# @ciarafoyinc on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DcyuilDihWb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70012120-ciarafoyinc-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/fc9846525d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-02T17:03:22.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Ciara Foy // Nutritionist • Hormone Expert • 20 Yrs (@ciarafoyinc) — https://gondola.cc/ciarafoyinc

## Caption

Yes, you need a calorie deficit to lose weight. I’m not going to stand here at 50 and pretend otherwise.

After over 20 years in clinical practice as a functional Nutritionist….I’ll get it from both sides on this one. The “deficits don’t work after 40” crowd and the “just eat less” crowd. Sharing the SCIENCE anyway.

Here’s what neither side tells you. A deficit only moves the scale. Your metabolic health decides whether it feels like a small adjustment or a war. Your blood sugar, your insulin, your cortisol, your sleep. Those decide how hungry you are at 3pm, how hard the cravings hit at 9, and whether what comes off is fat or muscle.

So here’s what I do before I ever touch the number.

	1.	Blood sugar first. Protein and fibre at every meal, breakfast included, so I’m not white-knuckling 3pm.

	2.	Sleep, at the same time as the blood sugar, because they feed each other. In a 2024 trial, about 80 minutes less sleep a night for six weeks raised fasting insulin, strongest in postmenopausal women. Tired body, hungrier body, harder deficit.

	3.	I keep the deficit small. Never more than about 500 calories below what your body actually needs, and that depends on your size, your muscle and your life. A deficit doesn’t have to be severe to work. A severe one teaches your body to fight you.

	4.	I lift, so what comes off is fat. In a 2020 JAMA trial, 16:8 fasting beat three meals a day at nothing, and lean mass fell more in the fasting group.

	5.	I partner with my body instead of overriding her. A body that feels safe lets go of weight. A body under threat holds on.

This is the order I run inside Renew and Empower, my 6-month group program. Group starts September 21, and your 1:1 gets booked the day you join. Comment TRANSFORM and I’ll send you the details. Make sure you’re following me so it lands in your DMs.

Save this for the next time you’re about to drop to 1,200 again.

Send this to the friend who’s been struggling to keep a deficit because it feels like starving.

FOLLOW ciarafoyinc for a deeper understanding of women’s metabolic health and hormones in plain English.

#caloriedeficit #perimenopause #womenover40 #insulinresis

## Stats

- **Views:** 5,962
- **Likes:** 98
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- **Comments:** 13

## Tags

womenover40, caloriedeficit, insulinresis, perimenopause

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