Taking care of your body once you turn 40 is essential according to studies by the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University.

In their recent ‘Million Women Study’ of over 1.2 million women; they discovered that the increasing obesity epidemic has contributed to over 20% of all liver cirrhosis cases in middle aged women across the UK – only 30% than alcohol.

However, you don’t have to let your health nor your weight loss suffer simply because you are getting older. By incorporating the following middle aged weight loss tips below, you too can ensure that you don’t become another statistic.

The myth

There is a common misconception that once you hit 40 weight gain is inevitable; however this hormonal in-balance or ‘middle aged spread’ as it is more commonly known, can easily be tackled in advance by keeping to the next 3 steps.

1. Avoid ‘empty nest’ weight gain

It is common once your children head off to college/university to become less active. No longer are you running around the house doing the laundry, cleaning up after your children or running up/down the stairs every 5-10 minutes… Your life alters, and sudden drop in activity can trigger gain weight if your middle aged diet doesn’t alter alongside it…

TIP 1: To help experience effective weight loss, try buying a pedometer and wearing it for one day. If you find that you are walking less than 10,000 steps a day then you are not exercising enough.

Yet you can quickly build your exercise levels up again. Simply try increasing your walking levels one step at a time by: walking to your local shops instead of driving; take the stairs instead of the lift or even adding a 30-45minute walk to your lunch break. As your stamina increases you will find it easier to exercise more often and take on other external activities.

2. Don’t let your hormones control you

For women in particular, when you hit your 40’s your hormones start to go a bit crazy. Suffering from too much or too little oestrogen they can lead to increased weight gain that is hard to control. Similarly if you are in the menopause and are on HRT, this can make after 40 weight loss difficult to achieve.

If this description sounds like you then there are a number of tricks you can use to experience effective weight loss.

- Modify your eating habits: modifying the foods you eat can help to alleviate the systems of your hormonal imbalance. We suggest speaking to your dietician who will be able to advice you on a suitable after 40 weight loss plan. Just remember to eat a healthy balance of 40% carbohydrates, 30% proteins and 30% fats.

- Exercise more: whilst your hormones play an important role in where you store weight, monitoring your calories in to your calories out can help you to experience natural weight loss. Even gardening can help you to burn 150-200 calories an hour, so try translating your hobbies into new fat burning opportunities and rebuild your exercise levels.

3. Don’s deny your physical issues

It is only natural as you get older that your limbs and joints will become sore and achy. However if this physical soreness is dramatically hindering your activity levels then it is essential that you get these issues addressed as the longer they last, the more they will halt your physical activity.

Alongside the treatments you are prescribed, you may also need to modify your exercise plan to one that is more friendly for your body. So instead of going for jog or hiking – as you would have done in the past - try swapping these for activities for ones such as water aerobics or swimming. The support of the water will help to relieve the stress put on your joints, whilst helping you to lose weight.