Why Protein Deserves More Attention After 40
One of the important changes taking place as we get older happens quietly: maintaining muscle becomes harder.
Muscle mass and strength tend to decline with age. Menopause adds another layer to that picture, with hormonal change potentially influencing muscle mass, strength and body composition.
That matters for considerably more than appearance.
Muscle supports strength, mobility and physical function. It helps us get out of a chair, carry shopping, climb stairs, travel, exercise and continue doing ordinary things independently as we get older.
It also plays an important role in metabolic health, including glucose disposal.
The encouraging part is that muscle remains responsive.
Resistance exercise provides the stimulus for maintaining and building muscle, while adequate protein provides the amino acids the body needs to support that process.
Neither replaces the other. And neither requires you to organise your life around a gym.
Do Protein Needs Change As We Get Older?
Women need a little more as they get older.
The UK Reference Nutrient Intake for adults is 0.75g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. But this figure is designed to prevent deficiency across the general population; it isn't necessarily an optimal target for preserving muscle as we age.
Research into ageing and muscle has led many experts to suggest higher intakes for older adults, particularly for people who are physically active or trying to maintain muscle while losing weight.
This is partly because of anabolic resistance: as we get older, our muscles can become less responsive to the same amount of dietary protein.
It doesn't mean everyone needs to start counting every gram.
A useful first step is simply to look at where protein appears in your day. Is there a meaningful source at breakfast? At lunch? At dinner? If one of those meals regularly contains very little, that's often an easier place to start than calculating a perfect daily number.
Do women need more protein?
“For many women in midlife, protein needs do increase slightly. As we get older, the body becomes a bit less efficient at using protein to maintain muscle, which is why it becomes more important to include it regularly. At the same time, many women aren’t getting enough across the day to support how they want to feel. It doesn’t need to be complicated — simply including a source of protein with each meal is a really helpful place to start.”
— Claire Thomas, BANT Registered Nutritionist
The Research
In a 2025 randomised controlled trial, 126 postmenopausal women aged 60–75 with sarcopenia followed the same energy-restricted diet for 12 weeks, but with different amounts of protein. Muscle and fat outcomes were verified by MRI.
Standard protein (0.8g/kg)
1.28kg
fat lost in 12 weeks
Higher protein (1.2g/kg)
2.96kg
fat lost in 12 weeks — 2.3x more
But weight wasn’t the only outcome researchers measured. The higher-protein group also showed improvements in muscle measurements and physical strength — an important distinction. Particularly as we get older, successful weight management isn’t simply about losing weight. What we retain matters too.
What Does Protein Have to Do With Weight Management?
Protein isn’t a weight-loss ingredient.
Its value comes from what it can help you protect while managing your weight.
Muscle. When weight is lost, the goal isn’t simply to make the number on the scales smaller. Preserving lean mass matters too. Adequate protein alongside resistance exercise can help support muscle during weight loss — a principle that sits at the heart of body recomposition after 40
Appetite. Protein is generally more satiating than carbohydrate or fat, which can make meals more satisfying and may make managing overall energy intake easier. That doesn’t mean protein automatically causes weight loss. It means that the composition of what you eat can influence how satisfying you find it.
Metabolic health. Skeletal muscle is one of the body’s major sites for glucose uptake. Using and maintaining muscle therefore matters for metabolic health as well as physical strength — another reason the conversation about protein after 40 should be bigger than weight loss alone.
So Where Does Protein Powder Come In?
Convenience. That’s really its job.
You can get your protein entirely from food. Eggs, yoghurt, fish, meat, tofu, beans, lentils and other protein-rich foods can all contribute.
But real life doesn’t always produce a beautifully balanced plate three times a day. Breakfast can be rushed. Lunch can happen between meetings. Appetite varies. Some women eat relatively little meat or dairy. And higher protein requirements can simply be harder to meet consistently.
For women navigating perimenopause or menopause, a protein powder can be particularly useful during a period when both protein needs and the demands on muscle are changing.
That’s where protein powder can help. Protein powder isn’t superior to food. The truth is sometimes making a useful habit easier makes it more likely to happen.
What Should You Look For in a Protein Powder?
If you’re looking for the best protein powder for weight loss, the most useful starting point isn’t a brand — it’s understanding what the product actually needs to do.
Enough protein to make a meaningful contribution. Around 20g or more per serving is a useful benchmark. Look at the actual amount per serving rather than relying on words such as “high protein” on the front of the pack.
