How Women Over 35 Can Build & Keep Muscle with Fasting, Protein, and Strength Training

💪 Muscle Is Your Metabolic Gold: Why Women Must Protect It—Especially Over 35

Let’s talk about something most women aren’t told enough about—muscle. Not bulky gym-body muscle. I'm talking about the strong, lean, toned muscle that protects your bones, revs up your metabolism, gives you energy, and helps you age with grace and power.

As we move through our 40s, 50s, and beyond, our bodies naturally start to lose muscle mass—a process called Sarcopenia. This isn’t just about aesthetics or strength. It’s about our health, longevity, and vitality. And the good news? You have more control over it than you think.

Here’s why keeping your muscle is a non-negotiable part of healing, weight loss, and fasting—and how you can do it.

Muscle Is Your Metabolic Gold: Why Women Must Protect It—Especially Over 35

🧠Why Muscle Matters More Than You Realise

• Metabolic Firepower: Muscle is your body's most metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns—even at rest.

• Insulin Sensitivity: Muscle helps you manage blood sugar better, making you more insulin sensitive, crucial for fat loss and hormone balance.

• Fasting Protection: When you fast regularly, your body learns to burn fat for fuel. But if you’re not nourishing and challenging your muscles, you risk losing them along with the fat. That’s not the goal.

• Strong Ageing: More muscle means better balance, posture, strength, and independence as you age. Think long game.

  
  
  
  
  
  

🍗How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?

Women are chronically under-eating protein, especially during and after 35, when we need it most.

➡️ Minimum: Aim for 1.8–2.2 grams of protein per kg of your ideal body weight (or 0.8–1 gram per pound).

Yes, even when you’re fasting. Especially when you’re fasting.

Fasting isn’t starvation—it’s a strategy. What you eat when you break your fast matters, and protein is the foundation for strength, healing, and fat loss.

For example:

If your ideal goal weight is 140 pounds (about 64 kg), aim for 112–140 grams of protein per day, during your eating window.

💡Why You Need More Protein Than You Think

You’ve probably heard that the “recommended” amount of protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.

But here’s the truth:

That number is the bare minimum to avoid deficiency — not enough to help you lose fat, stay strong, or feel your best as you age.

Think of it like this: The RDA is like putting just enough gas in your car to make it to the next stop. But if you’re trying to heal your metabolism, lose fat, or support your hormones, you need a full tank.

Why This Higher Amount Matters:

✅ Preserves Muscle as You Age After 35, we start losing muscle naturally. Protein helps protect and rebuild it — especially important during fasting or weight loss.

✅ Supports Fat Loss Protein keeps you full longer, helps control cravings, and even boosts metabolism slightly because your body works harder to digest it.

✅ Heals and Balances Hormones Protein is essential for tissue repair, hormone production, and keeping your body resilient under stress.

✅ Works Perfectly with Fasting If you’re eating just 1–2 meals a day, you need to make those meals count. Prioritising protein and healthy fats ensures you get the nutrients you need.

Bottom Line:

If you're:

• Fasting

• Over 35

• Trying to lose stubborn fat

• Healing from stress or hormone issues

...then you need more protein than the outdated RDA suggests. Your body will thank you with better energy, fewer cravings, and a stronger, leaner you.

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🍳Omnivore vs Vegetarian: Not All Protein Is Equal

Whether you eat animal products or not, muscle needs amino acids to survive and thrive—especially leucine, the key amino acid that triggers muscle protein synthesis.

muscle needs amino acids to survive and thrive

🥩 Omnivore Diet:

• Easier to hit high-protein targets with eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy.

• Complete proteins with all essential amino acids.

• More efficient at maintaining and building muscle during fasting.

• Best sources: salmon, grass-fed beef, eggs, sardines, turkey, chicken, bone broth.

  
  

🌱 Vegetarian Diet:

• Possible, but more challenging to get enough complete protein.

• Requires combining foods like beans + rice or legumes + nuts to form complete proteins.

• You may need a higher total protein intake (closer to 1.2g per pound/2.6g per kg of ideal body weight) to account for lower bioavailability.

• Key sources: eggs (if ovo-vegetarian), Greek yogurt, tempeh, lentils, quinoa, protein powders (watch ingredients!).

  
  

Tip: If you’re a vegetarian and fasting, be extra intentional with protein timing and variety to protect your muscles during weight loss.

🏋️‍♀️ What Exercises Keep and Build Muscle?

You don’t need to live in the gym to keep your muscles. But you do need resistance.

Here’s what works beautifully with a fasting lifestyle:

1. Strength Training (2–4x/week)

• Think compound movements: squats, push-ups, rows, dead lifts, lunges, presses.

• Use body weight, dumbbells, or resistance bands.

• Focus on progressive overload—challenging your muscles just a bit more each week.

  
  

2. Walking + Movement (Daily)

• Walking is underrated. It lowers cortisol and helps you burn fat, especially when paired with fasting.

• Add short bursts of HIIT or sprints 1–2x/week if you’re ready.

  
  

3. Fast + Train

Working out in a fasted state helps your body become more efficient at burning fat while stimulating human growth hormone, a key player in preserving muscle and burning fat.

Then, break your fast with protein to maximise muscle repair and recovery.

I always do my workouts—whether it’s rebounding, strength training, or going for a jog—in a fasted state, and honestly, it feels incredible. When I first started this lifestyle, it was tough. I didn’t feel as strong or fast without food in my system, and it took some adjusting. But now, that weak feeling is long gone—and I feel more energised and focused than ever.

⚠️If you are stress sensitive, focus on strength training and walking. Do not overdo it and listen to your body!

🥚 Fasting + Muscle: Yes, You Can Have Both

If you're fasting smartly (not excessively), eating enough high-quality protein, and strength training, your body will prioritise fat loss over muscle loss. That’s what we want.

This is how we heal. This is how we transform.

💬 Final Thoughts

You are not “just getting older.” You are stepping into your most powerful, intuitive, wise years. But your body needs your support.

Whether you're eating plant-based or animal-based, whether you're lifting weights or just getting started, your muscle is your medicine. Keep it. Nourish it. Challenge it.

So keep fasting. Fuel with intention. Lift something heavy. Love yourself fiercely.

Your body was designed to thrive.

✨ Ready to protect your muscles, lose fat, and feel amazing? Join my 4-Week Fasting & Healing Weight Loss Program—built for women just like you, because your health deserves a strategy that works with your biology, not against it.