Macro-Friendly Eating Without the BS: Fueling Your Body in Midlife

Most midlife women are not overeating. They are underfueling. And the wellness industry has spent a long time making sure you never figured that out.

This episode is about cutting through the noise on macros. Not tracking apps, not food guilt, not rigid rules. Just what protein, carbs, and fat actually do in a midlife body and why getting this right changes everything.

Because tired, foggy, and hungry all the time is not your personality. It might just be your fuel.

You don't need a new plan. You need better information.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Why most midlife women are underfueling, not overeating, and what that's costing them
• How the three macros work together and why your body needs all of them
• The truth about carbs in midlife, including why cutting them is often making things worse
• Why protein is the anchor at every meal, not just dinner
• How to build a macro-friendly plate without tracking a single gram

Action Step:

This week, look at your breakfast and get at least 25 to 30 grams of protein in it. Every day.

Two eggs and Greek yogurt. Cottage cheese with fruit. A protein smoothie that actually has real protein in it. Whatever works for you.

What you eat first sets the tone for your blood sugar, your energy, and your cravings for the rest of the day.

It doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be enough.

Craving more? Get the full episode notes here: https://kimberlyriggins.com/macro-friendly-eating-without-the-bs-fueling-your-body-in-midlife/

💥 WANT MORE MIDLIFE REBELLION?

Join my list to be the first to know when new episodes drop:  https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/ysjdG8pfD1yZcQ6IKkME

Subscribe on Substack for the unfiltered stories, tools, and truth bombs that don’t make it into the mic:  https://rebelmidlife.substack.com/

Grab Your FREE Guide: Eat. Lift. Say No. Sleep. →  https://kimberlyriggins.com/48hr-reset-guide/

⚡ STAY CONNECTED:

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/kimberlyriggins/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/rebelmidlife

Website → https://kimberlyriggins.com/

❤️‍🔥 DON’T FORGET:

