EP: 51 How to Eat to Look Toned Over 40: The Metabolic Way to Build Muscle and Burn Fat

0:00Hello and welcome back to Becoming Her, Fitter, Better, and Stronger over 40. I'm your host and coach, Shauna. I am 46, a wife, a boy mom, and a fitness and nutrition coach, helping women like you over 40 feel their best. I'm so glad you're here today because we are continuing this little mini series on how to use the end of the year to set yourself up for your strongest, keenest, most toned body, especially for the new year. Two weeks ago, we talked about how you can use the holidays to prime your metabolism instead of just trying to white knuckle your way through it, or even worse, just throwing all of your goals aside until January.

0:36And then last week, we talked about how to train to look toned over 40. Today, we're going to be talking about how to piece that all together with your nutrition, which is how to eat to look toned over 40. If there is one episode I want every woman in their midlife to hear, it's this one. The truth is most women are not eating in a way that matches the body that they want. They're eating in a way that matches fear, fear of gaining weight, fear of eating too much, fear of carbs, fear of slowing progress. And that fear has kept so many women in a chronic dieting cycle that leaves them softer, more tired and more frustrated every single year.

1:17I know because I used to be that person. So let's reset all of that. Let's talk about what your body actually needs. Let's talk about the difference between the body that you get from dieting and the body that you get from fueling. And then let's talk about how these next two months can transform your metabolism if you shift how you think about food. Today, you're going to walk away knowing exactly how to eat to support muscle growth, how to use maintenance calories strategically, how to time your meals around your workouts, how much protein you should have, why carbs matter for looking toned, why creatine is a gift for women over 40, and how this all sets you up for the most successful fat loss journey in January.

2:01We're going to go deep, but I want to keep it simple too. And I want you to be able to walk away and say, I can start this today. So let's dive right in. If you want to look toned, you need more muscle. And if you want more muscle, you need to stop living in a calorie deficit. I will say it again because this matters. The look you're after, that firm, lifted, sculpted shape, comes from muscle. And muscle comes from two things, proper strength training and proper fueling. It does not come from eating like a bird. It does not come from cutting out carbs. It does not come from doing more cardio or classes.

2:39That just creates a skinny fat look where your weight goes down, but your shape never changes. And most women over 40 have muscle loss already from aging and years of under fueling. When you mix that with hormonal shifts, stress, poor sleep, and a diet that's low in protein or too low in calories, your metabolism is crashing. Your energy drops. Your appetite gets weird. You start to gain fat in places you never used to. And your body stops responding. And that's why when you try to jump into fat loss at this stage, you hit a wall. Because you don't have enough muscle to create the shape you want.

3:14And you don't have a well-fueled metabolism to support it. So if you're listening to this and thinking, oh my gosh, this is me. This is exactly why I'm stuck. Take a breath. You're in the right place. And the good news is you're not broken. Your body just needs a different approach. And that approach is eating at maintenance for a short season. So let's talk about what that means. Now, maintenance calories are simply eating the amount of food your body needs to function, recover, think, move, digest, and live without gaining or losing. It's kind of like your neutral zone for your metabolism. Not too low, not too high.

3:49It's the place where your body feels safe enough to build. If you've been dieting for years, living in maintenance will feel like a breath of fresh air. Your energy comes back. Your sleep improves. Your strength in the gym goes up. Your training finally starts to pay off. Your libido improves because your hormones aren't screaming for fuel. And all of these things matter for your muscle growth, which matters for looking toned. So let's get to the tangible stuff. Like how do we do this? How do you actually find your maintenance calories? An easy way for you to do this is to take your current body weight and multiply that by 13 or 14.

4:23Depending on your activity, that should give you a great starting place. If you want something that's a little bit more exact, you can always go to a TDEE calculator, plug in your stats and see what you get. And then you want to slowly and gradually increase your calories, 50 to 100 calories from where you're starting from to what your projected maintenance calories are. You're going to be monitoring your weight and then capping off once your weight starts to plateau. You might see the scale fluctuate a little bit, but this is likely just from more food volume. That's not fat gain. That's just fluid and more food that's in your digestive tract at any given time.

5:02But trust the process. Now let's talk about what eating at maintenance actually looks like day to day because it's not just about hitting number. It's also about structuring your meals in a way that supports muscle growth. The first pillar is protein, of course. Protein is the most important macronutrient for women over 40 who want to look toned. There is no way around this. You need a solid serving of protein at every meal. I'm talking 30 to 40 grams every time you eat. protein helps to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, which is just a fancy way of saying your body repairs and builds muscle better.

5:38It helps with recovery, which means you're stronger and less sore in your workout. It helps keep your appetite stable, your cravings down, your blood sugar balanced, and it helps your metabolism stay active because your body burns more calories just by digesting protein than any other macronutrient. So if you are someone who eats mostly fruits, yogurts, snacks, salads, or lots of snacky foods, this shift will be everything for you. Start with protein first, build your meals around it, and then everything else will support you. The second pillar here is carbohydrates. And that probably is surprising to you because this is where a lot of women get nervous, but carbs are not the enemy.

6:20Carbs are your friend. Carbs are what help you push hard in your workouts and carbs help you build more muscle. They also help you recover. When you cut carbs, especially in your 40s and 50s, your training suffers, your muscle growth suffers, and your metabolism will slow down. So if you want to look toned, carbs need to be in your life. You don't need to overthink it. Just include slow digesting carbs at your meals. Prioritize them, especially before and after your workouts. Don't fear them. They are fuel, especially right now. And when I say carbs, I'm not talking about the fun carbs that are laden with fat, which are pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, pizza, donuts.

