How prioritising protein intake can help you lose weight during menopause

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Are you eating the same but have noticed menopausal weight gain? Maybe you’ve reduced your serving sizes but it didn’t work. What if you could drop a dress size by eating more protein? This article helps you understand how a high protein intake in menopause can help you to fit back into your favourite clothes.

Weight loss isn’t all about calories in and out

You’re probably thinking that it must be too many calories because, at the end of the day, weight loss is about calories in versus calories out.

As women, we have been conditioned that losing weight means reducing our meal sizes. Many of my clients have tried this approach before coming to see me and I can tell you from working as a Dietitian for almost 20 years it isn’t that simple. If it was, my clients wouldn’t even need me!

You may have tried reducing the size of your main meal and cutting out the snacks to try and lose a few kilos that crept on as you near menopause. How did that go? It is common to think you don't need as much food as you did previously because you're gaining weight and possibly aren’t as active as you were in your 20s and 30s. You’re probably thinking that it must be too many calories because, at the end of the day, weight loss is about calories in versus calories out.

Well, yes and NO!

In this article, I will talk about how eating to nourish your muscles will help keep your muscle mass and metabolism high, therefore burning more body fat. At the same time, you’ll be reducing your appetite, so you don’t crave that sweet snack after dinner because your blood sugar level and insulin are more stable.

Nourish the body to burn fat, without eating like a rabbit

Imagine we were looking at a slice of your muscle under a microscope. This slice of muscle would look like a brick wall pattern. Each brick represents a muscle fibre and the fibres are all packed together to make a really strong wall.

The strength of each brick is developed through activity (exercise) and that makes the whole wall (muscle) stronger. Although each brick (muscle fibre) has to replace itself every so often so the fibre burns off and image we are left with a microscopic gap where that brick was.

This is where your nutrition is important. When we eat protein, it is broken down into amino acids. The amino acids are often referred to as the building blocks because they are the things that come in a build back up the muscle fibre or bricks.

This means if we keep eating the same as we did in our 20’s and 30’s, we very slowly start to lose lean muscle mass.

So why is this important?

We are most efficient at doing this by rebuilding our muscle fibre when we are in our 20’s and 30’s and then even if we are eating the same amount of protein it takes more and more protein to replace the same amount of muscle fibre as we age. This means if we keep eating the same as we did in our 20’s and 30’s, we very slowly start to lose lean muscle mass.

The muscle can still be very strong because the fibres that are there can be strong. The problem is if we are losing lean muscle fibre the body doesn’t need as much energy (calories) to sustain the reduced muscle mass, so your metabolism drops, and the extra energy (calories) is stored as body fat.

In other words, if you eat the same amount but without increasing the protein, you will likely put on weight.

But won’t I gain weight if I have more protein?

This means that if you are working out you might notice that you are starting to make more gains in the gym.

Generally not. A couple of things happen when you start having a higher protein intake.

1. Higher protein reduces your appetite and keeps you fuller for longer.

This means you eat less, and that means fewer calories. Higher protein is more filling and helps stabilise your blood sugar levels so you are less likely to be looking for something sweet in between meals due to insulin spikes. Overall this means that the calories from the higher protein are offset by the calories that you aren’t consuming from the extras that were previously sneaking into your diet.

2. You’re fueling your muscles better.

This means that if you are working out you might notice that you are starting to make more gains in the gym. You might be able to do that extra set or go up weights or maybe just not feel like you need that afternoon nap. Some clients report that it is easier to make themself do the things they need to do, they have more mental clarity.

3. Your body composition may start to change (e.g. less body fat).

I have an InBody 230 in my clinic, which I have used for the past 7 years to analyse clients' body composition. Even if clients don’t lose weight when they start increasing their protein, we do see changes in their body composition. Their muscle mass increases and their body fat usually drops. Win-win!

If they gain 1kg of lean muscle mass and lose the same weight in body fat, they may not notice much difference on the scale. Although 1 kg of muscle takes up less volume or space than 1 kg of body fat so clients start to notice their clothes fit better.

As an added bonus, muscle mass and strength are linked to bone health and joint stability as we age.

4. By gaining more muscle and having more energy, we stabilise our metabolism and it is easier to lose weight.

Maybe it’s time to ditch the scales and start paying more attention to how you actually feel within yourself and your clothes, rather than using the scale as your only measure of success!

Summary

Don’t be scared of protein if you are trying to lose weight. It controls our appetite, keeps us fuller, helps keep our metabolism higher, and preserves our muscles as we age. All of these things help us lose weight by promoting fat loss.

References/Citations

Mayo Clinic (2012) Healthy muscle mass linked to healthy bones, but there ... - sciencedaily, ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120620133349.htm (Accessed: March 22, 2023).

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