When it comes to fat loss, especially for women over 40, the advice we’ve been fed for years has always been about eating less and exercising more. But what if that’s not the full picture? In fact, what if eating more is exactly what your body needs to break through stubborn fat loss plateaus? If you’ve hit a wall in your weight loss journey, the problem might not be overeating—it might be under-eating. Let’s dive into why eating more could be the missing piece to your fat loss puzzle.
Why Is Fat Loss So Hard After 40?
As we age, particularly after 40, our metabolism naturally slows down. This isn’t news to most women. What is surprising, though, is that this slowdown isn’t just because of age—it’s often due to loss of muscle mass. Muscle is your body’s fat-burning engine. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest. Unfortunately, years of dieting, pregnancy, and even everyday stress can chip away at your muscle, leaving you with a slower metabolism.
But here’s the kicker: constantly eating less and exercising more—without focusing on maintaining or building muscle—only makes the problem worse. This cycle leads to further muscle loss, an even slower metabolism, and the frustrating realization that you’re eating less and still not losing weight.
The Key to Fat Loss Over 40: Eat More, Build Muscle
If you’ve been slashing calories for years and hitting the gym with little to no results, it’s time to rethink your strategy. The truth is, women over 40 need more calories, not fewer, to build muscle and heal their metabolism.
Why?
Muscle requires fuel. When you eat more, particularly with a focus on protein and nutrient-dense foods, you provide your body with the building blocks it needs to repair and grow muscle. More muscle means a faster metabolism, and a faster metabolism means your body burns more fat, even when you’re not working out.
Is Your Body in “Starvation Mode”?
If you’ve been dieting for years, your body might be in what’s commonly referred to as “starvation mode.” This happens when you don’t provide your body with enough calories for an extended period of time, causing your metabolism to slow down in an effort to conserve energy. Essentially, your body is trying to protect you from what it perceives as starvation.
What’s the solution? Metabolism Reset—slowly increasing your calorie intake to reset your metabolism and allow your body to heal. This is especially important for women over 40, whose metabolisms have likely taken a hit after decades of calorie restriction.
The Muscle Metabolism Connection
Eating more isn’t just about calories—it’s about nutrients, particularly protein. Women over 40 often don’t get enough protein to support muscle maintenance, let alone muscle growth. If your goal is to lose fat, you need to focus on building muscle to rev up your metabolism.
Building muscle doesn’t mean bulking up. It means creating lean, toned muscle that keeps your metabolism running efficiently. And the only way to do that is to provide your body with the fuel it needs to build and repair that muscle.
How Eating More Can Lead to Fat Loss
Eating more to lose fat seems counterintuitive, but it works when done strategically. Here’s how:
Increase Protein Intake – Protein is key to muscle growth and maintenance. Aim to get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. (Yes. 1g/lb! Protein needs increase with age!)
Focus on Fiber-Dense Carbs – Add more fiber-rich carbs to your diet, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods provide the thermogenic energy your body needs to function optimally, and burn more fat.
Strength Training – Combine eating more with strength training exercises to build muscle. Lifting weights isn’t just for bodybuilders—it’s the most effective way to maintain muscle and boost your metabolism after 40.
Be Patient – Fat loss through muscle-building isn’t instantaneous, but it’s sustainable. Stick with the process, and over time, you’ll see your body transform in ways that dieting alone could never achieve.
Final Thoughts: Shift Your Mindset, Shift Your Results
If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of eating less and exercising more with little to show for it, the problem isn’t you—it’s your approach. For women over 40, the key to unlocking fat loss is a mindset shift. Instead of focusing on eating less, focus on eating more—more protein, more nutrients, and more food to fuel your body. Pair that with strength training, and you’ll not only burn fat but also create a healthier, stronger version of yourself.
If you’re ready to break free from the endless cycle of dieting and discover what it feels like to nourish your body for real results, it’s time to eat more, not less.
Figuring out how much to eat for fat loss can feel like navigating a maze, especially for women over 40.
