It sucks, but it gets the fat off over 40

For the last 10 months, I've dealt with something that made eating way more inconvenient, and strangely, it highlighted one of the biggest reasons people struggle to lose fat.

As a coach who's worked with clients over 40 for more than 25 years, I realized this little annoyance accidentally created very effective fat loss habits. So, I'm going to share what it is and how you can use those tools to lose fat more easily.

A few years ago, I needed to get an old damaged filling fixed on a front tooth. After my dentist tried five times to fix it and couldn't get a good result, he suggested that I do Invisalign to line the teeth up properly so that the filling would be less noticeable.

If you're not familiar with how Invisalign works, I wasn't until I did it. It's meant to give you similar results to braces, but you don't have to have wires. They put some attachments on your teeth made of dental filling material, and you wear clear plastic on your teeth 20 to 22 hours a day for the course of your treatment.

Some people have to do this for more than 2 years. Mine was just a minor movement, so it was supposed to be 6 to 8 months. It was eventually 10 months.

During that time, I started to notice some changes to how I was eating and the decisions that I was making, and I know these things can help you lose fat if you take advantage of them.

Why Eating Less Often Can Make Fat Loss Easier

The first thing is meal frequency.

The reason some people do well with intermittent fasting isn't because fasting is magical. It's no better than other ways of restricting calories in terms of fat loss or your health, but many people find it easy because it sets up simple guardrails around eating.

Fewer eating windows usually means fewer opportunities to eat and add calories to your day.

How Invisalign Changed My Eating Habits

Invisalign does that, too, because it makes eating less convenient.

People online talk about the Invisalign diet, and many people lose 10 to 15 lb during the time they have Invisalign, seemingly without trying.

I was normally having three meals and maybe one snack in the afternoon, but because I would have to take the trays out, use a dental pick, and sometimes floss, too, to make sure nothing got stuck, then brush my teeth, and then put the trays back in.

The trays are also tight, so they're not always fun to take in and out.

At first, my gums were getting irritated from cleaning so thoroughly four times a day and taking them in and out.

That extra snack in the afternoon didn't feel worth it, so I just settled into three solid meals a day, and it was easier.

I became much more intentional about food because every extra bite suddenly had a cost attached to it.

So, if you're trying to lose fat, think about how often you're eating and whether you really do need to be eating so often.

Three meals works well for most people.

I don't really recommend two because it makes it hard to get in the protein and fiber you need to build lean muscle.

And once you're over 40, you really need to be thinking about maintaining and even building your muscle.

Three meals and a small snack can work if there's a big gap between your lunch and dinner, but snacking is the next thing you need to think about.

The Problem With Grazing and Mindless Snacking

Grazing, some people call it.

Most people don't gain weight from one giant calorie-dense meal.

It's often the sneaky added bites, tastes, and just a little snack that adds up.

The muffin at the office during the meeting, finishing your kids' fries at lunch, having a few pieces of cheese while you're making dinner.

A few times my husband and 11-year-old son were having crackers with fruit as an afternoon snack on the weekend.

I had to think about whether I wanted to take my trays out and then pick, floss, and brush my teeth afterwards.

My son would offer me a bite of something, and I'd say, "No, thanks, buddy. It's too much work."

It's not that snacking is bad, but it's worth paying attention to how many calories you could potentially be adding with those little nibbles here and there.

So, before eating something unplanned, pause and ask, "Is this really worth it?"

That one question alone can reduce a huge amount of mindless eating.

You can skip snacking altogether or make sure you plan it so it's the right amount of calories for your total daily calorie needs in order to lose fat.

Creating structure around eating actually makes fat loss feel a lot easier.

Liquid Calories Add Up Fast

And along with planning the frequency of eating, many people with Invisalign notice that it affects what they're drinking, too.

Whether it's a sweetened latte or fresh juice or smoothie, you have to take out your trays and then brush afterwards.

And many people do consume a lot of their calories in liquid form, which isn't as satisfying as chewing your food, so it doesn't keep you as full.

Not great for fat loss.

Now, I usually stick to water and green tea. Coffee gives me acid reflux, but once in a while on the weekend, I might like a juice if we go out.

My husband and son sometimes have a fruity juice in a fancy glass when we're playing Mario Kart on the weekends.

