EP 57: How Carb Timing Supports Muscle, Hormones, and Fat Loss After 40

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 over 40 become their best. Welcome back to the podcast, or if this is your first time here, welcome. Today, we're going to talk about something that, honestly, I don't think a lot of us have been taught. If you grew up in the 90s diet culture, this is one of the things that is really misunderstood, and it's one of the reasons why a lot of us feel like we're doing everything right, but still are not seeing the body composition changes that we want.

0:35Because we all grew up hearing fat loss is calories in, calories out, just eat less, just burn more. And sure, calories do matter. But after 40, hormones are changing. They are not the same. Recovery changes, stress tolerance changes, and muscle preservation becomes everything. And one thing that does not get talked about enough is meal timing, especially when we're talking about carbohydrates. This is something that a lot of us still fear because of that old diet culture, but carbs matter so much. There is research out there that shows that women who eat the majority of their carbs around their workouts preserved twice as much lean muscle mass compared to women who don't.

1:19Twice as much. That is the difference between losing weight and still looking and feeling soft versus losing weight and actually looking strong, sculpted, and toned. So I want to help you understand this in a real practical way so that you can infuse this into your plan. Today, we're going to be talking about how to eat for the body that you want after 40 and why carb timing matters more than just calories alone. So grab your favorite drink and let's dive right in. So let's start here. Most women think that their problem is weight. But what's actually happening with us at this stage in age is muscle loss.

1:56And that's so important to understand because when you lose muscle, you don't just lose shape, you lose your metabolic power. Muscle is metabolically active. It supports your posture, bone health, hormone balance, energy, confidence, and it gives you that firm sculpted look that most of us are chasing. So when we spend years dieting hard, under eating, doing tons of cardio, skipping meals, fasting, cutting carbs, we don't just lose fat, we lose muscle. And once hormones begin to shift in perimenopause and in menopause, holding on to muscle becomes so much harder. That's why so many women feel like they weigh less, but they don't look any different.

2:39They might have hit their goal weight, but their body still kind of looks the same. This happened to me for years. The scale would move, but I just look like a smaller version of myself. The shape was no different. I still wasn't toned. I still wasn't sculpted. I had to chase that leanness and push to maintain it because I didn't have the muscle to help me do it. And that's not a discipline problem. That is simply a strategy problem. And that's where getting strategic with carbs, especially around your workouts come into play. So let's talk about why carb timing matters. When you strength train, your body isn't just burning calories.

3:17You are sending the signal to your muscle, hey, I need you to stay, I need you to grow, and I need you to get stronger. But muscle is expensive for your body to keep. So if you're constantly under fueling, if you are fasting all day, your body does not get the support it needs to recover, rebuild, and maintain that lean muscle tissue. When you eat carbs around your training, however, your muscles are in the most insulin sensitive state, meaning your body is primed to use those carbs for performance, for recovery, for building and preserving lean mass instead of just storing them. So two women can eat the exact same calories, but the woman fueling around her training preserves muscle, recovers better, gains strength and maintains her shape versus the woman that's skipping carbs altogether or just saving them for the end of the day will lose more muscle during fat loss and ends up with that soft kind of skinny fat look.

4:16Same calories, but very, very different body. And here's the part that no one has told us is that, again, this is not about discipline. This is about biology. It's about physiology and hormones. And all of this is fixable. This concept of having carbs around your workouts is important for everyone, but especially for women who are in perimenopause and menopause. And if you are around the age of 40, this is going to be you. Once hormones begin changing, your body becomes so much more sensitive to stress. And dieting is stress. Undereating is stress. Overtraining is stress. Not fueling properly before and after training, also stress.

4:58And your body can only take so much stress before it says, okay, I'm done. I'm going to protect you. And to do that, I'm going to slow everything down. And that can look like lower energy, sluggish metabolism, stubborn belly fat, poor recovery, struggles with sleep, struggles with cravings, feeling inflamed, puffy, bloated, and losing muscle faster than you should. So fueling smarter, especially with carbohydrates allows the nervous system to calm down. It stabilizes your energy. It supports better hormone balance and allows you to train harder and recover better. And better training plus better recovery equals a stronger, leaner, firmer body.

5:42Carbs are not the enemy. Food is not the enemy. Your body is not fighting against you. It's just responding to the environment that it's in. And we have to change that. So now that you understand the importance of changing it, What does that look like? Let's make this practical. Think about placing the majority of your carbs around your training window before and after your workouts. So if you're training in the morning, it might look like a light carb, like a banana and protein before you lift. Something quick, something easy to digest. Then a good solid protein and carb meal right after. If you train midday or evening, make sure you're not training on fumes.

