Midlife Body Changes and Weight Loss in Women Over 35

I’ll say it like it is, short and sweet, what it’s like for midlife women over 35 to deal with body changes and weight loss that is.

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The situation:

You’re somewhere in midlife between 35-45 years old and absolutely done with having more kids. You are still over your pre-first baby weight by at least 10 pounds.

You have a unyielding belly at this point so you choose and wear only loose fitting tops and dresses.

You try to eat healthy but balancing what you need to feed your growing kids and a husband that never gains weight no matter his diet or exercise, with what you know YOU should eat to lose weight is a challenge every. single. day.

You agonize over your diet in a cyclical pattern and do spurts of exercise regimens but often stop for long periods and go back to your old ways.

When the kids are finally asleep, you binge eat and drink.

Why do midlife women have such a hard time losing weight?

Because life with a growing family and busy schedules is HARD. Can you really stay away from making yummy Italian pasta dishes, Asian rice stir fries, or even a quick and easy grilled cheese sandwich that your family loves? All these are full of carbs. Carbs they say are your enemy, but the fact is, kids need carbs in their diet and you don’t often find kids that will be happy with a weekly meal prepped grilled chicken and broccoli, day in and day out.

It’s really unrealistic to say you won’t buy processed food as a busy working mom.

Maybe you weren’t always a stickler for healthy foods in your younger days either, but you had time after work or even before work to exercise if you wanted.

You could go to the gym, change leisurely into your athletic wear, do an hour workout and slowly make your way home. You could buy a premade salad somewhere or eat something quick and easy and call it a night.

This leisurely pace probably doesn’t exist for you anymore. For most working moms, when the first paying job ends, your second and perhaps more physically/mentally taxing job as a mom begins.

It’s easy to skip working out. You might even convince yourself that you’ll get something in after the kids go to sleep, but.. good luck with that.

The temptations are harder in midlife and the answer to succumb is always so easy.

But don’t worry if this sounds all too familiar to you. The fact is, you’re not alone and that means tons of women out there are facing the same realities as you and looking for solutions. After the age of 35, women are realizing they have different body changes they didn’t have when they were younger and that weight loss is getting more challenging.

I’m here to tell you there are definitely ways to overcome our daily challenges to losing weight as midlife women and I will share them here.

But before we get to HOW to lose weight, we need to recognize potential body changes for midlife women, especially over 35. Without acknowledging these factors, weight loss will feel like an impossible mountain to climb. If any of these are contributing to making weight loss difficult for you, you must address them too.

According to Dr. Adrianna, women can go through some significant body changes.

Midlife Changes in Women Over 35

Mental/Emotional Changes

Anxiety
Burn out
Depression or Midlife Crisis
Insomnia

Body Changes

Loss of skin elasticity
Decreased metabolism
Incontinence especially having vaginal births

Physiologic Changes

Menopause
Decreased/Increased libido
Hormonal changes – birth control

Losing weight during menopause

According to Dr. Horton, low estrogen levels during menopause can alter the balance of leptin and ghrelin which are responsible for managing hunger. Women also tend to distribute weight gain more around their belly and lose muscle mass. During menopause there are a few factors working against women, but it’s still possible to lose weight and regain your health despite them.

Losing weight while on birth control

There are a few theories that explain why some women may experience weight gain on birth control. This Healthline article suggests, estrogen levels in some birth controls may simply make women hungrier, some cause water retention, and finally it can possibly cause increase in body fat or muscle tissue.

Although weight gain is listed as a side effect for many birth controls, studies to prove this are weak and not definitive. The connection requires more research at this time. If you are noticing weight gain while on birth control or apprehensive about starting due to the potential of weight gain, there are still ways to lose weight.

How many calories for middle aged women to lose weight?

Older women tend to be less active and therefore lose muscle mass. Unfortunately, more muscle mass allows you to burn more calories at rest. This is why as women get older, if you live a sedentary lifestyle, you will need to eat less calories than in your younger days to account for that. This additional calorie reduction will be entirely dependent on your activity lifestyle.

Is it hard to lose weight after 35?

How to go about losing weight in midlife is still the same methods and tactics that work when you’re in your twenties. Why it’s REALLY HARD is because you have more body and environmental changes working against you. It’s true, you have to make more plans to make sure you are successful at losing weight. However, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

So what are the proven ways to lose weight for women over 35, despite our body changes?

U.S. News posted an article on science backed strategies to lose weight for middle age and beyond.

Track your food intake
- Some people track calories, track macros, choose keto or slow carb and all of these really have one huge thing in common. They focus on making protein and vegetable intake the priority and majority of your diet to feel full and still be able to lose weight. When you feel like you can commit more seriously to weighing out your food, this food scale is one of the highest recommended ones in the market.
Get rid of temptations
- Don’t buy the foods and snacks you know makes you give in. For me, it’s always Trader Joe’s Mochi Crackers and their Everything But Bagel Kettle Potato Chips. I don’t know what it is, but I can eat almost the entire bag in one sitting. Every time I buy it, I tell myself I’m going to eat it in moderation or as a treat, but like clockwork, I cannot overcome its addictive powers.
Do not drink your calories
- I know one drinkable calories is non-negotiable for some people. For me, I like to drink my coffee black but for others, creamer is an absolute necessity. So aside from adding minimal calories to our daily morning fuel, consider eliminating or at least greatly limiting caloric drinks.
Drink at least 80 ounces of water per day
- I’m one of those weird people that really don’t enjoy the taste of water. I have friends constantly holding and sipping from reusable water bottles. My brother-in-law walks around with this ridiculous half gallon water jug. I make fun of him about it, but he tells me he hasn’t missed a day in months without drinking his goal.
- But me? I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t drink any water some days. My first step towards drinking more water was buying a pretty Hydro Flask water bottle with a straw. It made unconsciously drinking water so much easier. I end up just mindlessly sipping water while reading my work emails and looking at excel files.
- Now another trick I use is to heat up my water in large mugs and squirt some lemon. I also love to use un-caffeinated Trader Joe’s Peppermint or Korean Solomon’s Seal teas all day. I actually use only 1 tea bag all day and keep refilling with hot water. Something about these two teas makes me drink it all day. I just love the taste of both of them.
Include cardio AND strength training exercises
- The myth that to lose weight you need to run miles and miles daily has been debunked. You must also include some kind of strength/weight training workout routines. Alternating between the two works the best for me. I walk or speed walk one day and do a Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide(BBG) workout on the alternating days. I believe BBG is now called “High Intensity with Kayla.” This is the only way I can force myself to get moving around the house and get some sun without paying for and committing to a gym.
Get enough sleep
- This one is difficult for working moms. You’d think you’re so tired you’d be sleeping at 9 pm every night. But no, there’s this weird phenomenon of moms choosing to stay up later and later because it’s the one time during the day where no one is bothering them and they can do whatever they want. But you need to give yourself adequate sleep in a fitness and weight loss focused lifestyle.
Create habits to help you keep on track
- Habits are powerful tools. They are also incredibly powerful downfalls, depending on how you look at it. James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits” once said to make a habit successful, you need to:
  1. Make it obvious – Ex: put it on your calendar so you set routine times
  2. Make it attractive – Ex: create a nice space for your work outs or wear pretty workout gear
  3. Make it easy – Ex: neatly lay out your workout clothes and tools in an easily accessible area ahead of time
  4. Make it satisfying – Ex: go hard and sweat it out
- This book really changed my life about a lot of things I knew I wanted to do for myself and helped me make it a reality I can stick to.