If you’re over 40 and experiencing low energy or fatigue, stubborn weight gain, blood sugar swings, sugar cravings, a foggy brain, or trouble focusing, your metabolism may need support.
Maybe you noticed changes in your energy, weight, or overall health that you don’t understand. Many of these changes are linked to metabolic health and how your body processes energy (learn more about how metabolism works here). Metabolic health plays a central role in how your body produces energy, regulates blood sugar, and maintains a healthy weight.
What Is Metabolic Health
Metabolic health is your body’s ability to break down, absorb, and utilize nutrients to produce energy. Metabolic health is often measured using key markers such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, waist circumference, and cholesterol levels. They also use these markers to determine metabolic syndrome. Keeping your markers within range reduces your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as chronic disease.
When your metabolism is running well, and your metabolic health is good, you have energy throughout the day, your moods are stable, and your immune system is functioning well. It’s also easier to maintain a healthy weight and to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.
When your metabolism is struggling and isn’t running well, you may begin to experience fatigue, cravings, weight changes, blood sugar issues, inflammation, and eventually illness. Your metabolic health is also closely connected to your gut health. When your gut is out of balance, it can affect how your body processes energy, manages inflammation, and regulates blood sugar.
Why Your Metabolism Changes After 40
You may have noticed that once we reach our forties, many studies show that our bodies undergo a shift that affects our metabolism and cardiovascular health. After 40, our metabolism slows, and we begin to lose muscle mass, usually become less active, and notice a hormonal imbalance. Women tend to have a decrease in estrogen, and men have a decrease in testosterone.
As our metabolism slows, we also begin to store more fat in our midsection, reducing insulin sensitivity, which can lead to higher blood sugar levels. We also seem to be dealing with more stress, which can lead to higher cortisol levels.
Our lifestyle habits also impact our metabolism, because what we used to be able to eat or do may no longer feel the same. These symptoms are all part of our metabolic health after 40.
Signs of Poor Metabolic Health After 40
Many of us, as we age, notice more symptoms as our metabolism slows. These symptoms include:
- Weight Gain and Stubborn Belly Fat: Your once six-pack abs or hourglass figure seemed to have gone away, leaving you with a larger waist circumference than you ever had.
- Persistent Fatigue: Your energy levels have dropped even when you get enough sleep.
- Brain Fog: You may be noticing some forgetfulness, memory issues, or difficulty concentrating.
- Skin Changes: I know, for myself, I have some dark, velvety patches on my arms and legs, as well as more skin tags.
- Blood Sugar Issues: You may be noticing that you feel hungry all the time, maybe you are drinking more water or urinating more often; these may be trying to tell you that you may be having problems balancing your blood sugar.
- Mood Fluctuations: Moody? If you feel you are dealing with mood swings, it could be that your blood sugar is having spikes and crashes.
- Metabolic Markers: High blood pressure (often 130/80 mm Hg), high triglycerides, or high fasting glucose levels.
What Is Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a term used to describe a group of metabolic factors, including excess belly fat, high blood pressure, higher-than-normal fasting glucose levels, high triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol. When you have these metabolic factors, they can affect your metabolic health after 40 and increase your risk of developing some form of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Other terms to describe metabolic syndrome include Syndrome X and insulin resistance.
Gut Health Affects Metabolism
The health of your metabolism and gut is linked. The gut microbiome helps to regulate energy, nutrient absorption, and fat storage. That is why a gut-healthy diet is crucial for maintaining metabolic health, and why my Gut and Glow program improves your metabolism after 40 by focusing on the gut.
Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance is all about blood sugar and occurs when your body’s cells stop responding properly to insulin. This improper response causes the pancreas to produce more insulin. So even though you have insulin, your body can’t respond to it, leading to increased blood sugar levels, weight gain, and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is what causes prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, and heart disease. You can improve your metabolic health after 40 by supporting your body with balanced nutrition, movement, and healthy daily habits.
Blood Sugar and Inflammation
Blood sugar and inflammation together form a vicious cycle that feeds on itself. High blood sugar drives inflammation, and inflammation drives high blood sugar. That is why healthy lifestyle habits and focusing on gut health can help you keep insulin resistance and inflammation at bay, especially for maintaining metabolic health after 40.
Why Metabolic Health Matters
Metabolic health after 40 is so important because it influences energy levels, inflammation, cardiovascular health, and raises your risk for long-term disease.
When metabolic health is having issues, the body has more trouble regulating blood sugar, maintaining muscle mass, and producing energy. Over time, this can lead to conditions such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and chronic inflammation.
Supporting metabolic health after 40 can help prevent more serious health concerns later on.
How to Improve Metabolic Health Naturally
Improving your metabolic health after 40 and reducing your risk of metabolic syndrome can be accomplished by developing healthier lifestyle habits. Below are some key habits for maintaining a healthy metabolism:
- Focus on keeping your blood sugar levels balanced. Limiting added and processed sugars in your diet food and focusing on eating complex carbohydrates, which are higher in fiber, can help keep your levels more stable.
- Clean Eating is great for your metabolism and gut health. Focus on eating more protein, especially at breakfast. Protein helps you feel fuller longer, helps balance blood sugar, and helps you maintain muscle mass. Eat a gut-healthy diet rich in fiber and whole foods. Also, stay hydrated by drinking 6-8 glasses of water each day.
- Get Moving – Strength Training is important for maintaining muscle mass. You can lift weights or do resistance exercises (such as Pilates or bands) at least twice per week. Muscle tissue helps your body burn more calories at rest than fat. You can also add movement to your day. Move frequently throughout the day to avoid the downside of excessive sitting. Examples include taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking farther from the entrance so you have to walk more steps.
- Quality Sleep – Make sure you get enough sleep and that it’s high-quality. Those of us who sleep 7-9 hours help our bodies maintain hormonal balance and help us to avoid feeling hungry, insulin resistance, and weight gain.
- Manage your Stress with deep breathing or vagus nerve exercises.
These lifestyle habits play a key role in improving your metabolism naturally and supporting long-term health. In addition to these habits, tools such as essential oils, herbs, and targeted wellness products can help support and improve your metabolic health after 40. Depending on individual needs, natural remedies can help manage stress, support gut health, detoxify, and regulate mood and appetite. These natural remedies, along with lifestyle, are why I wrote my book, The Healthy Habits Challenge, and offer our 13 Week Gut and Glow Program.
Start Here: Improve Your Metabolism Naturally
If you’re dealing with low energy, weight changes, or blood sugar imbalances, the best place to start is by focusing on simple daily habits. The Healthy Habits Challenge is a guide to a healthier you and lifestyle. This guide was designed to help you improve your metabolism naturally, support gut health, keep your blood sugar balanced, and build simple, doable habits. You start with one habit at a time, and when you conquer that habit, you begin to create another one.
Continue Learning: Improve Your Metabolic Health After 40
If you’re starting to notice changes in your energy, weight, or blood sugar, these topics will help you better understand your metabolism and what to do next:
Start Here: Signs and Awareness
Understand Your Metabolism
Improve Your Metabolism Naturally
Why Weight Loss After 40 Is Harder