Protein for Adults Over 40: How to Protect Your Strength and Recovery

If you’re over 40 and don’t eat enough protein, you’re putting your recovery, your strength, and your independence at risk in the not too distant future.

This is not information I knew after I finished my medical training. It really only sunk in after seeing my patients getting so weak in a hospital bed that it would not be their initial illness that got them but profound muscle loss that happens rapidly after.

For most people, a good start would be ~20-26g per meal (or calculate daily amount via 1-1.2g per kg of your weight per day). My goal is always sustainability for the long haul, so it doesn’t need to be perfect (and certainly I have some days where I don’t get that).

Note that for post injury or significant illness recovery, or for an athlete who is training the requirements are higher.

Unfortunately, for people recovering from an illness (especially an older person) this is extremely difficult to achieve in real life because their appetite is just not there and they are not exactly craving steak, so families often struggle to get anywhere close to that leading to an even more gradual decline.

When I ask my patients what they eat, most people really overestimate how much protein they consume.

Look at the list below and get a gauge if you’re getting close to around 20-25g per meal:

• 2 large eggs only have 13g. You can add 1/2 avocado (1.5g) and a tbsp of parmesan (4g), for small delicious ways to get more protein in and either add a bit of yogurt or cottage cheese to get you off to a good start
• 1/2 cup of greek plain yogurt – 11g
• Salmon piece the size of a deck of cards – 28g
• 6oz steak ~42g (quality and source matter – if eating steak aim for a lean cut, you don’t want to go too overboard with saturated fats)
• 1 can of tuna ~ 18g
• 1 can of sardines ~15g
• 1/2 cup of chickpeas – 9g
• 1/2 cup kidney beans – 7g

You can see how women or people who are vegetarian can easily under eat the protein amount their body needs to stay strong. We are not talking about gaining muscle here, just maintaining what you have as we all get older.

When your diet is high in protein but low in fiber, your intestinal bacteria shift in the wrong direction. You need fiber to help clean up the irritants that are created in the process of protein breakdown. You already know my love of fiber, but if you missed it, check out more here.

A few side notes:
People with liver disease are particularly at risk of muscle loss, so they actually need to consume higher protein amounts (1.2-1.5g/kg/day) just to keep up.
People with kidney disease are my only people I would advise talking to a doctor first before targeting the numbers above for a more nuanced discussion.
If you’re on a medication like ozempic, it becomes more important to target protein around 1.3g/kg/day because otherwise you will lose your muscle instead of fat

So today, look at your plate.
Aim for ~25g of protein with each meal.
Pair it with fiber.
Use protein supplements if needed but check the ingredients and beware of too many preserving additives.

Even small tweaks over time compound! This is an investment into yourself.