The Number One Nutrition Mistake Men Over 40 Make
- 2 days ago
- 14 min read
Updated: 10 hours ago
Written by Funk Roberts, Fitness Expert for Men Over 40
Funk Roberts is one of the world’s leading health, fitness, and longevity experts for men over 40. He created the Over 40 Alpha Brotherhood, is a bestselling author, a certified hormone specialist, and the founder of National Testosterone Awareness Day, helping men reclaim strength, energy, confidence, and vitality as they age.
One of the biggest mistakes I see men make over the age of 40, 50, and 60 is assuming that getting leaner automatically means they need to eat less and less. The belly starts growing, the scale starts creeping upward, their energy isn't what it used to be, and muscle becomes harder to maintain. So, what do they do? They slash calories, skip meals, eliminate carbohydrates, live on salads, add more cardio, and hope the weight disappears. Sometimes it does. But there's a question I want every man over 40 to start asking: What exactly are you losing?
Losing weight and improving your body are not necessarily the same thing. If the number on the scale drops but you're also losing valuable muscle, feeling weaker, struggling through workouts, constantly hungry, and eventually regaining the weight, you haven't fixed the underlying problem. You've simply made yourself smaller for a while.
After 40, your nutrition needs to accomplish much more than creating the largest calorie deficit you can tolerate. You want to lose excess body fat while preserving and building muscle, fueling your workouts, providing the nutrients your body needs, and improving the metabolic health that becomes increasingly important as you move through your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.
That's why I've always taught men that you can't out-train a bad diet. My Meta Test Boost Nutrition System was built around consistency and creating a sustainable nutritional foundation rather than relying on another temporary fad diet.
But I want to take that philosophy one step further. I believe every meal a man eats after 40 should perform four jobs: build, fuel, support hormones, and support metabolic health. If you understand those four jobs, nutrition becomes a lot simpler.
The big mistake: Eating less while ignoring muscle
Muscle is one of the most valuable physical assets a man can carry into the second half of his life. Yet one of the problems with aggressive dieting is that men can lose lean tissue along with body fat, particularly when protein intake and resistance training aren't properly addressed.
There's also an important age-related phenomenon called anabolic resistance. In simple terms, skeletal muscle can become less responsive to some of the anabolic signals that stimulate muscle protein synthesis as we age. The science is more nuanced than saying your muscles suddenly "stop responding" after your 40th birthday.
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found modest age-related reductions in basal and post-meal muscle protein synthesis, while also finding that the anabolic response can remain remarkably intact when exercise is combined with adequate protein or amino acids.
That last point is incredibly important. Aging doesn't mean you can't build or maintain muscle. It means you need to give your body a strong enough reason and the nutritional materials to do it.
Resistance training and protein become a powerful combination. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials in adults with a mean age of at least 50 found that increased protein intake combined with resistance exercise produced greater gains in appendicular lean mass than lower protein intake. Another review of meta-analyses found that protein supplementation alongside resistance training was associated with greater increases in lean body mass and muscle mass in older adults.
That's why I don't want men over 40 starving themselves. I want them feeding the muscle while losing the fat.
Protein is no longer just "bodybuilder nutrition"
I've been preaching protein for decades, but after 40, I want you to think about it differently. Protein isn't just about looking jacked. Protein provides the amino acids your body uses to repair and build muscle tissue, something my Meta Test Boost Nutrition System (MTBN) has always emphasized.
Research in older adults continues to support the importance of protein, particularly when paired with resistance training. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis reported that protein supplementation can improve muscle mass in community-dwelling older adults, while another 2024 meta-analysis in adults with sarcopenia found that combining protein supplementation with resistance exercise improved muscle mass and strength.
For an active man over 40 who is resistance training, I generally like a practical protein target in the neighborhood of 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, adjusted for the individual, his body composition, training, and goals.
That's about 1 gram per pound of body weight. An 180-pound man would therefore land at a minimum of around 180 grams of protein per day as a useful starting point. I don't want you saving 80 grams of that for a giant steak at 8:00 at night. Spread quality protein throughout your three meals, so you're repeatedly giving your body amino acids throughout the day.
Eggs, beef, chicken, turkey, fish, seafood, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and quality whey protein are all options. My Meta Test Boost Nutrition Master Food List was deliberately designed to provide a wide variety of protein sources rather than sentencing men to plain chicken breast seven nights a week. Every time you look at your plate, your first question should be: Where's my protein? That's job number one: build.
Stop being afraid of healthy fats
The next mistake I see is men hearing the words "lose fat" and deciding they need to eliminate fat from their diet. Dietary fat and stored body fat are not the same thing. Fat is an essential macronutrient. It provides essential fatty acids, contributes to cell membranes, helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and plays numerous physiological roles. Extremely low-fat eating is not necessary for successful fat loss.
