Episode 8 Carbohydrates after 50:The Truth About Fat Loss & Insulin

Podcast Show Notes

Mature Women Still Need Carbohydrates (Here’s Why)

In this episode, I’m tackling one of the biggest myths in midlife nutrition:

“Carbohydrates cause insulin resistance — and we need to cut them as we age.”

Not true.

Insulin resistance is not an inevitable part of ageing. It’s largely lifestyle-driven — and the solution is not keto, carnivore, or extreme carb restriction.

In this episode, I explain:

Why “age-related insulin resistance” is often lifestyle-related

The difference between refined carbohydrates and whole-food carbohydrates

How constant refined carb intake drives insulin resistance

Why fibre-rich carbohydrates improve gut health and metabolic flexibility

The role of GLP-1 and how whole foods naturally stimulate it

Why cutting carbs too low can backfire for mature women

How much carbohydrate midlife women actually need (real numbers)

Why front-loading carbohydrates earlier in the day supports fat loss

Why strength training is non-negotiable for insulin sensitivity

Key Takeaways

✔ Insulin resistance is not caused by age — it’s caused by repeated blood sugar overload.
✔ Removing processed carbohydrates helps — removing whole-food carbs hurts.
✔ Mature women generally need at least 120–160g of quality carbohydrates daily.
✔ Fibre feeds the gut microbiome, reduces inflammation, and supports fat burning.
✔ Strength training turns muscle into a glucose “sponge” and keeps cells insulin-sensitive.

The Carbohydrates to Reduce

White sugar

White flour

Crackers and chippies

Refined pasta

White rice

Ultra-processed packet foods

The Carbohydrates to Embrace

Brown rice

Pearl barley

Bulgur wheat

Wholegrain oats

Lentils and legumes

Dense rye and sourdough

Kūmara and root vegetables

Fruit and vegetables

If you’re worried about rising HbA1c, creeping weight gain, or feeling flat and tired, this episode will give you clarity — and a sustainable strategy.

If you’d like personalised support, I currently have limited spaces in my 12-week Gold Program where I work one-on-one with women to reverse insulin resistance, build muscle, and create a lifestyle that supports a long, vibrant health span.

Click below for details:

https://www.outlookforlife.com/offers/dKsvWFkp/checkout

Let’s age strong.

Ginny x

Episode Transcript

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Hi, I'm Jenny MacArthur, I'm a nutritionist.

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fitness trainer and life coach, and I've been lucky enough to be doing this job for the last 25 years.

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I'm obsessed with helping women live long,

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energetic, happy lives with a little bit of badassery chucked in for good measure.

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And this morning, I have a leak.

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No, not my bladder, that's a whole nother podcast.

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I have a vegetable, the leek, which we're going to discuss, actually.

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I used them yesterday in soup, and they were fabulous. This one's looking like it's a little bit past its best.

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I do grow them, but this isn't one that I grow. This is one that, um, came from the veggie shop.

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So anyway, I'm going to talk about my leak later.

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Uh, today we are talking about why mature women still need carbohydrates.

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And the magic carbohydrates that support fat loss and give us heaps of energy.

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I was talking to my brother over the weekend, hi Naj,

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And he told me that he is starting to get age-related

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insulin resistance.

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And that when he did a deeper dive into it, he found that there is a genetic

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predisposition.

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And… poor Nigel. I called him out immediately, because there is no such thing as age-related insulin resistance.

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There certainly is lifestyle-related insulin resistance.

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But not age-related. And whilst we may have a genetic predisposition towards insulin resistance,

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It is our lifestyle that causes it. So, as they say, the genetics are the gun.

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But your lifestyle is what pulls the trigger.

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Nigel is plant-based like I am. He lives in the UK, and in the UK, there is so much plant-based

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packet shit, like, much more than we have here. Oh, you can't even compare it to what we have here in New Zealand.

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And they eat a lot of that stuff. And when I go there and I stay with them,

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It blows me away at how much…

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Um, really, ultra-processed plant-based foods are available.

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So, when you constantly are eating refined carbohydrates that are stripped of their fiber, like white starches,

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you are having to produce more insulin to remove that quick-release starch, that glucose, out of your bloodstream.

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And over time,

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Your cells stop listening to all of that insulin, because they're drenched in it all of the time.

