I did not wake up one morning suddenly 10kg heavier. It happened discreetly, the way midlife weight gain so often does.

A kilo here, another half there, and before I knew it, from about age 48 onwards, my clothes felt a little tighter, my energy dipped easily, and I found myself working harder for the same results.

Like many women, I told myself it was stress, a busy season, a few indulgent weekends.

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By 51, I stepped on the scales and finally faced what I had been avoiding: I was almost 10kg heavier than I had been a few years earlier.

What frustrated me most was that I was doing ‘everything right’.

I followed a healthy diet and exercised regularly – I’m even a qualified nutritionist! – and yet my body was changing in ways I did not recognise or understand.

That moment became a turning point. Instead of blaming myself, I did what I always do: I researched. I wanted to understand what was actually happening in women’s bodies in their late 40s and early 50s, and why so many of us feel blindsided by weight gain despite healthy habits.

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That research became the foundation for two books, The Perimenopause Plan and The Menopause Diet, and ultimately the framework that helped me lose weight and even knock years off my biological age.

Understanding how women gain weight in midlife

The reality is that weight gain in our 50s is not about laziness or ‘letting ourselves go’. It is driven by hormonal shifts that affect how we process food, store fat and build muscle.

Declining oestrogen changes insulin sensitivity, encourages fat storage around the abdomen and accelerates muscle loss. If muscle mass drops, metabolism slows. If metabolism slows, the same diet that once worked, stops working altogether.

Once I understood that, the solution was no longer about eating less. It was about eating differently, training differently and supporting my hormones rather than fighting them.

The nutrition principles that changed everything

The first non-negotiable was protein. I stopped thinking about protein as something to ‘add in’ and started treating it as the anchor of every meal.

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I aimed for at least 30g of lean protein per meal, evenly spaced across the day.

I’m not talking about a protein bar or shake here and there, but real food. Eggs, yoghurt, fish, chicken, legumes and tofu. This supported muscle preservation, stabilised blood sugar and dramatically reduced cravings.

The second focus was fibre. I worked towards at least 25g a day, largely from vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Fibre does far than support digestion. It feeds the gut microbiome, reduces inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity, all of which matter profoundly in midlife.

I also became intentional about calcium-rich foods. Bone density loss accelerates after menopause, and I wanted my nutrition to support skeletal strength as well as muscle. Yoghurt, kefir, sardines, leafy greens and tofu became staples.

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All of this sat within a hormone-balancing Mediterranean diet. Think plenty of olive oil, vegetables, fish, legumes, herbs and spices – and little to no ultra-processed food.

Nothing extreme and nothing restrictive: just consistent, nourishing choices that worked with my physiology instead of against it.

Why I ditched endless cardio

The biggest shift, however, came in the gym.

For years, like many women, I leaned heavily on cardio. Long runs, steady-state sessions, burning calories. In my 50s, that approach stopped delivering results, so I changed it.

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I replaced most of my cardio with at least three to four strength-training sessions a week. They would be heavy enough to challenge me, but structured enough to build lean muscle mass.

Muscle is metabolically active tissue. The you have, the energy you burn at rest. Strength-training also improves insulin sensitivity, bone density and confidence. Within months, my body composition changed even before the scales moved.

The missing piece was sleep and stress

What surprised me most was how powerful sleep and stress management turned out to be. I began tracking both using an Oura ring, which gave me daily data on sleep quality, recovery and physiological stress.

At the beginning, my sleep score hovered around 80. Decent, but not optimal.

As I adjusted my training load, prioritised evening routines, ate enough protein and carbohydrates earlier in the day, increased my magnesium supplementation and stopped pushing through exhaustion, something shifted.

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Over time, my sleep score climbed into the 90s and stayed there consistently.

This mattered because sleep and stress directly influence weight.

Poor sleep raises cortisol, the stress hormone that encourages fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. It also disrupts appetite hormones, increasing hunger and cravings while reducing satiety. When sleep improves, insulin sensitivity improves. Recovery improves and fat loss becomes easier, not harder.

Tracking stress also helped me see patterns I would have otherwise ignored.

In weeks where my stress markers were high, my weight loss stalled. When stress dropped, progress resumed. That feedback changed how I structured my weeks and reinforced the idea that weight loss in midlife is not just about food and exercise, but recovery.

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Putting my health to the test

Curious to see whether these changes were translating internally, not just externally, I decided to undergo comprehensive testing with Everlab. I wanted data, not guesswork.

The testing included an extensive blood panel examining cardiovascular markers, metabolic health, liver and kidney function, inflammation, nutrient status, hormone profiles and cancer risk indicators.

I also completed a full fitness assessment that measured VO2 max, grip strength and balance – key markers linked to longevity and independence as we age.

A DEXA scan assessed my bone density and body composition, showing exactly how much muscle and fat I carried and where.

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The results were reassuring. Not only had I lost the weight, but my biological age came back five years younger than my chronological age. My muscle mass was strong. My bone density was robust. My cardiovascular and metabolic markers reflected the changes I had made.

For me, that was the real win. Weight loss is gratifying, but healthspan matters .

What I learned about midlife health

The biggest lesson was that midlife is not a dead end; it is a recalibration. The rules change, but once you understand the new ones, you can work with them.

This phase of life demands intention: adequate protein, fibre-rich foods, strength training, recovery and hormone-aware nutrition.

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I did not lose 10kg or knock five years off my age by chasing quick fixes. I lost it by respecting my body’s changing needs and responding accordingly. And in doing so, I gained energy, confidence and a sense of trust in my body again.

This way of eating is not about perfection – it is about consistency, nourishment and respecting the biology of midlife.

I am not younger because I lost weight. I am healthier because I changed how I fuelled and trained my body. And that, in my 50s, has made all the difference.

Faye James is a Sydney-based accredited nutritionist and author of The Perimenopause Plan and The Menopause Diet.

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