And with Invisalign, I just didn't feel like I wanted to add that extra teeth cleaning to the day and interrupt our session of Mario Kart.

It was already bad enough that I had to stop our family movie partway through so I could brush my teeth and put the trays back in because otherwise they would be out for too long.

It's definitely worth noticing how many calories you have in liquid form.

They're the least satisfying.

And if you're trying to lose fat, you're much better off eating the fruit than drinking the juice because of the fiber and the fullness it provides.

When Food Is Available, People Eat

Keeping full and satisfied is an essential part of fat loss.

You don't want to be starving and struggling because you won't be able to maintain your calorie deficit long enough to see your weight come down.

But even if you're not actually hungry, you might find that your food environment is still creating constant temptation.

One thing Invisalign really highlighted for me was how much people eat simply because food is available.

During meetings, at the airport, family gatherings, someone puts food out and most people will automatically say yes without even thinking about whether they actually want it.

But Invisalign gave me an easy excuse to pause.

No, thanks. I'd have to take my trays out.

It really made me notice how much unnecessary eating happens from availability and politeness instead of hunger.

There's a big difference between intentionally enjoying an amazing dessert at a great restaurant versus eating stale cookies in a boardroom just because they happened to be sitting there.

One clearly worth it and one isn't.

But most people treat both situations exactly the same and the calories count the same.

So before eating something unplanned, ask yourself if it wasn't directly in front of me, would I actually go out of my way to get it?

Do I really want this?

That simple pause creates awareness and awareness helps change your behavior.

So much of what we do is mindless and unconscious, habits developed over many, many years.

You want to break that cycle to lose weight.

Create Small Amounts of Friction

And sometimes the easiest way to reduce mindless eating is creating tiny amounts of friction on purpose.

I think people underestimate how much convenience shapes eating behavior.

Modern life makes food unbelievably easy to access and when food is constantly visible and convenient, people naturally eat more without realizing it.

Invisalign interrupted that convenience for me because every time I was offered food or a drink, I had to think about whether that extra work was worth it.

And honestly, that's why simple habits like brushing your teeth after dinner can work surprisingly well.

Once your mouth feels clean, eating feels finished.

That tiny inconvenience creates awareness.

Late-night snacking is a problem for many of my clients, so I teach them to create a kitchen close routine after dinner.

Brush your teeth, use a fluoride rinse or mouthwash.

Give yourself a signal that eating is done and you can't go back because if you're eating an hour after dinner, you're not really hungry.

There's still food there.

Handling Social Situations Without Overeating

This can become a bit trickier in social situations and for many of you superheroes, that's your kryptonite.

Socializing usually involves lots of calories.

I was at a friend's 50th birthday last year at a bar, which he'd booked out for this special occasion.

He had some very nice little plates of food being served around the room for dinner.

I rarely drink these days, but I had a couple of Corona beers and I enjoyed the tasty food.

But after a couple of hours, I went to the washroom to brush my teeth and put my Invisalign trays back in.

And that was the end of that.

No doubt many people were eating and drinking much longer than that.

We started around 7:00 p.m. and went until around 1:00 a.m.

So potentially 6 hours of eating and drinking.

I know it's not always easy to resist temptation when everyone else is doing it.

But what are you, a teenager getting mean-girled in high school?

No.

You're a grown-ass adult and you can make your own decisions.

Family events can really put you to the test, but you can do it.

Tell Aunt May you don't want her disgusting fruitcake, but be nice about it.

Make sure Uncle Ben doesn't force you to eat another helping of his famous barbecue ribs.

Yes, you are a Spider-Man in this story.

I know the kryptonite reference might have thrown you off, but you're Spider-Man now.

The Biggest Takeaway for Fat Loss Over 40

Honestly, the biggest lesson from having Invisalign is that structure and mindfulness around eating makes fat loss feel easy.

It takes a solid nutrition plan and paying more attention at first.

But eventually your way of eating becomes automatic and the decisions are easier.

My fat loss system, which uses my POWER framework, has been built around that idea.

I've done THIS DEEP DIVE VIDEO that will take you through the whole process.

And if you want to work with me one-on-one to build your own system, click the LINK HERE.

Ivana Chapman