Unpopular Opinion: Women in Midlife+ Don't Need ___ Grams of Protein

This is an unpopular opinion: Women in midlife do not need to calculate, worry, and manipulate their diets, so they eat a specific number of grams of protein each day. 

Please hear me out! 

Yes, your body’s needs indeed shift and change in perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. 

Yes, you indeed lose muscle mass as you age. 

Yes, it’s true that you benefit from being intentional about how you nourish your body. 

And it is also true that the changes you experience in your body in midlife and beyond may make you want to white-knuckle your efforts to control your eating. This, coupled with the loud, aggressive, and ageist diet/wellness/fitness machine to eat a high protein diet, may have you calculating grams of protein in your food. 

I am a Registered Dietitian who cares about your mental health just as much as your physical health, and I do not see them as separate (think gut-brain connection). Getting all in your head, calculating, and worrying about specifics like the grams of protein in your diet contributes to stress and anxiety. 

We know that hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause contribute to higher levels of anxiety. 

We know that stress and anxiety contribute to cognitive decline as you age. 

Suppose you’ve experienced disordered eating, chronic dieting, or an eating disorder earlier in your life and have done a lot of work to heal your relationship with food and your body. In that case, the messages around high protein diets and aging have the potential to trigger a relapse! 

Relapses in midlife or developing disordered eating patterns in midlife+ are far too common. I’m hearing stories about the secret of eating disorders in midlife+ women every day! 

So how about trusting yourself that you are your own best authority about your body and your body’s needs? If you are eating with flexibility, attention to being satisfied at meal/snack time, which usually means a gentle approach to a balanced way of eating, and noticing how your body responds to your choices, you are doing a fine job. 

Rest in the knowledge that you are your own best authority about your body and what you need. 

Now is the time to learn to trust your body. 

Diet/wellness and anti-aging messages will have you looking at your body with criticism, overthinking your food choices, and pushing your body to fit into someone else's idea of what is good and worthy, making your body your full-time project.

If you want to untangle yourself from the diet/wellness culture mess along with feeling you are constantly fighting your body, I'm with you!