The Secrets to Staying Slim After 35 ~ Bloggerin Info

Here are the secrets to staying slim after 35

IT MAY creep up on you insidiously. One day you catch your image in a full-length mirror and wonder, How did that happen? But instead of blaming your erratic workouts and sometimes insatiable appetite, you chalk up the extra padding on your hips to getting older. After all, metabolism slows down significantly after the age of 30, doesn't it?

Not necessarily. Research reveals that women, on average, put on about half a kilo a year between the ages of 30 and 40 --- but this has nothing to do with an unavoidable metabolic meltdown. Metabolism may slacken a bit, but this slow down is most often the result of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and a loss of muscle mass.

"There's really nothing special about the thirties that suddenly makes your body decide to get fat," explains Dr. James Rippe, director of the Centre for Clinical and Lifestyle Research in Shrewsbury, Massachussetts. "But there are a number of circumstances that bombard women during this decade that can lead to weight gain."

The gaining trend is not inevitable, however. Here's how to recognise, and avoid falling into, the most common get-fat traps.

Trap 1: Man-size meals

When you get married, you may find yourself eating what your husband wants to eat -- and in the same quantities. "Men are bigger, so they eat more," says John Foreyt, director of the Nutrition Research Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, "and when women are with men, they eat more too."

Is it possible to cohabit without overconsuming? Yes, but it takes vigilance and self-control. For one thing, don't try matching your partner course for course. If you're eating out, have a salad and an appetiser instead of a full entree. When you're at home, serve yourself less of what he loads onto his plate and don't have seconds just because he does.

One 36-year-old woman was able to lose about four kilos during the first two years she lived with her husband, despite the fact that she eats more elaborate meals than she used to. "When I lived alone, I'd often skip dinner and just have popcorn. Now we eat a real dinner together every night. When he cooks, I watch my portions because he tends to serve heavy meat-and-potatoes dishes. When it's my turn to cook, I compensate by making lots of fresh vegetables and salads."

Trap 2: Dismissing dumbbells

If you had only 20 minutes a day to exercise, would you choose a brisk walk, a run on the treadmill or a series of leg lifts, push-ups and dumbbell curls? According to Wayne Westcott, a YMCA fitness research director, people invariably choose aerobic activity over strenght training, "because it burns more kilojoules." While that may be true for the duration of the workout, "building muscle through regular strength training helps you burn more kilojoules every day -- even when you're resting."

Why? Half a kilo of muscle burns 150 to 200 kilojoules a day, compared with a paltry eight kilojoules from half a kilo of fat. The upshot: sacrificing muscle mass means you lose tone and still pack on extra kilos.

By contrast, pump iron for 20 minutes a day, three times a week, and you keep your metabolism efficiently humming along. Two years ago, Roberta Colby, 34, a nurse, started a strength-training regimen. Her 20-minute sessions included leg lifts, push-ups, dips and, finally, squats. Colby has mantained her midtwenties weight, and her body fat is now an enviably low 18 per cent. (The average for a woman the same age is about 30 per cent). "Strength training gives me leeway," she says. "I can eat a bit more at meals if I feel like it. My stomach is flatter, my waist is smaller, and my arms, shoulders and legs are more toned."

Trap 3: Birth weight

While it's healthy to gain some weight during pregnancy, you can avoid gaining excess kilos. Experts don't recommend dieting, but most women need only 1250 extra kilojoules a day after the first trimester.

During the first 19 weeks of pregnancy, the average woman should gain no more than three to five kilos. After that, experts say women of normal weight gain no more than half a kilo a week. Consult your obstetrician about what is appropriate for you.

Following the birth of a baby, many women find it hard to shed extra kilos. Exercise is the key to combating this as well as exhaustion (which quite often leads to an over-reliance on convenience foods) and emotional ups and downs. "If you keep moving during and after pregnancy," explains Foreyt, "you will have a better chance of keeping your metabolism up and your eating in check."

For Stacy Roberts, 34, a mother of two, taking an exercise class several times a week helped her lose 14 extra kilos that had lingered after her second pregnancy. I'd rather exercise and be able to eat what appeals to me," she says. While the kilos were coming off, Roberts avoided the scale: "I took my measurements instead."

Trap 4: Impulsive eating

Nutritionist Debra Waterhouse recommends giving in to urges in a controlled fashion, rather than depriving yourself and risking a later binge: "Have a couple of chocolates or a handful of peanuts. Then let go of the guilt and get on with your life."

Waterhouse also advises eating five or six small meals a day instead of two or three larger ones to help regulate energy levels, although some experts question the benefits of this practice.

Trap 5: Time crunch

It's all to easy to resign yourself to a larger dress size when many other developments -- a rewarding marriage, children, close friendships, maybe a brilliant career -- are competing for your attention. Who has time to please the boss, exercise and have a personal life?

Trouble is, says Rippe, "if you consume the same amount of kilojoules and don't move around as much, you'll gain weight. Burn off just 500 fewer kilojoules a day, and you'll gain around five kilos in one year."

Elena Dorfman, 34, a photographer, squeezes exercise into her life by making it social. Instead of meeting friends for a meal, she arranges to walk or go bike riding with them. "There's not enough time in my day for a social life and exercise," she says. "This is a nice way to have both."