Get Fit in Your 40s

I Eat Healthy BUT I am NOT Losing Weight

• Become Fit Forever • Season 1 • Episode 2

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In this episode of Get Fit in Your 40s, we're diving into the frustrating issue that many of us face: eating healthy but still not seeing the weight loss results we expect. If you’ve been struggling with this, you’re not alone!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
✨ Why calories matter: It’s not just about eating healthy foods, but understanding the importance of caloric balancefor weight loss.
✨ Macronutrients: Focusing on just calories might not be enough. We explain why understanding macronutrients—proteins, carbs, and fats—matters for both your health and weight loss goals.
✨ The power of protein: Especially for women over 40, protein plays a critical role in maintaining muscle mass, supporting metabolism, and boosting fat loss. We talk about how much you really need and how to incorporate it into your diet effectively.
You’ll also learn:
✔️ A super easy way to calculate your own calories
✔️ Why you must eat balanced meals and focus on protein intake
✔️ A super easy way to calculate your own protein amount
✔️ How you can start using these practices and lose weight starting TODAY
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
📞 Book a free call with me to kickstart your health journey  https://calendly.com/bffzone/30

📥 Download your FREE guide: How to Optimize Hormones & Lose Body Fat in Perimenopause 

https://becomefitforever.kartra.com/page/hormones
📲 Follow me on Instagram for daily tips, stories, and inspiration.  https://www.instagram.com/become.fitforever

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And if you found this helpful, please leave a review – your support means the world and helps other women discover the podcast.
Let’s Connect:
I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions about this episode. Send me a DM on Instagram or book a call – let’s chat  

Disclaimer:
The content shared on this podcast is based on our personal experiences and opinions. We are not medical professionals, and the information we discuss is not intended to replace professional advice or treatment. What has worked for us may not work for everyone. Always consult with a doctor or healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or wellness routine.

doucky:

Welcome to the second episode of get fit in your forties. I'm your host Duki

Kausar:

I'm Kasar. And

doucky:

today we are going to be talking about a very important topic, super common topic. why if I'm eating healthy, I can not lose the belly fat. But before that, I want to say that thank God for this podcast. Thank God for my bestie. who came here today Maybe this is too much information. but I'm in day number two of my period. So I'm feeling no really good today. I

Kausar:

feel

doucky:

very puffy. I feel like my hair is not hanging. thank God that is cold because I'm wearing like a huge sweater because I feel bloated. And you know what? I was impressed because I saw you that you came with this cute sweater as well.

Kausar:

I know we're matching Unintentionally we match quite a bit All the time. All

doucky:

time. We're in the zoom calls and I'm like, you're wearing blue. Oh my God, me too. What about you?

Kausar:

It's been a day. I woke up to my whole house being flooded. And.

doucky:

Yeah, you sent me a picture and I was like.

Kausar:

like, not today.

doucky:

There is no podcast today

Kausar:

Yeah, it was crazy. so I asked my husband, did you get or should I just stay and keep screaming? He's you know what? I think you should go So I'm so glad I came

doucky:

can forget about the real life for a second, and just talk about food our favorite topic. I don't know about you guys, but where food is. So we're going to be talking about why if I'm eating healthy, I can not lose the belly fat. What is going on? What is wrong with me?

Kausar:

let me read Cause I get this messages all the time. this bestie wrote on, on Facebook, I'm desperate and I need help. I'm 43 and I'm sure there's something wrong with me. I feel like I'm doing everything to lose my pouch But instead my pants get tighter and tighter. I cook all my meals at home. I eat super healthy most of the time, but there's No way to lose this belly fat. I don't know what to do. I'm lost

doucky:

It's super common.

Kausar:

I

doucky:

like to see this as our fitness journey, right? Like our health journey. When you want to lose weight, when you want to lose body fat, or you want to feel good about yourself, you start by losing weight. by cooking at home, by looking up healthy recipes, just real whole foods, because that's everyone told us. You have to eat healthy in order to lose weight. However, what is going on if you are doing just that and you don't see important results, right? Like you feel, or maybe you see results at the beginning and then you don't see results anymore. That's something that happened to me.

