What I Wish Every Woman Knew Before Turning 40 About Her Health

I'm getting closer to 40, and strangely enough, the closer I get, the less afraid of aging I become. If anything, I've started looking at this next stage of my life with a completely different perspective because somewhere along the way, my health goals changed.

In my 20s, I cared a lot more about what my body looked like. I thought exercise was mostly about burning calories, eating well was often connected to maintaining or changing my weight, and I certainly wasn't thinking very much about what my body might need at 50, 60 or 70.

Now I am.

As I approach 40, I care so much more about what my body can do than simply what it looks like. I want muscle. I want strong bones. I want energy. I want a healthy digestive system. I want to sleep well, think clearly, manage stress better and wake up feeling capable of doing the things I want to do. I want to carry groceries without thinking twice, travel, walk long distances, lift heavy things, keep up with my kids and hopefully one day keep up with grandchildren too.

I don't just want to look healthy at 40. I want to build a body that can carry me well through 50, 60, 70 and beyond.

As both a Nutritionist and a woman approaching this stage myself, there are so many things I wish women understood earlier because your late 30s and 40s aren't the time to give up on your body or assume that feeling tired, uncomfortable and disconnected from yourself is simply part of getting older.

I actually think this can be one of the most powerful times to start investing in your health.

Your Body Is Changing, but That Doesn't Mean It's Failing You

One of the first things I wish every woman understood before turning 40 is that your body may genuinely begin to feel different, but different doesn't automatically mean something is wrong.

You may notice changes in your menstrual cycle, sleep, energy, recovery, body composition, appetite, mood or stress tolerance. You might start feeling like the things you did in your 20s or early 30s aren't producing the same results anymore, and depending on where you are in your reproductive life, the hormonal changes associated with perimenopause may also begin entering the picture.

This is where I think women sometimes get stuck between two very unhelpful messages.

The first is, "This is just what happens when you get older, so deal with it."

The second is, "Something must be wrong with my body because it doesn't respond the way it used to."

I don't think either perspective serves us very well.

Your body may simply need different support than it did 10 or 15 years ago. Your lifestyle may also be completely different. Maybe you're sitting more because of your career, sleeping less because of children, carrying a much heavier mental load, experiencing hormonal changes, moving less throughout the day or recovering differently from exercise.

None of that means your body has betrayed you. It means it's time to become curious about what it needs now.

I Wish Women Thought About Muscle Much Earlier

If I could convince every woman approaching 40 to care about one thing a little more, muscle would be very high on my list.

Not because I think every woman needs to look muscular, but because strength and muscle matter tremendously for how we want to live as we age. Strength training supports muscle and bone health, physical function and our ability to continue doing everyday things independently.

This has completely changed the way I personally think about exercise.

I used to look at a workout and think about calories. Now I think about what I'm building.

Am I getting stronger? Am I challenging my muscles? Am I maintaining the physical capacity I'll want decades from now?

Instead of finishing a workout and asking, "How many calories did I burn?" I think a much more powerful question is:

"What did I do today that my 70-year-old self will thank me for?"

That one shift can completely change your relationship with movement.

Exercise stops being punishment for something you ate and becomes an investment in the woman you're becoming.

I Wish Women Would Stop Being Afraid to Eat

This is something I see all the time in my work.

A woman notices her body changing, so her immediate response is to eat less. Breakfast gets smaller, carbohydrates disappear, lunch becomes a tiny salad, snacks are eliminated, and she tries to exercise more at the same time.

Then she's exhausted by the afternoon, starving at night, thinking about food constantly and wondering why she can't seem to control her cravings.

We've spent decades being told, directly and indirectly, that women's health is largely about becoming smaller. Eat less. Take up less space. Burn more calories. Lose the weight.

But your body needs nourishment.

It needs protein to provide amino acids and support tissues such as muscle. It needs carbohydrates because they're an important source of energy. It needs dietary fats. It needs fibre, vitamins, minerals and enough overall energy to support everything you're asking it to do.

Healthy nutrition isn't about discovering how little food you can survive on.

It's about learning how to nourish your body well enough that it can thrive.

That's a very different mindset.

Protein Deserves More of Your Attention as You Approach 40

Protein has become one of the things I pay much more attention to now than I did when I was younger, largely because my priorities have changed.

If maintaining and building muscle matters to me, then protein matters too.

A common pattern I see with women is very little protein early in the day followed by most of their protein at dinner. Breakfast might be coffee and toast, lunch might be a salad, and then dinner finally includes chicken, beef, fish or another substantial protein source.

Rather than making protein another complicated thing to track, I like to simplify it.

Look at your plate and ask:

Where is my protein?

At breakfast, that might mean eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or a protein smoothie. At lunch, maybe it's chicken, turkey, tofu, beans, lentils or leftovers from dinner. At dinner, build your meal around a quality protein source and then add your vegetables, fibre-rich carbohydrates and healthy fats around it.

Your exact needs are individual, but becoming more intentional about including protein throughout your day is a very practical place to start.

Your Bones Need You to Think About the Future Too

We tend to appreciate muscle because we can see and feel it getting stronger. Bones are easier to forget about because they're quietly doing their job in the background.

