Keto For Women Over 50

If you’re over 50, you’re probably all too aware how challenging it can be to lose weight and keep it off. Unfortunately, it only gets harder as you age, and the reasons are both biological and psychological. Biologically, changing estrogen levels and declining muscle mass are the major factors, but psychologically, your relationship to food—what kinds of foods you eat, how often you eat them, how much you eat and when—probably hasn’t changed since your 30s. That means you’re eating for the body of a 30-year-old rather than one at midlife. “It may seem as if the weight suddenly shows up on your 50th birthday, but it’s actually been in the works for up to 10 years,” says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RDN, co-author of Is Keto Right for Me? Only…

1 Begin With Your “Big Why” To give yourself a strong, sustainable foundation for motivation, devote some time over the next few days identifying why you want to lose weight. Beware of superficial reasons like seeing an arbitrary number on the scale; your “Big Why” isn’t the same as your weight-loss goal. Instead, think about the underlying reasons that are driving your interest in changing the way you eat. Is it to live longer? To feel more confident in your own skin? To inspire your partner to choose a healthier lifestyle? Whatever it is, write it down and keep it somewhere visible, like on your fridge or on the home screen of your smartphone. Then, visualize your Big Why taking shape. How do you feel? What are you doing? Who are…

It’s impossible to predict how your body might adjust to going keto. “The ‘keto flu’ is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that occur when someone first starts a ketogenic diet,” says Bret Scher, MD, medical director of DietDoctor.com. “Some people also think we should call it carbohydrate withdrawal.” Studies show it can last up to two weeks, and it’s usually fairly mild; however, if you were eating a very high carbohydrate diet prior to starting a keto plan, be prepared to experience the worst of it. “It can be easy to overcome with aggressive hydration and electrolyte replacement,” says Scher, who also advises gradually reducing your carbohydrate intake over the course of a few weeks rather than going cold turkey into keto. Here’s what you can…

One of the best ways to see fast results from a ketogenic diet is with a strategy called intermittent fasting, or IF, for short. According to a 2020 report from the International Food and Information Council, IF on its own has become the most popular way of eating in America (clean-eating and keto are numbers two and three, respectively). One reason is because IF is incredibly simple to follow: You simply stop eating, or eat much less than usual, for a period of time. How long varies: It could be hours or days, depending on the particular regimen you choose. For some people, IF may already be familiar from a cultural or religious standpoint. For instance, Jews traditionally fast on Yom Kippur, Muslims fast during the holy month of Ramadan,…

It can start as early as your mid-40s. Maybe you inexplicably miss a period, or perhaps you wake in the middle of the night, sweating, only to grow cooler in an instant. These are all symptoms of perimenopause, the extended transition that eventually leads to menopause, technically defined as going without a period for a full year. This transition period can be defined by one essential word: change. Your periods will change, of course, but so will your moods, your outlook and nearly every part of your body, all due to a decline in circulating estrogen, progesterone and other sex hormones. Weight gain, especially around the waistline, is common during this time. Starting in your late 30s, the amount of progesterone and estrogen you produce steadily decreases as you age.…

We’re often reminded of the importance of getting regular mammogram screenings after age 50, but you might be surprised to learn that you’re more likely to die from heart disease or stroke than from all cancers combined. These two conditions kill one in three women every year—or one woman every 80 seconds. Some contributing risk factors, such as genetics or family history, are out of your control, but things like your diet can also make a difference. “One of the biggest risk factors for heart disease is metabolic disease—high blood sugar and high insulin,” explains board-certified cardiologist Bret Scher, MD. “A lower-carbohydrate, higher-fat diet can help reduce those. There isn’t just one nutritional path for heart health and, of course, there are so many other factors that protect your cardiovascular…