Frequently Asked Questions

Women in midlife, mostly 50 and up and after menopause, who want to lose fat, build muscle, protect their bones and improve their metabolic health. A lot of the women I work with have dieted on and off for decades, have joint issues or old injuries, and have been told their labs are “normal” and it’s just aging. If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

The Strategy Session is the way to work with me directly. It’s a 60-minute live Zoom consultation where I walk you through a complete, personalized health and strength plan I’ve written for you from your labs, your body composition scan, your history and your goals. Right now it’s on hold for new clients. Join my newsletter and you’ll be the first to know when it reopens.

It’s $999 (US dollars), paid once. If you need me to, I can order your labs for you (the cost of the labs is separate). I review your labs, your body composition scan, your onboarding form and your history, then write you a comprehensive plan covering strength training, nutrition, daily movement, sleep, stress and any supplements your workup shows you need, plus my full read on your labs and body composition in plain English. You get the plan ahead of our call so you can come with questions. After the session you keep the written plan and the recording.

They’re strongly recommended but not required. Neither is included in the $999. If your own doctor will order the labs, email me the results. If not, I can order them for you for an additional charge. You schedule and pay for your own body composition scan. I prefer a DEXA because it gives the most accurate bone density reading, but an InBody or another scan works too. If you can’t find a place near you, email me and I’ll help you find one. And if getting a scan isn’t possible, a home body composition scale still gives us something to work with. It’s less accurate, but it’s useful for tracking trends over time if you use it the same way each time.

After you pay, you get an email with your onboarding form and a link to book. Pick a date at least 7 business days after I receive your last item (labs, scan, onboarding questionnaire), so I have time to review everything and build your plan. If you send more information after that, we’ll move your session back so I have the full time to review everything and build it into your plan.

Yes. Protecting your muscle while you lose fat on these medications is one of the most important things you can do, and it doesn’t happen by accident. Your plan is built to keep the weight you lose coming from fat, not muscle.

Yes. My 3-month check-in is for past Strategy Session clients: I recheck your labs (ordered at wholesale cost), review any new body composition scan, update your plan in a written document, and go over it with you on a 30-minute Zoom call. It’s $299, plus the cost of labs. Email me to set it up.

I’m not taking new 1:1 coaching clients. The Strategy Session is how to work with me now.

Three digital guides, all instant PDF downloads:

• Your Metabolic Reboot ($37): my step-by-step book for losing fat, building strength and improving your metabolic health. The goal is 2 inches off your waist in the first 8 weeks.
• Your First Strength Program ($27): a 20-page workbook that walks you through building your own strength program around your body, schedule and equipment, with video demos of the 5 core lifts linked inside.
• Your Restaurant Playbook ($9): how to order anywhere, from the drive-thru to a steakhouse, and stay on track without giving up meals out.

If you want the whole picture (nutrition, protein, strength, movement, sleep, and what to track) start with Your Metabolic Reboot. If nutrition is under control and what you need is a strength plan that fits your body and your equipment, start with Your First Strength Program. If eating out is where things fall apart for you, the Restaurant Playbook is $9 and you can read it in 20 minutes.

No. It’s a digital guide (a PDF) that you download right after you buy on my website. Nothing is mailed. You can read it on your phone, tablet or computer, or print it yourself.

No. It’s a framework that teaches you how to eat, train, move and track for fat loss and muscle, so you can run it for the rest of your life, not just for 8 weeks. It’s organized in 9 modules, and you don’t have to go in order. Start with the one that fits where you are right now and put it into practice.

The free 2-Day Home Workout gives you two ready-made workouts. Your First Strength Program teaches you how to build your own program, with the exercises, sets, reps, rest and progression chosen for your body, your goals, your schedule and your equipment. It’s a workbook: by the last page, you’ve written your plan.

No. Every core lift comes with gym and at-home variations, so you can build your program around whatever equipment you have, even none. It works at any level: if you’ve never lifted, it walks you through every decision step by step, and if you’ve been training for years, it shows you how to build a program that keeps you progressing.