Kausar:

Yes. let's go over that. So maybe you can start with your story.

doucky:

So this is what happened to me. it was 2014,

Kausar:

Wow. Ten years ago. Ten

doucky:

ago, exactly. And I have gained by that time, 35 pounds after, having my baby, I was naturally skinny all my life. So this was very new to me. I was like, Oh my God, maybe, by that time, I settled. I said, this is how moms look like. I had a baby. So this is my new body. I tried to embrace it. However, I had gastritis. I went to the gastroenterologist. I was in pain all the time, very uncomfortable. Also, my husband was suffering from the same. of course, we realized something with the food. We were ordering out all the time. We were stressed parents

Kausar:

with no

doucky:

cooking skills. And my daughter started solids. So when I, So that we needed to feed her solid foods and both of us were sick. I say, this is a time to put my big girl pants on and you have to be a real mom. You need to cook now. I tell you I adore my daughter. I do. Because. all of this started for her, right? I wanted to be a healthy mom and I wasn't at that time. So I did what everyone does I started downloading healthy recipes, reading in Instagram. I bought healthy recipes, books, and I went into the rabbit hole. I need to eat healthy foods in order to heal. And I did. Gastritis was gone. my husband also, healed himself because I started cooking healthy. I Transitioned into a plant based diet because I felt that I was a better fit for me. It was like, Wholesome. more fruits, more vegetables. I lost some pounds. However, it came to a point where I kind of plateau. So what's going on? I was like, okay, what is wrong with me? I was in a healthy weight. I felt great. however, I wanted to look lean and I wasn't getting that. why if I was eating healthy, I wasn't losing body fat. So I'm going to go over my food log and then you as coach, explain to me why I wasn't losing body fat. So My breakfast started with oats, adding chia seeds, coconut milk, honey, walnuts and apples. Then I had cravings before lunch. So of course I had a low calorie carb, which is rice cake with almond butter, super healthy. And then for lunch, I was eating quinoa because then, veggies. I used to prepare these Chinese inspired rice instead of rice, I was eating quinoa. With a corn all the veggies, coconut oil. then with eggs, that was my protein, one egg. And then I mix everything. It was delicious. And then in the middle of the afternoon. I would bake, coconut flour muffins because that was super healthy and trendy with some cocoa powder and banana and all of that. So that was like the muffins that I was preparing healthy desserts as everyone called it. And then for dinner, very simple, an avocado toast with whole grain bread. guacamole or avocado. I think with some hemp seeds, on top. So this was my day, right? so tell me, according to your calculations as a coach, how do you see

Kausar:

if you asked me this 10 years ago and I used to watch you on Instagram, I think it's phenomenal how you are eating, right? Like the coconut the avocados nuts and seeds and those are so good for your gut, for your body, for your longevity. Yes.

doucky:

I felt fantastic.

Kausar:

I know. And you had so much energy. and you're putting in a lot of effort, right? I was

doucky:

meal prepping. My hips were hurting because I was meal prepping, cooking everything from scratch.

Kausar:

gosh, yes.

doucky:

chopping the vegetables. I had a toddler

Kausar:

with me. Yeah,

doucky:

it was like a lot of work, but I was determined to do it the right way.

Kausar:

I was just putting, as you were speaking, in our app, in our BFF app, And I see that you're eating roughly, 2, 200 calories, so from this calculation you're eating almost a hundred grams of fat

doucky:

And,

Kausar:

yeah, a lot of fiber though, I have to say. That's why you healed your stomach issues, right? Your gut bacteria started thriving and living again.

doucky:

I thought that calories didn't matter as long as I was eating healthy foods

Kausar:

So as much as the society denies the calories intake. It's really important for you to understand that if you're eating more calories than you're burning, you are putting on weight. the healthy foods have calories, let's compare like a handful of nuts, right? A handful of nuts is almost 200 calories with 15 grams of fat. And do you really eat one handful? I could never eat one handful. So when you are going with two handful of nuts, that's 400 calories. So when you compare that with the bag of chips, that's only a hundred calories. it's sad to say I'd rather go with the bag of chips because I'm eating 400 calories and almost 30 grams of fat. so anyways, the bottom line is that yes, eating healthy is amazing for you. Please eat healthy. We would never advocate for not eating quinoa and nuts, but please be aware of the calories because the majority of the health foods are the ones that are highest in calories and fats. So

doucky:

my situation, I didn't know that eating healthy is not the same as eating healthy for weight loss. Two different things. And that's why I wasn't seeing results.

Kausar:

Absolutely Okay so

doucky:

this brings us to the first tip for you if you relate to my story. If you're eating just healthy food, you're cooking at home, you're not seeing results, but you are a little bit curious about, okay, so how do I know how to calculate my calories? In our program, we have BFF app, and in there, we calculate your calories according to your physical activity, your age, your height, many other factors. But of course, we're not going to give you the calculation right now However,

Kausar:

there's an easier way to do that

doucky:

like you can start doing this from tomorrow. Do it for a couple of weeks, and you are going to be very thankful.

Kausar:

So you're just going to take your goal weight, not your current weight. If you are planning to lose weight, because of course, that's why you're here. You're going to take your goal weight, multiply it by 12. And that is going to give you your calorie content.

doucky:

just to be in a calorie deficit

Kausar:

just to be in a calorie deficit. So you're eating less calories than your body burning. At rest.

doucky:

So in my case, let's just calculate. So let's say I want to be 118 pounds.

