With age comes deep wisdom, growing empathy for others, better understanding of relationships and last but not the least the tightening of your favourite jeans or trouser. You may find that favourite dress or shirt of yours not fitting you so well. 40’s, most times start with the weight slowly creeping on and leaving us overwhelmed with the sudden change in our figures. Most find themselves looking for weight loss solutions and thus enrolling in various weight loss programs  

So, what is the reason for these pounds slowly piling on? Well,for women it’s the falling estrogen levels as they are slowly approaching their menopause and the sluggish metabolism. And, for men it’s their falling testosterone levels which impacts the body metabolism. There is muscle loss every decade after the age of 30 years and that lost muscle mass is replaced with fat. This slows down your metabolism as muscle keeps one’s metabolism revved up. Women and men both struggle to lose weight in their middle age years. Women due to hormonal changes and menopause experience weight gain and fat especially around the abdomen while men in the middle age due to loss of testosterone have decreased muscle mass. Unless one works it out with proper weight training exercises and a healthy diet one keeps losing muscle.Apart from these biological factors there are other factors also like an unhealthy lifestyle, bad eating habits, less of physical activity and stress that also lead to weight gain.  

So, if you are putting on weight it would be easy to put it onto the age, but in fact if one makes a few food and lifestyle changes the weight as well as metabolism can snap back into action. It is easy for one to google for a low calorie diet or fat burning diet for the weight loss intended. However, what you see and read there is not always scientifically backed. There is no one size that fits all and so what works for one may not work for the other.Hence, it would be prudent to enroll oneself in a weight management programt hat centers around healthy eating without the omission of any food group.  

Café Nutrition would like to share a motivational and a successful story of Mr. K. Subramaniam (name changed for privacy) who at the age of 49 yearsapproached us for weight loss with no medical history or any health complications. The only supplements he was on were Shelcal (alternate days) and B - complex (daily). The following are his details: 

Personal Profile:Family in Bangalore and he staying in Mumbai in a flat by himself. Regular travel and restaurant cooked meals on most days of the week. 

Program Taken: Weight Loss Program 

On taking his body composition it was revealed that his readings were not within the normal ranges of BMI, body fat, visceral fat and skeletal muscle. Hence, it was not only weight loss that was needed but also fat loss based on the readings of total body fat and visceral fat. Along with the body composition, his dietary habits were assessed and his routine was understood (including the days he travelled). There was also a commitment from his end for a structured physical activity (exercise) on 4-5 days of the week.  

Next, it was time for our team to work on his weight loss diet plan. A diet plan was designed by taking into consideration his likes and dislikes, daily physical activity, travelling schedule and the Indian Dietary Recommendation Guidelines. Some alterations based on his lifestyle and food habits were made. Other weight loss tips were also suggested. Since he was living alone, he agreed to cook some foods / meals by himself. Extremely easy recipes which were nutritious were suggested. He was also given a separate plan for the days he was travelling with suggestions and restaurant guidelines. After the first 7 days, a follow up was taken. His doubts if any were addressed to and feedback was taken to have the next plan made. Along with the diet plan as well as the lifestyle modifications that were suggested we saw a weight loss of 3 kgs, a body fat loss of 1% and a visceral fat loss of 1.5% in a span of just a month. And, credit to his personal efforts for regular physical activity and adhering to around 70% of the diet plan. After 4 months the results were more than satisfying as he experienced a total weight loss of 10 kgs,a fat loss of 4% and a visceral fat loss of 4.5%. The positive aspect of this weight loss planplanned for him was that there was no muscle breakdown. In fact, there was a 2% increase in his skeletal muscle mass. And, this is not all! He has taken the three month program again to still improve the numbers. He has proved that not only weight loss but also fat loss is possible after 40 years. He is onto a path of a healthy life and we are happy to be a part of his transformation.  

So, even if the biological factors are going against us, it does not mean one is destined to gain weight. Gaining weight may be easy after 40 years but its not difficult to keep off the pounds too. Picking up an ideal weight loss program is essential. A program which ensures all food groups are taken care of and does not involve any fad diets is the key. Physical activity should also be an integral part of the program. A sustainable weight management program is the key to losing weight and keeping it off permanently.