Once we hit our 40s, we might start noticing that the way we eat doesn’t feel quite the same, especially as we move into perimenopause. Suddenly, everyone’s talking about eating more protein, cutting back on carbs, taking this supplement, or avoiding that food. It can get confusing pretty quickly. So, what should we actually be eating during this stage of life? Do we need to change the way we eat?
Not necessarily. Your body is changing, and your nutritional needs can change with it, but you don’t need to suddenly change the way you eat or start stressing over every meal. You can still eat the foods you enjoy while paying a little more attention to what your body needs.
As a nutritionist and menopause coach, I like to look at the bigger picture. Are you getting enough protein? What about fibre, healthy fats, calcium, and the other nutrients your body needs? All these matter, especially as we get older and want to look after our muscles, bones, and overall health. So, let’s look at which foods to focus on, why they matter, and how to include them in your everyday meals.
First, Make Sure You’re Eating Enough
I think it makes sense to start here because it’s so easy to focus on what we should be cutting out instead of what we should be eating more of. Less sugar, fewer carbs, fewer calories. There’s so much advice about what not to eat that we sometimes forget to ask ourselves whether we’re getting enough of the foods our bodies need.
As we get older, keeping our muscles strong becomes more important. Hormonal changes, ageing, how active we are, and other factors can all play a role in how our bodies change. If you’re constantly skipping meals, eating very little, or jumping from one restrictive diet to another, you might not be getting enough energy or nutrients. Take a look at what you eat in a typical day. Are you hungry again an hour after breakfast? Do you find yourself rummaging through the kitchen for snacks all afternoon? It might be that you’re not eating enough at meals, or that your meals could use a little more variety.
For example, if breakfast is just coffee and a piece of toast, you might find yourself hungry again pretty quickly. If lunch is a small salad with hardly any protein, you might be looking for snacks by mid-afternoon. It’s worth noticing how your meals leave you feeling. Before worrying about cutting out carbs or following a new diet, I’d look at what you could add to your meals. Maybe you need more protein, more vegetables, or more fibre. Maybe your portions aren’t quite enough to keep you satisfied. These are the things I’d look at first before making any big changes to the way you eat.
Protein: Let’s Talk About Your Muscles
Protein is one nutrient worth paying more attention to during this time.
As we get older, we naturally lose muscle, and the hormonal changes during menopause can play a role too. But it’s not just about how we look. Muscle helps keep us strong, supports our balance, and makes everyday things like carrying groceries or climbing stairs easier.
So, where does protein come in?
Protein helps your body maintain and repair muscle, which is one reason getting enough becomes important as we age. Pair that with some strength training, and you’re giving your muscles what they need to stay strong. When I talk about protein, I don’t mean you need to drink protein shakes every day or eat chicken breast at every meal. There are plenty of options, depending on what you like to eat. Eggs, fish, chicken, meat, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, tempeh, beans, and lentils are all good sources. You can mix and match them based on what you enjoy and what works with the meals you already make.
Think about what you usually eat in a day. If you have toast for breakfast, maybe add an egg or have some Greek yogurt on the side. For lunch, you could have tuna, chicken, tofu, or beans, depending on what you’re in the mood for. Dinner is usually easier since you can work protein into whatever you’re already making for the family.
Don’t go cooking separate meals or changing everything you’re used to eating. Protein isn’t just for people who work out regularly. As we get older, keeping our muscles strong becomes more important, so it’s worth taking a look at how much protein you’re actually getting from your meals.
Carbohydrates
Carbs get a bad rap, especially when it comes to weight gain. You might have heard that you should cut out rice, bread, or potatoes during menopause, but you don’t need to give them up just because you’re getting older. Carbs provide energy, and foods like oats, whole grains, beans, fruit, and potatoes also give you fibre, vitamins, and minerals. There’s nothing wrong with having these foods as part of your everyday meals.
It helps to look at the types of carbs you’re eating and what else is on your plate. Oats, brown rice, quinoa, potatoes, beans, lentils, fruit, and whole-grain bread can all fit into your meals. If rice is something you eat regularly, you don’t need to give it up just because you’re going through menopause.
