Follow This Simple Formula For Weight Loss and Wellness

Health and wellness can seem complex and overwhelming, especially when you’re a woman over 40. By this time in your life, you feel like you’ve tried everything to manage your weight and health. On top of your own experience, every friend and neighbor has a story to share with you about their own weight loss or health journey. Things can get complicated very quickly.

• There are all things you haven’t been doing for the past 20 years (or more).
• Then there are all the new fitness crazes (should be doing Pilates or HIIT?).
• Throw in the complications of Keto, Intermittent Fasting, and Menopause, and it’s easy to see why you might opt out altogether.

There has to be an easier way.

And there is.

Meet The Four Fs.

I like to think of health and wellness in terms of The Four Fs… Food, Fitness, Feelings, and Friends. Mastering each of these categories is simpler than you think.

Food

What you put into your body determines what comes out in terms of weight and health. The food you eat determines how well you fight off disease, from the common cold to cancer. It determines how much energy you have, the clarity and suppleness of your skin, and how much you weigh.

In our modern world, we are so removed from the source of our nourishment that we don’t believe that food has any effect on our health. The science tells a different story.

Vegans and vegetarians are 20 pounds lighter than omnivores on average and are 10-15% less likely to be overweight or obese. In addition, vegans and vegetarians get more nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytonutrients) in their diet, resulting in reduced risk for heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases and lower body fat/higher lean mass.

Understanding how food (avoid supplements, fat-burners, and energy drinks) affects your body and the benefits of eating a healthier diet makes it easy to maintain your weight, enjoy tons of energy, and look your best at any age.

How to keep it simple: Eat as many whole plants as you can each day with a minimum of 5-9 servings. 

Fitness

The human body is made to move. Sitting for long hours each day can be as detrimental to the human body as smoking.

Sitting all day increases your risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.  Blood flow decreases from your lower body, increasing the risk of developing blood clots. Muscle atrophy, which can affect balance and increase your risk of falling, is especially problematic the older you get.

How much fitness do you need? The American Academy of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise 5 days per week. And you may not even need the gym to hit this mark. The latest research recommends moving for 5 minutes every 30 minutes. This can mean something as simple as walking in place or standing up and sitting down at your desk at work. Don’t over-think it, especially if you’re just getting started. Just move. As you build from a baseline of sitting all day, you can add in moves that feel great and improve your strength.

How to keep it simple: Move your body in a way that raises your heart rate for 30 minutes at least five days per week.

Feelings

The most underrated aspect of health and wellness. If you’re struggling with getting started or being “on and off the wagon,” you don’t have a food or fitness problem. You have a feelings problem. When I say feelings, I’m referring to emotional eating and the beliefs you hold about yourself, your body, and your self-talk. Your beliefs dictate your behavior.

If you believe you believe you are "a middle-aged, fat woman who doesn't matter anymore," you will act like a middle-aged fat woman who doesn’t matter anymore.

You will

• Make unhealthy food choices.
• Skip the gym.
• Put everyone else’s needs and wants ahead of your own.

If, instead, you believe you’re a “woman in charge of her life, with the health and vitality of someone half her age impacting the world,” how would your behavior change?

You will

• Eat food that powers your energy.
• Hit the gym to be strong enough to do what a woman half your age can do.
• Take great care of yourself so you can make an impact on the lives of others.

 How to keep it simple: Keep a journal and write about the negative self-talk you hear inside your head. What are you saying to yourself? Where does the chatter come from? How can you change it?

Friends

Surround yourself with women who support the changes you want to make. Women who pick you up when you’re feeling down. Women who celebrate when you win. These women make all the difference in your success or failure to make a change. Finding these women can be challenging, but the results are life-changing when you build a community of like-minded women moving towards similar goals.

How to keep it simple: If your current family and friends don’t support you making changes (most don’t), find a group that does. Meet them at the gym or in online communities.

As you dive into the “this will be my year,” planning for 2024 remember that it’s not about 2024. It’s about making changes to your life that will last. Super-complicated, overly structured planning doesn’t work. Following a simple formula does.

Following this formula is simple but not always easy. If you are ready to make 2024 your best year ever, check out VIP Coaching in The Women's Wellness Academy.