Fueling Fat Loss After 40: How to Eat with the PRIMEFive™ Protocol

Your Body Has Changed. Your Nutrition Strategy Should Too.

If you're a high-performing woman navigating your 40s or 50s, chances are you've noticed your body isn't responding the way it used to.

Your schedule is full, your stress is higher, and despite your best efforts with diet and exercise, the results don't happen like they used to. 

And, it's not your imagination.

Hormonal shifts in perimenopause and menopause can change everything from how your body stores fat to how well you recover from stress to how you respond to food.

But here's the good news: you don't need to starve yourself, do endless cardio, or cut out every food you love.

What you need is a more innovative, structured way of eating that works with your hormones, not against them. And that's where the PRIMEFive Protocol™ comes in.

What Is PRIMEFive™ All About?

The PRIMEFive Protocol™ is the core framework I use inside The Executive Menopause Method. It's a system built on five essential pillars that help women in midlife lose fat, feel energized, and stay strong.

It brings together the fundamentals: quality sleep, proper hydration, smart training, balanced nutrition, and targeted supplementation — all working in sync to support your metabolism, reduce inflammation, and create sustainable, long-term results.

This post focuses on the nutrition side of the protocol, specifically, how to fuel your body in midlife with precision, simplicity, and sustainability. 

It also addresses how the right food choices can help calm systemic inflammation, reduce bloating, and avoid common food intolerances that quietly work against your progress.

Why Mindful Nutrition Matters More Now Than Ever

In your 20s and 30s, you could skip meals, wing it, or push through burnout and somehow still bounce back. But now, the hormonal playing field has changed — and your approach needs to change with it.

Hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin, and cortisol are constantly shifting in midlife. These fluctuations impact how your body stores fat, making it difficult to maintain and build muscle. And hormonal chaos also affects how strong your cravings feel, how full you stay after meals, and how steady your energy and sleep patterns are.

The way you fuel your body now plays a direct role in managing many aspects of your health. Mindful nutrition is about building meals that work with your physiology, not depriving it. It's not about eating less, but eating with purpose.

The 5 Nutrition Principles I Teach in PRIMEFive™

1. Make protein the priority.

Protein helps preserve lean muscle, supports recovery, and keeps you full longer. Unfortunately, most women in midlife don't eat enough protein to counteract this decline.

Many start the day with little or no protein, leading to cravings, unstable energy, and that mid-afternoon crash. Over time, under-eating protein contributes to muscle loss, slower metabolism, and increased body fat, especially around the midsection.

Prioritize protein at every meal, especially in the morning, after fasting, and post-workout. Protein gives your body the building blocks it needs to thrive in this phase of life. Make it your mission to build every meal around a quality protein source like:

• Eggs (including the yolk)

• Chicken, turkey, or lean beef

• Fish and seafood

• Greek yogurt or cottage cheese

• Protein powder

Start your day with it, notice how your energy, recovery, and satiety respond.

Challenge: Dial in Your Protein

✅ Use the Protein Calculator to find your personalized target.

✅ Track your intake for 7 days to build awareness.

✅ Then, during week two, aim to hit your goal on at least 4 out of 5 days.

2. Build your meals around plants.

Vegetables are your gut's best friend and a hormone-supportive powerhouse.

I coach my clients to eat like a vegetarian, with meat added. Focusing on vegetables first keeps meals high in fibre, phytochemicals, and micronutrients.

High-fibre vegetables help feed beneficial gut bacteria, improving digestion, reducing bloating, and support regular elimination. Your gut plays a significant role in clearing excess estrogen from the body.

When gut function is off, it can contribute to estrogen dominance, which is a common hormonal imbalance in perimenopausal and menopausal women.

Beyond digestion, certain vegetables contain compounds that support liver detoxification, help metabolize estrogen more effectively, and calm chronic inflammation. Their impact on blood sugar regulation also helps reduce cravings and energy crashes. 

In short, vegetables don't just "add volume" to your meals; they actively support your hormonal health, brain function, mood, and metabolism.

Focus on including:

• Leafy greens

• Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)

• Bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms

• Variety of colours

Challenge: Power Up with Plants

✅ For the next 14 days, fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables at lunch and dinner.

✅ Add variety by including different colours at each meal — think greens, purples, oranges, and reds.

3. Use fats to fuel your hormones.

Healthy fats are absolutely essential for women in midlife. And it's especially true during and after menopause, when hormone levels begin to fluctuate and decline.

Yet, many women still carry the outdated belief that "eating fat makes you fat," which couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, cutting too much fat from your diet can worsen hormonal imbalances, impair brain function, dry out your skin, and leave you feeling mentally foggy or emotionally flat. 

Fat doesn't just provide energy — it's the raw material your body uses to build key hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

To support hormonal health, you need a balanced intake of all three types of fat:

1️⃣ Saturated fats:

From foods like eggs, coconut oil, and grass-fed butter, help maintain cell integrity and hormone synthesis.

2️⃣ Monounsaturated fats:

Such as avocado, olive oil, and nuts support heart health and reduce inflammation.

3️⃣ Polyunsaturated fats:

Especially omega-3s from fish, flax, or chia are critical for brain health, mood, and managing inflammation.

Instead of fearing fats, focus on the quality and balance. Aim to get roughly a third of your daily fats from each type. Also, make sure they're coming from whole, minimally processed sources. 

This simple shift can improve your skin, boost mental clarity, stabilize your mood, and give your body the building blocks it needs to keep hormones functioning at their best.