Every product comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Email me at rachel@rachelfelber.com within 30 days.

Here they are. Tap any one to get it.

• Strong for Life Protein Guide: how to use protein to lose fat and stay strong through menopause
• Plant Protein Guide: plant-based protein made simple, for vegan and vegetarian women over 50
• GLP-1 Muscle Guide: how to keep your muscle while you lose weight on a GLP-1
• The 2-Day Home Workout: two full-body workouts with knee-friendly options, using just dumbbells and a chair
• Your Exercise Library: the exercises I recommend, sorted by movement pattern and muscle group
• Strong Hips: five hip exercises at three levels, plus a balance test and an 8-week calendar
• Knee Pain: The 5 Swaps: five exercises to swap out when your knees hurt, and what to do instead
• Ready, Steady, Floor!: build the balance, mobility and strength to get down to the floor and back up safely
• Recommended Lab Panel: the labs I recommend, explained in plain English, to take to your own doctor
• TDEE Calculator: estimate how many calories you burn in a day
• Calorie Deficit & Macros Calculator: set your calorie target and macros for fat loss
• Ideal & Adjusted Body Weight Calculator: find the weight to base your protein target on

No. The lab panel is a list of tests to take to your own doctor so you can ask for them. I only review labs as part of a Strategy Session.

No. My articles, videos and free guides share general education, not personal medical advice. For anything specific to your health, talk with your own physician.

Email rachel@rachelfelber.com or use my contact page.

No. Your muscles and bones respond to training at any age. In one well-known study, people in their 90s who started lifting heavy got significantly stronger in just 8 weeks. Starting later means you start where you are: lighter weights, the range of motion that feels good, and steady progress from there.

As estrogen drops, your body shifts where it stores fat, toward your belly. Testosterone drops too, which makes it easier to lose muscle. You become less sensitive to insulin, cortisol spikes more easily, and sleep often gets worse. All of that makes fat loss harder than it used to be. It doesn’t make it impossible. It means the approach that worked at 35 needs to change.

You can’t spot-reduce fat from one area. Fat comes off across your whole body, and your genes and hormones decide where it leaves first. For most women after menopause, the belly is last. What works: eating the right amount for where you are (for some women that’s a small calorie deficit, and for others, especially if you’ve been under-eating for years, it means eating more and rebuilding your metabolism first), plenty of protein, strength training at least twice a week, daily walking, and enough sleep. Track your waist, not just the scale. You can be losing fat and gaining muscle while your weight barely moves.

Start with the data. Track your food for a week. “Healthy” food can still be a lot of calories, and many women eat less protein than they think. If you’ve been dieting for months, you may need to spend some time at maintenance before cutting again. If you’re eating very little and training hard, you may be under-eating and under-recovering. And check your waist and how your clothes fit: when you’re building muscle, the scale is a poor measure of progress.

Strength training first. Muscle is what drives your metabolism, blood sugar control, bone density and independence as you age, and cardio alone won’t build it. That doesn’t mean no cardio. Walk every day, and if you want to, add one short HIIT session a week. Strength training done with real effort also works your heart and lungs.

Twice a week is enough to build muscle, especially when you’re starting out. Make both sessions full-body workouts with 4–6 exercises, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes each. That’s about 1 to 1.5 hours a week. Cover the five basic movements: squat, hinge (like a deadlift), push, pull and carry.

Choose a weight you can lift for about 8–12 or 12–15 reps where the last few reps are hard and your form stays solid. When you can do the top of your rep range with good form, increase the weight. Light weights for endless reps feel like work, but they’re a weak signal for your muscles and your bones.

