For anyone looking for healthy habits for in your 40s and beyond, private GP Dr Asiya Maula has a suggestion that requires neither a calculator nor a cupboard full of supplements. Before sitting down to eat, ask one simple question: “Where’s my protein?”
Turning 40 does not cause the body to issue an immediate resignation letter. There is no midnight gong, no sudden collapse of the quadriceps and, regrettably, no automatic exemption from burpees. Maintaining muscle does, however, become increasingly important as the years advance — and diet has a significant supporting role.
What should you ask before every meal after 40?
Before eating, identify the meal’s main source of protein. It might be eggs, Greek yoghurt, fish, poultry, tofu, beans or lentils. If there is no obvious answer, Dr Maula recommends adjusting the meal so that it contains a meaningful protein source alongside vegetables, fruit, pulses or wholegrains.
Dr Maula, a private GP at The Health Suite, describes the approach as “the protein game”.
She said: “Before every meal, I encourage people to ask themselves one simple question: ‘Where’s my protein?’. If you can’t answer it straight away, your meal probably needs a rethink. It’s an easy habit that takes seconds but can completely change the nutritional quality of your diet.”
The attraction is its simplicity. There are no coloured charts to complete, no points to collect and no need to interrogate a banana about its intentions. It is simply a prompt to notice whether a meal contains one of the nutrients required to maintain muscle.
Why protein becomes more important after 40
Protein provides the building blocks the body uses to maintain and repair muscle. According to Dr Maula, muscles may become less responsive to the protein people eat as they get older, particularly when declining activity levels are added to the equation.
She said: “As we get older, our muscles become a little less responsive to the protein we eat, and being less active makes that worse. Spreading protein across the day rather than eating most of it in one meal helps your muscles make better use of it.”
That last point matters. A heroic portion of protein at dinner does not necessarily compensate for a breakfast and lunch that barely troubled the scorers.
Building a recognisable protein source into several meals may be more practical than attempting to squeeze most of the day’s intake onto one evening plate.
How much protein do adults over 40 need?
Dr Maula offers a broad daily target based on body weight.
“As a rough guide, most adults over 40 do well aiming for around 1 to 1.2g of protein per kilogram of body weight each day – roughly 70 to 85g for someone of average build.”
This is a general guide rather than an individual prescription. Appropriate intake can vary according to body size, activity level, overall health, appetite and medical circumstances.
Readers with specific health concerns should seek personalised advice from a GP or appropriately qualified dietitian rather than treating a general target as a compulsory daily score.
Muscle health is about more than lifting weights
Muscle is too often discussed as though its sole purpose were to fill out a T-shirt or transport dumbbells from one end of a gym to the other.
In reality, preserving strength supports ordinary life: standing up, climbing stairs, carrying shopping, maintaining balance and remaining physically independent.
Dr Maula said: “Muscle isn’t just important for lifting weights. It plays a vital role in balance, mobility, blood sugar regulation and keeping us independent as we get older. Protein on its own won’t do it though. You also need to use your muscles, so some form of resistance exercise two or three times a week – whether that’s weights, resistance bands or bodyweight exercises – is just as important.”
Protein therefore belongs in a wider picture. Food supplies the raw materials, while resistance exercise gives the muscles a reason to use them.
That exercise does not have to involve competitive powerlifting or a gym populated by people named Thor. Weights, resistance bands and appropriately selected bodyweight movements can all provide resistance.
Anyone beginning exercise after a long period of inactivity, or managing a medical condition or injury, should obtain suitable professional guidance.
The best protein foods to build meals around
Dr Maula recommends using familiar, widely available foods rather than assuming that healthy eating requires specialist powders or a direct debit to a supplement company.
Suitable options include:
- Greek yoghurt
- Eggs
- Cottage cheese
- Chicken or turkey
- Fish, particularly salmon, sardines and mackerel
- Tofu and tempeh
- Edamame beans
- Lentils and beans
- Milk or fortified soy milk
“The aim isn’t to follow a high-protein fad diet or buy expensive supplements. Most people can meet their needs through everyday foods.”
The list also makes the habit adaptable. Breakfast might contain eggs or Greek yoghurt. Lunch could include cottage cheese, poultry, tofu or pulses. Dinner might be built around fish, beans, lentils or tempeh.
The purpose is not to prescribe a rigid menu. It is to make the protein source visible rather than leaving it as an occasional guest appearance.
Can plant-based foods provide enough protein?
Beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh and edamame can all contribute to protein intake. Portions and combinations may require more attention, however, because different foods provide different amounts of protein.
Dr Maula said: “Plant sources tend to be lower in protein per portion, so if you’re mainly eating beans, lentils or tofu you’ll often need larger portions or more than one protein source in a meal to meet your needs.”
Combining plant proteins across meals can make the overall target easier to reach. A meal might, for example, include lentils alongside tofu, beans with wholegrains or fortified soy milk with another protein-rich food.
Protein should not push every other food group off the plate. Dr Maula also recommends eating it alongside fibre-rich vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains to create a more balanced meal.
How to play the protein game without counting calories
The most practical healthy habits for in your 40s and beyond are often the ones that survive busy mornings, delayed trains, family dinners and the mysterious disappearance of every useful food container.
The protein game works because it turns a broad nutritional goal into a repeatable prompt:
Where is the protein in this meal?
A straightforward routine could involve:
- Identifying the main protein source.
- Adding one when the meal does not contain one.
- Including vegetables, fruit, pulses or wholegrains.
- Distributing protein across the day.
- Supporting the diet with regular resistance exercise.
This is not an instruction to make every meal enormous, abandon favourite foods or turn eating into arithmetic homework. It is a way to notice whether a meal has been constructed with muscle maintenance in mind.
Dr Maula added: “Tiny habits are often the ones that stick. If you simply make it second nature to ask ‘Where’s my protein?’ before every meal, you’ll naturally start building more balanced meals that support healthy ageing, without having to count calories or follow complicated diet rules.”
A note for people with kidney disease
Anyone with kidney disease or significant kidney problems should speak to their GP, specialist or renal dietitian before substantially increasing protein intake.
Protein requirements and dietary restrictions can differ considerably when kidney function is impaired. General healthy-eating advice should not replace individual medical guidance.
For everyone else, the useful idea is not that protein is a miracle nutrient. It is that a small question can expose an obvious gap in a meal before that meal reaches the table.
“Where’s my protein?” may lack the glamour of a fashionable diet plan, but that is rather the point. It is memorable, practical and difficult to misunderstand — three qualities that give a healthy habit a fighting chance of lasting beyond Tuesday.