Rate. Review. Subscribe.
It helps more women find the show and trust me, Rebel, we’re just getting started.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Most midlife women are not overeating. They're actually underfueling. And the wellness industry has spent decades making sure you never figure that out. Because a confused woman keeps buying all the things. She keeps buying the detox, the low calorie meal replacement, the latest greatest fat burner, the 30-day fix and all the supplements that come with it. And of course the program that tells you to eat less, restrict more, and just be more disciplined. But here's the thing after you've done all these things, you keep feeling worse. Tired, foggy, hungry in a way that feels almost bottomless, and you're holding on to weight no matter what you do. Alright, let me be clear. This is not you failing. This is a direct result of being given the wrong information for a very long time. Here's what I believe nobody told you. Your midlife body does not need less food, it actually needs better fuel. And sometimes, believe it or not, you need to eat more. So here's the thing: you need the right things in the right combinations consistently. That is the answer. Now, initially I was hesitant on talking about macros, because most people look at it as the end-all-be-all tracking system. And for some it becomes an absolute obsession. But I believe that macros are important because honestly, macros in the simplest form are just three of them. There are three nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. And just having an understanding of what they are and what they do for your body is really all you need to know. And then, of course, let's talk about the why behind it. So today we're cutting through all of this. We're not requiring you to use an app, we're not gonna create any food guilt, and we are so not gonna talk about weigh your chicken breast nonsense. We're just gonna dig into what your body needs in midlife, why it needs it, and how to give it to that without losing your freaking mind in the process. Welcome to the Love Your Naked Ass podcast, the Midlife Rebellion Edition. I'm your host, Kimberly Riggins, health and life coach, holistic nutritionist, and your go-to bullshit detector for all things midlife. If you've ever rolled your eyes at the phrase aging gracefully, you're my kind of rebel. Because midlife isn't about swelling down, it's about showing up, speaking up, and maybe flipping a few tables along the way. So grab your coffee or your cocktail. I'm not here to judge. It's time we raise some hell, laugh a little, and love our naked asses again. Let's do this. Okay, let's dig right in. So let's talk about what macros actually are and why they matter more in midlife than ever before. Now I want to start here because I think this word has been completely demonized and weaponized by the wellness industry, and I need to strip it back to what it actually means. Macronutrients, macros, again, three things carbohydrates, protein, and fat. That's it, that's the whole list. Every single food you eat is made up of some combination of these three things, and your body needs all three to function. Not two, not one, all three. Now, in midlife, the reason macros start to matter more than they did maybe in your 20s is because a few things are happening inside your body, which we already know. Number one, your muscle mass unfortunately starts declining. So we know that estrogen starts to drop as we age, and our insulin sensitivity also starts to shift. Now it doesn't mean your metabolism disappears, but it does mean it becomes a lot less forgiving when you're chronically underfueling. The women who feel like their body is working against them in midlife, yep, most of them are not eating too much. They're actually eating too little. And they're eating too little of the wrong things. They're not eating enough protein to hold on to their muscle, they don't have enough fiber to support hormones and digestion, and they're not eating enough carbs to fuel their brain, their workouts, and their nervous system. And then they wonder why they're exhausted, foggy, and craving everything in sight at 9 p.m. This is not about willpower. This is about fuel. And understanding macros is about understanding what your body actually needs. Not restricting, not obsessing, just knowing what goes in the tank and why it matters. So I want to tell you about the version of me that was doing everything right. I was working out consistently, I was eating plenty of protein, and I really did have that part dialed in. But carbs. I was convinced that carbs were the problem. And if I ate low carb, that would be the answer. And going low carb felt like I was uber disciplined, like I was doing something super smart. But here's the thing. But while I did that, I felt like absolute garbage. I was tired all the time. I had brain fog that made me feel like I was moving through wet cement. I was waking up at 3 a.m. for no good reason. And don't even get me started about my workouts. They felt harder than they should. And I was like, how is that even possible? I've been consistent. And then I also had this level of irritability that my family definitely noticed, even if they're smart enough to not say anything. When I actually started paying attention to what my body needed, the gap was obvious. I was chronically undereating carbs. And I was treating them like something to earn or avoid. And my body was running on stress hormones trying to compensate for what I wasn't giving it. My cortisol went way up because my carbs went way down. So here's the thing: when that happens, your body reads restriction as a threat. And a stressed midlife body holds on to everything. So what did I do? I slowly started to add carbs back in. Real ones. I'm talking rice, oats, fruit, and my all-time favorite sweet potatoes, especially around my workouts. And then I realized after doing this, things started to shift. Now, not overnight, but they shifted slowly. My energy started to come back, my sleep got better, the brain fog started to lift, and my workouts actually felt like something again. Now, I'm only telling you this because I thought I had nutrition all figured out. I mean, I have a degree in it for crying out loud. But I was missing a whole macronutrient and blaming my body for the consequences. And if I was doing that, then I'm guessing and betting that a lot of you are also doing it too. Alright, so let's talk about the macro that midlife women are almost always getting wrong. We already talked about protein, but I want to go deeper because this one matters so much. Protein is absolutely a non-negotiable. It's not a nice to have, it's not something you add if you have time, it is the anchor. And here's why. Your muscle mass is your metabolic engine. The more muscle you have, the more efficiently your body burns energy at rest. In midlife, we already know that you lose estrogen, and estrogen was one of the things helping you hold on to your muscle. So without it, if you're not actively working to preserve muscle through protein and resistance training, you lose it. And when you lose muscle, well, your metabolism slows down. You get tired more easily, you lose strength, and unfortunately, you gain fat more readily. Protein also keeps you full. It stabilizes blood sugar, it gives your body the raw materials to repair tissue, produce hormones, and ultimately keep your immune system running. And most midlife women are eating about half of what they need. So why? Because we were taught to eat light, to take up less space, to eat the salad without the chicken and call it virtuous. That was a freaking lie. The goal is to get protein at every single meal. Not just dinner, every meal. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And a snack or two if you need it. Now, I am not gonna sit here and give you a rigid number right now because every body is biochemically different, and I don't believe in a one size fits all anything. But I will say, if you're not thinking about protein in every meal, you need to start here. That one shift alone will change how you feel. Alright, let's talk about carbs and fat, the real story. These are probably the two most misunderstood macronutrients. Let's dig into carbs first. I know, I know, you've been told that they're the enemy. Low carb, no carb, keto, paleo, we've heard it all. The wellness industry has made a lot of money convincing women that carbohydrates are the problem. I promise you, they're not. Carbs fuel your muscles, they support thyroid function, they help regulate cortisol, they are what your brain runs on. So when midlife women drastically cut carbs, the body reads this as a stress signal. Your cortisol goes up, your sleep gets worse, your cravings get louder, your energy crashes harder. Listen, that is a signal that your body is running on fumes. This is not because you can't handle carbs. It's because you're not eating any. So the key here isn't to eliminate carbs, it's pairing them. Carbs with protein, carbs with fiber, carbs with fat. That combination keeps your blood sugar stable instead of spiking and crashing. So, with that said, a bowl full of pasta is very different from a bowl full of pasta with chicken and vegetables. Same carbs, but completely different impact on the body. Now let's talk about fat. I promise you, fat is not making you fat. I need you to hear that. Dietary fat is essential for hormone production. Your body literally cannot make estrogen, progesterone, or cortisol without fat. Healthy fats also support your brain function, your joint health, and your satiety. The women who cut fat out of their diet in the name of being healthy are often the ones who feel the worst. They have dry skin, brain fog, major mood swings, and an insatiable hunger. Fat is not the enemy. Now, we're talking about things like avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, eggs, real food, not some engineered fat-free product that replaced fat with sugar. The goal here is balance, not obsession. All three macros in real food form at regular meals. Okay, so how do we actually do this without losing our minds? Here's where I want to make this really practical. Because I know some of you are thinking that sounds great, but also wildly overwhelming. Here's what I first want you to remember. You do not need to track every gram of food you eat. I'll say that clearly. Tracking has its place for some people in certain situations. But for most midlife women, the obsession with tracking does more harm than good. What I want you to think about instead is structure. So build your meals around a protein anchor, then add everything else. So let me give you some practical check marks for building a macro-friendly plate without the tracking nonsense. Number one, start with that protein. What are you eating that's high in protein at this meal? Is it eggs, is it chicken, is it fish, is it Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, beans and legums, ground turkey? Identify that first. Then I want you to add fiber. Think vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, something that supports digestion and keeps your blood sugar stable. And then don't forget your fat. A drizzle of olive oil, half an avocado, a handful of nuts, a full egg. Do not pick the fat-free version. Then I want you to include some carbs, especially around the days that you have more movement. So if you're lifting or exercising, your body needs carbs to fuel that work and recover from it. So think again: rice, oats, sweet potatoes, fruit, real carbs. Not protein bars, masquerading as carbs. And then I want you to eat regularly. Stop skaping meals and then wonder why you're so ravenous and making very poor food choices by 4 p.m. Think three salad meals and a few snacks if you need them. And again, eat enough. This is the one that nobody says. Eat enough food. Undereating is not a strategy. It is a stressor that your midlife body does not need. That's the framework. It's not revolutionary.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

