PROTEIN FOR WOMEN

You'll hear me go on about the importance of protein for women and whenever anyone asks me about nutrition the first thing I am going to suggest is ensuring you are eating enough protein because it is the central part of your diet for so many reasons.   

Not only does it builds muscle it encourages better metabolism, quells hunger, supports bone density, strengthens hair/skin/nails and brain function - most neurotransmitters (e.g. dopamine, serotonin, melatonin) are protein based.  Also low-protein diet is correlated with higher anxiety & depression (more commonly in women than men).

For years we've been fed fad diets, sadly around weight loss and not much else, like what is going to support the amount of energy we need, what's going to help us build stronger bones and muscles, the neural pathways in our brain, the longevity of our memory and capability to look after ourselves and our family. Surely, this should be at the forefront of nutrition for women! And thankfully more and more research is being done and more and more people are talking about it. 

So, how much protein do we need? Now everyone is different and we all have different lifestyles and goals so the amount would vary but I find as soon as things become too complicated or unachievable, the idea is lost so to keep it simple you should be having a palm sized amount of protein in every meal (breakfast lunch and dinner) plus two protein snacks.  In terms of meals you would then have half your plate of carbs and when I say carbs, not just starchy carbs but plenty of different vegetables and/ or fruit.  If you are doing this and still unable to meet your goals then we would look at what these meals consist of and how that is supporting your lifestyle specifically. 

Try and space these meals throughout the day and around your workouts. Ideally you want to be eating breakfast within the first 30 minutes of waking for optimal hormone regulation which will balance your energy levels, and getting that first portion of protein onboard early will satiate your hunger making you less likely to need that mid morning sugar boost. 

It's really beneficial to ensure you are fuelling and recovering from your workouts. You want to have some protein and carbs on board pre workout, and ensure you're eating within 45 minutes after your workout for optimal recovery, muscle development and balanced energy levels. This is because our metabolism will return to baseline within 30-45 minutes (for men this is a lot longer) so in order to optimise muscle growth our body needs a good hit of protein and some carbs. If we leave this window of eating too long your body will take what it needs from muscles (not fat just stores) and as we get older we want to ensure we are maintaining if not gaining as much muscle mass as possible. This doesn't mean eating extra meals and it doesn't have to be a lot, so for example If you are someone that likes to workout in the morning, make sure you have some protein and carbs on board pre workout, this could be a protein shake with half a banana or a protein coffee with some form of milk, which is actually a really good option for a high performance workout, then have breakfast afterward.  Or you could split your breakfast, have half before and half afterward ensuring it consists of protein and carbs. 

If you are not using protein powder I highly recommend getting some to easily supplement extra protein and is perfect post workout when you need that protein and carbs on board quickly but you might not be able to get back from the gym in time or might not even be hungry for a meal. Bulk powder is good quality use this code.

Protein is essential for muscle development and after the age of 30 muscle mass starts to decline and as we come into peri and menopause the lack of oestrogen will affect our bodies ability to maintain or gain muscle so for women especially strength training and protein consumption is essential to be able to remain active and capable later in life. 

#proteinforwomen #gains #strongwomen