Girl's Guide to Protein

Many of my female members wonder about how much and what kind of protein to take.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated April 29, 2020

Protein Primer

Proteins are fairly large compounds that are made up of a chain of molecules called amino acids. There are 20 amino acids that the body makes proteins with. With just these 20 amino acids the body is able to produce more than 50,000 different proteins. These majority of these proteins are classified as either structural or globular. Globular proteins perform important functions in the body and include enzymes, hemoglobin, antibodies and hormones. Structural proteins make up the structure of cells such as skin and muscle.

When you eat protein, such as a chicken breast or a whey shake, your body breaks down the protein into the individual amino acids. Those aminos are absorbed by your intestines and travel via your bloodstream to all parts of your body, such as muscle fibers. There the amino acids are reassembled to form the type of protein needed, such as muscle protein. This process of assembling amino acids into a specific protein, such as muscle protein, is known as protein synthesis and is the way that muscles recover and grow.

You Are What You Eat

If you're a member of my site, it's very likely that you want a lean and muscular body similar to the fitness models you see. Those muscles are made of protein. So if it's lean muscle you want, it's lean protein you have to eat.

The protein recommendation set by the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB – the unit of the Institute of Medicine that sets the nutrition recommendations for Americans) for the general population is a measly 0.4 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight for males and females. For a 145-pound women, that's less than 60 grams of protein per day, or about an 8 oz. chicken breast for the entire day. Try staying strong on just that for your daily protein. Thankfully, research shows that athletes, particularly strength athletes (which you are) require close to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. That means if you weigh 145 pounds, you need a minimum of 145 grams of protein each day.

Do this: Eat a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and up to 1.5 grams per pound when you are dieting and dropping carbs. Choose from lean protein sources such as chicken breast, turkey breast, eggs, lean beef, low-fat dairy, fish, as well as whey, soy and casein protein powders.

You Are What you Don't Eat

If you want to be lean, then you need to avoid eating the food too much. The good news is that research shows that protein can significantly decrease hunger more than carbs or fat. One University of Washington School of Medicine (Seattle) study reported that when subjects were placed on a high protein diet (30% of total daily calories from protein) for 12 weeks, but allowed to eat as many calories as they wanted, they ate an average of 450 calories less per day and lost over 10 pounds of bodyweight, with most of it being body fat. French scientists found that dietary protein causes the small intestines to increase glucose production, which travels to the liver to trick the body into thinking it is adequately fed. Australian researchers found that subjects fed a dose of whey or soy protein had lower levels of the appetite-boosting hormone, ghrelin and higher levels of the hunger-reducing hormone, cholecystokinin, as compared to those getting a dose of glucose. These hormone levels in the protein groups caused them to eat 10% fewer calories at a buffet-style meal three hours after the protein dose, as compared to those who received the glucose dose.

The newest line of research, from the University College London, has discovered another way that protein blunts hunger is by a hormone called peptide YY (PYY), which is produced by gut cells that travels via the bloodstream to the brain to reduce hunger. They found that subjects eating a 1000 calorie meal that was about 65% protein, they were significantly less hungry and had PYY levels that were almost 50% higher as compared to when they ate meals that were 65% carbs, or 65% fat.

Do this: Keeping protein intake up to at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and keeping each meal focused on protein will help to bunt hunger all day long. The most important meal of the day for blunting hunger all day long may be breakfast. Here, the bodybuilding staple, the egg does more than just supply an excellent source of protein. One study from Saint Louis University (Missouri) found that women who ate eggs, toast and jelly for breakfast reported feeling fuller and they ate almost 300 calories less the rest of the day than when they ate a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast.

Protein Will Burn You

Protein also helps you get lean by boosting metabolic rate, as well as slowing down the digestion of carbs, which ultimately leads to burning more fat. Research shows that a high protein meal raises your metabolic rate by up to 20-30%, whereas a high carb meal may only raise it by 5-10%, and a high fat meal by 3% or less. This means high protein diets can help to keep your metabolism revved up after meals and help you burn more of the calories you eat at meals, along with more fat.

Protein also helps you burn more fat by slowing down the digestion of carbs. A study from the University of Toronto discovered that protein eaten at a meal that was high in carbs slowed the digestion of those carbs better than fat. This means that eating protein with carbs ensures that they are digested slowly, releasing their carbs as glucose into the bloodstream at a slow and steady pace, which keeps insulin levels low and steady. Preventing large spikes insulin, as happens when carbs are digested rapidly, means less fat will be get stored as body fat and more body fat will be burned away as fuel.

Do this: Eat about 20-40 grams of protein with every meal, especially those with a lot of carbs.

Go With The Flow

Right before workouts is one of the most critical times to get in some protein. Whey protein powder mixed in water is always a good choice at this time. The rapid digestion of whey and excellent concentration of BCAAs make it a must-take protein around workout time. This allows these important amino acids to get into your system where they can be used during the workout to prevent muscle breakdown and enhance recovery and growth. Yet there's another reason to go with whey before workouts. That would be vasodilation, or the widening of blood vessels. Whey protein contains peptides (short protein fragments) that enhance blood vessel dilation. This allows for greater blood flow to exercising muscles, which enhances the delivery of nutrients (such as the amino acids and glucose) and oxygen to muscle during exercise, which are critical for energy during the workout and for recovery after. This enhanced blood vessel dilation also has the potential to keep blood pressure better maintained as you age and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Do this: Take 20 grams of whey protein within 30 minutes of workouts.

Less Pain More Gain

Taking a protein shake immediately after workouts has been shown in numerous research studies to be the best way to boost muscle protein synthesis at the most critical time, as soon as the workout is over. This is not only the time when you can take muscle protein synthesis the highest than any other time of day and therefore drive the most muscle rebuilding and growth, but if you don't provide your muscles the proper nutrition at this time they will actually breakdown rather than rebuild. Studies confirm that a postworkout protein shake enhances recovery, muscle strength and muscle growth.

Research also shows that getting in a protein shake at this time decreases delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), the soreness you experience a day or so after a tough workout. A Georgia Institute of Technology study found that subjects who ingested a protein and carb drink after a workout designed to cause muscle damage, experienced more than 50% less muscle soreness than those who took a carb-only drink.

Do this: Drink a 40 gram protein shake that contains whey protein immediately after workouts along with 30-40 g of fast-digesting carbs, such as a small plain bagel or a 20 oz. sports drink. Consider mixing 20 grams of whey with 20 grams of soy protein powder. Soy protein not only has numerous health benefits such as reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, reduced risk of estrogen-related problems (breast cancer, hot-flashes), reduced risk of certain cancers, it also has been found to significantly enhance muscle recovery following workouts better than other protein sources.

Protein on the Brain

Sure, you workout to enhance your body, but working out also has clear benefits for your noggin. The same can be said about a proper diet. Research shows that eating high protein can enhance your brain function. Research from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich), discovered that a breakfast that is higher in protein than carbs, or at least equal in protein and carbs allowed students to perform significantly better on various cognitive and memory tests that were designed to mimic typical work tasks, as compared to when they ate a breakfast that was higher in carbs than protein. This means you'll have a better shot at getting that raise you deserve and you won't forget your best-friends birthday, again this year.

Do this: For breakfast eat about 30-40 grams of protein such as from eggs (which will also blunt hunger the rest of the day) along with 20-30 grams of slow digesting carbs from sources such as oatmeal or whole-wheat toast.

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