Best Weight Loss Programs For Women Over 40

Our 40s are an interesting decade. It is a time when we find we have well-established careers, and family life and understand who we are and our place in the world. However, it is the exact time that we see one of the steepest declines in our health.

For women, this decline holds greater significance as many enter menopause, which slows metabolism, increases appetite, causes weight gain, and reduces muscle mass and bone density.

This difficult, albeit natural change to your physiology transforms how you view yourself and the body you spent so long getting to know.

In this article, we share the best weight loss program for women over 40. We discuss key factors to look for in a weight loss program, the five best weight loss programs, and helpful strategies for long-term success.

Key Factors in Choosing a Weight Loss Program

Choosing a weight loss program can be difficult as there are hundreds on the market vying for your business. That is why we have highlighted key factors to help you select the correct weight loss program.

Understanding Your Hormonal and Metabolic Changes

Weight loss around our 40s centers on hormonal and metabolic changes. So it only stands to reason that we should pick a program which can bases their program around these elements. As mentioned, declining reproductive hormone levels bring on many new weight loss challenges. A good weight loss program understands this and will address hormonal fluctuations and the resulting symptoms through nutrition.

For example, phytoestrogen is an estrogen-like compound found in plant food sources. It can mimic estrogen, which may be able to stabilize estrogen levels. Meanwhile, foods containing complex carbohydrates that are fiber-rich can help reduce insulin resistance, which can reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases.

Importance of Preserving Muscle Mass

The preservation of muscle mass should be a key component of your weight loss program. Our 40s can be a dangerous time when we can experience the onset of muscle loss. Muscle mass gradually declined by approximately 3–8% per decade after 30. This rate is insidious, as changes to muscle mass in the early 30s will likely go unnoticed. However, entering your 40s, the decline in muscle mass will begin to manifest in a loss of strength, reduced function, and slower metabolism.

The major determinants of muscle growth are mechanical stimulus and muscle damage, which can be achieved by performing resistance training and weight-bearing exercises. These forms of exercise can overload muscle tissue, promoting the growth and preservation of muscle tissue.

Because of this, your weight loss program should encourage you to perform regular exercise routines, including cardio, resistance training, and recreational exercise.

Resistance training and aerobic exercise have both been shown to produce muscle growth. Performing these forms of exercise regularly maintains function, burns calories, and elevates basal metabolic rate, improving weight loss and weight management.

Choosing a Program Based on Your Lifestyle and Preferences

When it comes to choosing a weight loss program, you need to select one that matches your lifestyle and preferences. There are hundreds of programs on the market, and many boast incredible results. However, blindly choosing these based on the outcomes of others without considering the diets, services, and lifestyles they offer can lead to poor adherence, and ultimately derail our journey.

An obvious example is those people who love the keto diet, where they dramatically reduce carbohydrate intake and rely heavily on fats and protein. Because of this, the diet largely consists of animal food products such as beef, chicken, and pork, with the addition of eggs and full-fat dairy, fruits, and vegetables. For obvious reasons, this is not suitable for anyone looking for a plant-based diet. However, those who enjoy meat but prefer moderate levels of carbohydrates may want to try the paleo diet, which may be more suitable

The best way to ensure success with your weight loss program is to choose the one that you enjoy. This will help you stick to it long-term, yielding the best results.

Best Weight Loss Programs for Women Over 40

Now that we have identified the key component to look for with your weight loss program, we are going to list the best weight loss program for women over 40. We detail cost, key features, benefits, pros and cons, providing you with all the information you need to help you choose the right program.

1- Reverse Health

Reverse Health is a 12-week weight loss program that focuses on female physiology. It offers a tailored program to meet your dietary needs while providing a large database of recipes and exercises to equip you with everything you need for a successful weight loss journey.

All of this can be controlled using the Reverse Health app, which allows you to track your meals and workouts and explore educational content anywhere at any time.

Pricing

• $15.19 per month

Key Features

• Specifically designed for women over 40
• Addresses hormone and metabolic changes
• Focus on exercise
• Support a variety of eating preferences
• Mobile app

Pros and Cons

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2- Weight Watchers

A mainstay in the weight loss program space, Weight Watchers has been helping people lose weight since 1963. Since then, they have amassed 3.7 million subscribers, offering a customizable program with over 4,000 recipes, an online app, coaching, and a supportive community, which can help you achieve your weight loss goal.

This service does come at a higher price of $30 for the first three months, and $45 per month for every month after, it can be a stretch for some individuals. However, they offer an excellent resource, which can make it worthwhile.

Pricing

• $30 per week (for the first three months)
• $45 per month (standard monthly fee)

Key Features

• Customizable meal plans
• Long-term weight loss
• Famous Weight Watchers point system
• Supportive community
• 4000 online recipes

Pros and Cons

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3- Noom

Since 2016, Noom has risen in popularity for its unique approach that uses behavioral psychology and cognitive-based therapy. Like all great weight loss programs, Noom focuses on creating healthy relationships with food and long-term sustainable weight management.

Noom provides a complete service, offering coaching, lessons, and quizzes that can help strengthen your understanding of weight loss, your behavior surrounding food, and how it affects your body.

Noom does offer a premium service, and with that comes a premium price tag. However, if you are interested in making sustainable changes that help you forge a better relationship with food, then Noom is just for you.

Pricing

• 7 to 14-day free trial
• 4-Months: $169 USD
• 12-Months: $209 USD

Key Features

• Utilizes behavioral psychology
• Education resources (lessons and quizzes)
• Personal Coaching
• Uses a color-coded calorie-tracking system

Pros and Cons

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4- The Mayo Clinic Diet

The Mayo Clinic diet is a weight loss program that caters to the broader population. Focused on changing your lifestyle and eating nutrient-dense whole foods, it can be customized for women in their 40s.

