In the next installment in our series on protein, we are tackling the topic I am most hesitant to tackle, and that is high-quality protein. When looking at protein from a purely nutritional standpoint, what makes something high-quality protein? And what's the difference between plant-based and animal-based protein when it comes to your daily energy intake?
If You Are Concerned About Eating High-Quality Protein, You Should:
Remember the two key components of high-quality protein
Don't forget about the digestibility aspect of protein consumption
Assess and apply this information as you can, given your accessibility
If you want to maximize muscle tissue and get the most out of your training, you need to get the best quality proteins while also prioritizing how those proteins are built and the digestibility of them. But what does eating high-quality protein really mean?
Protein quality is more than just what it says on the label. High-quality protein is a complex topic, especially when it comes to the world of plant-based and animal-based proteins. However, if you can find the sweet spot of your energy balance consumption, optimizing your protein intake is possible.
For the most part, plant-based proteins are going to rank lower on their protein quality scale than animal-based proteins in terms of complete amino acid profiles and digestibility. While this doesn't mean you can't consume and enjoy the benefits of plant-based protein, you need to be creative about how you increase the amount of protein you are getting from plant-based servings. My goal is to provide you with scientific facts based on a purely nutritional standpoint so that you can understand what you are consuming and how it is impacting your body.
What do you consider high-quality protein? How does the plant-based versus animal-based nutritional aspect play into your decision-making? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section of the episode page.
“I am not going to be making moral, ethical, or sustainable arguments for one versus the other. I am simply trying to present you with the nutritional information that you need to be able to assess and then integrate into your own practice.” (4:58)
“We know as we are going through our 30s, we are starting to lose, year on year, a decade on decade, we are losing muscle mass, unless we do something to offset that. And those things to offset that are mechanical tension through resistance training and eating enough protein.” (13:25)
“Energy balance is, of course, one of the most important things we need to consider in terms of our fueling, getting enough energy to meet our needs, in terms of our activity and total energy expenditure.” (18:14)
“You may have to be a little bit clever about how you are going to introduce enough of those in our diet so that we don't tip too far over our energy balance.” (21:44)
“We are really looking at what protein quality means, and trying to get within our power and our availability and our accessibility and our purchasing power, the best quality proteins that we can.” (27:04)
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Legion Workout Supplements - Use Code steph for 20% off your first order
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 395: How to Calculate Your Daily Protein Needs
FYS 396: Should Protein Be Spread Throughout the Day?
By now, you have probably heard me talking about the importance of protein intake, especially for female athletes over 40. But it is much more nuanced than just hitting your protein numbers. Spreading your protein intake throughout the day will help you trigger protein synthesis and avoid operating in a state of protein breakdown.
If You Want to Spread Your Protein Out Throughout the Day, You Should:
When it comes to triggering the process of muscle protein synthesis, ending with a positive muscle protein balance, or being in an anabolic building state, how you spread out your protein throughout the day does really matter.
When there is not enough energy available to your body, the overall net balance of your system is shifted towards protein breakdown and puts you in a negative balance state. As female athletes over 40, we are already more susceptible to struggling with losing muscle mass over time, which is why it is key to align our fueling, nutrition, and training for optimal results.
Understanding the science behind this matters, but it is also equally important to know how to navigate all of this information. I want to help you think about your own daily habits and patterns so that you can make the changes in real life, which is not always so easy to do.
The point is not to be perfect or to be stressed out about every single gram of protein. I understand the technical pieces, performance nutrition pieces, and mindset pieces around eating more, fueling differently, and rethinking the way you view your training and nutrition. My goal is to equip you with the knowledge and know-how to implement these systems into your life and build habits and processes around them.
Are you ready to rethink the way you view protein intake and include more opportunities in your daily life to get your muscle synthesis going? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“It is important that we understand, especially as women over 40, that we need to strength training, and we need to eat enough, particularly enough protein so that we keep ourselves in as much of a positive protein state or an anabolic state as possible.” (9:12)
“When it comes to the muscle protein synthesis process, we really need to think about getting enough of a very specific and very special amino acid.” (13:40)
“Protein distribution here is a close second to total protein in terms of how important it is when it comes to protein energy balance.” (17:39)
“This isn't just about vanity muscles yall. Okay, it's like cool to feel strong and badass and lift heavy shit and have muscles and flex your biceps, that's all great. But it's also about the quality of life, independence, longevity, metabolism, metabolic health; this is so so critical.” (21:42)
“The best time to make a change, if it wasn't 10 years ago, if it wasn't six months ago, the best time to make change is now.” (33:08)
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
International Society of Sports Nutrition
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 375: Strength Training Changes for Peri-Menopause and Post-Menopause with Dr. Stacy Sims
FYS 376: Post-Menopause, Fasting, and Low Carb in Athletic Women with Dr. Stacy Sims
FYS 393: 3 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism as an Athlete
FYS 394: Within-Day Energy Deficit
Have you ever thought seriously about how much protein you need as a woman athlete? Based on my experience, the answer is probably more than you are currently getting. Your protein intake really does matter when it comes to building muscle and recovering better, and by understanding how much protein you should be shooting for throughout the day, you can easily turn your thoughts into habits.
