We see this all the time at our studios. Someone is training hard, showing up three times a week, putting in real effort. But the results aren't coming the way they expected. Nine times out of ten, it's the food. You can't out-train a bad diet at any age, but after 40, the margin for error gets a lot smaller.
At Strong Republic Personal Training in Palm Desert, La Quinta, and Palm Springs, nutrition coaching is built into what we do. We've watched the same training program produce completely different results depending on what someone eats. It's that significant.
So here's what actually works for adults over 40 when it comes to food. Not a fad diet. Not a list of things you can never eat again. Just practical, proven strategies that support your training, your energy, and your body as it changes.
Why Nutrition Changes After 40
Your body at 45 is not the same machine it was at 25. That's not a motivational poster. It's biology. You're burning somewhere around 100 to 200 fewer calories per day than you did in your twenties just because of the muscle you've lost and the hormonal shifts that come with aging. Your body is also less efficient at absorbing certain nutrients, and chronic low-grade inflammation starts creeping in, which affects everything from joint pain to recovery time.
Hormones are a big part of this. Testosterone, estrogen, and growth hormone all decline after 40, and these hormones play a direct role in how your body uses the food you eat. They affect whether calories get shuttled toward muscle or stored as fat. They affect your energy levels, your mood, how well you sleep.
Here's the part that matters though: strategic nutrition can counteract almost all of these changes. You can't stop time, but you can absolutely change how your body responds to it by adjusting what, when, and how much you eat.
Protein is the Whole Game After 40
If you take one thing away from this entire article, let it be this. You need more protein than you think, and you're probably not getting enough.
Why Protein Matters More Now
After 40, your body develops something researchers call "anabolic resistance." In plain English, your muscles become less responsive to protein. The same amount of chicken breast that would have triggered muscle repair and growth at 25 doesn't have the same effect at 50. Your body needs a higher dose to get the same job done. This is not optional if you're strength training. The training creates the stimulus for muscle growth, but protein is the raw material your body uses to actually build it.
How Much Protein You Actually Need
The minimum target for adults over 40 who are training is about 0.8 grams per pound of body weight. The optimal range is 1.0 to 1.2 grams per pound. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you're aiming for somewhere between 120 and 180 grams of protein daily. For context, most Americans eat about 50 to 70 grams a day. That's not even close.
Where to Get It
The best sources are the ones you'll actually eat consistently. Chicken, turkey, and lean beef are the obvious ones. Fish like salmon, tuna, and cod give you protein plus omega-3 fats, which is a two-for-one deal. Whole eggs are excellent and no, you don't need to throw away the yolk. Greek yogurt packs a surprising amount of protein and is good for your gut. Cottage cheese before bed provides slow-digesting protein that feeds your muscles overnight. A quality protein powder is a practical tool for hitting your numbers when whole food isn't convenient. And if you're plant-based, beans and lentils are your best friends.
One thing our trainers hammer home: Spread your protein out across the day. Aim for 30 to 40 grams per meal rather than eating a tiny breakfast and cramming 100 grams into dinner. Your body can only process so much at once, and the muscle-building signal is strongest when protein hits your system in steady waves throughout the day.
Carbohydrates: Not the Enemy, But Timing Matters
Low carb. No carb. Keto. There's a lot of noise around carbohydrates, and most of it misses the point. Carbs aren't bad. They're your body's preferred fuel source, especially for the kind of intense strength training that actually builds muscle. The issue after 40 is that your body handles them differently than it used to, so when and what type you eat starts mattering more.
When to Eat Them
Your body processes carbs best when it's about to use them or just finished using them. So the smartest approach is to have your carb-heavier meals around your training sessions. Eat some carbs an hour or two before you train for energy, and have more right after to replenish what you burned and support recovery. Most people also handle carbs better earlier in the day compared to late at night. And on rest days when you're not training, you can pull carbs back a bit since your body's demand is lower.