It’s a question I get all the time: “How much should I eat for fat loss?” So trust me, you’re not alone if you find yourself frustrated by the conflicting information out there.
It’s an important question, yet many overlook the importance of understanding their current eating habits before making changes. In this post, we’ll explore how to determine your caloric intake, why it matters, and how it can set you up for success on your fat loss journey.
The Importance of Knowing Your Current Caloric Intake
Before jumping into a diet plan or calorie-reduction strategy, the first step is to understand how much you’re currently eating. This may seem straightforward, but many people skip this essential piece of the puzzle, particularly those trying to DIY their weight loss journey.
Why Current Intake Matters
For women over 40, life gets busier, and managing time can become overwhelming. Often, there’s a desire for quick fixes — “just tell me what to do!” However, without understanding your current caloric intake, you’re essentially throwing darts in the dark. Whether you’re trying to lose fat or gain muscle, knowing your baseline intake is vital.
How to Calculate Your Current Caloric Intake
1. Track Your Food: Start by logging everything you eat for at least three days. You can use apps like MyFitnessPal or keep a physical food diary. This helps you become more aware of your eating habits.
2. Evaluate the Data: Once you have three days of logged food, assess the average calories and macros you’ve consumed. If you haven’t tracked before, it’s common for your intake to change once you become aware of what you’re eating.
3. Understand Duration: Ask yourself, “How long have I been eating this way?” If you’ve recently become conscious of your eating habits, your current intake may not represent your usual consumption patterns. It’s crucial to establish how normal this level of eating is for you.
The Next Step: Finding Your Ideal Caloric Needs
After determining your current caloric intake, the next question is, “How much should I be eating?” Here’s how to find out:
1. Use Calorie Calculators: There are plenty of online calculators to help you estimate your caloric needs based on your age, weight, activity level, and goals. You can also refer to wearable devices like Fitbits or Apple Watches for an estimate of your daily calorie burn.
2. Compare the Numbers: Take your average intake and compare it with the number generated by the calorie calculators. Are you currently eating less, more, or about the same as what you should be? This comparison will guide your next steps.
Understanding the Discrepancy
Let’s say your logs show you’ve been averaging about 1,800 calories, but the calculator suggests you should be consuming around 2,400 calories for maintenance. What does this mean? If you’re not losing weight at your current intake, it indicates a significant gap between your needs and your intake.
What to Do with This Information
• Consider Your Options: If you’re at 1,800 calories but should be at 2,400 for maintenance, you have a choice to make. You can either gradually increase your caloric intake to heal your metabolism or decide to stay at a lower caloric level. Just remember, drastic calorie cuts can lead to muscle loss and a slower metabolism, especially for women over 40.
• Be Informed: Understanding these numbers is critical. Ignoring the gap between what you’re eating and what you should be eating can lead to confusion, frustration, and ultimately wasted time on your weight loss journey.
Moving Forward with Your Fat Loss Journey
Once you know how much you should be eating, the path becomes clearer. Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle gain, having this foundational knowledge will allow you to create a tailored approach that works for your body and lifestyle.
Keep Track and Stay Accountable
As you start adjusting your caloric intake, continue tracking your food and monitor how your body responds. This ongoing awareness will help you make necessary adjustments and keep you motivated.
Conclusion
The question of how much women over 40 should eat for fat loss is multi-faceted. Starting with an understanding of your current caloric intake is crucial. Take the time to track, evaluate, and adjust your eating habits accordingly. This foundational step can save you years of frustration and pave the way for sustainable fat loss.
If you’re looking for more guidance on navigating your caloric intake and fat loss journey, consider checking out resources like the EM2WL Starter Kit or the Master Your Metabolism Masterclass. These tools can provide you with the knowledge and strategies needed to succeed.
By using this structured approach, not only do you set yourself up for success, but you also empower yourself with the knowledge needed to make informed choices moving forward. Remember, it’s not just about eating less; it’s about eating right!
