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From 1 episode and 3 videos

How many calories should a woman over 40 eat to lose fat?

Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated

The short answer

Nikkiey's starting point is to find maintenance, your body weight in pounds times 13 to 15, then eat just 200 to 300 calories below it. For a 160-pound woman that maintenance is roughly 2,100 to 2,400 calories. If you've under-eaten for months or years, she says to reverse diet up first.

Hear Nikkiey answer it

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  1. Nikkiey's maintenance formula and why the deficit should be only 200 to 300 calories

    Plays from 2:38 · Video: 5 Fat Loss Fixes for Women Over 40: Protein, Steps, Sleep

  2. Why 1,500 calories was too low for an active lifter and how a retrain works

    Plays from 1:09:52 · Ep. 82: Macros vs Calories and Workout Recovery for Women Over 40

  3. The body weight times 11 to 12 calorie formula, plus protein targets

    Plays from 3:15 · Video: 10-Step Plan to Lose 25 Pounds of Fat After 40

  4. A simple macro formula that puts a 150-pound woman at 1,800 to 2,000 calories

    Plays from 6:50 · Video: Simple Macro Formula for Losing Menopause Belly Fat

The full answer

The theme across every episode is that most women over 40 are eating too little, not too much. On the 5 Fat Loss Fixes video, Nikkiey explains that your body burns roughly 70% of its daily calories just keeping you alive, and chronic underfeeding slows that whole system down, hurting energy, sleep and hormones. Her instruction is blunt: stop eating 1,200 calories. The deficit should be slight, 200 to 300 below maintenance, not 800.

The show uses a few different formulas, so expect slightly different numbers depending on which episode you hear:

  • Maintenance at body weight times 13 to 15, then subtract 200 to 300 (5 Fat Loss Fixes video).
  • Fat loss calories at body weight times 11 to 12, with protein at 0.8 to 1.0 grams per pound. A 170-pound woman lands at 1,870 to 2,040 calories and 136 to 170 grams of protein (10-Step Plan video).
  • A macro-based version: 1 gram of protein, 1 to 1.2 grams of carbs and 0.3 to 0.4 grams of fat per pound, which puts a 150-pound woman at about 1,800 to 2,000 calories (Menopause Belly Fat video).

All of them land well above the 1,200 to 1,500 most women have been told to eat. On Ep. 82, Nikkiey told Jessica, 35, 5'4", 121 pounds and strength training, that 1,500 calories was not enough. Her body had likely adapted to low intake and was holding on to fat. Nikkiey added that not every woman needs a deficit right away, and that maintenance combined with strength training is often where the results show up.

If you've been dieting for a long time, Nikkiey says you can't jump straight into a cut. WarriorBabe uses a retrain, raising calories gradually week by week until your metabolism recovers, and only then starting a fat loss phase. Beth, a member she mentions, doubled her intake while losing weight. The problem was never your discipline. It was the number you were given.

From Nikkiey Stott and WarriorBabe's coaching. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.

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    Build muscle and fix your nutrition instead of adding crunches, cardio or cutting food further. Nikkiey explains belly fat can't be spot-reduced; it comes off through a calorie deficit across your whole body. Her priorities: progressive strength training, enough protein, sleep, stress management and less alcohol, plus patience, because the midsection often leans out last.

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