Metabolism Madness and Turning 40

If you tuned in to The Dr. Oz Show on Monday, it probably confirmed some things you’d already suspected. To use myself as an example, why after months of walking, cutting back on my food consumption, and eating (most of the time) a pretty healthy diet, was I not losing weight? According to Dr. Oz, the answer is simple; After 40 your metabolism decreases 5% every 10 years. And, if like me, you’ve been yo-yo dieting your entire adult life, the news gets even worse. Crash diets, disuse of muscles and a drop in testosterone level all add to the metabolism dive. The drop in testosterone was news to me and the rogue hairs that keep popping up on my face (why couldn’t the testosterone drop do something useful like vanquish those hairs?)  So, what’s a women at 40 to do?

While there are a lot of great things about turning 40, rogue joint poppage, mutinous facial hair and decreased metabolism aren’t any of them. So here are a couple of suggestions for managing the post- 40 metabolism slow down:

• Drink 8 glasses of ice water every day – We’ve been hearing the “drink water, drink water” mantra for years, but did you realize that making it ice water forces your body to warm it up, burning calories in the process?
• Consume 25 grams of fiber a day – Beans, steel cut oats and brown rice are all inexpensive foods that add valuable fiber to your diet. Also, check your supermarket shelves for pasta and bread with added fiber.
• Cut 100 calories from your daily calorie consumption. That doesn’t mean you have to start tracking calories. This can be accomplished by doing simple things like skipping the cheese on the burger, using mustard instead of mayo and removing the skin from chicken.
• Use your major muscles – Dr. Oz suggests doing things like plank exercises and squats during commercial breaks.

On Friday, I’ll share five tips from the show for boosting metabolism, adding fiber to your diet and monitoring serving sizes. See you Friday!

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