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And then your pancreas has to produce more insulin, because a little bit isn't working anymore, because the cells are resistant.

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And then eventually, your pancreas can't keep producing that much,

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And it stops, and that's when you have full-blown type 2 diabetes.

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In my program, I reverse insulin resistance all of the time.

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One of the main things I do in my program, apart from lowering cholesterol and helping women lose weight,

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is to bring their HbA1c reading back down into the normal levels.

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I can reverse type 2 diabetes and get people off their medications.

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If they want to do it, and they'll stick to the program, we absolutely do that.

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all of the time.

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How? Well, it's really simple. It's just with food,

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And with strength training, it really is that easy.

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So, if you are panicking because your blood sugars are going up, or your HVAC is going up,

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And you think that means that you need to go keto,

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or carnivore,

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I can tell you right now, for your long-term wellness,

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health, vitality, that is not the answer.

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We need carbohydrates as we age.

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Because the fiber content of good,

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Slow release, low glycemic carbohydrates,

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feeds our good gut flora.

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It also keeps us feeling fuller for longer. It works on the GLP-1 receptors the same way that Wegovy or Ozempic does, you know, these

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a new generation, I guess, not quite so new now, weight loss drugs.

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Um, so the fiber does that.

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keeps us feeling full, so it helps us stay away from that deprivation, diet binge kind of a cycle.

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And those good microbes that feed on that fiber,

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Love to help us burn fat as a fuel,

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They love to help us prevent the cravings for all of that sweet stuff.

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And they help us to reduce inflammation.

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They basically, you know, they bolster our immune function, and they make that good barrier nice and strong, so we're not getting things going out into the bloodstream,

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that should be staying in the colon.

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Um, so we need those carbohydrates to do those things.

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And removing carbohydrate, like going keto, or…

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paleo or carnivore, whatever.

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We'll give you a short-term great result, right? You're taking all those carbs out, you're taking all that packet stuff out, of course you're going to lose weight.

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It's gonna look great on the scales.

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You will probably feel better too, because you've taken all of that processed shit out of your diet.

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But unfortunately, it takes the good stuff out as well.

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And the long-term effects of that are negative, without a doubt.

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All of the available science

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tells us that. You know, women often see short-term success on these extreme diets, but

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long-term? Are they going to stay healthy?

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I don't think so. In my opinion, mature women…

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need, you know, between 120 grams

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and 160 grams, if not more, of carbohydrate a day for lasting

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Satiety and weight loss, and to avoid that diet binge.

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cycle. You know, a better way is…

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to remove those refined carbohydrates that are stripped of all of their fiber and goodness,

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and replace them with good quality, dense, slow-release carbohydrates.

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So, it's replacing, you know, get rid of white sugar and white flour.

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And starches like crackers and chips and…

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pasta and white rice, and replace them with whole grains, like brown rice, pearl barley,

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Balgawait, um, whole grain oats,

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Fruits, veggies, legumes, dense rye bread, dense sourdough bread, squash, comrade, beets, root veggies,

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All of those wonderful combinations of great carbohydrate foods

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That will support your health. They've not only got fiber, but they've got all of those health-promoting

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Polyphenols as well, which make us feel amazing.

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Long-term. So,

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that's kind of the food component. The only thing I'd add to that is with those great, dense, slow-release carbohydrates,

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front-load your day. We talked about this last week.

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front-load your day with them.

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and taper them off in the evening, if weight loss is one of your primary goals.

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Because that will… that will give you… it just helps to teach your body to burn fat as fuel, again,

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Listen to last week. We kind of went through it then.

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But what do we want our body to do with all of this good carbohydrate?

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So, it's going to bolster our immune function, you know, um, strengthen that gut barrier, it's gonna do all of those wonderful things.

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Keep us feeling full.

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But what's left, that carbohydrate, we want to drive it into our muscles to be stored for energy,

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Not around our waist or our internal organs to be stored as fat.

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Which produces inflammation.

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So, to that end, strength training is your biggest

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friend. It is one of the things I have to work hardest at getting women to do.

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But active muscle tissue is like a sponge. It absorbs glucose

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out of the blood and stores it as energy. So it reduces your blood sugars. The more muscle you have,

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the greater capacity you have to do this,

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And as you know, as we age as women, we lose muscle real quick.

