Losing weight in your 40s is more difficult than it might have been a decade before, but if you can make a few efforts over time, it can be done, said Atlanta trainer Andre Dawkins.
"When you get up five days a week and exercise 30-45 minutes and then go eat well, 40 days later, you'll be a new person," he said.
Dawson is the operations manager for the Dunwoody Baptist Church Fitness Center and his certifications include the National Council for Certified Personal Trainers and Future Fit. He and two other Atlanta trainers, Sookie White of H.E.A.T. Atlanta and private trainer Teresa Davis, shared these tips for those trying to lose weight in their 40s:
Burn more calories than you consume.
Davis, who is based in Decatur, suggested working off the calories with daily activity. "A brisk walk, weight training, interval training, washing your car and cleaning the house are all examples," she said. "Nothing too hard. The main key is to get your heart rate up so you burn calories."
Keep it simple.
No need to overthink the process or set up complicated explanations, said White. "Just try to get in some physical exercise daily without interrupting schedules or your must-dos," she said. "You can walk during your kids' activities, for example, or run first thing in the morning. You want to establish those activities to be more like a routine, not a chore or a punishment."
Start early in the day.
"Doing calisthenics, like jumping jacks, or other exercise early in the day, helps you keep your metabolism up the rest of the day." Dawkins, who was once the physical training coordinator for the 94th Weapons and Security Flight at Dobbins Air Force Base, recommended taking a page from the military strategy to condition. "We would wake up at 4, work out and then immediately eat good food," he said.
Recognize your discipline level.
If you can work out at home, that's fine, said Dawkins. "But it really depends on the person," he said. "I have every type of equipment a person could ever need and I still rarely work out at home. If you know you're going to come in and sit down and turn on the television and start texting, you'll need to have a place you can go to work out and get it done."
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