Nutrition · 8 min read · Published 2026-05-05
Most men over 40 will tell you the same story: they're eating less than they did a decade ago, training as hard or harder, and still putting on fat around the midsection. The frustrating truth is that ageing changes how your body partitions calories, manages insulin, and synthesises muscle protein.
The good news is that with a handful of evidence-based adjustments, body composition after 40 can be better than it was at 30.
The single most consistent finding in nutrition research for ageing men is the need for higher protein intake. Anabolic resistance — the reduced muscle response to a given dose of protein — sets in from your late thirties.
Aim for 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight, spread across three or four meals of at least 35–40g each. This isn't optional. It's the difference between maintaining lean mass and losing it slowly every year.
Best sources: lean beef, eggs, oily fish, full-fat Greek yoghurt, and a quality whey or casein supplement when whole food isn't practical.
Insulin sensitivity declines with age and inactivity. The men we see in clinic who train hard, sleep well, and stay lean tolerate carbs well. The men who sit at desks all day and snack frequently often don't.
Practical guidance:
Diets that drop fat below 20% of total calories consistently reduce testosterone. Saturated and monounsaturated fats — from eggs, red meat, olive oil, and avocado — are the building blocks your body uses to produce hormones.
Aim for around 0.8–1.0g of fat per kilogram of body weight, weighted toward whole-food sources.
Among the dozens of supplements marketed to men, four have genuine evidence behind them:
A blood panel always beats guesswork. We routinely test vitamin D, ferritin, B12, magnesium, and zinc as part of a male health assessment.
If there is one dietary change that consistently transforms how our patients look and feel, it's reducing alcohol. Even moderate drinking — five units a week — raises oestrogen, disrupts sleep, blunts muscle protein synthesis, and slows fat loss.
A four-week alcohol-free trial is one of the most informative experiments any man over 40 can run.
For most men over 40, this framework delivers results without complexity:
Adjust portions to your goal, sleep well, train three to four times a week, and the rest takes care of itself.
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