If you’re a woman over 40, looking to lose weight …again …chances are, you’re no stranger to “the plateau.” For most, when fat loss stalls, they instinctively want to lower calories EVEN further – which may potentially do more harm than good. Though the thought of increasing food intake when the scale won’t budge is likely the last thing on your mind – it may be exactly what your body is asking…erm…begging for. In this podcast, we’ll explore the concept of diet breaks, debunk common myths, and help you find the right balance for your unique needs.
What Are Diet Breaks?
Diet breaks involve temporarily increasing your calorie intake to maintenance levels for a specific period. This strategic approach provides your body with a much-needed respite from caloric restriction, offering numerous benefits for both physical and mental health.
Decreasing your calories causes your metabolism to slow down to accommodate the smaller amount of food intake.
Slower metabolism = slower fat loss.
When your calories are too low for too long, your body begins to adjust, making the reduced calorie level your new maintenance. (this can happen in as quickly as 3 weeks!)
By taking a diet break, you essentially “remind” your body of what maintenance ACTUALLY is. This will help keep your metabolism revving higher, aiding the fat loss process once you reduce the calories again.
More importantly, a diet break can also serve as a psychological break if you’re under severe stress, or struggling with sticking with your plan.
Diet breaks can come in several forms, from the classic “cheat meal” (a “re-feed” day – on purpose! No need to cheat!), to a full diet break which can last for a couple of weeks, to a metabolism reset.
Debunking Common Misconceptions
Let’s address some common misconceptions that women over 40 may have about diet breaks:
Age Limits Progress: Contrary to the belief that age limits progress, your body’s adaptability remains relevant. Diet breaks can positively impact your fitness journey at any age.
Hormones Are All That Matter: While hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause play a role, balanced nutrition, including diet breaks, is still effective in achieving your health goals.
Extreme Measures Are Necessary: Extreme diets and intense exercise are not the only solutions. Diet breaks offer a balanced and sustainable alternative, preventing burnout and health issues.
Always Pursue Caloric Deficits: Constant caloric deficits can negatively impact hormones, muscle mass, and well-being. Diet breaks counteract these effects, contributing to long-term success.
Fear of Weight Gain: A well-structured diet break is designed to prevent excessive weight gain while providing various health benefits. Fear of gaining weight shouldn’t hinder you from considering a diet break.
Neglecting Nutrient Intake: Focusing solely on calories overlooks the importance of consuming adequate nutrients for overall health. Diet breaks address nutrient deficiencies and promote well-being.
One-Size-Fits-All Approach: Women over 40 have unique health considerations, and a tailored approach is essential for diet breaks to be effective.
Prioritizing Short-Term Results: Prioritizing short-term results can hinder progress. Diet breaks contribute to sustainable long-term results by promoting metabolic health and preventing burnout.
Relying Solely on Exercise: Both exercise and nutrition are crucial, especially as we age. Relying solely on exercise to offset a poor diet is a misconception. Both aspects need to be balanced for optimal results.
Neglecting Self-Care and Rest: Neglecting self-care and rest can impact your body’s response to diet and exercise efforts. Prioritizing sleep, stress management, and self-care is crucial for successful diet breaks.
10 Signs That Indicate the Need for a Diet Break
Now, let’s explore the signs that indicate it’s time for a diet break:
#1 Stalled Progress: If your hard work isn’t yielding the expected results, a diet break can reset your metabolism and boost progress.
#2 Fatigue and Low Energy: Experiencing constant fatigue and low energy levels may signal the need for a diet break to restore vitality.
#3 Irritability and Mood Swings: Mood swings and irritability can be indicators of hormonal imbalance, which a diet break can help address.
#4 Poor Sleep Quality: If your sleep quality is compromised, a diet break can stabilize hormones and improve restorative rest.
#5 Persistent Hunger and Cravings: Intense cravings and persistent hunger can signify the need to satisfy your body’s nutritional needs with a diet break.
