Losing weight after 50 isn’t easy — but this one thing can help

If you’ve tried to lose weight after 50 by simply eating less and exercising more, only to find that it's barely moved the needle — don’t worry. As women age, muscle mass dips and hormones shift (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg). Whatever worked in your 30s may not work anymore because your body’s changed. And so should your weight-loss strategy.

The good news? The fix isn’t a stricter diet. In fact, eating too few calories may even be part of the problem. Instead of just focusing on what you’re cutting, you need to focus on what you’re building — namely strength. Here’s the science behind why it works, and how to do it

Key takeaways:

• Weight loss after 50 can be more challenging due to lifestyle factors, loss of muscle, and hormonal changes.

• A dramatic calorie deficit can backfire and hinder weight-loss goals.

• Building and maintaining muscle can boost metabolism and support healthy weight loss.

• To build muscle after 50, focus on eating enough protein and strength training.

Trying to lose weight in your 50s can feel a little bit like delivering a speech in front of a crowd and getting absolutely zero response or applause. You may be putting in a ton of effort, only to tap the mic and say: “Is this thing on?” What’s to blame: a combo of lifestyle changes and physiological factors.

For one, many women simply have more constraints on our time in our 50s than we did in prior stages of life — and more so than with prior generations. In past decades, your 50s may have signalled a winding-down of your work life, but today it’s often the peak. A societal shift in having kids later in life means your 50s may still involve a good deal of parenting. And, if you’re in your 50s now, then you’re also part of the “sandwich generation,” an unlucky cohort that’s often caught between taking care of kids and aging parents at the same time. Taken all together, it’s easy to understand why, say, meal prepping or clearing the junk food from the cabinets doesn’t always make the priority list.

“Due to outside stress, there may not be the ability to laser-focus on a nutrition or fitness plan like before,” says Jean Fry, Ph.D., R.D., director of the Nutrition Translational Research and Intervention Laboratory at the University of Kentucky. “When time is caught up with all these demands, you may deprioritize your health goals.”

That all collides with changes happening in your body. “As you get over 30, you start to see a decrease in muscle,” says exercise physiologist Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., CEO of the Kovacs Institute. “As you get to 40 and 50 that decrease starts to speed up a little bit.” And that muscle loss can actually change how your metabolism works, making weight loss harder.

Then there are, of course, the hormonal shifts — particularly for women in perimenopause or menopause. Falling estrogen levels can affect where you carry your weight and increase your belly fat.

Do the above factors, like muscle loss, slow your metabolism down? Yes. Does it cause your metabolism to full-on plummet? No. Even though you’re losing muscle, according to a study in the journal Science, mean metabolic rate actually stays pretty constant through the ages of 20 to 60. After 60, the number of calories burned per day does begin to decline, but only at about 0.7% per year. 

This is likely due to the changes in body composition — more fat, less muscle. “Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so even if someone maintains the same weight, if they lose muscle and gain fat, their metabolic rate will be slightly lower,” says Kelly Jones, M.S., R.D., CSSD, a board-certified sports dietitian. And this directly links to the number on the scale, as a slower metabolism can cause you to gain weight, even if you’re eating the same number of calories you always have.

The researchers stress that less physical activity and changes in the metabolic activity of certain tissues may play a role too (as in, your organs require less energy to do their jobs than they did when you were younger).

When thinking about how to lose weight after 50, there’s a very real temptation to cut way back on calories. After all, if you need to burn more calories than you take in to lose weight, reducing your calories significantly should supercharge your weight loss. Right? But that’s not actually true — for anyone, but especially if you’re over 50. 

“When calories or energy intake is cut too much or too fast, you’re really working against your own weight-loss efforts,” says Fry. Huge calorie deficits can lead to loss of more muscle mass along with fat mass. This can slow down your metabolic rate, so you burn fewer calories during the day, making it harder overall to lose weight. “It can really affect your metabolism pretty quickly,” says Fry.

What’s more, large calorie deficits can also influence hunger hormones, which in turn can affect our metabolic systems, says Abbie Smith-Ryan, Ph.D., CSCS*D, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For instance, during calorie restriction, the hunger hormone ghrelin can increase, intensifying your body’s drive to seek out fuel, per a 2024 review in the International Journal of Molecular Science. “To some point you’ll lose weight, but then it tends to stall,” Smith-Ryan says — because your body will pull out all the stops to keep you from losing any more weight.

Menopause comes with hormonal changes that can affect weight. For one, estrogen drops, says Fry. That’s important, since the hormone helps your body handle insulin more effectively, directs fat storage to the lower body versus more harmful visceral areas (like your belly), and helps your body burn fat for fuel. “As estrogen drops throughout the menopause transition, women lose some of these benefits,” Fry says. The impact: Your body may become less sensitive to insulin and more likely to store fat, especially around the abdomen.

According to research in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the hormone changes from the transition to menopause may also be a particularly vulnerable period for muscle loss, which can make weight loss more complicated for women over 50. 

This is why advice on the best exercise for menopause always focuses on resistance training. “If you’re not strength training or you don’t add in strength training, you are more likely to lose muscle and gain fat during that phase of life,” says Smith-Ryan. Strength training can also help protect your bones, which lose density during menopause.

