If you are a woman in her 40s or beyond and have any contact with social media, or are prone to the odd doom scroll, then I can more or less guarantee that you have been invaded by social media 'experts' telling you to ‘EAT MORE PROTEIN’
asking;
'are you getting enough protein to meet your needs?'
'Are you strength training?'
'Are you doing cardio for heart health?'
'Are you taking x y z new supplement?'
'Are you breathing?'
'Are you taking time to yourself?'
'Are you ridding yourself of toxic relationships?'
It is anxiety-provoking, overwhelming and down-right frustrating, and where do you start?
As a nutritional therapist, I have to start with the basics with my clients and focus on the ‘how’ and ‘when’… it is learning how to implement in a manageable sustainable way that really makes the difference in achieving our health goals.

So here I am naming it and listing it out for you, so you can see just how you can hit your ‘protein’ goals.
Why is protein so important for me?
First of all, you need to understand the ‘why’ so that you commit yourself to do it. Why IS protein so important as a non-body building female in my 40s?
Well, here are some (not all) important & maybe surprising functions of protein and their component parts (amino acids) in our fascinating bodies….
1) Protein is vital for maintaining muscle mass. As we pass 30 years of age, we lose muscle mass by a rate of around 1-2% per year, and the more we age, the faster this accelerates like a runaway train hurtling down a hill! We can’t halt ageing, but what we can do is slow its progress, we can refuse to be a statistic of ageing meaning eating less and moving less…
2) Proteins can act as messengers, otherwise known as hormones. This vital property as a messenger means that it is with the aid of proteins that cells receive messages that then respond to regulate function such as growth, reproduction and metabolism. Without proteins our body would struggle to send messages & therefore respond!
3) It might be surprising also to learn that proteins are important for healthy detoxication in the liver. The liver uses very specific amino acids (found in protein) to carry out vital processes such as safe removal of toxins & production of energy. When we can detox efficiently, we are less prone to disease, age better & increase longevity.
4) Protein is an integral part of a healthy immune system. Proteins as antibodies help us identify the enemy and mount an attack!
So, let’s cut to the chase, we understand why we need to maintain and even increase our protein intake as we age and exercise, but how do we get this in without necking MuscleMan protein shakes all day.
I have set out a day’s food intake below to give you an idea of how to do this, without committing to a life cycle of chicken breasts and broccoli!!
So, let’s get into it:
Let’s consider a 60kg woman in her 40s, I would recommend she gets around 100kg of protein daily to meet her ageing and exercise needs (1.6g of protein per kg of ideal body weight according to this research), especially if she is strength training and/ or making a concerted effort to build a healthy body. That translate as 3 meals of 25-30g each, with an additional high protein snack

Breakfast:
2 scrambled eggs (12g protein) with tinned salmon (85g serving is 20g of protein), served with rocket and fresh tomatoes. Total approx. 32g protein.
Mid-morning OR afternoon snack:
2 lentil cakes (3g protein) spread with 100g cottage cheese (10-11g protein) and half a medium avocado (2g protein) Total 15g protein
Lunch:
Quinoa and bean salad (ask me for my delicious lemony white bean and quinoa salad which provides a whopping 24g of protein per serving!
Dinner:
Tray bake roasted veg with chicken breast & pesto dressing – 30g of protein
Total protein intake for the day: 101g of good quality protein. Equally important are the antioxidants, fibre and fat here which provide a satiating and energising food program!
I cannot underline enough, as a nutritionist with gut health specialism, that variety is key here – as with all aspects of life our microbiome and overall health needs colour and variety. Please do not pick one meal and stick to it, find a handful, rotate them and interchange with seasonal produce and selection of herbs and spices!
Please reach out to me if you are struggling to hit your protein needs and bored of the chicken and broccoli eat and repeat MO!
Lucy x
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