#6 Obsessive Thoughts About Food: Constantly thinking about food, fearing certain foods, or feeling guilt around eating may indicate an unhealthy relationship with food that a diet break can help normalize.
#7 Social Isolation: Avoiding social situations due to dietary restrictions can lead to social isolation. A diet break allows you to engage more freely in social activities.
#8 Hormonal Changes: Hormonal imbalances due to caloric restriction can impact menstrual cycles, fertility, and bone health. A diet break can help restore hormonal equilibrium.
#9 Recurring Injuries or Illnesses: Weakened immunity and delayed recovery from injuries can be addressed with a diet break providing essential nutrients for healing.
#10 Decreased Physical Performance: Inadequate energy availability can impact strength, endurance, and overall workout performance. A diet break can rejuvenate your energy and improve performance.
Conclusion: Finding Balance for a Healthier You
Understanding the myths, signs, and benefits of diet breaks is essential for women over 40 who want permanent fat loss. Remember:
A diet break is not about giving up or letting go of your goals but about finding a sustainable and balanced approach to nutrition and overall well-being.
Embrace diet breaks not as setbacks but as strategic pauses to help you lose more fat (and keep it off long term!) while maintaining your sanity and quality of life.
Did you enjoy today’s episode? Be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss any new episodes! The Diet Rebel podcast is available on Audible, Spotify, Google Play, or Apple.
When used correctly, food tracking tools like MyFitnessPal, or Lose It can help you to reach your physique and/or performance goals (or troubleshoot why you aren’t reaching them). For EM2WL fam, these tools are also useful to ensure that you’re eating enough calories, and getting in enough of the micro/macronutrients that tend to left behind when dieting. But even the most “accurate” of these tools leaves room for a margin of error.
For many, this margin becomes the focus, rather than the original reason they began tracking: the overall trend/big picture. Once focused on minutiae, tracking food can become a slippery slope, leading to obsession for so many people. Ironically, overly-obsessing about the numbers actually makes success harder to achieve.
Perfection when tracking can be hard to get away from. Getting wrapped up in the numbers can lead to an obsession with ALL numbers needing to be perfect. This includes numbers from your Fitbit, heart rate monitor, cardio machines, your body fat %, your scale number etc. ALL numbers are estimations and come with a large degree of variability, so learn how things work in the real world, rather than relying solely on how they should work on paper. It’s not about you being perfect, it’s about being consistent.
Use tracking tools responsibly, AND hit your goals – #likeaboss
There are ways to track without being obsessive. Start by tracking what you are already eating for a 1-2 week period and change nothing. This let’s you see whether you are maintaining, gaining or losing weight. Then a decision can be made for your next course of action. Tracking allows you to see any patterns that might be taking shape in your habits. This can include not eating breakfast or eating too much at a certain time of day.
When you know your baseline, check our onlinecalculator to find your TDEE level. Then you can see if this number needs to be higher or lower than what you are currently consuming. If your number is lower than your TDEE, consider diving into a metabolism reset. If the number is higher than it should be, then your reduction in calories is lower than maybe you thought it should be. (More food FTW!!)
For most, this approach takes away a lot of the obsessive tracking tendencies. It’s much easier to focus on the small changes needed to increase or decrease your caloric level, without getting obsessed by the numbers. Tracking allows you to have an understanding of what kinds of food you like and what will help you reach your macro goals.
Regardless of where you start, tracking can be a very powerful tool in your fat loss efforts. When used as a tool and not as a crutch, you will be able to move away from tracking all together and enjoy your life tracker free.
A food tracker can be a powerful weight loss tool. When used correctly, it can give you a ton of data about your eating patterns and caloric intakes. For many, tracking food can mean the difference between eating enough calories and eating the right kinds of calories. However, the ultimate goal for the majority of #crushers is to be able to live and eat without the aid of a food tracker.
Intuitive eating vs. Food tracker
The goal to stop tracking comes with an important caveat. You have to actually track your food for a period of time in order to stop tracking later. So for many, this means understanding that if your goal is to stop using a food tracker, then you must be able to perfect intuitive eating, by knowing how your food choices line up each day.