Yes, and strong muscle around a painful joint is one of the best things for it. Keep the movement and change the details. Use a smaller range of motion (squatting to a box or a chair counts). Change the method, for example a goblet squat or leg press instead of a regular squat. Use lighter weights for 10–15 reps and make the last few hard. If moving the joint still hurts, try exercises where it doesn’t move at all, like wall sits or tightening your thigh muscles while sitting. Avoiding movement usually makes joint pain worse over time.

For most women, yes. If you can, I recommend working with a physical therapist when you start, until the main lifts feel solid. Proper form matters even more for you than for anyone else: it’s what lets you load your bones safely. Clear strength training with your doctor first. Lifting is one of the few things shown to preserve or improve bone density at any age, and it builds the strength and balance that keep you from falling in the first place. Bone responds to meaningful load, so the goal is to lift progressively heavier over time with good form.

Aim for about 0.8–1.0 grams of protein per pound of your adjusted body weight per day. My free ideal & adjusted body weight calculator will work out your adjusted body weight for you. Spread it out: about 30–40 grams at each meal instead of most of it at dinner. Your muscles respond less to protein after menopause, so each meal needs enough to switch on muscle building.

Build up gradually. If you’re eating 60 grams now, aim for 80 grams for a couple of weeks, then 100. Start the day with protein, within about an hour of waking. Build each meal around a protein (eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken, fish, lean meat, tofu, lentils) and add the rest around it. A protein shake or protein bar can help fill the gaps. You don’t need to feel stuffed. My free protein guide has the foods that give you the most protein for the calories.

Don’t train on an empty stomach. Have a small snack with some carbs and a little protein beforehand, and keep it low in fat. Afterward, aim for at least 30 grams of protein within about 30 minutes. After menopause, your muscles need a stronger signal to repair and grow, so that post-workout meal matters more than it does for younger people.

For most women over 50 who are strength training, I think it’s worth it. It’s one of the most studied supplements there is. It helps you build strength and hold on to muscle, and newer research shows benefits for memory and focus, especially when you’re stressed or not sleeping well. 5 grams a day covers the muscle benefits, and 10 grams a day looks better for your brain. Choose plain creatine monohydrate that’s third-party tested. The one I use and recommend is PyCey, and you get 15% off your first order with code RACHEL. It’s not a steroid, it doesn’t cause fat gain, and there’s no evidence it harms healthy kidneys at these doses. Get your kidney function checked before you start. Expect a little water weight on the scale at first.

That’s a decision for you and your own doctor, based on your history. Hormone therapy is very effective for hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal and urinary symptoms, and it may reduce bone loss. For many healthy women who start before 60 or within about 10 years of menopause, the benefits outweigh the risks, which is very different from what women were told 20 years ago. It is not a fat-loss drug, though, and it doesn’t replace strength training and eating well. If you’d like to talk it through with someone who focuses on menopause care, the Menopause Society has a directory of certified practitioners, and many see patients by telehealth.

Protect your muscle. Research suggests about a third of the weight lost on these medications can be muscle, and losing muscle sets you up to regain the weight later. Eat enough protein every day even when you’re not hungry, strength train at least twice a week, and get a body composition scan before you start (or as soon as you can) so you can track your muscle over time. My free GLP-1 Muscle Guide walks you through it.

It can help some women eat less overall, and that’s why it works when it does. The downside is that it’s hard to fit enough protein into a short eating window, and long fasts often lead to overeating later. If you like it and you’re hitting your protein, it’s fine. If not, you don’t need it.

About 0.5–1% of your body weight per week. Losing faster usually means losing more muscle and having a harder time keeping the weight off. A small deficit, about 10–20% below your maintenance calories, is easier on your body and much easier to stick with. My free TDEE calculator estimates your maintenance calories, and my calorie deficit & macros calculator sets your target.

No. A few pairs of dumbbells or an adjustable set and a sturdy chair are enough to get strong at home. My free 2-Day Home Workout uses just that.

No. They aren’t reviewed for safety or effectiveness before they’re sold, and some have been linked to liver failure, heart rhythm problems and strokes. They’re not worth the risk.