How I Transformed My Body After 40 - Mistakes I Made for weight loss over 40

Today I'm going to share the mistakes that I made, but how I still transformed my body after the age of 40. And this was after trying so many things that were not working. I'm going to tell you what not to do, what to do, and you can't miss number three because it's the best thing that I did. And I couldn't have lost the weight and transform my body without it. Hi, I'm Nagina Abdullah. I am a weight loss and metabolism boosting coach for women over 40 and women in midlife. I am here today to share with you the key things that I did after the age of 40 that helped me and things that I was not doing before that really move the needle. So let's get going. So when I was in my 40s, I got down to the lowest body fat that I had. You could see my abs. I had a four to a six pack. I loved wearing bikinis. I never felt self conscious about myself like I used to when I had weight before. And so what happened is that I was able to lose 40 pounds in nine months. But then I started gaining weight because I actually joined a weight loss program that was supposed to help me build muscle. And so I was looking to build muscle and get more toned. And what ended up happening is that I gained over 10 pounds. And this was right before my 40th birthday. I had actually planned a 40th birthday trip to go to Paris with my husband. And I had all these dresses that I wanted to wear and I even had a photo shoot planned. But what happened is that because I gained all that weight, I couldn't wear the dresses that I wanted. I still had a great trip, I still enjoyed myself. But when I came back back, I said, I need to get this weight off and I want to get to the most fit that I've ever been. And so I started doing things differently. Okay. Now, one of the first things that I realized that had been a mistake that I was doing before was that I no longer cut these strategies that I used. So what happened is that I started adding more carbs in, but healthy carbs, things that burn slowly like I used to, but I made sure that I was getting them throughout my day. So things like beans, lentils, Ezekiel bread, I was eating more sweet potatoes, more squash, things like that, that really keeping my metabolism higher versus taking them out. Because what I had learned after experimenting on my own body is that I was able to lose weight with, with lowering carbs. But then I would stay at a certain place and I Couldn't break past that. And it actually felt stressful on my body. So I started adding back the carbs in. And guess what? That weight started coming off along with the other things that I started doing now. I also started becoming even more diligent about adding clean protein and focusing on things that were related to the Mediterranean diet, like more fish. I had healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, I had things like that. And then I also was having fresh vegetables, so really adding in protein, having clean versions of protein, and then also adding in fresh veggie. And I was very diligent about getting enough protein because I had let that slip for a while. After I lost weight, I thought, oh my God, you know, maybe I should just eat less. And that had been my strategy. Okay, I should eat less. And so what happened is that I started gaining weight because I was not eating enough. And so I started now making sure that I was adding more protein in. And that really means 30 grams for each meal, starting with breakfast. So breakfast, lunch and dinner, having 30 grams of protein, number three. The third thing that I did, and this is very key, is that I started adding strength training in. But I, I was always doing a little bit of strength training, but I started adding it in systematically and consistently. So what that meant is that every single week I was going to the gym two to three times a week and I was lifting weights for 30 to 45 minutes of those three times that I was going and then I would do a 10 minute walk. I wasn't focusing on cardio, which I always had hated doing anyway, but I wasn't just going to work out like once in a while and I wasn't relying on my willpower. What I did is I hired a personal trainer. I PA the money for the trainer because I found the only way I could get the workouts that I wanted was to actually see a personal trainer. But then in addition to hiring my personal trainer, what I found after seeing a personal trainer is that they would kind of ad hoc make up the exercises for me as we were there. And I just found that I, I preferred a system. I wanted to make sure that I was working on the right muscles and continuing to build my muscle. I hired an online coach who programmed the workouts for me. And so he was very strategic in the, in the workouts I was doing. So I would be doing like upper body. A certain amount of days I would be doing full body. So he was really able to make sure I was hitting everything and then he was making sure that I was increasing my weight, which is really important to build muscle and to get leaner and to also burn fat that you want to make sure you have more muscle on your body because that increases your metabolism even more than food alone. And so what I did is that I got my online workouts. I went to my gym, I saw my personal trainer there. He looked at the workouts my. My other trainer gave me, and then he just made sure I was having the right form by doing that, because the right form is very important. And so doing these things, yes, it was an investment, but I got to my goals so much faster than what I had been doing, which was trying to use willpower to get to the gym, you know, as much as I was possibly able to, trying to fit it in in my busy life. I had two small children at the time, and I really realized that I needed someone to be waiting for me when I was with that person. I didn't want to waste my time, and so that really worked out for me. Okay. Another