This diet offers a holistic approach to nutrition. They focus on the physical aspect of weight loss, recommending 30 minutes of exercise per day while encouraging you to adopt healthy habits with their habit optimizer. Most importantly, they promote a balanced diet to foster a healthy relationship with food.

All of this is customizable to your dietary preferences, including healthy keto, plant-based, or Mediterranean. This flexibility makes it a great choice for women in their 40s.

Pricing

• 3-Months $119.99 USD

Key Features

• Focus on Lifestyle change
• Habit optimizer
• Exercise plan
• Mobile App

Pros and Cons

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5- Simple

Simple Life is a smartphone-based intermittent fasting app focused on long-term sustainability with calorie counting. Simple’s introductory questionnaire determines your preferences, goals, current nutrition habits, and desired fasting windows. The app provides a user-friendly experience that aims to streamline the weight management process.

Simple offers a free version that allows you to track your meals and hydration. If you enjoy the product, the premium version is an affordable $17.99 which unlocks additional features such as food scanning functions, education readings, and AI recommendations.

There is a lot to like with Simple for women over 40, providing a simple and effective weight loss program. However, if you would like a more in-depth and prefer to count calories and macronutrient intake, we suggest looking for other weight loss programs.

Pricing

• Free version
• $17.99 per month

Key Features

• 12-Week Program
• Avo Vision: Menu scanning system
• 24/7 chat
• Educational resources and community group
• Meal logging with food scanning or voice-to-text

Pros and Cons

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Strategies for Long-Term Success

The most successful weight loss programs are the ones that can make us feel like we aren’t on a diet, offering great meal options and streamlined tracking matched with our dietary preferences. However, we must still be willing to put in the work to ensure their long-term success for a healthy lifestyle change.

Below, we share our strategies for long-term success.

Setting Realistic Goals

A key component of weight loss is setting realistic goals. Heading into a weight loss program, we can feel ready to take on the world. Our motivation is at an all-time high, envisioning our weight loss goal and the exact weight we can lose to make it happen.

However, after the initial weeks or months of significant weight loss, the weight begins to plateau, affecting our original weight loss timeline.

This is a common mistake that everyone has made at least once. While it is important to set goals, we must do so with realistic expectations and the understanding that there are many hurdles to effect weight loss.

A healthy weight loss is approximately 0.5-1.0 kilogram per week While it may seem insignificant, this small, incremental weight loss is not only achievable but also helps us manage our expectations. When we hit those weekly weight loss goals, we will be filled with that sense of achievement, spurring us on

Building Habits for Sustainable Weight Management

Weight loss is more than reducing our calorie intake and exercising more; it is about forging healthy lifestyle habits. As mentioned, motivation can pull you through those initial phases of your weight loss journey, however, as time passes and hurdles arise, it will decrease and you will need to draw on other areas to push you through.

This is where building new habits comes in. Dedicating time to creating new habits can help us create actions automatically within our daily lives. Like brushing our teeth, washing our hands before dinner, or walking the dog, healthy habits can be built which can lead to sustainable weight management.

For example, say we wanted to add walking to burn additional calories each day. Many will struggle to motivate themselves to walk early in the morning, or if they come home from work. To work around this, you could place our sneakers in the car, and at the end of each work day, we could put them on, and instead of going straight into the house, you could go for a 20-minute walk.

What makes this an excellent habit is that after work we often need time to decompress. Office, emails, phone calls, and meetings, can be stressful. Walking can help us unwind, improve mood, enhance mental clarity, and burn expend energy.

Below is a list of habits that can implemented for sustainable weight management:

• Walking after work before going in the house (decompress and burn calories)
• Drinking a glass of what before each meal (improve digestion and satiety)
• Turn off devices 30 minutes before bed (improves sleep)
• Adding protein to every meal (improves satiety and preserves muscle)

The Role of Sleep and Stress Management in Weight Loss

Sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Sleeping less than 7 hours per night regularly is linked to impaired mood, mental processing, memory, weight gain, and chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

When it comes to weight loss, factors such as fatigue, mood, and mental health can affect our ability to lose weight. As mentioned, poor sleep can lead to a decrease in satiety hormones and an increase in hunger hormones, which can make it difficult to stay with a calorie deficit.

Meanwhile, individuals experiencing poor mood and mental health may reach for calorie-dense processed foods for comfort, blowing out their daily calorie intake.

Sleep is our body’s hard reset button, it removes toxins from our brains and supports brain function. It can help regulate our appetite and stress levels, making it easier to adhere to our weight loss program.

We recommend sleeping between 7 to 8 hours per night with a regular bedtime. This will help reduce stress and the risk of chronic disease and improve weight loss.

Recap: Finding the Best Weight Loss Program for Your Needs

Choosing the right weight loss program comes down to personal preference. While there are hundreds on the market getting great results for their clients, this doesn’t guarantee weight loss success for everyone involved.

Sure, many of them provide a great service with in-depth resources, however, if they don’t match your values, dietary requirements, and routine they will not work for you

The best weight loss programs are the ones that make us feel like we are not on a diet. Remember the best weight-loss programs for women in their 40s on these key factors things:

• They understand hormonal and metabolic changes
• Prioritize preserving muscle mass
• Accommodate your lifestyle and dietary preferences
• Prioritize women’s health

By selecting a weight loss program with these factors, you ensure the program meets your needs. This will improve sustainability, leading to the success of your weight loss program.