What to Eat
Quality matters here. Sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, fruits (especially berries, apples, and bananas), and whole grain bread in moderation. These are all slow-burning, nutrient-dense carbs that give you sustained energy without spiking your blood sugar and crashing an hour later.
What to cut back on is the obvious stuff. Refined sugars and desserts, white bread and regular pasta, sugary drinks, fruit juices (which are basically sugar water despite the healthy image), and processed snacks. You don't have to eliminate these forever, but they shouldn't be daily staples. Your body just doesn't forgive them the way it did at 25.
Healthy Fats: Your Hormones Depend on Them
There's still a lingering fear of dietary fat from the low-fat craze of the 90s. Time to let that go. After 40, healthy fats aren't just fine to eat. They're critical. Your body uses fat to produce testosterone and estrogen, both of which are already declining. About 60% of your brain is made of fat, so starving it of dietary fat is not doing your mental clarity any favors. Fat also reduces inflammation in your joints, helps your body absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K (which are all fat-soluble and essentially useless without fat present), and keeps you feeling full longer so you're not reaching for snacks an hour after eating.
The Good Sources
Avocados are basically a superfood for people over 40. Olive oil has well-documented anti-inflammatory properties. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews are packed with good fats and make an easy snack. Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines give you omega-3s on top of protein. Whole eggs (again, don't fear the yolk). And nut butters like almond or peanut butter in reasonable portions.
A good target is getting 25 to 35% of your total daily calories from these kinds of fats. If you're eating 2,000 calories a day, that works out to roughly 55 to 75 grams of fat.
Hydration: You're Probably Not Drinking Enough
Here's something most people don't know. After 40, your thirst mechanism gets less reliable. You can be meaningfully dehydrated without feeling thirsty at all. And dehydration affects everything from your energy levels to your workout performance to how well your joints feel.
The baseline target is half your body weight in ounces per day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, that's 75 ounces of water. But if you live in the Coachella Valley (and you probably do if you're reading this), you need to add 20 to 30 percent on top of that. Desert air pulls moisture out of you fast, and most people don't account for it. A lot of our members at Strong Republic start their morning with a full 20 ounces of water before they do anything else. Easiest way to check if you're hydrated: your urine should be pale yellow. If it's dark, drink more.
Living in Palm Desert's climate means your body is losing water constantly, even when you're not exercising. If you're training on top of that, your hydration needs go up significantly. Keep a water bottle with you and sip throughout the day rather than trying to chug a bunch at once.
Supplements That Are Actually Worth Taking After 40
Let's be honest. The supplement industry is mostly marketing. But there are a handful of supplements with real science behind them that fill genuine gaps for adults over 40.
The Short List
Vitamin D3 is probably the most important one. Most people are deficient, and it plays a major role in bone health, immune function, and hormone production. Take 2,000 to 5,000 IU daily, ideally with a meal that contains fat since it's fat-soluble.
Omega-3 fish oil at 2 to 3 grams per day helps with inflammation, heart health, and brain function. If you eat fatty fish several times a week you might not need this, but most people don't.
Magnesium is a quiet workhorse. Take 400 to 500 mg daily and you'll likely notice better sleep and fewer muscle cramps. Most American adults don't get enough from food alone.
Protein powder isn't magic, but it's a practical tool. When you need 150 grams of protein a day and life gets busy, being able to shake up 30 grams in 30 seconds is genuinely helpful. Whey and plant-based options both work fine.
Creatine at 5 grams daily is one of the most studied supplements in existence. It improves strength and muscle mass, and newer research suggests it also supports brain health. It's safe, it's cheap, and it works.
What a Good Day of Eating Actually Looks Like
Theory is nice, but people always want to know what this looks like in practice. Here's a realistic day of eating for someone training at Strong Republic. This isn't a rigid prescription. It's a template to show you the rhythm and the portions.
A Sample Day (Around 2,000 Calories, 180g Protein)
Breakfast around 7 AM: Three whole eggs scrambled with veggies, a cup of oatmeal topped with some berries, and a small handful of almonds. That gets you about 600 calories and 35 grams of protein right out of the gate.
