The Biggest Loser trainer Jen Widerstrom is encouraging fans and followers how to be fit, fabulous, and full of energy in their 40s. Widerstrom, 41, shared a video of herself working out in black leggings and a matching top, announcing a new fitness challenge on her Instagram. “STRONG + HEALTHY + Over 40. I would love to teach you how getting older doesn’t have to look OR feel like it. What to do? What to buy? What to eat? What to try? We start MONDAY. The challenge is run inside my app which will give you 40 days free to experience our community and my Daily Sweats!” she captioned the post. Here’s how Widerstrom is living her best life, one workout at a time.
Widerstrom believes 70% of your diet should come from plant-based sources, and the other 30% from animal sources. “Your body works on two fuel tanks: carb-protein and fat-protein,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “Choose fat-protein combos, which help muscle growth and burn fat. Having a fat-carb meal like avocado toast is terrible for training your body to burn fat, because carbs usually get used first, so then the fat is stored.”
Widerstrom does whatever she can to motivate herself for workouts. “I am honest with myself on what I need to get there,” she told Condition One Nutrition. “This means I always have a training partner, always go to a class, or sign up in advance. I need accountability. If it’s just me going to an empty gym by myself, chances are I’m not going to go. It’s just who I am. I’ve got friends like Gunnar Peterson; he gets up every day at 4 am! He’s at the gym by himself, and he crushes. The buddy system works for me, so that’s what I do.”
Widerstrom says to eat within 30 minutes of a workout. “Put the portions on your plate that make sense, sit down, eat the meal,” she told Women’s Running. “If in an hour, you’re like, Whoa, I’m ravenous, I need to eat more, well then that’s okay, eat more, but nine times out of 10 you’re not going to still be hungry. Give yourself a little time to digest.”
Widerstrom tried the Keto diet in 2018, but doesn’t want to do it long term. I’ll stand by what I said in the beginning: One size does not fit all,” she said on Instagram. “You need to do what works for your body. I really don’t like to advocate nutritional programs that aren’t sustainable for your life. Some people can live in that extreme, but I’m not built for that, so I chose not to. If you feel like you could do it, go for it, and listen to how your body responds.”
Widerstrom refuses to put pressure on herself to always be “on”, allowing proper down time and a less intense schedule when needed. “So I kind of created a system where I have my crank days and my off days,” she told Condition One Nutrition. “So I have days where I just crush, and I LOVE waking up having a full day, I work out, I cook every meal, I’ve got meetings. I do the Zoom calls; I’m doing all the stuff. Then the next day, I wake up without an alarm. I wake up slow. I’m in my PJs till 11, and I might get some work done, but I allow myself to be in that different flow.”