Megan’s Story

It’s no secret that as we age, it can become hard to lose weight, with a lot of it blamed on the reduction of metabolism as well as changes in hormones. Lifestyle-related factors play a role too, with older men and women possibly being more stressed and less physically able to exercise the way they used to.

Megan was once a part of that demographic, with her personal motivation aimed specifically at weight loss. In her late 40s, not only did she find it difficult to shed the kilograms, particularly with hormonal changes to the body, but she faced the challenges of making adjustments to her daily routine thanks to COVID.

“Being a part of the BFT Challenge at my local gym helped me focus on my goal,” she said.

“I had to get used to the fact that my daily routine was different now, as are most things since experiencing COVID lockdowns, and the challenge was what I needed to get back on track.”

How She Did It

Obviously, there are some factors within our lifestyles we are unable to control; genetics, for example, mean some people are predisposed to weight issues. However, there are also some common biological factors we can learn to control or at the very least help along, including hormones, metabolism and muscle loss.

The fluctuation in hormones causes a range of changes in a woman’s body, from decreased bone density and lean muscle mass to mood changes, whilst the metabolic rate naturally slows down with age.

One of the best ways to help your body overcome these natural progressions? Strength training and keeping fit – which is exactly what Megan started to do.

“I trained almost every day, sometimes twice a day,” she explained.

“I’d go to a gym class in the morning, and then most of the time a 30-45 minute walk in the afternoon. On weekends, I would play competitive softball, then on Sundays, I’d do a longer 2-3 hour hike.”

Megan started to burn fat and kickstart her metabolism with all the cardio she was doing. She will now continue with her classes to begin to rebuild the lean muscle mass lost.

It didn’t stop there though. Megan changed her nutrition standards too, using the ready-made meal provider Dineamic on weekdays, saying as a parent, it saved on time.

“Being a mum, I love the convenience of not having to meal prep; weekends were much easier for me to plan and prepare healthy meals and snacks following some of the challenge app recipes and plans,” she said.

“I also used magnesium and carnitine daily.”