When you see people over 40, what do you notice? One of the things you might see is the expanding midsection. If you are over 40, you may have seen the belly fat slowly creep up. Even if you exercise and eat right. I hear many people say that it’s inevitable. It’s too hard to get rid of once it starts. Or that they’ve tried EVERYTHING and the fat sticks around. This is not an ad for some new diet, but I’ve beaten middle age spread. You can too, once you know what’s actually happening in your body.

Why is it that we gain a spare tire in middle age? One word. Hormones. No, this is not some wackaloon alternative medicine thing. What happens as we age is our hormones are not at the same levels as they were when we were younger. Women going through menopause absolutely know this. Our estrogen lowers in dramatic fashion. Bouncing us around like a ball in a glass jar. For men, it’s more gradual. But, it happens to everyone. What happens when our hormones lower is our belly fat expands to compensate. It also affects our muscle mass. Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a study from Loh, et al (2022).

Our study reveals that genetically instrumented higher BioT (testosterone) is associated with adverse effects on fat distribution and lipid profile in women.

In contrast to women, genetically instrumented raised BioT(testosterone) in men was associated with decreased BMI and lower fasting blood glucose with cluster-filtering demonstrating that these associations are likely to be driven directly by testosterone.

What they said in this study was that higher testosterone in women increased fat deposits, where higher levels in men had the opposite. Several other studies linked menopause to an increase in visceral fat. There is also evidence of insulin resistance. In both sexes, lean muscle mass continues to decrease with age. Lovely.

After reading that, it might seem like you can’t win. On the contrary, you need to switch how you think about things. Stop thinking about how you used to keep your weight down. What worked 20 years ago, won’t work now. I gained 20 pounds over the perimenopause period. There were many reasons for this. Some were in my control, some were not. When I was feeling better and ready to take off the weight, I noticed two things. The first is what worked in my 30s, wasn’t working now. Also, that my diet was healthy, but also not working for me. I had to rethink my strategy.

To do this right I had to build my lean muscle mass. I was lifting weights already, but I needed something that would accelerate my training and challenge me more. That’s when I tried Arnold Schwartenegger’s Pump App. I don’t have time for a personal trainer. However, this app did the work for me and allowed me to do what I needed to build more muscle. That’s your natural metabolism booster. You don’t have to turn into a monster to reap the benefits. I swear it’s not sponsored, but I wish it was.

Then, I had to rethink my carbs. Not go low carb, but lower sugar and starchy carbs. I still eat carbs. I eat my starchy carbs in the form of overnight protein oats in the morning after I work out. Then I eat non starchy carbs the rest of the day. Lots of protein and veggies. I eat a salad with homemade dressing, artichoke hearts and lean protein for dinner. The big thing is I love what I eat. When changing things around, you have to love what you eat. It took much experimenting until I found what I liked the best. You’ll need to do that too. It also may look different. Maybe you can tolerate more carbs than I can. Figure out what works best for you.

Finally, take your time making changes. Don’t think you have to change a lot at once. Work towards your goal. If you take your time, the changes are more likely to stick. I am regular person who has made these changes. I am not a dietician or a certified person trainer. I work a desk job and understand scientific studies. I used that understanding to figure things out. I know that most of you don’t do that. That’s why I am sharing this with you.

Who said you have to put up with middle age spread? You don’t have to if you are willing to put in a little work. If you still think there is no way because maybe you are past middle age. Check out Ernestine Shepard who is in her 80’s and is a bodybuilder. She looks amazing and entered into her first bodybuilding competition at age 71. You don’t have to become a bodybuilder, just a better version of yourself.