Protein After 40
How Much Do You Need, and Why It Does Not Work Alone
Protein is a very loud topic at the moment.
I often hear questions from clients, see posts on social media, read research papers, listen to podcasts, and notice that protein has become surrounded by many strong and sometimes opposing opinions.
Some people say that women after 40, especially during perimenopause and menopause, need much more protein. Numbers such as 1.6, 2.0 and even 2.2grams per kilogram of body weight are often mentioned. These recommendations are especially common for active women who do strength training, sport, and want to preserve muscle, recovery and good body composition.
Others say almost the opposite: that protein is absorbed less well with age, so the body does not need as much; that it is better to move closer to a plant-based diet; and that too much protein may be linked with health risks.
There is also a more moderate position: around 1.0, 1.2 or 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight, and then looking at the woman herself, her age, training, goals, health and real-life eating patterns.
I wanted to share my view here as a trainer who has worked with women for many years and sees not only numbers in studies, but ordinary life: breakfast on the run, work, children, tiredness, training, attempts to lose weight, poor recovery and the constant question: “I am trying, so why is my body not responding?”
My position is this: after 40, protein really does become an important part of a woman’s nutrition. But protein works best inside a system: together with training, enough energy, carbohydrates, recovery and the real rhythm of the day.
Protein after 40: it is about more than muscle
When we talk about protein, many people immediately picture bodybuilders, large portions of chicken and protein shakes.
But for a woman after 40, protein has a much broader role.
Protein is needed for muscles, connective tissue, enzymes, immune processes, recovery after exercise, maintaining strength and supporting anormal structure of eating. If a woman trains, protein becomes part of adaptation: training gives the body a signal, and nutrition provides the material.
During perimenopause and after menopause, this becomes especially important. Muscle mass needs attention. Recovery may become slower. Sleep can become more sensitive. Body composition may change more quickly than before. Old methods such as “eat a little less and move a little more” often produce weaker results.
And here I often see one problem.
Many women after 40 eat too little protein. And sometimes too little food overall.
Coffee in the morning and something small.
A quick snack during the day.
A random lunch.
Strong hunger, tiredness and the desire to eat everything at once in the evening.
At the same time, a woman may believe she is eating “correctly” because she eats little, chooses “healthy” foods and avoids excess.
But for the body, “a little” and “enough” are not the same thing.
Minimum intake and a working range
Official recommendations often include a figure of around 0.75-0.8grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This is a baseline amount for a healthy adult.
But a baseline amount and a working amount for an active woman after40 may be different.
If a woman wants to maintain strength, muscle, energy, training, recovery and body composition, she often needs more than the minimum level.
In practice, this is how I would look at protein:
Around 0.8 g/kg: a basic lower level for a healthy adult.
Around 1.0-1.2 g/kg: a realistic starting zone for many women 40+, especially if current protein intake is low.
Around 1.2-1.6 g/kg: a useful working range for active women who train, want to support muscle, strength, recovery or weight loss without losing muscle tissue.
Around 1.6-2.2 g/kg: a more athletic range. It may suit women with regular serious training, strength training, high activity, a calorie deficit or body composition goals.
For a woman who weighs 60 kg, this looks approximately like this:
0.8 g/kg: 48 g protein per day.
1.0 g/kg: 60 g protein per day.
1.2 g/kg: 72 g protein per day.
1.4 g/kg: 84 g protein per day.
1.6 g/kg: 96 g protein per day.
2.0 g/kg: 120 g protein per day.
2.2 g/kg: 132 g protein per day.
I would not start with the highest number. Very often the first step is much simpler: to look at how much protein a woman is actually eating now.
Sometimes it turns out that she is getting 40-50 grams a day while training, working, looking after family, recovering poorly and wanting more energy.
In that case, the question “Do I need 2.2 g/kg?” is premature.
First, it is worth reaching a stable, reasonable amount.
