If you’ve been logging every bite, weighing your food, and watching the scale refuse to move, I want you to put the calorie counter down for a second. Counting calories feels like control. But for most women over 40, it’s become the thing that keeps you stuck. Here’s why: – It keeps you focused on eating less instead of eating right. You can hit your number all day on low-protein, low-fiber food and still spike your blood sugar, feed your cravings, and store fat around your middle. – It ignores what your body actually does with that food. 200 calories of protein and 200 calories of crackers are not the same to your metabolism, your muscle, or your hunger. – It adds stress. The obsessive tracking spikes cortisol, and chronically high cortisol drives cravings and midsection storage, so the counting itself can work against you. The scale isn’t stuck because you’re not counting hard enough. It’s stuck because counting was never the lever. Here’s what actually moves it: protein to prote...