We’ve all heard about the middle aged spread. Many of us in our 40’s and 50’s start to put on weight which seems to cling to our abdomen, hips and thighs. But why is that, and what can we do about it?
I’ve always put weight straight on to my tummy. Looking at photos of my family, we all have a “pot gut” which we inherited from our father! So it is sometimes from hereditary factors, and sometimes from just learning about food from our families. We’re all foodies in my family – we love our food, we talk about food in detail, and love to experiment with cooking. Being good cooks means we enjoy it just a little too much at times and all our social occasions are based on lavish feasts. All well and good when you’re young and fit and can keep your weight down with exercise and eating well the rest of the week.
But after the age of 40, the reduction in sex hormones in both men and women (yes there is a “manopause”!) can lead to excess body fat being stored around the stomach for men and the buttocks and thighs of women. Women and men store fat differently and it can change due to aging.
I went into a sudden and severe menopause when I was about 46 where my ovaries switched off overnight. I suffered hot flushes every 5 to 10 minutes, severe anxiety and insomnia. For me, going on to hormone replacement therapy was vital for my health. I started to put on weight at the same age, but put it down to lifestyle factors. It wasn’t until this year, at the age of 53, that I managed to slowly wean myself off HRT over the course of about 6 months. It’s only been since then that I’ve been able to lose weight more easily than before. Scientific studies dispute the link between weight gain and HRT, but for me, I believe HRT made it harder for me to control my weight.
Because weight gain in middle age is so common, it is important to look at what we can control, especially our diet. I genuinely did not know that the recommended number of servings of protein and grains is lower after the age of 50. Here was I, eating the same amount of food as my sons who are in their 20’s, and wondering why I was putting on weight! It wasn’t until the dietician told me this that I had a light-bulb moment and realised that I needed to change not only how many servings I was eating, but the amount of food per serving as well.
Once I did this, the weight actually came off easily. I could no longer eat 3 stalks of broccoli and call it a serving, and 200g of red meat and think that that was a reasonable amount for dinner. Here are the recommended amounts of servings per age group:
You can see from this table, the number of servings drops after the age of 50, so it’s important to adjust our eating habits accordingly. I had assumed that my diet was full of healthy fruit and vegetables, but when I looked more closely at it, I realised that I really wasn’t eating many vegetables at all. It was easy to fix – I just started eating a large salad or some homemade vegetable soup for lunch, and loaded extra vegetables into my night time meals. My serve of meat is now much smaller, and I’ve started incorporating legumes with my meals. My son went vegetarian at the beginning of this year and we’ve really enjoyed cooking sessions where we experiment with different recipes. He’s becoming a good cook as well. His meals look far nicer than our carnivorous ones!
There are some great resources on the internet about serving numbers and sizes. The one I use is an Australian Government website:
https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/
It really is as simple as that: keep to the recommended guidelines for your age and sex, and you will begin to lose weight. Add in exercise, and you’ll not only lose weight, you’ll feel so much better too.
MidlifeStylist 
20 responses to “What’s with the Middle Aged Spread?”
Thanks Chris…this is an interesting read!
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Thank you for your comment! Much appreciated
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Gosh…I remember when I was a flight attendant at around age 26. The guys that were promoted from first officer to captain were all about 40is or so….and after about a year, they all started to say no to the second beer, or the pub grub on layovers. Why? Because of the weight gain. They called it the “captain’s spread”…
Funny how I have some of that happening now that I’m in mid life…I blame female hormones, perimenopause, teenagers, husbands, wine, chocolate and…carbs. lol
Ugh. 🙂
What works for me is a drop in carbs. Which is much harder than I want it to be. Right?
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Hi Claudette, yes all those things can be the blame! It gets harder to lose it too. If dropping carbs works for you, great! Keep it up. I found reducing carbs (especially cakes, chocolate, sugary food) and increasing vegetables worked for me. Thanks for your feedback, always appreciated.
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Interesting….I was put into surgical menopause at age 50 and went immediately on HRT. I stopped it 10 years later and my weight gain came then. I’ve managed to drop much of it thanks to eating low carb (as does hubby). It’s worked for us and we are feeling better than ever. Oh, I’m 73 now…
#MLSTL visitor/shared on SM
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Thankyou so much for your feedback. Good on you for finding a way to manage your weight gain. Low carb definitely is successful for a lot of people. What I’ve realised over the last couple of years is that we’re all individuals and what suits one person might not suit another. If you find something that works, then stick to it.
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I found that I gained weight in my late 40’s fifties without eating more or exercising less. It seems to have even out a bit and I have been able to lose weight more easily now. It will always be an onoogin issue for me. congrats on your loss and keeping it off. #MLSTL
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Thankyou so much Michele. I’m glad the weight gain settled down again. It’s such a common problem in our age group. I think I could easily slip back into bad habits so I’ll have to keep vigilant as well. It’s a lifestyle change rather than “going on a diet”. Thanks for your feedback
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Hi, Chris – My husband and i primarily eat a plant-based diet but….Christmas and a recent all-inclusive vacation totally threw our healthy eating off of balance. Your post was a great reminder for me to get back on track. Thank you! #MLSTL
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Thankyou so much for your feedback. It’s so easy to get off track around special occasions when we’re socialising more and being tempted by food we normally wouldn’t eat. Once you’re back on your plant based diet you’ll probably feel a lot better. If we’re keeping on track most of the time, a few blowouts won’t matter in the long run.
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It’s such a numbers game, isn’t it? As far as possible I try to stick to low GI foods or combos & have been mindful about portion size. Slowly & surely. #MLSTL
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Yes, definitely Jo. Low GI is a very good way to prevent those spikes in blood glucose levels and prevent insulin resistance. A healthy diet that we all can benefit from, not just diabetics. Thankyou for your comment
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I found that the weight crept on after I turned 50 – my metabolism seemed to hit another bump where it slowed down further and the same amount of food started to be more than my body was processing. I’ve recently dropped about 7 kg over the last year working on the idea of energy-in/energy-out…..less calories eaten and more movement and it’s giving me a slow but steady improvement. I’ve heard good things about the keto diet etc but they’re all to extreme for me – I like to stick with something I can manage without too much sacrifice!
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 😊
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Thankyou Leanne. I’m so glad I found your group! It’s lovely to connect with others in the same stage of life as me. I agree, the keto diet is too extreme for me and I couldn’t stay on it long term. Slow weightloss using energy in/energy out is far more sustainable and healthier. Good on you for your weightloss.
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I definitely found it difficult to keep my weight stable after 50. I’ve never heard this information that we should eat less calories after 50. Seems that could be the answer. Very interesting post #MLSTL Sharing
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I wasn’t aware of it either. It was a huge learning curve for me. It made a lot of sense. I definitely feel better on a diet that has more vegetables and less meat and saturated fat. Glad I could help
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For me I know I have to keep active. At 63 I still run and workout at the gym plus yoga. I eat a healthy balanced diet and love my salads and veggies. Small changes in portion control and what we eat can certainly make a difference. I believe that because I was exercising regularly from age 50 it really helped with the symptoms of menopause and kept my weight in check. Thanks for the information and sharing at #MLSTL it is lovely to have you join us. xx
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Hi Sue, I’m so glad I found your group. It’s great to be in contact with other bloggers in the same stage of life as me. Well done on your healthy lifestyle. Very inspirational
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