Mid-morning around 10 AM: A cup of Greek yogurt with a handful of walnuts. Simple, takes two minutes, and that's another 250 calories and 20 grams of protein.
Lunch around 12:30 PM: Six ounces of grilled chicken over a big salad with olive oil dressing, plus a cup of brown rice on the side. Around 550 calories and 45 grams of protein. This is your main fuel for the afternoon.
Pre-workout around 3 PM: A banana and a protein shake before your training session. Quick energy plus 25 grams of protein to fuel the workout. About 250 calories.
Dinner around 6:30 PM: Six ounces of salmon, a sweet potato, and a plate of roasted vegetables. Roughly 500 calories and 40 grams of protein. The omega-3s from the salmon are a bonus here.
Optional evening snack around 8:30 PM: A small bowl of cottage cheese if you're still short on protein. That's 100 calories and 15 grams of slow-digesting protein that works while you sleep.
Daily totals land around 2,000 calories, 180 grams of protein, 170 grams of carbs, and 70 grams of fat. Adjust up or down based on your size and goals.
The Mistakes We See Over and Over
After working with hundreds of adults over 40, certain patterns jump out. The biggest one by far is not eating enough protein. Most people walk in the door eating 40 to 60 grams a day. They need two or three times that amount. Once they fix this single thing, results often start moving within weeks.
Skipping meals is another common one. Intermittent fasting works for some people, but a lot of adults over 40 do better with consistent meal timing that keeps their energy steady and gives their muscles a regular supply of protein throughout the day. If you're dragging through your afternoon and then overeating at dinner, your meal timing might be the problem.
The "cheat day" mentality is also worth rethinking. A cheat meal is fine. A full cheat day where you eat and drink whatever you want can easily erase an entire week of progress. Your metabolism at 45 is less forgiving than it was at 25. That's just reality.
Not adjusting your food for training days versus rest days is a subtle mistake that makes a big difference. You need more fuel on days you train, especially more protein and carbs. Rest days call for less food overall. Eating the same amount every day regardless of activity level is leaving results on the table.
And finally, drinking your calories. That afternoon latte with all the syrups. The glass of wine with dinner that turns into two or three. Orange juice at breakfast. These add hundreds of calories that don't fill you up and don't support your training goals.
Get Personalized Nutrition Guidance
At Strong Republic, our trainers provide customized nutrition coaching as part of your training program. Start your 14-Day Jump Start today!
Get Started for $149 →Eating Out in the Coachella Valley Without Blowing It
Living in Palm Desert or La Quinta means great restaurants, and nobody is suggesting you stop going to them. But there are a few habits that make a big difference. Start by choosing your protein first. Pick the grilled chicken, the fish, or the steak as your main course, and build around that. Ask for extra vegetables instead of the fries or the rice. Get sauces on the side so you control how much goes on. Skip the bread basket, not because bread is evil, but because those are empty calories that could go toward food that actually supports your goals. And if you can, look at the menu online before you go and make your decision ahead of time. It's a lot easier to make a smart choice when you're not hungry and staring at a menu full of options.
Putting It All Together
Nutrition after 40 is not about deprivation or counting every calorie like you're training for a bodybuilding show. It's about being strategic. Get your protein up to where it should be. Time your carbs around your training. Don't fear fat. Drink way more water than you think you need, especially living in the desert. Consider a few targeted supplements. And be consistent with your meals rather than bouncing between restriction and overeating.
The people who get the best results at Strong Republic are the ones who figure out the food part. Training creates the stimulus. Nutrition provides the fuel and the building materials. You need both. At our studios in Palm Desert, La Quinta, and Palm Springs, nutrition coaching comes as part of what we do because we've seen too many times what happens when someone trains hard but eats poorly. The results just don't come.
If you're ready to get both sides of the equation dialed in, our 14-Day Jump Start is a good place to begin.