Jasmine Ruest is an expert in helping women end the dieting cycle. Her coaching method focuses on helping women love food and their bodies by building sustainable nutrition and exercise habits that last for life. She is a certified Precision Nutrition Coach and ISSA trainer and is the owner and head coach of glo Nutrition.
For many women, turning 40 is a scary thought because, unfortunately, there are some unavoidable biological changes that happen for women during this time period. Perhaps the most common is a decline in reproductive hormones, which also means a decline in fertility, which greatly narrows the window for having children.
The decline in these hormones coupled with losing muscle mass more quickly than when we were in our 20’s and 30’s makes it a perfect storm for gaining weight, but if you are turning 40 or are in your 40’s already don’t stress, with the right nutrition and exercise habits you can better manage these changes and your weight!
Although everyone’s lifestyles, preferences, and nutritional needs are unique, there are some general guiding principles that I always recommend to my clients in their 40s.
First, and truly, I believe the most important nutrition habit to get into is prioritizing protein at every single meal everyday! Women in their 40s should be aiming for at the bare minimum 20-30 grams of protein per meal but for optimal results I recommend eating closer to 30-40 grams per meal especially for women who live very active lifestyles, which means that protein should make up the majority of your plate each day.
Increasing protein intake is absolutely critical to not just managing weight, but also for preventing muscle loss as protein keeps you feeling full, helps to manage cravings, and also promotes the
growth and repair of muscle tissue. The type of protein also matters, you ideally want to be consuming most of your protein from animal and seafood sources as they contain all nine essential amino acids which help with processing protein into muscle tissues.
When grocery shopping, look for lean sources of protein like lean cuts of grass fed or ground beef, turkey, chicken, bison, wild salmon or white fish, shrimp, and scallops.
If you are finding it hard to meet these protein requirements everyday then I highly recommend adding in a whey or whey isolate protein powder and adding it to a smoothie or having on its own with water or milk as they contain anywhere from 24-28 grams of protein per scoop.
The second principle is strength training with weights, ideally dumbbells. Despite what you have been told your whole life, lifting weights will not make you look bulky especially if you are consuming more protein everyday, so ladies don’t be scared to lift heavy weights!
Lifting weights that are ideally on the heavier side, meaning that the weight should feel a bit challenging to lift but not too much that you start to compensate for your form or risk getting injured! Weight-based strength training is the most effective and efficient way to build muscle, which is also why you’ll see most personal trainers and elite athletes doing this type of training.
I personally prefer dumbbells because they activate multiple muscles despite certain exercises targeting specific muscle groups, unlike weight machines which tend to isolate the targeted muscle.
For building and maintaining muscle mass as you age, I highly recommend doing a minimum of two strength training sessions per week, but for optimal results and to continue progressing I suggest doing three per week with one session being lower body focused, one lower body focus and one full body so that all the large muscle groups get strengthened each week.
The key to preventing muscle loss and plateauing is progressive overload, meaning you want to always be challenging your body and lift to almost failure after each set. The formula I recommend for clients who have hypertrophy (muscle growth) goals is anywhere from six to twelve repetitions of each exercise with three to four sets. You should always feel like your weight load is challenging. Once you feel like you are getting comfortable with a weight range you’ll need to level up and increase the amount of weight you are lifting so that you avoid plateauing. This doesn’t mean that you need to lift 50 lbs right off the bat, in fact I highly recommend avoiding that because that’s a sure fire way to get injured! Instead start with a slightly challenging weight range, if you have never lifted weights before this would be a weight range of anywhere from 2lbs to 5lbs and then once you get comfortable with that range start increasing to 5lbs-10lbs and so forth.
The third principle is supplementation, unfortunately due to modern farming practices our soils are very depleted and therefore our food isn’t as nutrient dense as it once was, especially if you aren’t buying everything organic all the time so most people will need a few supplements to fill in the gaps. For women in their 40’s and even in their 30’s I highly recommend taking an EAA supplement which as previously mentioned are essential amino acids that the body needs for processing protein, they also support energy, mood, and promote lean muscle mass. You just add a scoop of water in the morning before or during your workout.
Another supplement I recommend for reducing muscle loss is creatine, it’s the most studied sports supplement on the market and has been around for years however many women have been scared to take it because of claims that it will make you get “bulky” or “big”, but that’s actually far from the truth! Creatine does support muscle growth but it will never make you look even close to the hulk all on its own, you would need steroids to do that and an insane amount of calories! Aside from supporting muscle growth, creatine also provides muscles with energy and can improve athletic performance; recent studies have also suggested that it may have some cognitive benefits as well and may potentially reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
The last supplement that I like to recommend to women in their 30s and definitely in their 40s is collagen. After the age of 30, women start to lose 1% of collagen per year, which not only can lead to fine lines and wrinkles but also dull skin, hair, and nails, as well as decreased joint mobility, so taking a collagen supplement can help to replenish lost collagen. When looking for a collagen supplement marine collagen in either powder or liquid form is best as it absorbs more quickly in the body.
Disclaimer: Always consult your doctor before starting a new supplement. However, all these supplements are generally safe for most people to take.
Jasmine Ruest, Certified PN Nutrition Coach and ISSA Trainer
Jasmine Ruest is known for her sustainable approach to nutrition and fitness. After years of restrictive dieting herself, she comitted to making changes to her health and has since drastically improved her relationship with food and exercise, her confidence, and her body composition. Through her nutrition coaching strategies Jasmine has helped many women do the same. Jasmine's mission is to help women love food, exercise, and their bodies. She is the owner and head coach of glo Nutrition based out of Calgary Alberta Canada.