Hormonal changes can also affect mental health, food cravings, and activity level as well, says Jones — all of which can make it trickier to stick to a nutrition and exercise plan.

As you can probably tell, while changing your diet is important for losing weight after 50, you’re going to want to set your sights on building and maintaining muscle. Not only does this create a solid foundation for weight loss, but it also sets you up for healthier aging overall. “It's one of the best strategies for improving overall health as well as longevity and healthspan,” says Kovacs. Here’s what to do.

Strength train

This may be a no-brainer, but it’s worth repeating: To maintain your muscle mass as you age and even build more muscle, you need to do resistance training. According to guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and many other health organizations, aim to do at least two days of strength training each week, making sure to hit all of your muscles (upper body, core, and lower body). 

This is especially true if you’re trying to lose weight, as the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn when you’re working out, recovering from your workout, or simply going about your daily life.

“The biggest problem when people try to lose weight after 50 is a lack of focus on strength,” says Kovacs. That’s a problem, because the stronger you are, the more easily you’re able to do pretty much everything. “You can walk better, your knees don't hurt as much — you're physically able to do activities easier,” Kovacs says. 

This can make you more active, in and out of the gym. “You may find yourself getting up from the couch more frequently, walking a little faster, and playing with your kids or grandkids a little longer. All those things burn more calories throughout the day.” And if your body feels better, you may feel more motivated to tackle more formal forms of movement, too. 

Move your body all day long

Along with your strength training and other formal workouts, you should be as active as you can. Think: walking to the mail box, taking the stairs, parking farther from the store’s entrance, or pacing while on a work call. “Build those movements into your day to help accumulate at least 30 minutes a day of cardiovascular activity,” says Fry. Not only do these small bouts of aerobic activity help your heart, but they also add up to increase your daily calorie burn.

Prioritize protein

Protein is made of amino acids, which help your muscles repair the small, microscopic tears caused by resistance training. It’s this mending together that helps you grow stronger and build muscle. How much protein is the topic of some debate (and many social media posts), but in general, a minimum of 1 gram per kg of body weight is a good place to start. You can eat more than that, though, and the new U.S. dietary guidelines actually recommend about 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight each day.

Skip the crash diet

In order to build muscle, don’t cut your calories too drastically. While the exact number you should aim for is individualized, depending on things like your body size, activity level, and how much you have to lose, “shooting for a target deficit between 250 and 500 calories a day is a reasonable place to start,” says Fry. Or an even better idea: Forget calories completely and count Weight Watchers Points ® instead. They simplify the act of choosing nutritious food and maintaining the right calorie deficit.

The majority of your meals should include vegetables or fruit, adequate protein, a naturally fiber-rich carbohydrate, and a source of healthy fat, says Jones. Protein helps you build muscle, as you know, and fiber and healthy fats can help keep you fuller for longer. 

Don’t forget the micronutrients, either. As people get older, they lose their ability to absorb vitamin B12, which aids in metabolism and helps make and repair DNA, says Fry. So eating good sources, like shellfish, fish, meat, eggs, and dairy, is important. Incorporating sources of vitamin D (like fatty fish, eggs, or fortified cereals) and calcium (found in dairy and leafy greens) can benefit your bones, too.

Losing weight after 50 involves a combo of steps: 

#1 Strength train at least twice a week for 30 to 60 minutes a pop. Leave 24 hours or more between sessions so your muscles can recover. 

#2 Do 30 minutes of cardio every day. This will burn calories and improve your heart health, and can be achieved by simply working in more daily movement, even if it’s not an “official” workout.

#3 Resist the urge to cut your calories too severely. Instead, go for a slow-and-steady approach (Weight Watchers is built around this). 

#4 Eat a diet rich in protein, fiber, and micronutrients. This supports the hard work your muscles are doing. 

Choose foods you like and workouts you enjoy — that’s key to making your life changes sustainable, so what you’re doing can become a habit. “The more consistent you are, the better results you’ll see,” says Fry.

Since consistency is key for losing weight after 50, you need something that will help you build lifelong healthy habits. And Weight Watchers programs do that no matter what stage of life you’re in. 

With Core+ you can log your food in the app and you’ll be able to see if you’re hitting your protein and fiber targets each day, plus get inspired to move more with live and on-demand workouts. Once you’ve started perimenopause, use our Menopause Program to get nutritional targets tailored to those with changing hormone levels. And if you’re considering a GLP-1, the Med+ Program can offer access to medications (if appropriate), while also helping you hit your macros so you feel your best.

This kind of tailored support is why Weight Watchers members of menopausal age lost 3.8x more weight than those following DIY weight-loss programs.* 

Your metabolism doesn’t tank once you reach your 50s, but lifestyle factors, stressors, and declines in muscle mass that come with age can make weight loss more difficult. The best way to lose weight after 50 includes a combo of things: doing more resistance training, moving your body more throughout the day, and eating a protein-rich, balanced diet — habits Weight Watchers can help you create. The benefits don’t stop at weight loss: You’re also setting yourself up for greater independence and healthier aging down the line.