Protein is better spread across the day
Another common mistake is that almost all protein ends up at dinner.
Coffee in the morning.
Something light during the day.
Fish, meat, eggs, cottage cheese or another protein food in the evening.
But muscles and recovery are usually better supported when protein comes in more evenly across the day.
It does not have to be divided with mathematical perfection. But for many women, a good practical goal is protein in each main meal.
For example:
breakfast with protein;
lunch with protein;
dinner with protein.
If a woman weighs around 60 kg and wants to get approximately 75-90grams of protein a day, this might look like 25-30 grams of protein in each of three main meals.
For some women it will be less, for others more, but the idea of distribution is very important.
It makes it easier for the body to receive material for recovery, and easier for the woman to maintain energy and appetite during the day.
Protein and carbohydrates: why extremes do not always help
There is a lot of talk now about low-carb, keto, carnivore and different eating patterns where carbohydrates are sharply reduced. For some people, these approaches may be part of a specific strategy. But for an active woman after 40, I would be very careful with the idea of “protein on its own, and almost no carbohydrates”.
Strictly physiologically, carbohydrates are not required for the digestion and absorption of amino acids. Protein can be digested without carbohydrates.
But for an active woman, carbohydrates are very important alongside protein.
Carbohydrates give the body fuel.
They help replenish glycogen stores.
They support training.
They support the nervous system and the brain.
They reduce the chance that a woman will live on coffee, willpower and evening hunger.
They help make nutrition more sustainable.
Protein provides material. Carbohydrates provide energy. Together, they help the body recover better after exercise and feel alive, not just “correctly fed”.
And this is not about making sweets the base of the diet.
It is about normal sources of carbohydrates:
oats;
buckwheat;
rice;
potato or sweet potato;
wholegrain bread;
legumes;
fruit;
berries;
vegetables;
quinoa;
durum wheat pasta, if it suits the person.
For a woman who trains, works, moves a lot and wants to preserve muscle, a plate of “protein plus vegetables” can sometimes be too poor. Especially if almost every meal looks like that.
Sometimes the body does not need only “clean” eating. It needs energy.
What I see in practice
One example from my practice shows what this looks like in real life.
I had a client in her 40s. She was a very active woman: a child, school, work as a teacher, then a second job as a massage therapist. In the morning, she often did not have time for breakfast because she had to get her child ready and take them to school. During the day at school, she might eat something quick: a bar, a protein bar, a sandwich, some chocolate or another snack on the go. She would get home at about three o’clock, then it was the child again, activities, errands and work.
At the same time, she had two serious strength training sessions a week: squats, deadlifts and work with weights. She also did pole dance twice a week, which is also a very demanding form of training.
So she lived with a high level of activity.
But her food did not support that level of load. It was not “junk food” every day. The problem was different: food appeared rarely, there was not enough of it, it was repetitive, protein was too low, and carbohydrates were not built into a normal eating structure either.
As a result, she recovered poorly after training, her sleep was worse, tiredness arrived by lunchtime, and she often went to training on willpower alone.
We did not start with a perfect menu.
We started with her real life.
If there was no time in the morning for a full breakfast, then at least something simple and doable: a banana, yoghurt, a small option she could take with her. And we added a protein shake because it was convenient for her schedule: mix it, take the bottle with her, drink it between work, her child and training.
For her, this became a workable solution. Her wellbeing improved because her body began to receive more material and energy for the level of life she was asking from it.
A second example: a woman in her 40s wanted to lose weight. She was trying to eat “correctly”, had cut out many things, ate rarely and very little. Her weight barely moved.
When we looked at her nutrition more closely, it became clear: too little food, too little protein, too little energy, training had started, but there were almost no resources for recovery.
I explained one simple thing to her: when a woman loses weight, she may lose not only fat. With very strict restriction and too little protein, she risks losing muscle tissue as well. And after 40, muscle needs particular support, because it helps maintain strength, shape, metabolic resilience and quality of movement.
