Toning up at 50.

Are you having whey protein? That caused me to gain weight on my middle. I switched to pea protein isolate and that is fine.

As others have said this To increase my protein I've been adding protein powder to my breakfast smoothie, added another protein drink in the afternoon and eat a grenade bar. is what is causing the weight gain.

Well done on cutting alcohol. No so sure about cutting the carbs.

Don't assume carbs are your enemy. Beans are a great lunch, rolled oats and flax seeds are a great breakfast. Even a piece of homemade dark bread.
Eat real food, don't fear a carrot or a slice of watermelon, or even a small bowl of black rice.
Think fibre, think feeding your gut microbiome, think adopting a colourful diet that protects you in the years to come, so cardiovascular health, dementia and cancer.

Sweet tooth is a funny one. We are all engineered to be attracted to sweet stuff. But there is sweet and sweet. I don't mind a piece of cake from time to time, but I can go without for weeks. Go for berries, frozen cherries in kefir, ... not a kitkat when you crave something sweet.

Although don't think protein powder is a must there is a lot of misinformation posted here about it being only for body builders. It can be useful if you have a sweet tooth, and for women approaching peri menopause it's actually more important to have more protein than when you're young. Most western diet has more than enough protein already? To not die, yes, for optimal health, not necessarily.

Weightlifters and bodybuilders use protein powders to bulk up

What on earth made you take those

You're exercising a lot so it's definitely your diet and portion sizes and whatever you're snacking on

What do you mean by toned? It's a bit of a nonsense word. You are either building or strengthening muscle, or losing fat, or both. You won't look toned even if you have muscle if there is too much fat on top. No need to add extra protein, you're just adding more calories. You need to lose fat if you want the muscle to show more.

Have you tried reformer Pilates? I’m over 50 and it has totally transformed my core.

In my 50’s too and going thru menopause right now so same boat. I’ve always been quite slim, every time I did the protein powder thing I would balloon 5 kg on top of my weight so stopped doing powder. Nowadays I just eat plenty of lean protein: lentils, beans, egg white omelettes, grilled fish and chicken. Works for me. I stay away from that evil protein powder that only works for body builders, for the rest of us “common folk” it just adds weight.

You could be me @Floyd15 i was skinny as a rake till I was about 40!

So now I focus on satiety in my food and eating a LOT of free/red vegetables as well as lean protein.

A typical meal - usually lunch- will be 2 tuna steaks (Iceland do good frozen ones) plus 3 grilled tomatoes a couple of peppers and about 400 grammes of steamed broccoli. It’s a huge amount but only about 400 calories!

And I get good lean protein.

OP, can you swap white bread for good quality wholemeal? Perhaps a Waitrose Heyford.
Swap white pasta for wholemeal. White rice for brown.

It's a pain-free process but does make a difference.

I'm 5'8" and 61yo.

I run 5k two or three times a week and practice karate and some yoga. Plus cut the lawn, carry shopping etc.

Keeping a steady weight post-menopause can take a bit of practice. I've found if I eat fish/meat and fruit/veg, it's relatively straightforward.

I avoid alcohol, UPFs, sugary stuff, and anything with sweetner in it. Carbs come from beans, brown rice and root veg rather than bread/pasta/couscous. I eat as much as I want.

I'm holding steady at about 10st 2lb, and don't miss the things I've cut out. If I have a glass of wine (once in a blue moon) it tastes fabulous but I don't want a second one. 🙂

But it doesn’t sound like@Floyd15 is lifting heavy in a weight lifting definition of lifting - Body Pump classes aren’t really lifting.

Im 65 lift heavy and train hard and add protein powder to Greek yoghurt as one of my 3 meals a day. I eat a lot of vegetables and tend not to eat white/processed carbs. I aim to eat about 1500 calories a day with one day where I’ll go to 2000.

So if you substitute protein powder for a carb- heavy meal (sandwiches at lunchtime say) then that’s probably OK.But those do-called protein bars are not worth the calories.

Also consider adding in some yoga or pilates, both very good for toning and general flexibility.

I found low impact, low weights but high reps worked for me massively

Can you use a tracking app for a month? Sounds like your cals are more than you need. Protein can be yoghurt at breakfast, fish or beans at lunch, and fish/meat at dinner. That is enough. No need for powder or bars.

How heavy are you going on your strength classes? If it's a class like Body Pump, then unless you're lifting the same weights as the instructor, you're unlikely to need as much protein as you're getting.
The first thing I'd drop is the grenade bar. Are you having one every day? They're loads of calories and it's effectively eating a full on chocolate bar every day. And a calorific one like a Boost, not just a Milky Way.
If you're having protein powder and protein drink and a normal healthy diet AND a grenade bar......that's a LOT of extra calories for what to me sounds like a regular amount of exercise.

Yes, as others have said, avoid the “manufactured protein products”. Stick to eggs, cook a whole chicken and snack on that etc.

I disagree with cutting back on the protein if you are lifting heavy.
if you are just adding protein on top of what you normally eat though it’s just extra calories. I would also avoid protein bars - just use whey protein (or plant version).

Protein is good for you but most western diets even post menopause contain more than enough

that's what I mean by fad - people are being encouraged to buy ( often poor quality highly processed food ) to boost their protein when they have enough anyway

If you add more calories, you will probably gain weight. Protein is good for you, especially in menopause, so look at your diet as a whole (kcal, macros). What kind of strength classes do you do? I'm bit younger than you but I'm focusing on lifting weights over excess cardio.

Try hill walking for a full body workout

Protein is not a fad but you don't need supplement for it - meat and food protein sources are better. Just need to make sure you have enough grams for your body.