If You Are Looking to Increase Your Protein Intake, You Should:
You Are Not Eating Enough Protein
It is not uncommon for me to see female athletes getting only half or slightly more than half of the protein they actually need, based on their training. Cutting calories, limiting protein intake, and then training hard on top of that is a recipe for disaster and will result in you not experiencing the results you want to see from your training but also resulting in potential harm to your body. Using a straight-up percentage does not account for the necessary amount of protein you need if you are training hard and trying to get stronger, which is why it is crucial to understand your unique protein intake range.
Protein is the Macro-Molecule of Building
Your protein intake is a truly important part of muscle-building activity, recovery, nutrition, and longevity. By taking small steps over time, you can create systems, structures, and habits so that you can slowly nudge yourself in a way that is sustainable.
Protein is the macro-molecule of building, and it is only by eating enough protein on a regular basis that you can keep the process of muscle synthesis going. When you start taking your protein intake throughout the day seriously, you will see the results you are looking for and start to feel more confident in applying what you are learning to your routine.
Are you ready to start taking your daily protein intake seriously? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“If there was something I could talk about all day long within the realm of sports and performance nutrition, it is why protein is so damn important and how to work on increasing your protein intake.” (1:57)
“It does take time to learn how to translate quantities into real-life habits.” (7:15)
“It is not uncommon for female athletes who are trying to build strength and muscle to be eating less than half or a little bit more than half of the recommended amount of protein that you need each day.” (12:35)
“You are athletic, you are active, you are not sedentary, you need more energy!” (16:01)
“The worst thing you can do is cut your calories drastically, keep your protein low, and fail to strength train. We do not want you to do that.” (20:40)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
Nutrition is complicated, even for athletic women over 40. You need to find the sweet spot for your body and the amount of training when it comes to fueling yourself properly. Despite what you may have been told in the past, going for long stretches of time living in a within-day energy deficit can have a massive impact on your training. The good news is that by reframing how you fuel throughout the day, you can avoid these mistakes and take your training and nutrition to the next level.
If You Want to Avoid Within-Day Energy Deficits, You Should:
Understanding Within-Day Energy Deficiency
Avoiding long stretches of time where your body goes without food, especially when it is in a prime state to recover, is a mistake that could be impacting your progress, metabolism, training, energy, and so much more.
Adequate energy intake is necessary, especially as a female athlete over 40 who is training hard. While the last thing you need to do is obsess over being perfect, understanding why, how, and when you fuel is a key ingredient in building strength and longevity.
Finding The Sweet Spot For You
Even if you feel like you ‘eat a lot’, it is a complex nuance of timing, types of calories, training, and more that can impact your likelihood of existing in a within-day energy deficit. Experimenting by listening to your body, going into your training with fuel, and refueling in a timely manner afterward will help you avoid a state of low energy availability.
Eating regularly throughout the day to support your training and recovery is a necessary key to your training and recovery. Implementing the principles I discuss on today's show will help you move forward with the confidence to do so.
Are you ready to fuel, train and recover smarter so that you can use your strength as a catalyst for more? Share your thoughts and experiences with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“When it comes to the nuance and the context, those things need to be teased apart. And that's really what we do here on the podcast, to give you the rationale to go into depth, to explain why this stuff matters for us.” (4:24)
“Many athletic women just don't have a good enough concept of what ‘enough’ energy is.” (9:44)
“If you are doing intense training and not refueling until hours afterward, you are continuing to stay in a breakdown state, I don't know how else to tell you that!” (18:38)
“I used to do this. I get it. I get the whole situation. This is why I am kind of nudging you to reconsider. Because I know what it is like, and I know how much better things are on the other side.” (26:38)
“You are going to train so much better when you are properly fueled and doing it in a timely fashion.” (32:23)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Within-Day Energy Balance in Mexican Female Soccer (Football) Players Research Article
Within-Day Energy Deficiency and Reproductive Function in Female Endurance Athletes Research Article
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 391: What is Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)?
FYS 392: Understanding Total Daily Energy Expenditure
FYS 376: Peri-Menopause, Fasting and Low Carb in Athletic Women with Dr. Stacy Sims