It's not complicated. It's just consistent. Alright, so let's talk about your action step this week.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Obviously, you're probably already familiar with how this works. I want you to do one thing. And the first thing we're gonna do is look at your breakfast. Just your breakfast. How much protein is in it? If your answer is I have no idea, or not much, or I don't really like breakfast, then that's your starting point. I want you to commit to eating a breakfast this week that has at least 25 to 30 grams of protein every day. So what does that look like? It could look like two eggs plus Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese with fruit, or perhaps a protein smoothie with actual protein powder that has real grams in it. Whatever works for you. That's it. Start there. Because what you eat first sets the tone for your blood sugar, your energy, and your cravings for the rest of the day. Win breakfast, and the rest gets easier.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Do that for a week and come back and tell me how you feel. So here's what I want to leave you with. I want you to land on something before we close.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Eating well in midlife is not about following the rules. It's not about being disciplined or perfect or earning your food. It's about giving your body what it needs to do the work it's already doing. Your body is managing a hormonal shift, whether you know it or not, and keeping you upright and functioning, responding to your stress and running your brain. The least you can do is feed it properly. Not less, not lighter, not with fear or guilt attached. Just enough of the right things consistently. That's what I believe macro-friendly eating in midlife looks like. No bullshit required. Okay, rebels next week. Next week we are talking about your energy and stress management for busy midlife rebels. Because you can eat perfectly and still feel like you're running on empty if stress is running the show. We're getting into what actually works, and I promise you it is not another bubble bath. You do not want to miss that one. Make sure you're subscribed so it lands right in your feed. And if today's episode gave you anything to think about, share it with a woman in your life who needs to hear it. Talk soon. Have a great week. And that's a wrap for this week's episode of the Love Your Naked Ass Podcast, the Midlife Rebellion Edition. If you're loving the show, be sure to smash that subscribe button, drop a rating, or leave a review. Because we're not here to tweak the old narrative. We're here to torch it, rewrite it, and make damn sure every woman knows midlife is her time. Don't forget to join me on Substack at Rebel Midlife, where we get raw, real, and a little rebellious about what it means to thrive in this chapter. I'm Kimberly Riggins, signing off with this reminder Midlife isn't a crisis. It's your comeback story. Catch you next time, Rebel.