Fibre is another thing worth paying attention to. It helps keep your bowel movements regular, and you can get it from vegetables, fruit, oats, beans, and whole grains. If your meals don’t include much of these foods right now, you could start by adding a little more here and there.
If most of the carbs you eat are white bread, crackers, or other refined foods, try mixing things up a little. You could have oatmeal for breakfast, throw some beans into your soup, or switch to whole-grain bread if you like it, and for those of us who grew up eating rice with almost every meal, there’s no need to give it up. Just make sure you’re having other foods alongside it, like protein and vegetables, to round out your meal.
Don’t Forget About Healthy Fats
For a long time, we were told to choose low-fat foods, so it’s easy to forget that fat is an important part of our diet, too.
Your body needs fat to absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K, and to get essential fatty acids. Fat also helps keep your cells healthy and makes meals more satisfying. Foods like olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds are all easy ways to include it in your diet.
You probably eat some of these foods already. You could cook with olive oil, sprinkle nuts or seeds over your oatmeal, have avocado on toast, or include fish in your meals. Salmon, sardines, and trout provide omega-3 fatty acids. If you don’t eat fish, walnuts, chia seeds, and ground flaxseed are other options. Don’t try to squeeze all of these into your day. Just include different sources of fat in your meals throughout the week, and don’t feel that every meal needs to be low-fat. Fat has a place on your plate, too.
Let’s Talk About Your Bones
Bone health is another thing to pay attention to as we approach menopause. As estrogen levels drop, bone loss can speed up, increasing our risk of osteoporosis. That’s why getting enough calcium and vitamin D matters.
Calcium helps keep your bones strong, and you can get it from foods like milk, yogurt, cheese, calcium-fortified plant milk, calcium-set tofu, and canned sardines with the bones. If you don’t eat dairy, you still have options. Just check the labels on plant-based milks, as not all of them have calcium added.
Vitamin D is important, too, because it helps your body absorb calcium. Getting enough from food alone can be difficult, and whether you need a supplement depends on your individual needs. Your healthcare provider can help you figure out what’s appropriate for you.
Food is only part of the picture. Walking and resistance exercises can also help support your bones. Avoiding smoking and keeping alcohol within recommended limits are important, too, and this isn’t something to wait until after menopause to think about. Bone health matters during perimenopause as well.
What About Soy and Phytoestrogens?
Soy often comes up when we talk about menopause, especially when it comes to hot flashes and hormones. Foods like tofu, tempeh, edamame, and soy milk contain isoflavones, which are plant compounds that can interact with estrogen receptors in the body.
You might have heard that soy can balance your hormones or help with hot flashes. Some research suggests soy isoflavones may help ease hot flashes for some women, but the results haven’t been consistent. So, while soy is a nutritious food to include in your meals, it isn’t a guaranteed fix for menopause symptoms.
Soy is also a good source of protein and other nutrients, so there’s no reason to avoid it just because you’re going through menopause. If you already enjoy tofu, edamame, tempeh, or soy milk, keep enjoying them. If soy isn’t something you normally eat, you don’t need to start now just because you’ve reached midlife.
Do You Need to Give Up Sugar, Coffee, or Alcohol?
If you’ve heard that you need to give up sugar, coffee, and alcohol during menopause, you don’t necessarily have to. There isn’t a set list of foods and drinks that every woman needs to cut out. What you eat overall matters, but so do your symptoms and how you respond to certain foods and drinks.
Take coffee, for example. If you enjoy your morning coffee and it’s not causing any issues, there’s no reason to give it up just because you’re going through menopause. But if you’re drinking it into the afternoon and struggling to sleep at night, you might want to look at how much you’re having and what time you’re drinking it.
Alcohol is another one to pay attention to. Some women find it triggers hot flashes or affects their sleep, while others might not notice much of a difference. Even if a drink makes you feel sleepy, alcohol can affect the quality of your sleep. It’s worth noticing whether you sleep differently on nights when you drink. And what about sugar? Don’t feel bad about having dessert. If you enjoy something sweet after dinner, that’s perfectly fine. I’d pay more attention to what your usual meals look like and whether you’re getting enough protein, fibre, and other nutrients throughout the day, rather than worrying about the odd cookie or piece of cake.
