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Lose Weight After 40!Fat makes you fat. No, wait, carbs are the enemy. The truth is, when it comes to losing weight, it's all about calories: You have to burn off more than you take in to shed pounds. But over the years, that message has gotten lost, which may be partially to blame for our increased calorie consumption. Women now eat 22% more calories than they did in 1971, for an average of 1,877 per day. That may sound low, but only 19% of adults are highly active. This means that few women burn enough calories to warrant the amount they eat. (The lowdown: Every pound of body weight burns through 10 to 15 calories daily; only 10 if you're inactive, but up to 15 if you exercise 30 to 60 minutes most days.)
When you're guessing how many calories you can eat, being off by just 100 calories a day can keep you 6 to 10 pounds overweight. Experts say this is precisely why women in their 40s are 25 pounds heavier now compared with 1960 — and why getting calories right is the only way to reach your ideal weight. Our guide will show you how.
Step 1: Find Out How Many Calories You Eat
Step 2: Determine How Many Calories You Need
Step 3: Make Smart Choices All Day
Step 1: Find Out How Many Calories You Eat Women often underestimate how much they really eat, so follow these suggestions
Track, Don't Count
You don't need to become a human calculator, but you should get a baseline idea of what you're consuming every day. (A survey of more than 1,000 people found that only 13% knew how many calories they eat a day.) The best way is to record each morsel you take in, for a day or two. Getting a grasp on exactly what you're eating can help you find out where the bulk of your calories come from. Then you can make simple substitutions that shave off calories without sacrificing taste or satisfaction. For example, trading a handful of pretzels for 3 cups of air-popped popcorn sprinkled with 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese saves about 115 calories and has loads more flavor while tripling your portion size.
Read Labels Right
The Nutrition Facts info on a package lists the calorie count in one serving. But don't forget to compare that with the amount you actually eat or drink; many packages contain two servings or more. For example, a 20-ounce bottle of organic lemonade contains 110 calories per serving, and 2 ½ servings per bottle. Drink the whole thing and you racked up 275 calories; that's nearly 20% of a day's calorie needs for most women.
Look for total calories, not type
Surveys show that women look at grams of fat and sugar before calories, a habit that can mislead you into eating more than you should — especially when it comes to reduced-fat or low-sugar foods. For example, three regular Chips Ahoy! cookies provide 160 calories. Four of the reduced-fat version have 200. And sugar free doesn't mean calorie free. Five tiny Hershey's sugar-free dark chocolate candies provide 190 calories and 1 cup of Edy's no-sugar-added Caramel Chocolate Swirl ice cream contains 220.
Step 2: Determine How Many Calories You Need Knowing your ideal goal prevents weight gain — and helps you lose
Use this simple equation to find your daily calorie needs:
Take your Goal Weight __________ and Multiply by = Total daily calories: ________ Aim for this number every day to reach and maintain your weight goal. To up your daily calorie allotment, move more. Going from being inactive to walking your dog every other day means you can multiply your weight goal by 13 rather than 10. For a 150-pound woman, that's an increase of 450 calories per day: So you could add one slice of whole wheat toast, 1 tablespoon of almond butter, 1 cup of grapes, and ¼ cup of semisweet chocolate chips to your daily diet without gaining. 40% of those who say they are trying to lose weight are not making an effort to reduce the calories they consume.
Step 3: Make Smart Choices All Day It's easier than you think. Just remember a few key tips around this sample menu. The meals total 1,600 calories, the number most moderately active women need per day to support a healthy weight.
Breakfast
Total calories: 498
Lunch
Total calories: 479
Dinner
Total calories: 493
Snack
Total calories: 104
Opt for whole fruit over juice. One cup of orange juice has more than 2 ½ times the calories of the tangerine. Plus, it's totally portion controlled. Choose bread with holes in it. There's more air (and fewer calories!).
Have only one high-fat food (such as full-fat dressing, nuts, croutons, or cheese) per meal. High-fat foods pack more calories into a smaller serving, which adds up quickly.
Make veggies half the bulk of your meals. Produce contains a lot of water, which makes it naturally low in calories.
Pick "slippery" salad dressings such as oil and vinegar or reduced-fat vinaigrette. They coat your salad more easily than thick ones like blue cheese or Russian, so you can use less.
Always measure these foods: rice, cereal, peanut butter, and oil. They're hard to eyeball and calorie dense. A heaping cup of rice has 25% more calories than a level one.
Snack on a baseball-size portion of fresh fruit. It provides about 50 to 100 calories, the amount in only three pretzel twists.
Test Your Calorie IQ
Q: Which type of calorie turns into fat faster?
A. Sugar B. Protein C. Carbs D. Fat
Answer: None of them!
It doesn't matter where calories come from — if you eat too many, they get converted to fat at the same rate. Focus on total calorie intake to get slim.
Article:
The Right Way to Lose Weight After 40 Your 3 step plan to trim extra calories without counting, dieting or feeling deprived.
By Karen Ansel, RD, Prevention
Source: International Food Information Council
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