An estimated 70% of U.S. women over 40 struggle with weight loss or maintaining weight! When fat loss feels harder than it used to, most women assume the issue is discipline. I can tell you that’s rarely true.
What we refer to as “lack of willpower” is often just predictable physiology.
When your body isn’t getting enough fuel, especially protein,
- hunger hormones rise
- blood sugar becomes less stable and we get those dreaded spikes and crashes
- energy slumps become more frequent, and cravings get worse, especially later in the day and at night.
On top of that, your hormones are changing. Changes in estrogen levels affect insulin sensitivity, your ability to maintain muscle, and where fat is stored, among many other things.
These changes don’t mean that something’s wrong, but rather that your body responds differently to your diet and training than it did in the past.
Add to that chronic stress, poor sleep (I still blame my kids although I should probably just go to bed sooner), and gradual muscle loss over time, and your metabolism shifts toward conserving energy and resisting fat loss.
This has nothing to do with discipline and everything to do with biology.
This is why simply eating less and doing more cardio stopped working years ago.
What helps is to give your body the signals it needs to perform its best:
- Eating meals at regular times
- Enough protein per meal to signal sufficient nutrient availability
- Strength training so you can keep/grow your muscles
- Frequent movement throughout the day
- Enough rest/sleep for your stress response to chill out
- Consistency without perfection or extremes
When you’re doing each of these regularly, you’ll find that your appetite is more predictable, your energy improves, and fat loss finally stops feeling like this giant question mark.
