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What is the best diet for women over 40 to lose weight?

Answered by WarriorBabe's coaches · Updated

The short answer

The approach WarriorBabe coaches rank highest for women over 40 is macro-based nutrition paired with strength training: a protein target of roughly 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of goal body weight, resistance training three to four days a week, no foods eliminated and no eating windows. It scores 27 out of 30 on muscle, hormones and sustainability.

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  1. Why macro-based eating plus strength training scores highest for women over 40

    Plays from 15:45 · Video: Keto, Fasting, OMAD or Macros: Best Diet for Women Over 40

  2. Where the Mediterranean diet falls short on protein after 40

    Plays from 16:25 · Video: Best Diet for Women Over 40? Popular Diets Ranked

  3. Why keto works short term, then stalls women over 40

    Plays from 10:26 · Video: Best Diet for Women Over 40? Popular Diets Ranked

  4. Why eating one meal a day costs muscle and spikes cortisol after 40

    Plays from 1:15 · Video: Keto, Fasting, OMAD or Macros: Best Diet for Women Over 40

The full answer

One WarriorBabe coach ranks six popular weight loss methods on three questions that matter after 40. Does it preserve muscle, which she calls your metabolism? What does it do to cortisol and insulin, which she says decide where fat gets stored? And can you actually sustain it? Macro-based eating wins, she explains, because every meal is built around a protein target and it is paired with progressive resistance training. You are not just preventing muscle loss but building new lean tissue that raises your resting metabolic rate. She is upfront that this is what WarriorBabe does, and asks you to run it through the same criteria yourself.

Here is where the coaches say other approaches fall short:

  • Keto works short term, but staying under 30 grams of carbs can stress the thyroid, hurt training and recovery, and cost muscle along with fat, so women often plateau hard. In her words, that is a physiology problem, not a willpower problem.
  • OMAD gives you one shot at muscle protein synthesis instead of three or four, and going 20-plus hours without food is a big cortisol trigger. It scores 2 out of 10 for muscle.
  • Intermittent fasting limits how you spread protein across the day, and calorie restriction, she says, actively destroys muscle.
  • Plant-based scores 17 out of 30. It is good for inflammation, but hitting protein is hard and the gap catches up over years.

The Mediterranean diet gets real credit as a whole-food foundation, but the coach calls it an incomplete blueprint because protein is almost an afterthought. She says women in perimenopause or menopause need roughly 1 gram per pound of body weight, slightly different framing from the 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of goal weight used elsewhere. Intuitive high-protein, whole-food eating also lands in her top tier, and the aim of tracking macros is to learn how to eat so you can eventually stop tracking and maintain. If thyroid or menopause symptoms are part of your picture, work with your doctor alongside any plan.

From WarriorBabe's coaches (how we write our answers). For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.

Part of

Diets, Fasting & Diet Culture →

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  • Diets, Fasting & Diet Culture

    Is keto good for women in perimenopause?

    Not as a long-term plan, in one WarriorBabe coach's view. She says keto can improve insulin sensitivity in the short term, but chronic carb restriction can raise cortisol, which already runs hotter in perimenopause, may slow thyroid conversion, and usually skimps on protein. She scores it 14 out of 30 and prefers a higher-fat, protein-forward macro split.

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  • Diets, Fasting & Diet Culture

    Is OMAD a good way for women over 40 to lose weight?

    One WarriorBabe coach says no. In her ranking of six popular weight loss methods for women over 40, OMAD came last, scoring 7 out of 30. One meal gives you one shot at muscle protein synthesis instead of three or four, 20-plus hours without food is a big cortisol trigger, and almost no one can sustain it.

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  • Diets, Fasting & Diet Culture

    Why am I not losing weight on 1,200 calories?

    Eating 1,200 calories is often too little, not too much. Dr. Stacy Sims explains it sits around an average resting metabolic rate, so your body treats it as a threat, conserves energy and breaks down lean mass. Long-term dieting also adapts your metabolism down. Before cutting further, check your tracking is accurate.

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