When she started including proper protein portions in her diet, the process began to shift. Not because protein became a magic pill, but because the body received a clearer system: nutrition, training, recovery and the goal started working in the same direction.
Protein alone does not build a strong body
This is one of the main points.
Protein provides material.
Training provides the signal.
Carbohydrates provide fuel.
Sleep and recovery provide the opportunity to adapt.
If a woman simply increases protein but does not train, the muscles do not receive enough of a signal to become stronger. If a woman trains but eats too little, the body may not have enough material and energy. If there is training and nutrition, but sleep is broken, recovery still suffers.
That is why I do not look at protein separately. I look at it within a system.
How does the woman eat in the morning?
Is there protein at breakfast?
Are there carbohydrates that support energy?
What happens at lunch?
Is there a long hungry stretch during the day?
How does she eat before and after training?
How does the body recover?
What is the goal: energy, strength, weight loss, maintaining muscle, improving body composition, supporting bones?
Only inside this system do the numbers begin to make sense.
What to try tomorrow
If you want to look at your protein without extremes, start with simple observation.
1. Track one ordinary day
Not an ideal day, but the most ordinary one. What did you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks? How much protein did it roughly add up to?
2. Look at breakfast
For many women, breakfast contains very little protein. Coffee, toast, fruit or a small bowl of porridge may provide very little material for muscles and recovery.
3. Add protein to the first meal
This could be an egg, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, fish, tofu, a protein smoothie, chicken, legumes or another option that suits your way of eating.
4. Add a normal carbohydrate alongside protein
For example, oats, fruit, berries, buckwheat, rice, potato, wholegrain bread, legumes or another food your body tolerates well.
5. Check lunch
If lunch is low in protein and low in real food, strong hunger, tiredness and cravings for quick foods often arrive by evening.
6. Increase protein gradually
If protein is currently low, habits need time. Start with one meal, then build the next one.
7. Connect protein with strength training
Protein is especially valuable when the body has a reason to use it for recovery and maintaining muscle.
8. Consider your health
If you have kidney disease, complex metabolic conditions, a cancer history or other medical limitations, your individual protein target should be discussed with a qualified professional.
My position
I do not see much value in the argument between extremes.
For a woman after 40, protein really is important. Especially if she wants to maintain strength, muscle mass, energy, body density, stability, functionality and the ability to train.
But the right amount does not come from a short video on social media.
It depends on age, weight, activity level, training, goals, appetite, health status, quality of nutrition and how much protein the woman is already getting.
And one more thing: protein should not push out all the rest of the food.
An active woman needs protein, normal carbohydrates, enough overall energy, strength training and recovery.
My practical position is this:
first understand the real diet;
then spread protein across the day;
add it to each main meal;
combine it with normal carbohydrates;
connect nutrition with strength training;
and look at energy, sleep, recovery, strength and wellbeing.
Protein is not a magic pill.
But for many women after 40, it can be a missing part of the system that helps the body feel strength, steadiness and resource again.
Sources
1. Australian Government. Nutrient Reference Values: Protein.
Australian reference values for protein intake, including the baseline RDI for adult women.
Recommendations for older adults, including higher protein ranges to help maintain or regain lean body mass and function.
Female athlete nutrition position stand, including protein ranges for pre-, peri- and post-menopausal active women and protein distribution across the day.
Randomized clinical trial comparing higher protein intake with RDA-level intake in postmenopausal women following resistance training.
Randomized trial on moderate protein increase, functional capacity and resistance training in postmenopausal women.
Study showing that higher protein during weight loss can preserve lean mass, while metabolic responses may differ in postmenopausal women with obesity.
Systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis on protein intake sources and mortality outcomes.
Position statement on nutrition, exercise performance and recovery, including the role of carbohydrate and protein in training adaptation.
Systematic review and meta-analysis on carbohydrate, protein co-ingestion and glycogen resynthesis after exercise.
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