6:20You want to make sure that you're giving your body enough nourishment so that it can perform and recover. Making sure your meals around your training session, again, have protein and carbs. Generally, a good sweet spot for most women is something like 20 to 40 grams of carbs prior to training and then 30 to 60 grams of carbs after you're trained. You also want to make sure you're having protein with both of those meals. And it doesn't have to be perfect, but we do want to be intentional about how we're feeling before and after. You're going to feel a difference. Your workouts are going to feel stronger.

6:51Your recovery is going to improve. You're not going to feel as wrecked after your training and your body composition is going to change, even if the scale doesn't change. The inches, the shape, the firmness, that is all going to transform. If you need ideas on what to have pre and post workout, I'm going to leave a Fueling for Performance free guide in the show notes, so make sure you check for that. Now, once you start to implement this, you're going to notice things feel very different. You're going to notice that instead of constantly feeling like you're fighting your body, you feel like it's actually working with you.

7:22And that's the best feeling at this age because most of us feel like we're stuck, like the best is behind us, like that we just have to accept fate and that we cannot change our bodies, but we can. We have to also change our mindset and change our strategy. That's when it clicks for you and you understand and you realize your body isn't broken. It just needed a smarter approach. So if you've been eating less, pushing harder, cutting carbs, and you are still stuck and not getting the results that you want, please hear me. It's not that your body can't lose fat. It's not that age ruined your metabolism.

7:57It's that the strategy didn't match this season of life. So instead of pushing more, we are going to fuel before our workouts. We're going to protect our muscle. We're going to be intentional with carbs and we're going to give our body the support it needs. When we stop chasing small and start chasing strong, we become more capable and everything changes. I really hope this gave you some insight as to how to be more strategic with fueling yourself so that you get the results that you want from the workouts that you're doing. And again, if you need some ideas on what to have pre and post workout, I'm going to leave that free guide in the show notes.

8:35Now, before we wrap this up today, if you're listening in real time, this is December 22nd, 2025. We are about to hit holidays this week. I just want to wish you all a blessed and happy holiday season. I hope you make so many memories with your families and enjoy. And I also want to say this because I know so many of you are already thinking about what you want for your body, your health, your energy, and your confidence for the new year, for 2026. And if you're listening to this and you're someone who does not want another quick fix, you want a real plan, you want real guidance and real results that last and you're ready for support, I have two incredible ways that I can help you with your goals for the next year.

9:15If you want full support, accountability, strategy, and a coach, me, walking right beside you through every single step, my one-on-one coaching might be the best fit. This is for the woman who's tired of guessing, tired of piecing things together from Instagram and wants a customized roadmap designed around her hormones, her lifestyle, her goals, and her body. We dive into nutrition, training that prioritizes muscle and metabolism, reverse dieting when we need to. We look at your biofeedback. We work on mindset, all of it. You're not just losing fat. You are truly transforming your body and how you feel in it.

9:48If that sounds like something that is for you, you can learn more about my coaching and apply with the link in the show notes. And this is the perfect time of year to do it because you can set yourself up to win in the new year, plus lock in my current rates as they are changing for 2026. So if you've been considering working with me, now is the time to apply and learn more. And the second way that I can help you achieve your goals for the next year, if you want something powerful, structured, doable, and insanely motivating to kickstart your momentum, I would love to have you inside my six-week Soft to Sculpted Challenge.

10:23This is such an amazing entry point. If you want science-backed workouts designed for women over 40, resources that actually teach you how to fuel your body, accountability, community, and a plan that focuses on actually changing the shape of your body, not just shrinking it. We are going to be tracking waist and glute measurements, strength progress, how you feel, not just the scale, because we care about body composition, confidence, and your long-term results. Not to mention this challenge comes with some amazing cash prizes and it's 25 % off. The link for that will also be in the show notes.

10:58We kick the challenge off on January 5th. It is a perfect way to kickstart your goals for the new year. And it is a buy once and have forever program. So you can continue to make progress well after your six weeks. But in that six weeks, you nail down the habits, the mindset, and the plan that's going to keep that momentum going. So check the show notes for those two offers. And whether you choose one-on-one or the challenge, you're not just signing up for a program. You're choosing a version of yourself who is not settling anymore. You're choosing strength. You're choosing health. You're choosing confidence and a plan that honors your body in this season of life.

11:35And I would be honored to guide you there. And that is it for today's episode. I hope that you really found value in this episode. And don't forget, if you have show ideas, please reach out. Please DM me. I would love to hear from you. And until next week, keep getting stronger, and I will see you in the next episode.