If you think something you’re eating or drinking might be affecting your symptoms, see if it keeps happening. Just because you sleep badly one night doesn’t mean it’s the coffee. You might notice a pattern after a while, or you might find that it doesn’t make much difference at all. Everyone responds differently, so there’s no need to cut things out unless you have a reason to.
What If You’re Always Tired or Hungry?
Honestly, some days, midlife is just exhausting.
Between work, family, and trying to get enough sleep, there’s already a lot going on in midlife. Add in perimenopause or menopause, which can affect your sleep and energy, and it’s no wonder you might feel tired. If you’re tired all the time, it’s worth checking whether something else might be going on, too.
Start with the basics. Are you eating enough throughout the day, or are you getting by on a small breakfast and a light lunch? If you’re hungry again soon after eating, look at what’s on your plate. Getting enough protein, fibre, and healthy fats can help you feel satisfied for longer. Don’t forget about water and sleep, either. Both can affect how you feel during the day.
Ongoing fatigue can have other causes, too, including low iron, thyroid problems, sleep disorders, and other health conditions. Heavy periods during perimenopause, for example, can lead to iron deficiency. If you’re feeling unusually tired, it’s not improving, or it’s starting to affect your daily life, talk to your healthcare provider. There may be something else going on that needs attention, and changing your diet alone might not be enough.
So, What Does a Day of Eating Actually Look Like?
So what does this look like when you’re actually going about your day? Do you need to cook different meals or spend your Sunday prepping food for the entire week?
No, not at all.
For breakfast, I might have oatmeal made with milk or a fortified plant-based drink, topped with nuts, seeds, and fruit. If I’m in the mood for something savoury, eggs with whole-grain toast and some vegetables are another option.
For lunch, I’d probably look at what’s already in the fridge. Leftover chicken or tofu with rice and vegetables, lentil soup with whole-grain bread, or a tuna sandwich with some fruit on the side would all work.
Dinner is usually about making something that everyone at home will eat. Salmon with potatoes and vegetables, a tofu stir-fry with rice, or a bowl of noodles with vegetables and some protein are all ways to put together a meal with a good mix of nutrients.
If I’m hungry between meals, I might grab some Greek yogurt, fruit with nut butter, a boiled egg, a handful of nuts, or hummus with vegetables and crackers. There are plenty of options, so I wouldn’t worry about following a set meal plan. What works for me might not work for someone else. It depends on our appetite, food preferences, budget, culture, schedule, and health needs.
I’m also not someone who thinks eating healthy means having salads all day. If you prefer warm, cooked meals, go for it! Soups, stews, stir-fries, and simple home-cooked dishes can all provide plenty of nutrients. I’d rather find meals I actually enjoy eating and can see myself making regularly than force myself to eat a certain way just because it’s supposed to be healthy.
Make Changes That Fit Your Life
If you’re in perimenopause or menopause, start by looking at what you usually eat in a day. Maybe breakfast is mostly toast and coffee, or you don’t eat many calcium-rich foods. Maybe you find yourself reaching for coffee in the afternoon because you’re hungry again an hour after lunch.
Think about what might be missing from your meals and what you could add.
You could add eggs or yogurt to breakfast, include beans in a few meals each week, eat fish more often, or pay more attention to calcium-rich foods. Small adjustments like these can help improve the overall quality of your diet without making food another source of stress.
Food is one part of the picture, but it’s not the only thing that affects how you feel during menopause. Sleep, stress, physical activity, and your overall health matter, too. If your symptoms are making everyday life difficult, talk to your healthcare provider about what else might help. You have options beyond nutrition.
Perimenopause and menopause are a normal part of life, but that doesn’t mean you should have to struggle through symptoms that affect your everyday life. Don’t try to jump on every nutrition trend you see online. Start with the foods you enjoy and look at what your body needs more of during this stage of life.
When it comes to eating well during midlife, start with the basics: eat enough, include a variety of foods, get adequate protein and fibre, and pay attention to nutrients that support your bones and overall health.