Menopause & Perimenopause Protein Calculator

How to Use the Protein Calculator for Menopause & Perimenopause

This protein calculator accounts for how your body has changed during perimenopause and menopause. Unlike generic calculators, this factor in the impact of declining estrogen on your muscle mass and fat distribution. Your body needs additional protein to fight against the natural tendency to lose muscle and gain fat around the midsection.

By increasing your protein intake to the right level for your current hormonal state, you can support muscle maintenance while managing the infamous "menopause middle." The calculator considers your basic measurements and your strength training habits, which become increasingly important during this life stage.

To use the calculator, first decide whether you prefer metric or imperial measurements for your height and weight. Then, input your current weight, height, and exact age. Afterwards, select your primary goal from fat loss, maintenance, or muscle gain, then honestly assess your activity level from sedentary to very active.

Be honest. Indicate if you regularly engage in strength training or if you aren’t as active. There’s a huge difference between the protein needs of someone who lifts weights three to four times a week and someone who can only do at-home exercises.

Once you input everything, the calculator will generate your personalized daily protein target in grams.

What Are Macros?

Macronutrients, often shortened to "macros," form the foundation of everything you eat. They consist of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

During perimenopause and menopause, understanding and adjusting these macros becomes important. It’s during this time that your body undergoes the most hormonal changes since puberty and pregnancy, directly impacting how you process each type of macronutrient.

The calculator helps you determine more than your protein needs. It also helps create a balanced approach to all three macros based on your menopausal stage.

Check out our full guide on what are macros here.

Why Counting Macros Works

When hormones fluctuate, your body becomes more sensitive to what you eat, not just how much. Focusing solely on calorie restriction often backfires because it triggers stress responses that further disrupt hormonal balance and lead to muscle loss.

Learning how to count macros lets you maintain protein intake while managing carbs and fats to support your changing body. Meeting your protein targets also promotes recovery from exercise, allowing you to get the most out of your strength training sessions that help build perpetually fat-burning muscle tissues.

Basically, by focusing on macros rather than blanket calorie restrictions, you address the specific nutritional needs that change during perimenopause.

Macros vs. Calories: What's the Difference?

Confused between counting macros and calories? You aren’t alone.

While calories tell you the quantity of energy in food, macros reveal the quality and type of nutrition you receive.

Remember that your body responds differently when you eat 1,400 calories of processed carbohydrates than when you consume 1,400 calories of whole foods like wild cod, grass-fed beef, or lentils, combined with fibrous vegetables and fruits as well as healthy fats.

Tracking macros also provides psychological benefits. Rather than focusing on restriction, you focus on nourishing your body with the right balance of nutrients. This perspective helps you develop a healthier relationship with food, especially during these trying years when you become more conscious about your body image.

Best Foods for Macro Counting

Success with macro counting during your perimenopausal and menopausal years centers on changing your diet and eating whole foods with the least amount of processing. We’re talking about high-quality protein sources like cold-water fatty fish such as salmon and sardines, pasture-raised eggs, or tempeh, quinoa, and tofu if you’re looking for plant-based alternatives.

These are just some examples of the best types of food to add to your diet for easy macro counting.

Best Macro Ratios by Goal

First, you should consider your primary health goal.

If you want to lose weight or fat, protein takes priority. A higher protein intake of approximately 30-35% of daily calories supports muscle preservation while creating the caloric deficit needed for fat reduction. But if you want to gain muscle, you need to maintain this much protein in your diet while adding more carbohydrates to support your intense training sessions. Finally, you’ll want to adopt a balanced approach with 25-30% protein, 40-45% quality carbohydrates, and 25-30% fats if you want to maintain your current weight.

Best Macro Ratios by Age

Research suggests that while younger women might thrive with 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, women over 40 often benefit from increasing this to 1.0-1.2 grams per kilogram. By their 50s, many women need to boost protein intake further to 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram to offset the decline in their body’s ability to synthesize muscle effectively.

Regardless of age, these recommended protein increases should accompany regular strength training for maximum benefit. The protein calculator considers your exercise habits, adjusting recommendations based on whether you actively stimulate muscle growth through resistance training.

For more information, here are the macros you can follow depending on your age:

• Macros for Women Over 40
• Macros for Women Over 50
• Macros for Women Over 60
• Macros for Women Over 70

Macros and Weight Loss During Menopause & Perimenopause

Because your body has changed, you can’t take the same approach to weight loss, fitness, and even maintenance. Your body’s shifting hormonal levels create new challenges, particularly in insulin resistance, stubborn abdominal fat accumulation, and more. This protein calculator helps you address this by recommending higher protein allocations that support insulin sensitivity and create a thermogenic effect.

The macros you follow for weight loss during perimenopause and menopause are different from the macros you should follow in your 50s, 60s, 70s, and, most especially, in your younger years.

How to Track Your Macros

Successful macro tracking during perimenopause and menopause starts with knowing your protein target from the calculator, then building your daily food choices around meeting this goal. For accurate tracking, weigh your food raw and prepare your protein sources in advance for easier meals.

Hitting your protein number by tracking macros creates a sustainable approach that doesn’t feel overwhelming, resulting in better consistency and better results.