After 40, you might notice that losing weight is more challenging than in your younger years. This is because the levels of some of your hormones, such as progesterone, estrogen, cortisol, insulin, and thyroid, are changing. Since that is the case, a good diet just won’t cut it if you want to shed those extra pounds.

If you’re in this age group, you don’t need to fret because there are ways on how you can remain fit and healthy even as you approach middle age. One of the secrets to keep those extra pounds away is recharging your metabolism. Here are four ways on how you can do so.

1. Aim for a natural, healthy diet

Fill your diet with dishes made from natural ingredients. Opt for organic meat and vegetables—produce that’s free of chemicals from pesticides and artificial animal feeds. You might also want to stock up on food staples that are rich in omega-3 such as salmon, sardines, and flaxseed. Fiber and probiotics are also essential in keeping unwanted fat off your body, because they increase the good bacteria in your system and promote digestive health. Make sure that you also have sufficient intake of these through grains, fruits, vegetables, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut.

Meanwhile, steer clear of food that are processed, refined, rich in artificial sugar, and has preservatives.

2. Get enough hours of sleep

Getting enough shut-eye for the day helps keep your appetite under control. So apart from rejuvenating your body and keeping it functioning well, sleep also aids in losing weight. Ideally, it takes between 7 to 8 hours of sleep for you to regain your strength. So if you want to avoid those extra pounds, go to bed on time and make your bedroom comfortable and relaxing so that your body can rest well.

3. Exercise

Lean and calorie-burning muscle mass will begin to decline once you reach 30. This is the reason why some people gain weight even if they maintain a healthy diet. Since eating healthy is not enough to keep fit, you need to exercise and focus on building these muscles that burns a lot of calories. Fitness experts say that you need to focus on flexibility, aerobic exercise, and strength training to build your muscles.

4. Stay hydrated

Water is essential to your body’s metabolism, because fluids play a major role in processing calories. Keep hydrated by drinking at least eight glasses of water a day and snacking on fresh fruits and vegetables that has natural water content. You can also opt for unsweetened and natural beverages if you want to take a break from the usual glass of water.

Staying fit and healthy is one of the factors that make a good quality of life, especially during middle age and retirement. Though losing weight is harder at this point, it is still possible and the ways to avoid those extra pounds are actually very simple and practical, just like the four tips mentioned above.