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So the more muscle we keep,

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the most storage space we have that isn't around our waist, or our internal organs,

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And when we stimulate muscle fibers by breaking them,

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That can be with weights, it can be with resistance bands, it can even be initially just with your own body weight,

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When we break those muscle fibers, they start to listen to insulin again.

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Right? It keeps them alive, it keeps them…

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listening to insulin, so it… it actually prevents…

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insulin resistance.

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I want to age young,

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And full of energy. Like…

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Anglebert Humpertank.

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Where did that come from? Well, I was listening to him being interviewed yesterday.

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He's British like me, he came from Leicester originally. He's 90.

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And he is still tall.

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pouring the world.

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And his voice is still good. Can you imagine? I don't know whether I could even…

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go on tour. Can you imagine how hard that is?

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And doing show after show after show.

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Anyway, I thought it would be fun to go and see him, because when I was 15, you know, he and Tom Jones and Elvis Presley, they were my kind of trio, my holy trio.

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And, um, but I could… like, the tickets only went on sale yesterday, and they've gone!

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He's sold out! How wonderful is that? At 90?

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That's how I want to be! And then I just want to go home and die in my bed, you know?

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I don't want years of ill health.

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Caused by something like insulin resistance. I just…

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I do not want that. Anyway, anyway.

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Back to what we were talking about.

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So, carbohydrates for mature women.

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And five. Number one.

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Know this. Insulin resistance is not age-related.

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its lifestyle-related. It is not part of aging.

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Number two, we need to eat carbohydrates. They keep us burning fat.

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They stop us getting into that awful diet binge

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cycle. Number three, we need to eat the right kind of carbohydrates close to how nature intended them.

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And avoid the carbohydrates that come in a packet, and are stripped of all the fiber and all the other good things that our body needs.

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Number four, strength, train, strength, train, strength, train, strength, train.

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It needs to be non-negotiable.

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non-negotiable.

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In my programs, I have little videos,

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I've got hundreds of little videos showing you exactly what you need to do. You can do it at home, you don't have to go to the gym.

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Easy. 20 minutes a couple of times a week. It's all it takes.

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has a huge effect on your metabolic health.

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Um, number 5,

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If weight loss is your goal, front-load your day so that those good carbohydrates

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Uh, in those first two meals of the day,

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taper them off in the evening, so that evening meal is protein and fibrous vegetables.

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Where's my late?

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I know where my leak is. I am getting it fixed, but that's a whole new…

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different podcast.

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The leak. Leak is the national symbol of Wales, where I grew up.

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So apparently, Welsh soldiers are said to have worn leaks on their helmets in battle.

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I think they look bloody ridiculous, but anyway, um, to tell a friend from foe.

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Um, and there…

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I mean, St. David's Day, I don't really remember leaks very much. We…

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A daffodil was the thing for St. David's Day.

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And people used to eat daffodils, which, they're poisonous, so that was really stupid on St David as well.

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But leaks are…

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like I said, I made a soup yesterday, and I put loads of leeks in.

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Um, they're part of the Allium family, so they're in the same family as onions and garlic, and shallots.

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So they contain self of compounds,

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that support heart health.

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and immunity, and that's partly why they are a FODMAP.

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So, if you are FODMAP sensitive, you need to introduce them

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Gently, and start with just the green bits.

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And then gradually start to add in some of the white bits.

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They're surprisingly high in prebiotics, which feed those good guys in your gut.

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Um, so they're high in prebiotic fibre, especially inulin.

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Which feeds those good gut bugs we were just talking about. It supports digestion long-term.

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And it's great for cholesterol and blood sugar, too.

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So, if you don't like leaks, or you find they upset you,

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Start with just the green bits.

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And just introduce them gradually, go slowly with the white bits.

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They're generally milder and sweeter than onions, because they've got more natural sugars and less sulphur.

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So they're not… they're not as hard to digest initially, if you're not used to them as onions.

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Perfect for soups, slow cooking,

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And apparently, talking about Engelbert, ancient Romans

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believed that leaks improved your voice.

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And Emperor Nero reportedly at them regularly to strengthen his singing.

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So they're kind of like the first voice supplement, maybe.