thing that I did after I turned 40, when I had gained weight and I really wanted to lose the weight, is that it was like it overtook my brain that I was not going to stop until I lost the weight, until I got to my goal goal weight. And. And I didn't even know what my goal weight looked like. I just knew it wasn't where I was at that point. And so I had a mindset that I'm not going to stop until I do it. Like, and. And my mindset was more like, I'm gonna do it, I have to do it. And so I just kept looking, I kept finding, I kept searching, and I never felt like, I'm not going to make it, I'm not going to do it. This isn't for me. I felt like I need to get there and I'm going to figure it out. So it was just about problem solving, about me finding additional resources, like, for example, the personal trainer, and then also the online personal trainer, understanding my nutrition more, you know, making sure I had a system so I was consistent every day finding these other resources because I had. I knew I had to take action to reach my goal. And guess what? I reached it. And it was amazing when I reached it. So the mindset is so key. All right, now, I also added something that was very different. But as I look back, I realized this helped me so much, and this is that I added time with my female friends, and I started having more social outings with my friends where I could talk to them. About things. You know, as a mom of two kids in school, there was so many things that I wanted to get out, things that I could share with my husband, but not everything that he was able to kind of like vibrate back and forth with me on, like I find women can often do. And so I really needed that stress relief of talking with female friends. And, you know, there's actually studies that have been done that show female friends help women. They're actually as effective as somebody quitting smoking. Like, they're. It's so effective to have that. And. And, you know, you may be able to realize this because when you're talking to someone that you are comfortable with, that you're able to just kind of flow in your conversation, it really feels warm, it feels so good, and it releases a lot of stress and it brings joy to our lives. And that is so important in losing weight. And overall, mental health and physical health is to be balanced not only physically, but also mentally. And that really gave me the outlet, the fuel, the fun to really get to my goals. And, you know, during that time when after I lost the weight right after I was age 40, I was really going out with my friends once a week at least, and vibing and just letting things out and flowing with my friends. And. And that helped me so much. Now, finally, one other thing I started doing after I turned age 40 that I never really focused on before was that I started focusing on my sleep. Now I was able to get by in my 30s. I was definitely able to get by in my 20s with hardly any sleep. But in my 30s, I started realizing that I started to feel tired if I didn't have enough sleep. So it started having a little bit of an effect on me, but not enough that I was so diligent about it. But after the age of 40, if I didn't get seven to eight hours of sleep, I was really worn out the next day. And that also made me have uncontrollable sugar cravings that I couldn't fight. And so what I started to do was make sure, sure that I was getting my eight hours of sleep. And I would backtrack from the time I was going to get up in the morning. So, for example, I had multiple workouts a week that I was doing two to three workouts. And so if I was getting up at 6am I would back that out and I would say, okay, well then eight hours before that is 10pm so. And I need to be in bed a little bit before that so I can try to Get a, get to sleep by 10. And so I really backtracked eight hours. And even if, you know, I got seven and a half or seven hours, I was still okay. But I wanted to make sure that I didn't feel horrible the next day. And that also helped me with my cravings. And later on I found out that it also helps us with so many things like lowering our stress levels, like helping us to build our hormones which are starting to decline around that time, giving your body the rest that it needs. And so doing these things was so key to me. So let me summarize these things that I did after the age of 40 that helped me to transform my body. And I don't want you to make some of the mistakes that I made by not prioritizing this for many years. And if you take action on even one of these, then you will start to see and feel a difference and then you can layer on another. So number one, I didn't cut my carbs completely like I had before. I started adding in healthy carbs at bigger amounts. I started adding more clean protein, focusing on fish and fresh veggies. I started adding strength training more consistently by creating a system in my life so that I didn't miss my workouts. I had a mindset that I'm going to get to my go goal. I'm gonna get to the best place that I can be and I'm not gonna not get there. I'm not gonna stop until I do. I know I'm gonna get there. And it was a problem solving mindset. I added more time with my female friends, which helped with my happiness and my stress. And I also focused on my sleep and I didn't let other people kind of stop me or peer pressure me into not going to sleep because that can happen when you are maybe at a family event, at a friend's event, at your house and someone might be like, just stay up or just watch this or just do this. Nope, I didn't want to do that anymore. I said I have to go to sleep. So I, I really need to feel good about myself in the morning. So I hope that these are helpful to you. I cannot wait to share so much more with you. Definitely. If you haven't yet subscribed, don't miss out on my videos that are so valuable, especially for women over 40. And check out my video that I think you're going to really love right over here.