Protein Guide for the woman in Menopause

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They don’t call menopause the big “change” for nothing!

There is truly an astounding amount of change that is happening in your body during this time. Changing hormones necessitates changing lifestyle and diet so let’s look at one of the most important things you can focus on every single day.

What you put on the end of your fork is the best place to start when you want better health, supported hormones, and fat loss. And a key change you can make in your everyday diet is to eat enough protein. This is not the time to limit your protein intake but it is a great season to expand the protein you do consume. First, you will choose animal protein, then fish, then choose plant protein options. A lot of the protein choices in this guide can be used for Energizing meals on the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan as long as your fat amount is below 5 grams.

A good guideline if you are over the age of 40 is to eat about 15-25 grams of protein per meal. This does not have to be all animal protein, you can include a few meatless, and plant protein-based meals. For an Energizing Trim Healthy Mama meal, you can build your plate with a big pile of veggies, and maybe a sweet potato then add 2-4 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean ground beef.

You can even get brave and try adding fermented tofu as a protein option. Soy has now been shown to help relieve menopausal symptoms but it needs to be fermented. That’s the key. Eating tofu used to sound pretty disgusting to me but I’ve taken the time to experiment with cooking it and figure out what dishes it works well in and I’ve found that it’s not as bad as I thought it was.

Adding protein powders is another great way to boost your daily intake and give you some non-animal protein options. Creamy Dreamy Hemp protein powder is one of my absolute favorites. It works so well to support your hormones while increasing your fiber intake. Pristine Whey protein powder is going to be your best friend when you exercise because it helps with muscle recovery and muscle building. Some hormone specialists will recommend avoiding whey protein and you may have to experiment to see if you tolerate whey protein well or need to find a different option. As we age, we start to lose muscle and bone mass and our metabolism slows down making it much more difficult to lose weight. When you eat enough protein and use strength training as your main form of exercise you can begin to make traction toward losing weight. Another powder form of protein that you can add to your day is Perfect Amino acids, I like to use this drink when I work out. Your goal is not to eat all animal protein for every single meal because you want to choose more variety and lighter foods during this season of life. So, adding in other protein options and utilizing protein powders can help you achieve a better balance in your meals. 

You can see even more options on the protein chart, challenge yourself to try each of them. Some of these options are higher in protein than others, quinoa has a lot of versatility and has about 9 grams of protein per serving. Adding a couple of teaspoons of ground flaxseed or even ground chia seed to your smoothie can help your body release belly fat and increase your protein. 

Remember that we are still doing the Trim Healthy Mama plan but are shifting to some lighter guidelines. Your newer guideline, after 40, is about 15-25 grams of protein, increasing your vegetable intake and utilizing multiple protein sources. Some of these meals can be meatless or garnished with meat as long as you include other proteins so you can hit your protein target. 

Another key to your weight loss success is going to be focusing on eating more veggies. Weight loss can be a mix of a slower metabolism plus an inflamed body. You can address both of those roadblocks by eating a sufficient amount of protein and building your plate with quality foods, whole fruits, and vegetables. 

This post contains affiliate links and I may receive commissions from purchases made through these links.