I'm exercising every day, I'm dieting... and nothing is working!

Ever feel like you're doing all the right things, but you're not getting results from your exercise and nutrition?  

If so, you are definitely not alone. This is an all too common frustration for many women over 40 or so. 

"I'm exercising every day, I'm dieting... and nothing is working!"

👆🏼 This, in part, is why it’s not working. 

 Hormonal changes during perimenopause and beyond change the game. Your body is now playing by a new set of rules. So you may have discovered that what you used to do is no longer working.

Here are 5 Common Mistakes Women Often Make:

1. Thinking Pilates, Yoga, or Barre is enough for Strength Training. They all offer great benefits – improved posture, balance, core strength, muscle endurance, etc. But they do not provide adequate stimulus needed to build muscle (a major priority after for women over 40). For that, you need to lift challenging weights, and follow a program designed with progressive overload. 

2. Group conditioning classes 5-6 days a week. Whether that's OTF, F45, Bootcamp, Peloton rides (or even lots of jogging and cardio) – when you don’t get adequate recovery, you break muscle down faster than it can rebuild. You also increase risk of injury, fatigue, increased cravings, inflammation, and elevated cortisol levels (which promotes fat storage). Exercise provides the opportunity for fitness. Fitness happens during recovery. As midlife women, we need more recovery than before. 

3. Not having a plan. Random workouts give you random results (I saw this a lot). Group fitness classes, YouTube or IG workouts may be fun, and get you moving and sweaty – but they do not follow a plan or offer progressive overload. They are created for a wide range of clients and are not designed uniquely for you or your specific goals. Find a program designed to help you reach your goals. Stick with it for at least 6-8 weeks. Consistency is key. 

4. Exercising any time of day. Timing matters. To optimize your hormones, your more intense exercise should be done earlier in the day, if possible. This allows for better circadian rhythm balance and the natural ebb and flow of cortisol and melatonin. Save your lighter, less intense workouts (like stretching or yoga) for later in the day.  

5. Skipping meals, extended fasting, omitting food groups, or drastically cutting calories. Besides being unpleasant and unsustainable, these things all add even more stress to your system. Women in midlife are more susceptible to the negative effects of stress. Under chronic stress (yes, even dieting and exercise are stressors), your body cannot gain lean muscle or burn fat. A severe calorie deficit will actually cause your metabolism to slow in order to conserve more energy. So to any of these strategies: just. don’t.

Instead, prioritize protein (at every meal), get plenty of fiber, veggies and healthy fats, and learn to eat in a way that supports your body, metabolism, and activity level... which may actually mean eating more.

These five things are ESPECIALLY true for women in perimenopause and beyond. Your 20 or 30 year old self may have gotten away with those things, but you likely won’t now.

Your body, hormones, and metabolism are different now. That requires a different approach (or at least a few tweaks) to your fitness nutrition, and some lifestyle habits. The good new is, it may be more simple than you think!

Need some help getting started or restarted? 4 ways we can work together:  

1. The next cohort of Bolder STRONG 8-Week Total Fitness Program starts in JAN 2025. Join the priority waitlist HERE. Or hop into my 4 Week Program HERE!  

2. Want a high touch customized approach? Invest in my  VIP 1:1 Coaching Program for a total fitness, nutrition, lifestyle habit transformation (a 12-week commitment). 

3. Local? Attend an in-person Barre STRONG class (TU + TH 8:30am)

4. Inquire about Private Strength Training in my home studio (very limited spots available, email [email protected]) 

xo, RITA