7:01You might have room in your diet for those occasionally. But what I'm talking about to have on your day-to-day staples to help you grow muscle are things like oats, potatoes, rice, vegetables, fruits. All of those are going to help you fuel yourself and feel your best, especially when you're having them before and after your training. Which brings us right into meal timing. If you want to optimize your muscle growth, you need to fuel your workouts. Training fasted is one of the fastest ways to leave gains on the table. You don't need a huge meal. If you're working out first thing in the morning, you can have something very simple and easy to digest like a banana, a yogurt, a little bit of a whey protein shake.

7:41But you want to have something light and easy to digest so your muscles have the fuel that they need and they don't start breaking down. After your workout, you also want to have a proper meal with protein and carbs. This is where recovery starts. This is where muscle growth happens. Meal timing won't necessarily make or break you, but it can take you from good to great when we're talking about your results. I will leave a simple pre and post workout guide in the show notes so you have some examples of meals that you can use, whether you're training early or midday. You'll have some examples of what you can eat so that you can support both your performance and your recovery.

8:16Now let's talk about creatine because creatine is one of the most powerful tools for women over 40 who are trying to look toned. Creatine helps your muscles produce energy during strength training. It helps you push harder. It helps you get more reps. It helps you lift heavier. And when you're trying to build muscle, those things are really important. Creatine also helps with recovery. It helps your cells hold on to more water, which not only supports strength, but it also supports muscle growth. And here's a big one. As we age, our natural creatine stores drop. So even though you can get creatine from food, it's pretty much impossible to eat enough of the right foods to get what would be considered an optimal dose.

8:59This is why five grams a day is a much easier way to get the creatine that you need. And it's a game changer for women over 40. It's safe, well-researched, and it's one of the easiest things that you can do to help yourself get strong and get toned. Now, if you're new to taking creatine, I would suggest looking for a creatine monohydrate. That's what you want to take. And take anywhere from three to five grams a day. You also want to increase your water intake when you're taking creatine because what it does is it helps to pull water into your muscle cells. That's going to be what helps you with your performance and your recovery.

9:34You may see some fluctuations on the scale. This is not body fat. It is just water and it should regulate over time. But don't fear that number on the scale. Again, we want to think about how can we optimize our body to grow muscle and get strong because that's what's going to help us with our long-term fat loss goals and building that sculpted strong body that we want. I will leave my favorite creatine in the show notes. I take Recharge from Legion. I love Legion's products. They are third-party tested. They have amazing research on their products. They use clinically effective doses with all the ingredients in their products.

10:11No artificial colors or flavors. They are delicious, effective, and customer service is really top-notch. So if you ever order anything from them and you do not have a good experience, you let them know and they refund you on the spot. So they are what I use and love and share. The other reason I like the one from Legion is that it's micronized, meaning it's broken down so it mixes and digests really well. I'll leave my link in the show notes. You can use my code, Shauna T, to save an extra 20%, which means anytime they have a sale, even like their BOGO sales, which they do often, you get an additional 20 % off of your purchases.

10:47But no matter which creatine you do choose, just make sure that you are looking for creatine monohydrate. Now, how does this tie all together? Because the goal of this entire season is not fat loss. It's the foundation of building. And here's the beautiful part. When you spend two months at maintenance, lifting well, fueling your workouts, prioritizing protein, using carbs intentionally, and supporting yourself with creatine, you walk into your fat loss phase with a body that's responsive. Your metabolism is healthier. Your hormones are in a great place. Your hunger is stable. Your muscle is full.

11:22And fat loss is going to feel easy because you built a foundation for it. This is exactly what the women inside my Strong by Shauna membership are doing right now. Inside the membership, they have structured workouts that pair perfectly with this strategy. They also have resources and guides in the community that helps them stay accountable. These next two months inside the membership are about priming our body for successful fat loss in the new year. So if you want that structure, that support while making these changes, I would love for you to join us. You can find the link in the show notes.

11:53But I hope this was helpful. I really hope that this just gives you encouragement to look at training and fueling your body to support your fitness goals over 40 in a different way because the old strategies are really not serving us. And if you want to build your best body over 40, you have to lean into working with your body instead of against it so that your metabolism can work for you instead of against you. So I really hope you took away some really good tips with this episode. And before I close out, I just wanna say thank you. I have received many messages over the last few weeks from women telling me how the episodes are helping them feel hopeful again, women who feel seen and heard for the first time in years, women who are excited about their fitness journey again.

12:40And I just want to tell you that it means the world to me to know that my words, my encouragement, my tips are helping you. I show up here because I want you to feel confident, capable, and strong because I know what it's like to be on the other side. And to be on this side is so liberating and it's beautiful. To feel hopeful about this next 40 years and excited is where I want every one of you to be. So I want you to know if there's ever something that you want to hear about, if there's a topic that you want me to cover, please reach out, DM me. I would love to hear from you. I always love hearing what you think of the show or if you have ideas.

13:18And I love to hear about your own personal success stories. It really makes my heart so happy. So if you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, rate, and review. It just helps the show find more women like you who need to hear it. Thank you again for being here with me. I appreciate you so much. Until next week, keep showing up and keep getting stronger.