Kausar:

Yeah. So one 18 times 12, that's 1,416

doucky:

1, 416 calories. I was eating 2200 calories. before.

Kausar:

you are literally eating. well over 800 calories

doucky:

So I was overeating healthy foods and that's why I wasn't losing body

Kausar:

fat. Yes, I mean you can fill your 1400 calories with all the health foods and you'll still feel good. You'll still lose the weight, But the fact that you were eating, just focusing on healthy food, your life was consumed in the kitchen, just hours of cooking and organizing and putting. and so you felt really bad about yourself. And for a lot of people, that leads to a lot of mindset issues.

doucky:

So you think about this. You don't want to count calories, but the calories count.

Kausar:

Even if you don't want to count them, they

doucky:

count, we have so many discussions about this for years. I thought counting calories was obsessive. I thought it was unhealthy just to be measuring and counting. Okay. But I got to a point that I was desperate. I was like, I have to figure this out. And then you told me for a year and I didn't want to do it until we develop our method. And you say, just

Kausar:

try Yes.

doucky:

eye opening. I realized, yeah, I was overeating in fats and here and there. So this is our invitation. First

Kausar:

tip,

doucky:

count your calories.

Kausar:

Just roughly download the tracker and just put whatever you're eating There's no 100 percent way of knowing the calories. Calories is just an estimate of the energy that the food produces what you need to do is just understand how much foods you're eating throughout the day

doucky:

So tell me about your story. what was your concept

Kausar:

of? I eat healthy, but I don't see results. I'm not losing weight. So what was going on? So my journey didn't just begin 10 years ago. It began a while ago, like when I was 15 years old because of that whole dieting mentality, right? In the nineties, everyone was dieting and I was not your skinny teenager. I was, a little bit on the heavier side. So I was told that carbs are bad. I was told that, High fat, high calorie foods are bad. So I started educating myself about calories, so I knew quite a bit about calories, but I was always in this yo yo, You name any diet, I have tried it. And, so everything would backfire. So the most popular one around the time that I met you 10 years ago was the mason jar. So

doucky:

I remember very colorful, very beautiful.

Kausar:

would post it on my stories. Stories were a new thing, right?

doucky:

I wish I had the patience to layer out my

Kausar:

Literally, they were so pretty like from Pinterest. So I would make the mason jar. So that was my lunch So let me go over what my meals

doucky:

I can't wait to hear it. So yeah, exactly. How was your breakfast?

Kausar:

so coffee First thing in the morning and then I wasn't hungry. So I would make this energy smoothie that I came up with. I used to Google how to get more. And I swear, like it was a magical thing that I used to make. It was called the energy smoothie. So it had ginger. It was gross.

doucky:

Okay. Ginger,

Kausar:

apple cider vinegar a little bit. It was coconut milk, banana, A lot of spinach and berries that

doucky:

interesting combination, Kausar.

Kausar:

I had to take that before teaching my Zumba classes because then I was exhausted. So I would take that. That was.

doucky:

quote unquote breakfast.

Kausar:

and then I would go teach two classes back to back, very active. I was with my son. He would go with me. He was like 15 months old. lunch was of course my mason jar, my pretty mason jar and girl after 2 p. m. I was done. literally, I had this intense cravings and fatigue I used to live in Jersey city and there was so many nice cafes at me and my son in the stroller go pick up my daughter first stop to getting my croissant and my coffee and then the kids would get snacks and whatnot. We were just walking around, going to the playgrounds and I was exhausted. I remember texting my husband and be like, I haven't cooked anything. Are you going to bring something? So he would pick up a tie or sushi. and then we would eat. And let me tell you the guilt I felt after eating that food. And it was just, I think that led me to many, eating disorders that I had to go through some time to heal that. So the all or nothing mentality was huge.

doucky:

Okay. analyzing what you're saying as your coach, first of all, very common, we think that healthy eating means low calorie, low fat, diet. this is what was happening. You were having cravings because you are very tall. You are five,

Kausar:

seven,

doucky:

