Effective Weight Loss Strategies for Women in Their 30s

Once you enter your 30s, you may find that losing weight isn't quite as simple as it used to be. Your metabolism begins to slow, making it more difficult for your body to burn calories during daily activities. Women with children also tend to pack on the pounds more quickly due to hard-to-lose baby weight and less time to prepare healthy meals. Luckily, there are simple ways to drop these pounds, as long as you're dedicated to getting healthy. The steps below will help get you back on track toward weight loss.

Things You'll Need

• Food journal
• Strength training equipment
• Fiber-rich foods
• Diet and nutrition books

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Instructions

• 1

  Start by counting how many calories you take in during the course of an average day. Log all of your meals, snacks, and beverages in a food journal. Additionally, you should make a note of how many calories you burn during daily exercise. Free online calorie counters and diet journals make this task much easier. (Res. 1.)

• 2

  Take a look at your calorie counts and food journal to see how many calories you should cut. Generally, if you eliminate 500 calories per day, you should lose a pound per week. If you normally take in 2,000 calories a day, you should start limiting yourself to 1,500 calories per day, shedding five pounds in five weeks.

• 3

  Take measures to boost your metabolism, which typically begins to slow during your 30s and is a major culprit in weight gain. Talk to your health care provider about what you can do to prevent gaining further weight and lose the excess pounds as you continue through your 30s.

• 4

  Do strength training exercise to improve your muscle tone. This is the first step toward revving a slowing metabolism and keeping the pounds off. If you belong to a gym, utilize their weight training equipment, or invest in a set of free weights to lift daily at home. Regularly engaging in strength-building exercise such as yoga or pilates can also help boost your metabolism and overall fitness.

• 5

  Make changes in your diet. Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Eat nutritious snacks or meals at three-hour intervals to keep your metabolism and energy up. Be sure to drink plenty of water and adequate protein as additional metabolism boosters.

• 6

  Reach for fiber-rich foods to reduce your hunger. For example, a study conducted at Pennsylvania State University found that people who munched on apples 15 minutes before lunch, consumed considerably fewer calories than those who didn't.