This is also where the "hormonal support" component of nutrition for men over 40 comes in. Nutrition doesn't magically boost testosterone through one special food, but cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone production. Your body needs the raw materials and energy required to function properly.
The key is quality and portion control because dietary fat is calorie-dense. You need a source of healthy fat with all three meals. Think extra virgin olive oil, avocado, Brazil nuts, chia seeds, whole eggs, and fatty fish. These are exactly the types of foods included in this approach.
So, we're not going fat-free. We're also not pouring half a bottle of olive oil over dinner because somebody on Instagram told us healthy fats don't count. They count, and we use them strategically. That's job number two: hormonal support.
Carbohydrates are not the enemy
Then we get to one of my favorite nutrition myths: "I'm over 40, so I have to stop eating carbs."
No, you don't. Carbohydrates aren't inherently making you fat simply because you turned 40. Your total energy intake, energy expenditure, food quality, activity level, and broader lifestyle all matter. If you're training hard, carbohydrates can be valuable fuel.
Research supports a more nuanced view than either "carbs are essential for every workout" or "carbs make you fat." A 2022 systematic review examining 49 studies found that additional carbohydrate didn't consistently improve ordinary resistance training performance when people were already fed, but benefits became more apparent with higher volume training and under glycogen-depleted or fasted conditions.
A separate systematic review and meta-analysis found that carbohydrate intake improved total resistance training volume, particularly during sessions longer than 45 minutes or following an eight-hour or longer fast.
That's exactly why I call them strategic complex carbohydrates. I'm talking about foods such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, steel-cut oats, beans, legumes, Ezekiel bread, and other complex carbohydrate sources.
Your carbohydrates will support muscle growth, energy, and, most importantly, your thyroid, which plays an important role in regulating metabolism. A man doing a demanding resistance workout may benefit from more carbohydrates than someone sitting at a desk all day. Training volume, activity, body composition, and goals all matter. Don't fear carbohydrates. Earn them, use them, and put them to work. That's job number three: fuel.
Vegetables and fruits belong on the plate
This is something I want to be very clear about. I don't just tell men to "eat plants." Eat vegetables and fruits. Different vegetables and fruits provide different combinations of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. They also help you build meals with more volume and nutritional value without relying on highly processed foods.
Load up on broccoli, spinach, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and other vegetables you enjoy. Add berries, apples, oranges, bananas, kiwi, melons, and other fruits. Don't turn nutrition into a religion where bananas are suddenly "bad" because they contain sugar. It's a banana, brother. Eat the banana.
My Meta Test Boost Nutrition has always emphasized eating a variety of fruits and vegetables because of their nutrient density, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Your goal isn't to identify one magical "superfood." Your goal is dietary variety and consistency.
Your belly fat is about more than how you look in the mirror
This is where nutrition after 40 stops being purely about six-pack abs. The fat accumulating around your midsection can include visceral adipose tissue, which surrounds the internal organs. Visceral fat isn't simply stored energy sitting harmlessly under your skin. Higher visceral fat is strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction and metabolic syndrome.
A systematic review examining visceral adipose tissue across diverse populations concluded that excess visceral fat contributes significantly to metabolic syndrome risk. Earlier meta-analytic evidence examining different fat depots also found that visceral fat had the strongest association with insulin resistance among the adiposity measures evaluated.
This is why I want men to stop looking only at body weight.
Pay attention to your waist circumference.
Pay attention to your body composition.
Pay attention to your blood pressure.
Pay attention to fasting glucose and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).
Pay attention to triglycerides and cholesterol.
Pay attention to how strong you are, how well you move, and how fit you are.
You don't just want to become lighter. You want to become metabolically healthier. That's job number four: metabolic health.
Ultra-processed foods make eating less much harder
Here's another reason simply telling a man to "eat fewer calories" isn't enough. The foods you're eating can influence how easy or difficult that becomes. One of the most fascinating controlled nutrition studies was conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Twenty adults lived at the NIH Clinical Center and were given either an ultra-processed or minimally processed diet for two weeks before switching to the other diet. The diets presented to participants were matched for several nutritional variables, but participants could eat as much or as little as they wanted.
When eating the ultra-processed diet, people consumed roughly 500 more calories per day and gained weight. When eating the minimally processed diet, they lost weight. Think about that. Sometimes the answer isn't simply developing more willpower. Change the food environment.
This is why Meta Test Boost Nutrition emphasizes recognizable whole and minimally processed foods. The system was built around foods such as eggs, meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, and described the overall approach as a sustainable eating lifestyle rather than a temporary diet.
If most of the food in your kitchen comes in brightly colored packages engineered to be incredibly easy to overeat, you're making fat loss unnecessarily difficult. Make your environment work for you.