I'm five one, just for reference, and, you have to be eating more calories. So of course you were telling your body I'm going to eat only about 700, 800 calories. That's what you're eating at the beginning of your day, like 500 calories most. So of course you, you had the willpower, but then at the end of the day, that willpower, because you were exhausted, was gone. You were a mom of two kids. We launched our business around that time. So you were exhausted teaching classes back to back plus your house, plus your relationship. So it was a lot of energy that you needed. And of course, until 2 p. m. you have the willpower, but then at the end of the day, it's who is going to be deciding what is healthy and what is not. You just want something to eat. So in your mind you were, okay, if I don't eat healthy, which is eating low calorie, low fat, it's impossible for me to lose weight because when I eat the foods that I enjoy, I gain the weight. So these became an all or nothing mentality type of situation here, which is also very common. Transcribed until you develop the BFF method with me, which is old balance, right? Like you can eat your favorite foods, your traditional foods but also it is important to nurture your body. So in this case, even though you thought that you were eating healthy, low calorie, low fat, all of that, which for you was a concept of being healthy, you weren't eating the right macronutrients. So it was very low protein, low fiber. low carb. So you didn't have the energy to support your lifestyle. Exactly. so this bring brings us to the second point if you relate to Kassar's story, Calculate how much protein you should be eating. Again, we're not going to ask you to use any type of calculator over here. It's going to be a very easy way for you to get started, because that's what we want, that you finish this episode with the tools that you need in order to understand why Is it really true that I was eating healthy to lose weight or, so tell us how do you calculate your protein? An easy way We know calculators, we know app with anything.

Kausar:

Yes, the very easy way to understand how much protein, you should be eating is again, you take your goal weight times one. The, that's the amount of grams, of protein you should be consuming a day. So for example, if you are 120 pounds and your goal is to be 110 or 115, you should be consuming 115 grams of protein, on average, again, calories are really important, like we talked about. Where are those calories coming from? For example, You can go to a burger joint. You can have a burger and fries for 1460 calories, but that is not the quality of food that we want you to consume. your calories need to come from a perfect proportion of your macros, which is fat, carbs, and protein.

doucky:

was for me 1, 400 calories and then I need to eat 118 118 grams of protein, but let's say in my case, right? I was eating very low protein Yes

Kausar:

What do you think will be the best way to incorporate that much protein? Because I bet you a lot of the girls who are listening to our podcast right now They are not consuming the right amount of protein. So what would you

doucky:

Yeah. My recommendation is just start slow. So for example, in my case I was eating maybe like 20 grams of protein because I was transitioning to a plant based So let's say you have to eat a 120, 150 grams of protein starts low. If you were eating 20 grams of protein a day, just go next week, you're going to eat 40 grams of protein and then 50 kind of have the goal of 100 grams of protein until you learn and you reach that amount of protein. Another thing is, If you feel great at 100, you don't have to reach 120 if that is going to make you nauseous or you feel that you're eating too much because this is a formula, but it's not perfect. You're a human being. You're not a robot. So listen to your body. That's what we do in our program. We just try several things until we find what is the right thing for you because we are all different like a diamond, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kausar:

exactly. I think there's two points to taking, to take into consideration is number one, like our bestie says, I'm 43 years old. As you get older, as you hit your forties and fifties, you are losing 2. 5 percent of your muscle mass. So you have to preserve your muscle mass by eating. solid amount of protein that is non-negotiable.

doucky:

not eating enough protein. You

Kausar:

are not, and that is non-negotiable.

doucky:

It's not optional. It's not optional. You have to do it, because you are harming yourself if you're not doing it.

Kausar:

And the other point was protein is one of the macronutrients that digest within two to four hours. So what happens when protein goes in your tummy? It takes you about four hours for it to get digested. So it keeps you full for X amount of time versus carbohydrates. If your diet is full of carbs like mine, you are going to have cravings because carbs digest within one hour.

doucky:

You're having cravings. You need a protein. If you want to get leaner, you need protein. If you want to lose belly fat,

Kausar:

you need protein. If

doucky:

if you're tired, you need like literally. now you know how to calculate your protein. so this is what you're going to do.

Kausar:

So bottom line. Bottom

doucky:

after finish this episode immediately, bestie, we want you to download a tracker.

Kausar:

Yes.

doucky:

And I want you to calculate your calories. Remember, how do you calculate the calories to lose weight? It's

Kausar:

your goal weight times 12

doucky:

Time 12. Okay. And then to calculate your protein,

Kausar:

that's your goal weight times one

doucky:

Exactly. So that's what you're going to do. You are going to schedule. a free call with us.

Kausar:

What?

doucky:

Yes. And I

Kausar:

a bonus?

doucky:

you. It has a bonus because you listen to all of this. That is your prize. So calculate your calories. You're going to calculate your protein. You're going to start tracking for a week or two. You're going to book a free call with us. We're going to go over your progress. You're going to be impressed. You're going to be thankful because these might be what is happening in your case.

Kausar:

100%.

doucky:

Okay, thank you for listening and see you in our next episode.

Kausar:

sure to subscribe and make sure to check the show notes where we're going to be putting some free downloadables and a link to book your free call. See you in the next episode.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Kausar

Host
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Doucky

Co-host