Protein Has Become a Midlife Obsession. Are Women Over 40 Getting It Right?

If you're a woman over 40, someone has probably told you to eat more protein.

Protein has been added to yoghurt, cereal, snack bars and bread. There's even protein water.

Social media has turned it into one more number to track, and if your breakfast isn't eggs and a protein shake, it can feel like you've failed the day before 8am.

Protein isn't a wellness fad to ignore, and it isn't just for people chasing abs at the gym.

In midlife, it is part of a much bigger conversation about holding on to our strength, bones and metabolism for decades to come.

That doesn't mean every woman needs to be eating a high-protein diet. But plenty of us need to rethink where protein sits on our plate.

Muscle isn't about looking toned

For years, women were told to aspire to be thin. We dieted, we did endless cardio, and being smaller was the goal. Now that ideal is changing. Instead of thin, we're being sold toned, strong and muscular as the new look everyone wants.

But both miss the point. Muscle isn't an aesthetic. It's hard-working tissue.

It's the main place your body sends glucose after a meal, which helps keep blood sugar in check. It protects your joints and bones, and gives you the reserve to cope when illness or injury knocks you around.

It's what lets you carry the shopping, get up off the floor and keep doing both well into your 80s.

After 40, holding on to muscle gets harder. It happens slowly, which is why most of us don't notice.

But a major review of the research found we lose strength two to five times faster than we lose muscle size.

Age plays a part, but so does menopause.

A large US study that followed women through the menopause transition found lean mass tends to drop while fat shifts to the belly.

Add broken sleep, stress or years of dieting, and your muscles aren't set up to thrive.

That's why I call muscle metabolic currency. You're not building it as a vanity metric. It's an asset you want to keep.

Protein does more than build muscle

Your body breaks protein into amino acids and uses them to build and repair muscle, skin, hair, enzymes, antibodies and the neurotransmitters linked to mood and sleep.

A shake won't fix brain fog or exhaustion, and those symptoms deserve proper investigation. But it shows why protein is more than a bodybuilding nutrient.

Your bones need it too. Bone is built on a protein framework, and an international expert consensus found that getting enough protein supports bone health.

Then there's appetite. A meal with a good source of protein tends to keep you fuller for longer than one built on refined carbs. If you're juggling work, kids and ageing parents, that can mean fewer 3pm crashes and less pantry grazing.

The problem usually isn't dinner

Most women I see in the clinic are eating protein. The trouble is, most of it turns up at dinner.

Breakfast is often toast and coffee. Lunch is sushi or a salad with a few chickpeas on top. Then dinner does all the heavy lifting.

So instead of chasing one perfect daily number, look at how your protein is spread across the day. One small study found that spreading protein evenly over three meals boosted muscle building more than eating most of it at night.

It's early evidence, but it makes practical sense.

As a rough guide, some women find 25 to 30 grams at each main meal works well. That might look like eggs and Greek yoghurt at breakfast, a generous serve of tuna, chicken, tofu or legumes at lunch, and fish, lean meat or beans at dinner.

You don't have to eat meat three times a day. Dairy, eggs, fish, tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds all count. And protein powder is a handy tool, not a must. Real food brings fibre, calcium, iron and the pleasure of an actual meal.

So how much do you need?

This is where the internet gets very sure of itself.

Your needs depend on your size, age, activity and health. Australia's official recommendation for women aged 19 to 70 is 0.75 grams of protein per kilo of body weight a day, rising to 0.94 grams after 70. That's a population baseline, not your personal target.

Some experts think older adults need more. An international research group known as PROT-AGE recommends 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilo for healthy older people.

But more isn't necessarily better. A protein-packed day that's light on fibre and plants isn't healthy. And if you have kidney disease, talk to your doctor before ramping things up.

Protein can't do the job alone, either. Muscle needs a reason to stick around. Strength training gives it that reason, and protein supplies the raw materials.

The two work better together than either does alone.

Don't make protein another job

You don't need to be weighing every chicken breast or turn breakfast into a spreadsheet.

Just make protein visible at every main meal. Add yoghurt or eggs to breakfast. Build lunch around tofu, tuna, chicken or legumes instead of sprinkling some on at the end. Keep nuts, boiled eggs or yoghurt on hand for genuine hunger between meals.

You're not trying to eat like a bodybuilder. You're looking after the tissue that keeps you strong, steady and independent for a long time yet.

Protein isn't just about muscle. And muscle was never just about looking toned.

Susan Hunter is an author and women's health strategist with twenty years of clinical experience. Her book, The Health Edit: Where to start and what to change for women over 40 is published by Broadcast Books.