by Ashleigh Feltham,  Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist

Have you hit the 40’s and suddenly experienced an unwanted shift in your weight?

Sex hormones are a powerful factor in maintaining a healthy weight and when women reach their 40’s this is a common time to enter perimenopause.

Perimenopause is when the sex hormone estrogen begins to drop and can make your weight begin to rise if you are living the same way as you were in your 30’s and younger.

Here are some tips to shift your weight back:

Move it!

Exercise is a key way to expend extra energy to make maintaining a healthy weight more achievable. Aim for 30 minutes each day for health and for weight loss 60 minutes. Weight training 2-3 times a week is key to helping your body build and maintain muscle mass. This assists in keeping your metabolism up as muscles are active tissue and take energy for your body.

Does your pantry favour your health?

When you open your pantry is it full of chips, chocolate, alcohol and other sometimes foods? These foods can easily be eaten in excess and do nothing to help your overall health and weight. Have a pantry spring clean and check the blog titled ‘Our Dietitian’s 9 Pantry Staples’ for some ideas.

I always have a pouch of South Australian Gourmet Food Company Fruit Custard with Added Fibre in my handbag. It is low in sodium and added sugar and has 10.9g of dietary fibre. This creates a gradual release of sugar in my blood and helps to create sustained energy release. This keeps me feeling fuller for longer and keeps the munchies at bay.

Sleep

Are you getting enough quality sleep each night? Without at least 6-8 hours each night your body’s hunger hormones go out of whack. Your hunger hormone called ghrelin increases and this makes managing your food intake even harder. Make sure you are taking the time each day to wind down, switch off from technology and allow your body to rest and recover.

Take home message:

Change throughout life is normal. Try these three strategies to shift your weight back if it has crept up in your 40s.