By tracking, this allows you to see each day where your calorie intake actually hits, and where your macros fall in. This allows you to make notes of what you need to eat daily, and how your choices affect your macros for each meal. Paying attention to your daily food habits will set you up for success when the time comes to stop tracking. Your understanding of how to hit that protein goal becomes apparent after you track consistently.
Another good reason for using a food tracker is seeing if there are patterns in your moods and hunger cues. By tracking your moods daily using the notes section of your diary, you will be able to see if there are patterns to certain issues. Things like skipping breakfast causes you to binge eat later in the day. Or a pattern in eating a certain food brings on the bloat or gives you headaches/migraines. These cues can tell you a lot about your eating habits and how to troubleshoot them long after you stop tracking.
Finally, tracking your food allows you to be self aware. It keeps you accountable to your daily required calories, and hitting those macros. Both are necessary for fat loss. It also gives you the stepping stones to make these changes in your food a habit. Habits which need to be solid before you begin intuitive eating.
The goal for everyone is to eventually stop tracking food. But take the steps now to track so your foundation is solid in the future.
Fat loss is a tricky problem for almost everyone. Of course we all want to get rid of unwanted fat on our bodies, but it is not as easy as “eat less, move more.” There is far more to it than that.
Ways to aid successful fat loss
Before you dive into the tweaks needed for this, familiarize yourself with our quick start guide. This will refresh your memory on how to begin your journey and what to expect. One of the main aspects to consider in this is a metabolism reset. This will be your biggest supporter to a successful cut phase.
When the time comes to reduce calories and begin your fat loss phase, cutting requires only a small amount of calories to be removed. We are talking 5-15% from your TDEE. The key is still to be able to eat as much as possible and still have a loss in fat. Following a 4-6 week cut phase, a jump back up to your TDEE level is necessary to remind the body of where maintenance is.
Think about it. If you cut your intake to a specific number, and do nothing more, then your body will adjust to that lower level and that becomes your new “normal.” Then when the plateau hits (which it always does) calories need to be slashed again in order to see a loss. Each step down will cause the metabolism to slow, thus making it harder and harder for fat loss to happen.
Just like your body adjusts to calories going down – it will adjust to calories going up.
By reminding your metabolism where maintenance is, the body continues to burn at the higher caloric level, giving you far more food to eat and still burn for fat loss. Every 4-6 weeks you should take one week off back at TDEE. If you choose to go 8-10 weeks, then a two or more week break is needed.
Biggest thing to remember is this is NOT a quick fix diet! Patience, Consistency and maximum caloric intake are what will help you be successful at fat loss.
When used correctly, food tracking tools like MyFitnessPal, or Lose It can help you to reach your physique and/or performance goals (or troubleshoot why you aren’t reaching them). For EM2WL fam, these tools are also useful to ensure that you’re eating enough calories, and getting in enough of the micro/macronutrients that tend to left behind when dieting. But even the most “accurate” of these tools leaves room for a margin of error.
A food tracker can be a powerful weight loss tool. When used correctly, it can give you a ton of data about your eating patterns and caloric intakes. For many, tracking food can mean the difference between eating 
Another good reason for using a food tracker is seeing if there are patterns in your moods and hunger cues. By tracking your moods daily using the notes section of your diary, you will be able to see if there are patterns to certain issues. Things like skipping breakfast causes you to binge eat later in the day. Or a pattern in eating a certain food brings on the bloat or gives you headaches/migraines. These cues can tell you a lot about your eating habits and how to troubleshoot them long after you stop tracking.
Think about it. If you cut your intake to a specific number, and do nothing more, then your body will adjust to that lower level and that becomes your new “normal.” Then when the plateau hits (which it always does) calories need to be slashed again in order to see a loss. Each step down will cause the metabolism to slow, thus making it harder and harder for fat loss to happen.
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