Alcohol is working against more men than they realize
We also need to talk about alcohol. This is another uncomfortable conversation for men over 40 because drinking is so deeply woven into social life. A few beers watching the game. Wine with dinner. Drinks with clients. A couple of cocktails on Friday and Saturday. Somehow none of those calories count because they're liquid. Except they do.
Alcohol provides calories, can interfere with sleep and recovery, and carries health risks that increase with consumption. The World Health Organization notes that alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen and that current evidence does not establish a threshold of alcohol consumption with zero health risk, particularly regarding cancer.
I'm not here to tell every grown man what he can or cannot do. But if you're asking me how to maximize your chances of getting leaner, improving your sleep, recovering from training, and supporting long-term health, no alcohol beats more alcohol. That's the truth.
For a man who has been struggling to lose belly fat for years, removing alcohol for 30 days can also be an incredibly useful experiment. See what happens to your calories, appetite, sleep, workouts, and waistline.
Micronutrients matter too
Protein, carbohydrates, and fats get most of the attention because they're the macronutrients. But food isn't simply protein, carbs, fat, and calories. Your body also requires vitamins and minerals, and foods provide fiber and numerous other bioactive compounds.
This is another reason I don't want men trying to build their entire diet around protein bars, shakes, and packaged "fitness foods."
Eat variety.
Eat eggs.
Eat seafood.
Eat different colored vegetables.
Eat fruits.
Eat nuts and seeds.
Eat quality protein.
Eat minimally processed carbohydrate sources.
Don't forget the simplest nutrient of all: Water
Hydration may be the least sexy nutrition strategy on earth, but it also matters. Fluid needs vary tremendously depending on body size, climate, activity, diet, medications, and how much you sweat, so I don't believe every man needs to force down the exact same arbitrary gallon of water every day.
But you should be consistently hydrated. The perfect nutrition plan begins the day with hydration, mixing electrolytes with water and continuing to drink water throughout the day.
Use urine color, thirst, activity, and environmental conditions as practical guides, and increase fluid intake when you're sweating heavily during workouts or in hot weather. Again, nutrition doesn't need to be complicated.
What about meal frequency and fasting?
One of the things that has changed in nutrition over the years is our understanding of meal frequency. There isn't convincing evidence that you must eat every two or three hours to "keep your metabolism burning." You don't automatically destroy your metabolism because you prefer two or three larger meals.
Some men do extremely well eating three meals with no snacks.
Others prefer two larger meals within a time-restricted eating window.
Some like three meals and a protein shake snack to ensure they get their daily protein numbers.
Today, I'm much more interested in what those meals accomplish than in forcing every man to eat at exactly the same times.
Can you meet your protein needs?
Are you getting enough vegetables and fruits?
Are you consuming appropriate amounts of healthy fats and quality carbohydrates?
Can you control your total food intake?
Does the schedule fit your life?
Can you follow it consistently?
If yes, you're moving in the right direction.
The Meta Test Boost plate: The four jobs every meal needs to perform after 40
This is where I want to make everything we've discussed incredibly simple. You shouldn't need a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in nutrition every time you open the refrigerator. When you sit down for your main meals, look at the plate and ask yourself whether you've covered these four jobs.
Build: Where is my quality protein? Beef, chicken, eggs, fish, seafood, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, whey, or another quality protein source. Your goal is to provide amino acids that help preserve, repair, and build muscle.
Fuel: Where are my strategic complex carbohydrates? Depending on your training, activity, and goals, this might include rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oats, beans, legumes, or fruit. Carbohydrates aren't the enemy. They're fuel, and we adjust the amount to the individual.
Hormonal support: Where are my healthy fats? Extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, whole eggs, or fatty fish can help provide essential fats and other nutrients your body needs for normal physiological function.
Metabolic health: Where are my vegetables and fruits? Get color onto that plate. Vegetables, fruits, and other fiber-rich whole foods contribute nutrients, fiber, and food volume that support overall diet quality and metabolic health.
This takes my Meta Test Boost Nutrition principle of a balanced plate containing protein, starchy carbohydrates, healthy fats, and vegetables or fruits and gives every component a clear purpose.
Build. Fuel. Hormonal support. Metabolic health. That's the Meta Test Boost Nutrition philosophy.
Stop dieting and start eating for the man you want to become
If you're a man over 40, I don't want you spending the next 20 years getting heavier, crash dieting, losing weight, regaining it, and starting over every January. Stop asking, "How little can I eat?"
Start asking: "How can I feed my body so I can lose excess fat while protecting muscle, naturally supporting my hormones, training hard, and supporting my long-term overall health?"
That's an entirely different mindset. Eating less can certainly be part of losing body fat because energy balance still matters. I'm not suggesting calories somehow disappear after 40. I'm saying "eat less" isn't a nutrition strategy.
