What’s Stopping You From Looking Like You Did In Your Twenties?

THAT article in the Times, “New Research Has Found That Midlife Spread Is A Myth – there’s no reason you should be fatter than you were at 25. What’s Stopping You?” is still making me cross, a few weeks later. Probably a bit of rage on my part, but honestly, women have enough on our plates without the implicit accusation that we are doing something wrong by gaining weight in our forties and beyond. 

Don’t get me wrong, Britain is the 4th most obese country globally, a statistic that is both shameful and worrying. But age-old media sensationalism of weight shame without considering factors other than biology is plain lazy. 

What’s stopping you from looking like you did in your twenties? Let’s see… time, stress, money, kids, lack of sleep, caring for others, age, exhaustion, shift work, genetics… the list is long and will look different for everyone. 

If we look at some of the other factors in play, we can start to see it’s not as simple as the article would like us to believe. After the age of 35, our muscle mass starts to decrease. The subsequent muscle loss leads to a slower metabolism. We also start to move less, (too busy, low self-esteem, poor sleep patterns…), but we don’t change our lifestyle or our nutrition habits. 

Declining oestrogen plus key enzymatic changes means a change where excess fat is distributed and stored in the body. Our body is actually trying to protect itself. Realising oestrogen is in short supply, it stores fat to try and protect the ovaries. Whilst this is scientifically very cool, it’s rather challenging for our body image. 

One of the most testing side-effects of our perimenopausal years is poor sleep. Research shows this causes you to eat more, you’re less likely to feel full and satisfied by your meals, you crave sugar and are less likely to prepare healthy food, and you move less. Plus, we consume more calories than we think. Sad but true. The extra glasses of wine, the snacks, the portion sizes… it all adds up. 

So there are plenty of reasons why we accumulate weight in our midlife, but belly fat is potentially lethal. There are links to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and many different types of cancer. How can we help ourselves? 

Firstly, be realistic. Have a proper reality check and align your goals to your actual age. If you try and argue with reality, you will lose every single time. Now is not the time in your life to be going on a crash diet or follow a new fad. Weight loss programs do not necessarily support women in midlife – too much hunger and your body will get stressed, which means it will produce cortisol, induce hunger and sugar cravings, and lead to more fat being stored around the middle. 

Instead, aim for synergy with everything you are eating. We all should be making better food choices. Eat protein at every meal to help keep you full and assist you with retaining and building muscle. Eat good fats and plenty of them. And then the unpopular part: address your overconsumption of sugar, refined carbs, processed food and booze. This will, in turn, lower your inflammation. It’s harsh, but life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets between by design. 

You want to keep active in ways that you enjoy. Meet friends for walks instead of coffee and cake. It can help to track your steps to keep an eye on how much you are actually moving. Do strength training for your health, joints and fat loss. Did someone say barre was perfect?

I thought so.