A protein source that works for you. Whey is well researched, contains all of the essential amino acids and is naturally rich in leucine, an amino acid involved in stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Plant proteins can work well too — pea and rice are frequently combined because their amino acid profiles complement one another. For women who avoid dairy, prefer plant-based nutrition or simply tolerate plant protein better, a well-formulated blend can be a practical alternative. The most useful product is ultimately one you tolerate, enjoy and can use consistently.
Consider what else you’re getting. A protein powder and a meal replacement aren’t the same thing. If you’re simply adding protein to an otherwise balanced meal, protein may be all you need from the product. If you’re replacing a meal, look beyond the protein number — fibre, vitamins, minerals and overall nutritional composition become important because you’re asking that product to do a different job.
On sugar, sweeteners and long ingredient lists. These aren’t useful shorthand for whether a product is good or not. Look at the whole formulation. How much protein does it provide? What is the product intended to do? What else does it contribute nutritionally? Does it fit your diet? Do you tolerate it well? And, importantly, do you actually like it? A short ingredient list isn’t automatically better, just as a longer one isn’t automatically worse. Context matters.
Protein Powder or Meal Replacement?
They solve different problems.
A protein powder primarily provides protein. A properly formulated meal replacement is designed to provide a broader nutritional profile when it takes the place of a meal. If you’re weighing up the options, our guide to protein and weight loss shakes for women over 40 goes into more detail.
So the question isn’t which is universally better. It’s: what do you need it to do?
If breakfast already gives you fibre, healthy fats, fruit or vegetables and micronutrients but is short on protein, adding protein powder may be enough. If mornings regularly disappear before you’ve managed to eat anything substantial, a nutritionally balanced meal replacement may be more useful.
The product should fit your life rather than your life having to fit the product.
Where Eve Fits
Eve’s Rebalancing Shake is one option for women who want more than a standalone protein powder.
Each serving provides over 20g of protein alongside fibre and a broad range of vitamins and minerals — which means it can be used when convenience matters but you still want a meal with a broader nutritional profile than protein alone.
But Eve doesn’t change the fundamentals.
Maintaining muscle still requires you to use it. A shake doesn’t replace a varied diet. And no product can compensate indefinitely for too little movement, poor sleep or the other foundations that support health.
What it can do is make one part of looking after yourself considerably easier on days when time isn’t on your side.
The Bigger Picture
There's a tendency to talk about muscle loss after 40 as though it is something we simply have to accept.
Ageing does change muscle. But that isn’t the end of the story.
Muscle continues to respond to resistance exercise. Protein continues to provide the building blocks it needs. Everyday movement continues to count. And the choices you make repeatedly can influence how much strength and function you carry forward.
Protein powder can help make adequate protein easier. The more important opportunity is what that protein helps you protect.
Your strength. Your movement. And your ability to keep doing the things that matter to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m 40 and trying to lose weight. Will a protein powder help me do that?
It can support a weight-management strategy, but it doesn’t cause weight loss simply because it contains protein. Protein can help with satiety and, importantly, can help support the preservation of muscle when combined with resistance exercise. Overall energy intake still matters for weight loss.
Does it matter if you choose whey protein or plant protein after 40?
No. Both can contribute useful protein. Whey naturally contains a strong essential amino acid profile and is rich in leucine. Well-formulated plant protein blends can also provide the essential amino acids needed to support muscle. Tolerance, dietary preference, overall protein intake and consistency all matter.
Do I need protein powder if I have a good diet with adequate protein?
No. If you’re already getting enough protein from food, there is no requirement to add protein powder. Its main advantage is convenience.
Is a protein shake the same as a meal replacement shake?
No. A protein powder primarily does one job: contribute protein to your diet. A meal replacement is formulated to stand in for a full meal, which means it needs to provide a broader nutritional profile — including fibre, vitamins and minerals — not just protein. If you’re adding a shake to an otherwise complete meal, a protein powder may be all you need. If you’re regularly replacing a meal with it, look at the full nutritional composition, not just the protein number.
How many protein shakes should I have a day?
There isn’t a number that every woman should aim for. Start with your overall diet and identify what the shake is solving. If it helps fill a protein gap or provides a practical meal when you need one, it has a clear purpose. More isn’t automatically better.
Is protein enough to protect muscle after 40?
No. Protein provides the raw materials, but muscle also needs a reason to stay. Resistance exercise — whether that’s weights, resistance bands, bodyweight movements or progressively challenging everyday movement — provides that stimulus. That’s why we talk about nutrition and movement together. They do different jobs. And both remain firmly within our influence.