But bone health deserves attention well before it becomes a problem.

Genetics, hormones, physical activity and nutrition all influence bone health, which is another reason I think women approaching midlife should be thinking beyond the number on the scale.

Resistance training and weight-bearing movement matter. Nutrients involved in bone health, including calcium, vitamin D and protein, matter too.

When I think about nutrition now, I'm not just thinking about how something might affect my body next month. I'm thinking about the body I'll be living in several decades from now.

That's also why I don't love the idea of spending our 30s and 40s chronically dieting and trying to make ourselves as small as possible.

We're building something for the future.

I Wish Fibre Was as Trendy as Supplements

Everyone loves talking about the newest supplement, powder or wellness product, but some of the most powerful nutrition habits are incredibly ordinary.

Eat your vegetables.

Eat fruit.

Eat beans.

Eat lentils.

Eat oats and whole grains.

Add chia and flax.

Eat nuts and seeds.

And keep rotating different plant foods through your meals.

Fibre supports digestive health and regularity, contributes to satiety and plays a role in cardiovascular and metabolic health. I also love thinking about plant diversity rather than becoming obsessed with one particular "superfood."

Berries bring something different to the table than broccoli. Lentils are different from apples. Oats are different from walnuts.

You don't need an exotic powder shipped from the other side of the world to eat a nutrient-dense diet.

Sometimes you need blueberries, broccoli and a can of beans.

Your Gut Is Worth Paying Attention To

Another thing I wish women understood before 40 is that you don't need to normalize feeling terrible after you eat.

Constant bloating, chronic constipation, frequent urgency, ongoing digestive discomfort or regularly feeling unwell after meals are worth paying attention to.

That doesn't mean every digestive symptom requires an elaborate supplement protocol either.

When I'm looking at digestive health, I'm interested in the foundations first. Are you eating enough fibre? Are you drinking enough water? Are you moving your body? Are you eating regularly? Are you chewing your food or inhaling lunch over your laptop? Are you constantly eating while your nervous system feels like it's in emergency mode? Are you eating a variety of plant foods?

And importantly, are there persistent, severe or changing symptoms that deserve assessment from your healthcare provider?

Your gut doesn't exist separately from the rest of you. Nutrition, movement, hydration, stress and sleep can all be part of the conversation.

Sleep Is Not Something You Should Sacrifice in the Name of Health

I spent years underestimating sleep.

I don't anymore.

You can have an incredible nutrition plan and a fantastic exercise routine, but if you're chronically exhausted, everything becomes harder. Your energy is lower, workouts feel harder, recovery suffers, patience disappears, and making nourishing choices at the end of a long day requires considerably more effort.

For some women, sleep can also become more complicated during the perimenopausal transition. Nighttime waking, temperature changes and other symptoms can make quality sleep harder to achieve.

This is why I want women to stop treating sleep like wasted time.

Going to bed isn't lazy.

Recovery isn't something you have to earn.

Start with simple things. Keep your sleep and wake times reasonably consistent. Get natural light during the day. Keep your bedroom dark, quiet and comfortable. Pay attention to how late you're consuming caffeine. Give yourself some kind of transition between a busy day and trying to fall asleep.

And if you're consistently struggling with sleep despite working on the basics, talk with your healthcare provider rather than assuming exhaustion is simply your new normal.

Stress Doesn't Stay in Your Head

This is something I wish I had understood much earlier.

We sometimes talk about stress as though it exists only in our thoughts, but your brain and body aren't separate systems.

Chronic stress can influence how you sleep, eat, digest food, recover from exercise and move through your day. It can affect appetite, cravings, mood and energy, and it can make all the behaviours you know support your health much harder to maintain.

And let's be realistic about this stage of life.

Many women are simultaneously managing careers, children, relationships, finances, household responsibilities, sports schedules, appointments, aging parents and their own changing bodies.

That's a tremendous mental load.

So when I talk about stress management, I'm not suggesting that you eliminate everything stressful from your life and go live at a wellness retreat.

I'm asking where you can create small pockets of recovery.

Maybe that's walking outside without your phone. Maybe it's five minutes of deep breathing, reading before bed, strength training, sitting in silence, saying no to something you genuinely don't have capacity for or asking someone else to help.

Sometimes taking better care of yourself doesn't mean adding another healthy habit.

Sometimes it means removing something that's draining you.

Your Daily Movement Matters More Than You Think

I love a good workout, but I also think we underestimate ordinary movement.

You can complete a 30-minute workout in the morning and still spend the majority of your day sitting at a desk, driving, sitting at an arena or relaxing on the couch at night.

That's why walking is something I come back to constantly.

It doesn't need to be formal.

Walk after dinner. Walk while your child is at practice. Take a lap around the block between meetings. Get outside at lunch. Park farther away. Take the stairs.

Ten minutes counts.

Movement doesn't suddenly become valuable only when you're sweating and wearing workout clothes.

Your body simply knows that you moved.

Please Stop Being Afraid of Carbohydrates

I would love for more women to leave the fear of carbohydrates behind before entering their 40s.

Fruit isn't ruining your health.

Potatoes aren't the reason you're struggling.

