How to Lose Weight in Your Late Thirties

As you get older, three things factor into the difficulty of losing weight - inactivity, decreased metabolism and loss of muscle mass. Let's face it, your body just isn't the same as it was in your early twenties. Luckily, for a person in his or her late thirties, there are some steps to take to lose weight.

Instructions

Diet

• 1

  Eat a healthy breakfast. The best thing you can do in the morning is to eat to jump-start your metabolism. If you skip breakfast, it's likely you will overeat later in the day and will find it very difficult to lose weight.

• 2

  Change the way you consume food. Instead of three large, heavy meals a day, eat five small meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism working for you. For a person in his or her late thirties, it's important to keep your metabolism up throughout the entire day.

• 3

  Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and whole-grain foods. Avoid fast-food restaurants and greasy, unhealthy food.

• 4

  Drink plenty of water in place of soda or other high-caloric drinks.

Exercise

• 5

  Get active. People in their late thirties tend to be less active then they were in their twenties. Take the dog for a walk or climb the stairs instead of using the elevator. Now that you've learned to keep your metabolism rate up, when you add simple exercises throughout the day, you will start to see results on the scale.

• 6

  Join a gym. Many people in their late thirties are understandably focused on their careers. But try to find time throughout the week - even as little as half an hour a day - to go the gym and focus your attention on working out.

• 7

  Strength train. As you get older, your muscles will begin to diminish and leave room for fat to build up. Work out with weights to strengthen your muscles. If you can't join a gym to do this, buy some dumbbells and strength train at home. Some good exercises are arm curls, bench press and squats. Push-ups and sit-ups are also good strength-training exercises and can be done at home.

• 8

  Expect gradual results. Don't expect to lose a ton of weight in a short amount of time. It takes time to see results. Stay motivated.