 15 reps

Thanksgiving weekend is a time when we indulge and is totally fine as long as you stay healthy before and after your feast.

Spending time with family and friends is really important, and being able to enjoy yourself with them without feeling restricted is also important. Thanksgiving and delicious meals go hand-in-hand, so it is unavoidable to enjoy some good food.

It happens each year: The dishes you’ve been craving all season long are finally passed around the table, and before you know it your plate is piled up to your head with turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes — all smothered with a heaping portion of gravy. It’s a masterpiece, yes. But it’s also a single meal that can total anywhere from 2,500 to 4,500 calories, nearly twice the calories recommended daily.

Just a couple of indulgent days isn’t going to hurt, too much at least.

So, it’s time to drag yourself out of bed, put on your gym clothes, and get yourself ready for your workout.

Step 1: Start Slow

No matter who you are, your body is going to feel it after a night of heavy eating and drinking. You’re not going to be overflowing with energy, as your body will have spent most of the night digesting all of the food and drink you consumed.

Get into your workout slowly, starting out with a walk around the block a few times. Don’t zip out to the gym for a “quick” workout, and certainly don’t jog your normal route. It’s a day to take it slow–you can get back into the hectic pace of full-intensity workouts tomorrow!

Step 2: Get in Your LISS

Low-impact steady state (LISS) aerobics will help to get your body working, your blood pumping and your digestive system rolling. Start out with a bit of cycling–stationary bike or regular bike both work–as jogging or running will probably set your stomach bouncing–definitely not what you want the morning after a heavy meal.

Start your LISS slowly, at a leisurely pace. You’re probably going to be pretty low on energy, so let your body catch up with the workout you’re doing. After about five minutes, you’ll start to feel better, and it’s time to up the speed and difficulty on the bike. Within 10 minutes, you can probably be cycling at full speed–which you should then sustain for the next 15 to 20 minutes for the proper aerobic workout.

Step 3: Time to Train

Once you’ve gotten in your aerobics, it’s time to hit the weights for your muscle-building routine. You aren’t going to have enough energy for a HIIT workout, or for a full-on bodybuilding workout that leaves your muscles shaking and drained. It’s time to go for a circuit training routine that will hit all of the muscles in your body and burn away all those food calories.

Your circuit workout should include (in the following order):

Bench presses
Standing rows
Lunges

Military presses
Barbell curls
Squats

Tricep extensions
Cable pull-downs
Leg presses

Do this circuit routine twice, and your body will feel so much better!

Step 4: Digest Well

Your digestion is going to be a bit iffy the morning after a heavy Thanksgiving meal, so it’s important that you drink a lot of water, use the bathroom as your body directs, and find a way to detox all that alcohol, turkey and pumpkin pie.

The best post-Thanksgiving breakfast: oatmeal. The soluble fiber in the oats will help to absorb a lot of the toxins, and the insoluble fiber will scrub out your intestines. By the time workout rolls around, you’ll feel much better

Don’t forget to drink a lot of water the morning after! Both heavy eating and heavy drinking can leave your body dehydrated, so tank up on water to avoid problems when it’s time to work out.

For women, losing weight and getting fit has always been difficult. There are a lot of life changes that occur along and lose weight naturally. Menopause, pregnancy, hormones, and post-menopause play a role. It is tough for women to drop weight as you get older the complete amount of muscle starts to go down and the amount of body fat raises so calories get burned.

Eating more fruits and vegetables.

In a recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics which looked at eating habits in women, those that increased their intake of fruits and vegetables could drop weight and keep it off than girls that had not made a change in their eating habits. Those who ate meat or cheese and were able to forego some of the beverages and those sugary desserts lost even more weight.

What we should take away from this study is that even if you continue to have poor eating habits in regards to some foods, if you include extra food and make it fruits and veggies you may have the ability to maintain your weight or lose a little. This is probably due to the fact because you’re not as hungry that if you’re eating more veggies and fruits, you are probably not consuming as much of the heavy items. Get some more veggies and fruits in the house.

Good carbohydrates

The results of studies suggest that a low carbohydrate-high protein diet can lead to weight loss and help prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A diet of carbohydrates is also quite tricky to do. To get the best of both worlds attempt to restrict the number of items that you eat and eat good carbs. Carbohydrates are complex carbohydrates including rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and high fiber bread.

Eat good quality protein.

Eating protein should be an important part of any women’s fitness and healthy diet program. Proteins make you feel fuller so that you don’t overeat and they are a source of amino acids that are essential. Protein includes eggs, nuts, meats, fish, soy, legumes, wheat germ, beans, and dairy products. If you’re worried about the fat in foods with protein stick to lean meats and low-fat cheeses. Proteins function in the body is to repair cells and create new cells.

Exercise

Exercise must be part of any fitness for girls plan. You don’t have to exercise all the time to reap the benefit of exercise. Doing some aerobic exercise three times a week is all you will need to do to get fit. Add in some resistance work such as free weights and between exercising you’ll be on your way and eating more healthy.