Oats aren't bad.

Rice isn't something you need to earn.

Carbohydrate-containing whole foods can provide energy, fibre, vitamins, minerals and other valuable nutrients.

Instead of asking, "How can I eliminate carbohydrates?" I think a much better question is:

"How can I build a balanced meal?"

Chicken with roasted potatoes, broccoli and olive oil.

Greek yogurt with oats, berries, chia and walnuts.

Eggs with sourdough, avocado and fruit.

Salmon with quinoa and roasted vegetables.

We don't need to fear entire food groups. We need to understand how foods work together within the context of our overall diet.

Supplements Are Not the Foundation

I use supplements, and there are absolutely situations where targeted supplementation can be helpful or medically necessary.

But supplements aren't where I want women beginning.

If you're sleeping five hours a night, barely eating protein, drinking very little water, rarely eating vegetables, not moving your body and living under tremendous stress, I don't want your first response to be purchasing another shelf of supplements.

I often think of health like a house.

Your daily habits are the structure. Supplements are additions to the house when they're actually needed.

You can't decorate your way out of a weak foundation.

Before worrying about the latest wellness product, ask yourself how the basics are going.

Stop Waiting Until Something Goes Wrong to Care About Your Health

This might be the biggest perspective shift I've experienced as I approach 40.

Health isn't only something I want to think about when I'm sick or when a blood test comes back abnormal.

I'm increasingly interested in longevity and healthspan: not simply how long I live, but how well I can continue living.

What can I do today that increases the likelihood that I remain strong, mobile, capable and independent later?

That makes me think differently about muscle, bone health, cardiovascular health, blood sugar, nutrition, sleep, stress, mobility, relationships, mental wellbeing and preventive healthcare.

I'm not thinking about those things because I'm afraid of aging.

Quite the opposite.

I want to be really good at aging.

I want to arrive at each new decade having invested in the body I'm bringing with me.

Your Health Doesn't Need to Look Like Anyone Else's

This is another lesson that becomes increasingly important the older I get.

Your friend's routine might work beautifully for her.

It doesn't automatically mean it's right for you.

Someone online might train six days a week. Someone else might swear by intermittent fasting. Another person may have an elaborate 90-minute morning routine.

Good for them.

What works for you?

Your medical history matters. Your medications matter. Your symptoms matter. Your age, activity level, preferences, schedule, family, finances, stress and goals all matter.

A mother trying to get three kids out the door in the morning does not need to feel like she's failing because she doesn't have a two-hour wellness routine before sunrise.

Your health needs to work inside your actual life.

That's one of the biggest reasons I'm such a believer in individualized nutrition.

We're not trying to find the perfect wellness routine.

We're trying to find your sustainable routine.

Consistency Will Take You Further Than Intensity

If there's one philosophy I find myself repeating more and more, it's this.

I would rather see you strength train a few times a week for the next decade than train seven days a week for one month and quit.

I'd rather see you eat vegetables most days than follow a restrictive diet perfectly for three weeks and then rebound.

I'd rather see you consistently drink more water than follow an elaborate morning routine for nine days.

Your health is largely influenced by the things you repeatedly do over time.

Not the things you occasionally do perfectly.

That means healthy living needs to survive busy weeks, holidays, vacations, sick kids, work deadlines, sports seasons and evenings when you're simply exhausted.

Consistency isn't doing everything perfectly every day.

It's continuing to return to the things that support you.

The Scale Cannot Tell You the Whole Story

Can body weight be useful information? Absolutely.

But it isn't the only information.

Are you stronger than you were six months ago?

Are you sleeping better?

Do you have more energy?

Are your clothes fitting differently?

Has your digestion improved?

Can you lift heavier weights?

Are you less winded walking upstairs?

Are your meals more balanced?

Do you recover better?

Do you feel calmer around food?

Are the habits that once required tremendous effort starting to feel automatic?

Those things matter.

Sometimes your health is improving in meaningful ways before the scale gives you the validation you've been conditioned to look for.

And Please, Enjoy Your Food

I don't want women entering their 40s believing that being healthy means spending the rest of their lives eating grilled chicken and broccoli.

Food is nourishment, but food is also culture, family, celebration, tradition, creativity, comfort and connection.

I want pasta.

I want pizza.

I want dessert.

I want Thanksgiving dinner.

I also want vegetables, protein, fibre and nutrient-dense whole foods.

Those things can coexist.

One of my biggest goals as a Nutritionist is helping women reach a place where they can enjoy foods they love without immediately feeling guilty or believing they've "fallen off track."

Because there shouldn't constantly be a track to fall off.

There should be a life you're learning how to nourish yourself through.

What I'm Taking With Me Into 40

As I get closer to this next decade, I'm not going into it trying to become smaller.

I'm going into it trying to become stronger.

Physically, mentally and emotionally.

I want to continue learning how to listen to my body instead of constantly fighting it. I want to eat food that nourishes me and food that brings me joy. I want to protect my muscle, support my bones, take care of my gut, prioritize my sleep, manage stress better and keep moving.

Most importantly, I want to build a life that supports my health rather than feeling like I constantly need to escape from my life to take