You need protein.
You need essential fats.
You can strategically use quality complex carbohydrates.
You need vegetables and fruits.
You need micronutrients.
You need fiber.
You need water.
You need an approach simple enough that you can follow it when life isn't perfect. Don't starve the body you're trying to rebuild. Build it. Fuel it. Support it. Protect its metabolic health. Because after 40, 50, and 60, the goal isn't simply to weigh less. The goal is to become leaner, stronger, healthier, and harder to kill as you age. That's what Meta Test Boost Nutrition is all about.
If you have been struggling to figure out what to eat, how much to eat, what not to eat, and when to eat to support your overall health, then I am here for you. This is exactly what my Over 40 Alpha Workout, Nutrition and Brotherhood program teaches you. It gives you a step-by-step blueprint for developing a sustainable nutrition lifestyle for men over 40, 50, and 60.
Join the Over 40 Alpha Program and Brotherhood and start eating your way to losing belly fat, having more energy, increasing your testosterone, and improving your overall health.
That's what I call the optimized man. Get it done!
Read more from Funk Roberts
Funk Roberts, Fitness Expert for Men Over 40
Funk Roberts is a former professional athlete and now is one of the world’s leading health, fitness, and longevity experts for men over 40. After overcoming addiction, depression, and low testosterone himself, he dedicated his life to helping men reclaim their strength, energy, confidence, and purpose as they age. He is the founder of the Over 40 Alpha Brotherhood, a multi-seven-figure fitness community with thousands of members worldwide, and the creator of over 100 transformation programs for men over 40. Funk is a bestselling author, certified hormone specialist, Harvard Extension School graduate, and creator of the Men Over 40 Global Health Summit. His mission is to help one million men over 40 transform their health and lives naturally.
References and scientific sources:
Vieira AF, Santos JS, Costa RR, et al. Effects of Protein Supplementation Associated with Resistance Training on Body Composition and Muscle Strength in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews with Meta-analyses. Sports Medicine. 2022, 52(10):2511–2522. The review found that protein supplementation combined with resistance training was associated with greater gains in lean body mass and muscle mass compared with resistance training alone.
Nunes EA, Currier BS, Lim C, et al. Protein interventions augment the effect of resistance exercise on appendicular lean mass and handgrip strength in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2022, 115(3):897–913. The analysis included studies with a mean participant age of at least 50 and supports the combination of resistance exercise and increased protein intake for lean mass outcomes.
Hettiarachchi J, Reijnierse EM, Kew N, et al. The effect of dose, frequency, and timing of protein supplementation on muscle mass in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews. 2024, 99:102325. Protein supplementation was associated with improved muscle mass among community-dwelling older adults.
Age-related anabolic resistance and post-absorptive muscle protein synthesis: integrative evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis. The analysis found modest age-related reductions in basal and nutrient-stimulated muscle protein synthesis but also found that anabolic responsiveness can remain when sufficiently strong exercise and nutritional stimuli are provided.
Bennett JP. Evaluation of visceral adipose tissue thresholds for elevated metabolic syndrome risk across diverse populations: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews. 2024. The review found that excess visceral adipose tissue contributes significantly to elevated metabolic syndrome risk.
Zhang M, Hu T, Zhang S, Zhou L. Associations of Different Adipose Tissue Depots with Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies. Scientific Reports. 2015, 5:18495. Among the adiposity measures examined, visceral fat showed the strongest association with insulin resistance.
Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, et al. Ultra Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake. Cell Metabolism. 2019, 30(1):67–77.e3. Participants consumed substantially more calories and gained weight during the ultra-processed dietary condition compared with the minimally processed condition.
Henselmans M, Bjørnsen T, Hedderman R, Vårvik FT. The Effect of Carbohydrate Intake on Strength and Resistance Training Performance: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2022, 14(4):856. The evidence suggests additional carbohydrate is most likely to benefit resistance training performance under particular circumstances, such as high training volume, fasting, or glycogen depletion, rather than automatically improving every strength workout.
King A, Helms E, Zinn C, Jukic I. The Ergogenic Effects of Acute Carbohydrate Feeding on Resistance Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2022, 52:2691–2712. Carbohydrate ingestion improved total resistance training volume overall, with larger benefits observed during longer sessions and following prolonged fasting.
Anderson BO, Berdzuli N, Ilbawi A, et al. Health and cancer risks associated with low levels of alcohol consumption. The Lancet Public Health. 2023, 8(1):e6–e7. The authors conclude that current evidence does not establish a level of alcohol consumption with zero health risk, particularly for cancer.
This article is for educational purposes and is not individualized medical or nutritional advice. Men with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, or other medical conditions, or those taking medications that may be affected by dietary changes, should discuss major nutrition changes with their physician or registered dietitian.
