10. Make slow, realistic changes in tune with your lifestyle.
Let's say you want to lose ten pounds. To do so right now, you'd have to eat nothing at all for about 2 weeks, or jog for 51 hours, or walk for 126 hours. Not only would it be impossible, attempts like those would send your body into starvation-mode metabolic slowdown, sabotaging your efforts.
But you could also, much more effectively, set out to lose one to two pounds a week for the next five to ten weeks. Remind yourself that you are the only one in charge of tuning up your metabolic engine. Decide whether you prefer to focus your energies on cutting down the number of calories you're consuming, or on upping the number you're burning. Most likely, you'll strike a balance between the two that suits you. If adding three half-hour walks a week is relatively painless for you, that's a good choice. If going outdoors in ten-degree weather is singularly unappealing and you wouldn't be caught dead in a gym, then focus on dietary changes instead.
Your primary goal should be making small, gradual lifestyle changes that you can incorporate into your daily routine and stick with over time. That's the ultimate secret to combating over-40 weight gain.
