Twelve hundred calories (about 5,000 kilojoules) has become the magic number in diet culture. Plenty of women over 40 tell me they're eating that little, feeling hungry and tired, and still not losing weight. It's incredibly frustrating. Here's what's often going on.
1. Your body adapts to eating less
When you eat much less than you need for weeks at a time, your body becomes more efficient. You move a little less without noticing, your energy drops and your metabolism slows slightly. The gap between what you eat and what you burn shrinks, so weight loss slows or stops.
2. You're losing muscle, not just fat
Very low intakes, especially low in protein, cause your body to break down muscle for fuel. After 40, that's the last thing you want. Less muscle means a slower metabolism and a softer shape, even if the scales move a little. My post on protein for women over 40 explains how to protect it.
3. The weekend catch-up
This one is very common. Monday to Thursday is strict and hungry. By Friday, willpower runs out and the weekend undoes most of the week. Averaged out, you may be eating far more than 1200 calories without realising it.
4. Little extras add up
A splash of milk here, a few bites of the kids' dinner there, a glass of wine or two. None of it feels like a meal, but it can easily add several hundred calories a day. This isn't about guilt. It's simply worth knowing where the gaps are.
5. Hormones, sleep and stress
Perimenopause and menopause change where you store fat and how hungry you feel. Poor sleep and ongoing stress make cravings louder and recovery harder. Cutting food further rarely fixes these. In fact, it often makes them worse. My post on menopause belly fat covers this in more detail.
What to do instead
The answer is usually to eat smarter, not less. That often means:
- Eating a bit more, built around protein, vegetables and fibre
- Spreading food evenly across the day and the week
- Adding strength training to protect and build muscle
- Prioritising sleep like it's part of the plan, because it is
- Tracking honestly for a short time to find hidden extras
Many women are surprised to find they lose weight more easily once they stop starving themselves. Their energy comes back, cravings settle and the weekend blowouts fade.
Get a plan that fits you
There's no single calorie number that suits every woman. Your size, age, activity, health and history all matter. If you'd like to find your own starting point, take the free Weight Loss Quiz. Or, if you're ready to talk it through, book a free discovery call below.
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