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Nutrition plays a big role in keeping women feeling their best. A balanced diet helps support strong bones, a healthy heart, robust immunity, hormone balance and sustained energy for busy days.
Key nutrients like vitamin D, calcium, B vitamins and protein are especially important, supporting heart and bone health while regulating mood and muscle mass.
“For women experiencing menopause in particular, the risks of obesity, heart disease and osteoporosis can rise—but focusing on nutrient-rich foods can help manage symptoms and reduce these risks,” Mackenzie Burgess, registered dietitian nutritionist and recipe developer at Cheerful Choices, says.
But eating healthier is sometimes much easier said than done. Flow Space spoke with six nutritionists who offered their best easy healthy eating hacks.
Remember being told to eat the rainbow as a child? According to Tara Schmidt, the lead dietitian at the Mayo Clinic Diet, it’s a great idea. Stack your plates with foods of many different shades for a variety of nutrients. Sprinkle colorful berries into your morning cereal or oats and pack your sandwiches, wraps and salads with colorful veggies.
“‘Sad beige’ is a thing in nutrition too,” Schmidt tells Flow Space. “When we focus on increasing the variety of colors in a meal, we’re really increasing the phytonutrients and types of antioxidants.”
Kim Yawitz, a registered dietitian and gym owner in St. Louis, Missouri, says “the plate method” is a simple but effective way for menopausal women to eat healthier without following overly complicated diets.
“By dividing your plate into portions—half for colorful fruits and vegetables, a quarter for lean protein, a quarter for whole grains and a tablespoon or two of healthy fats—you can create balanced meals that support your changing nutritional needs,” she says. “This approach ensures you’re getting plenty of fiber, essential vitamins and minerals while maintaining steady energy levels and supporting overall health.”
To start using the plate method, take a moment to evaluate your typical lunch or dinner. Does one food group dominate your plate while another is barely there? If so, begin making small adjustments to balance your portions. Over time, these changes will feel more natural and help you create healthier, more satisfying meals.
“Setting goals helps you make small changes towards your health and nutrition goals. Make your goals SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound,” says Mackenzie Burgess of Cheerful Choices. “Avoid setting broad goals like, ‘I want to lose weight.’ Instead, make them SMART, such as: ‘I am going to lose 10 pounds in three months, by eating an extra serving of fruits and vegetables at least three days a week, eliminating energy drinks, walking 20 minutes daily and drinking at least 64 ounces of water daily.”
Once you have your goals, be sure to record them somewhere. Tami Best, a functional and integrative registered dietitian at Top Nutrition Coaching, recommends working with a registered dietitian or sitting down and writing out your goals.
“Making behavior change is hard, and a lot goes into it,” Best says. “The strategies to gain momentum are to first develop goals that align with the values and vision you have for your life. Research shows that we are more likely to adhere to routines that we can see a direct connection to our own self-determination to live a meaningful and purposeful life.”
Get some paper and brainstorm—what are my values? What does it mean for me to be thriving in my life? From there, come up with three to five intermediate measurable goals that support your values and vision of wellness.
Once you set your goals, be sure to track whether you fulfilled them. “Whether you use a post-it note on your fridge or an app doesn’t matter to me,” says Schmidt. “The practice is about increasing your self-awareness around a habit you likely practice mindlessly.”
The experts say the best way to ensure success is to focus on making small, consistent changes over time. “People love to tell me about singular foods they do or don’t eat, but I care more about the overall pattern of someone’s diet,” says Schmidt. “It doesn’t matter if you enjoyed your vacation or a birthday party; I’m more interested in what your usual habits and day-to-day patterns of eating look like.”
So how do you get there? One strategy is the concept of Tiny Habits, which was developed by Stanford behavior change expert BJ Fogg, PhD.