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My grandfather was Welsh, and he was an opera singer, but I don't ever remember hearing any stories of him

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Eating leeks.

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He was, um… he…

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He actually went down into the mines at 14,

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And he died of silicosis of the lung in his early 50s.

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Um, because of being down the mines as a… mine as a young boy in Wales.

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Um, but he was very famous, and he toured the world, including in the 30s, he was down here in Australia.

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I don't think he ever came to New Zealand, but he did…

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I know, because my dad was a little boy, and

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he and my aunt got left with another aunt while they… it took them 2 years.

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to tour and come down to Australia.

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And he was…

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It was sponsored

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by Craven A., which aretes.

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And there were these big posters all over town, all over London, you know, saying, I smoke Cravenay for my smooth, you know, smooth voice, etc. He never smoked one cigarette in his life.

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Ever, ever, ever. But, um, I think…

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I know my dad, who did smoke.

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Way after, long after, um, Grandad had died, he kept getting, um,

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crates or packs of craven, eh?

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So, anyway, um…

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Anyway, we totally digress, going off on a little thing. Um, I hope this was helpful.

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And if there's something that you need help with, whether it's food, or movement, or mindset,

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I do have spaces at the moment. I've got a 12-week program going at the moment.

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And the membership, but I also do have spaces in my goal program.

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Um, at the moment, and that's where I work with you one-on-one over 12 weeks.

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to create a sustainable life

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lifestyle, really, uh, that you can keep going. It's not a diet, it's working on one thing at a time,

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Getting the food in there, getting the movement, getting the sleep.

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stress relief, all of that stuff, getting all of that working for you, so that you can then continue with it.

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Um, and my goal is just to help you…

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Be vital and healthy, and enjoy a long health span.

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There's no point living a long time if the last 10 or 20 years of it are in a rest time feeling like shit.

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You know, we want to be on the road like Engelbert, don't we, girls?

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with Engelbert.

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Maybe not so much now. But anyway…

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Um, if you'd like to join me for that, I will put the link below in the show notes, or underneath if you're watching YouTube,

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or in the blog, if you're reading the blog, because this is multifaceted.

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Have a fabulous week. It's been great talking to you.

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And what are we talking about next week? Next week, we're talking about

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plateaus. We're talking about when you've been going well,

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You've been burning fat, you've been losing the weight you wanted to lose, and then suddenly you get stuck, and nothing seems to work anymore.

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So that's what we're talking about next week. Have a fabulous week, everybody. Have a happy, healthy week.

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And I'll see you next week.

Episode 8 Carbohydrates after 50:The Truth About Fat Loss & Insulin

Podcast Show Notes

Mature Women Still Need Carbohydrates (Here’s Why)

In this episode, I’m tackling one of the biggest myths in midlife nutrition:

“Carbohydrates cause insulin resistance — and we need to cut them as we age.”

Not true.

Insulin resistance is not an inevitable part of ageing. It’s largely lifestyle-driven — and the solution is not keto, carnivore, or extreme carb restriction.

In this episode, I explain:

Why “age-related insulin resistance” is often lifestyle-related

The difference between refined carbohydrates and whole-food carbohydrates

How constant refined carb intake drives insulin resistance

Why fibre-rich carbohydrates improve gut health and metabolic flexibility

The role of GLP-1 and how whole foods naturally stimulate it

Why cutting carbs too low can backfire for mature women

How much carbohydrate midlife women actually need (real numbers)

Why front-loading carbohydrates earlier in the day supports fat loss

Why strength training is non-negotiable for insulin sensitivity

Key Takeaways

The Carbohydrates to Reduce

White sugar

White flour

Crackers and chippies

Refined pasta

White rice

Ultra-processed packet foods

The Carbohydrates to Embrace

Brown rice

Pearl barley

Bulgur wheat

Wholegrain oats

Lentils and legumes

Dense rye and sourdough

Kūmara and root vegetables

Fruit and vegetables

If you’re worried about rising HbA1c, creeping weight gain, or feeling flat and tired, this episode will give you clarity — and a sustainable strategy.

If you’d like personalised support, I currently have limited spaces in my 12-week Gold Program where I work one-on-one with women to reverse insulin resistance, build muscle, and create a lifestyle that supports a long, vibrant health span.

Click below for details:

Let’s age strong.

Ginny x