Focus on including some of the following:

• Avocado

• Olive oil and olives

• Chia seeds, flax seeds, and walnuts

• Salmon and other fatty fish

• Nuts and nut butters (in moderation)

Challenge: Add Healthy Fats with Intention

✅ For 14 days, include one thumb-sized portion of healthy fat with every main meal.

✅ Pay attention to how it affects your mood, energy, and fullness throughout the day.

4. Time your carbs with intention.

Carbs aren't bad, but your body may respond differently now. During menopause, your body becomes less efficient at using carbs for fuel. It starts relying more on fat, especially at rest. This shift is due to hormonal changes, particularly the drop in estrogen, which affects how your body processes insulin and stores energy.

Because of this, your body naturally becomes more fat-adaptive, and the best time to consume carbohydrates is around movement. After weight training or intense exercise, insulin sensitivity is improved. You can use them more effectively to avoid unwanted fat gain.

Wise carb choices include:

• Sweet potato

• Steel-cut oats

• Quinoa and barley

• Berries, apples, pears

• Lentils and legumes

Use carbs to fuel recovery, not fuel cravings. Watch how your cravings and energy levels shift.

Challenge: Time Your Carbs Like a Pro

✅ For the next two weeks, enjoy starchy carbs at 1–2 meals per day, especially when you're most active (like post-workout or long walks).

✅ Choose slow-digesting, nutrient-rich options like sweet potatoes, lentils, berries, oats, or barley.

5. Chew your food — your stomach doesn’t have teeth.

Slowing down improves digestion, hormonal signalling, and satiety.

When you chew properly, your digestive system can do its job — breaking down food efficiently and giving your hunger hormones (like ghrelin and leptin) time to communicate with your brain. But when you rush through meals and don't chew thoroughly, large food particles enter the stomach and gut before they're ready.

Big clumps of food put stress on your digestive system, making it harder to break down nutrients and increasing the risk of bloating, gas, or indigestion. Over time, this can even irritate the gut lining or trigger inflammation, especially if you already have sensitivities or underlying digestive issues.

Taking your time and chewing well is a small habit. Still, it plays a big role in reducing overeating, improving nutrient absorption, calming the gut, and helping you feel more in control of your meals.

Challenge: Practice Present Eating

✅ Once a day for the next 2 weeks, sit down for a meal without screens or distractions.

✅Put your fork down between bites, chew 15–20 times, and aim to take 12–15 minutes to finish.

What a Day of Mindful Nutrition Looks Like

Below is an example of what a good day of nutrition could look like. Each meal includes a source of protein, vegetables, and healthy fats. Also, carbohydrates are thoughtfully included to match your energy needs.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach and avocado. Green tea. Side of berries.

Lunch: Large salad with grilled chicken, chickpeas, roasted sweet potato, and olive oil dressing.

Snack: Greek yogurt with chia seeds and a handful of almonds.

Dinner: Grilled salmon with Brussels sprouts, wild rice, and a squeeze of lemon.

Portion Control Matrix

To make meal planning even easier, use the Portion Control Matrix below. It's a simple guide to help you build meals that align with the PRIMEFive™ approach and support your long-term goals.

PROTEIN	VEGETABLES	HEALTHY FAT	CARBOHYDRATES
Choose a portion of lean protein.	Choose 1-2 portions of vegetables to at least 3 meals each day.	Choose 1 portion of healthy fat or 1 tablespoon of unsaturated oil.	Choose a portion of complex carbohydrates.
Chicken breast Ground Turkey Fish Steak	Broccoli Asparagus Kale Green beans	Avocado Almonds Cold-water fish Nut butters	Beans Sweet potato Brown rice Rye bread

One quick note: it's common for certain foods to get mislabeled on the plate. Cheese and nuts often get mistaken for protein — but they're actually more dominant in fat, especially saturated fat in the case of cheese. 

So in this framework, we count them as fats, not proteins.

Similarly, root vegetables like potatoes, yams, and corn are technically vegetables, but they're rich in starches and natural sugars.

That means they act more like carbohydrates in the body, which raises blood sugar. Group them with carbs when building meals for fat loss and hormone balance.

Why This Works (Especially Now)

Eating whole, unprocessed foods becomes especially powerful in midlife, when your body is more sensitive to inflammation, blood sugar fluctuations, and hormonal disruptions.

The PRIMEFive™ approach starts with removing processed foods and common irritants from your diet while focusing on whole, nutrient-dense meals.

This shift lays the groundwork for better gut health, hormonal balance, and less internal stress. From there, prioritizing protein, vegetables, healthy fats, and smart carbs helps your body function more efficiently and feel more balanced — without strict rules or restrictions.

Just as importantly, it gives you freedom. Freedom to eat out, travel, and enjoy your food without overthinking every bite. There's no wagon to fall off, no extreme rules to follow. It's about structured consistency that honours your biology and fits into your daily life.

Your Next Step: Choose Your Challenge

You don't need to change everything overnight. Start by picking one or two challenges from the nutrition principles covered above. Focus on practicing them consistently for 14 days — aim for 80% adherence to build real progress without overwhelm.

Once a challenge becomes part of your routine, build on your momentum by layering in another. This gradual, step-by-step approach is how real, lasting change happens.

Metabolic Reset

If you're looking for a more guided way to apply these principles, there's a next step ready for you.

The 14-Day Metabolic Reset Blueprint is a great starting point. It's a downloadable guide that helps you eliminate common food triggers, reduce inflammation, improve digestion, and reset your metabolism: simple, flexible meals and a structured reintroduction phase.

And if you'd prefer even more support. In that case, the Metabolic Reset Program includes the complete guide plus daily menus, an expanded list of go-to foods, and added structure to help you stay consistent and on track.

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