“With this system, you find a behavioral anchor—something you always and currently do,” Best explains. “For example, I walk my dog every morning. Next, link a desired small new habit to this existing habit. For example, the desire to gain more upper body strength. With this, the new habit connected to the anchor might sound something like this: ‘After I walk my dog each morning, I will do one push-up.’”
After the routine is established, you can start to build up the new habit of aiming for two, three, four and even more push-ups after you walk the dog. And keeping logs or possibly using an app can be a great way to monitor progress and have a visual reminder of your goals and why you are working on them in the first place.
Many diets are built on restriction and cutting out “bad” foods, but Schmidt says a more sustainable, healthy guiding principal is to think of how to add better foods instead. For example, if you treasure an after dinner brownie, offset it with healthier snacks earlier in the day. Instead of simply agonizing over what not to eat, spend time figuring out which healthier foods you can add to your diet instead.
“I prefer to talk about what we should be eating. What can you aim for more of? …Likely fruits, veggies, fish and beans, just to name a few,” she explains. “When you’re challenging yourself to eat more of something that’s nutrient-rich, there tends to simply be less opportunity for what you’re inherently trying to limit.
Burgess also recommends prioritizing protein at every meal, focusing on bone-supporting nutrients and staying hydrated. Include high-quality protein with each meal—especially the first meal of the day—to support muscle health and to stay full longer.
“Protein helps maintain muscle mass, keeps you feeling full longer and supports stable energy levels,” she says. “Protein needs vary for each individual, but in general aim for around 15 to 30 grams of protein per meal. Try meal prepping recipes like sheet pan eggs for breakfast, Greek chopped salads for lunch and salmon power bowls for dinner.”
Dr. Neha Pathak, dual board-certified physician in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine with a focus on diet, concurs. She says that she doesn’t find herself reaching for unhealthful snacks in between meals when she eats enough protein. “Options like tofu, lentils and Greek yogurt, even eggs in moderation, are excellent choices,” says Pathak. “I recommend aiming for 20 to 30 grams.”
Women 50 and older should get 1,200 mg calcium per day to support bone health. Great sources include dairy products like yogurt and cheese, leafy greens such as kale and bok choy and canned fish with bones like sardines or salmon. Vitamin D is just as important, as it helps your body absorb calcium. You’ll find vitamin D in food sources like fortified dairy and grains, UV-light exposed mushrooms and fatty fish.
Rachel Brief, a registered dietician with Culina Health, says healthy eating and meeting nutritive requirements work in tandem for optimal female health. From menstruation to menopause, various nutrients are specifically required for women to remain healthy and strong throughout our lives.
She says, you should be eating produce with every meal. This ensures you’re showering your body with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals every time you eat. This can look like berries in the morning with breakfast, and at least one cup of vegetables with both lunch and dinner.
“The best way to stay accountable with nutrition goals is to create a productive environment that sets you up for success,” says Brief. “Always have fresh veggies in the fridge and easy-to-grab proteins to rely on, like a rotisserie chicken. One of my favorite tips is to ‘pack up for back up’—always have snacks like protein bars, nuts and meat sticks handy in your bag or car when you’re out and about and need a quick snack.”
Meal planning and batch cooking on weekends can save time and help you make healthier choices during busy weekdays.
“This is by far the hardest one for me, but I’m really focused on this one to meet goals one and two,” says Pathak. “I no longer shop for ingredients and just go shopping for full meals. I have my section in the fridge and pantry for stir fry veggies with tofu for Monday and Tuesday, Mexican beans and tofu scramble for Wednesday and Thursday, and so forth, So far it’s been a great way to feel like I’m completing a task as I watch my fridge empty as the meals are made!”
Variety is a great way to stay on track with your healthy eating goals, so Schmidt recommends making experimenting with flavors and trying new foods part of your norm.
“You may not have had a great experience the first time you tried tofu, but that doesn’t mean you should give up forever,” she says. “Experiment with different cooking methods, seasonings, sauces and cuisines before you give up on something nutritious.”
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