June 16, 2025 • 23 mins
In this episode, I’m breaking down what really happens when you’re not eating enough protein in your 40s and beyond. We’ll cover the signs of protein deficiency, how it slows your metabolism, leads to stubborn fat gain, weakens your muscles, and even impacts your blood sugar and aging.
You’ll also learn how much protein you actually need, the best sources (especially for women over 40), and how to easily increase your intake — without counting every macro or living off protein shakes.
Protein powder I recommend (15% off) https://hckait.com/equip
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:33 Why protein needs increase after 40
03:50 How much protein you actually need
05:08 Plant vs animal protein
06:36 Signs you’re not eating enough protein
09:31 What happens when you under eat protein
13:49 Why women under eat protein
16:05 How to eat enough protein
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Let me know if this sounds like you.
You hit 40 and it feels like your metabolism has slowed down.
You don't have as much energy, you're gaining weight despite
your best efforts to lose weight, and you don't feel like
you've really done anything differently.
Part of the solution might be easier than you think.
A lot of these things are causedby not eating enough protein,
(00:21):
which we actually need more of as we age.
And this goes for men and women,but for women it's even more
important. So many women, no matter what
age, are under eating protein and don't even realise it.
And especially after you hit 40,your metabolism actually starts
to slow down. You lose more muscle and fat
becomes harder to burn, especially around your
(00:43):
midsection. So in today's episode of the
Healthy Not Complicated podcast,I'm going to be talking about
why protein is so important, especially after 40, signs that
you're not eating enough, how toget more into your diet, all of
the good stuff. We're going to be talking about
it today and let me tell you, just making this one, one simple
change can make such a difference.
I have seen this with myself in my results in the gym.
(01:06):
Obviously I'm not over 40 yet, but protein is important at any
stage of life and I've noticed the differences when I've
incorporated more into my diet and I've seen it with so many of
my clients especially who are over 40, because that's when it
really makes a big difference. Your body doesn't metabolise it
as efficiently, so you do actually need more as you age.
(01:28):
But we'll get into that all today and we'll talk about the
risks of not eating enough and what it means for your long term
health. But let's start off by talking
about why you need more. Over 41 of the main reasons why
we need more as we age is because after 30 we start to
lose muscle mass. And this is really important to
hold on to. This isn't just about
bodybuilding or strength in the gym, or even about aesthetics.
(01:52):
Muscle is a metabolic hormone, so it's really, really important
for our metabolism. After 30 we start losing more
and more muscle mass and this accelerates when we hit 40, when
we hit 50. And one of the reasons why we
lose it at an accelerated rate is that our body isn't
metabolising protein as efficiently and we're not
compensating and eating more of it.
(02:13):
So it's a pretty easy fix if you're looking big picture.
Another reason that you need more protein is because of
hormonal changes as you age. Declining oestrogen in women and
declining testosterone in men mean you hold on to less muscle
as well. You have to fight a little bit
harder to maintain it. And yeah, just because we aren't
able to digest it as efficiently, we need to eat more
(02:36):
quality protein and make sure we're getting it from the right
sources in order to meet our needs and be able to hold on to
this and support our hormones efficiently.
Now, the recommendations for protein are far too low.
They are really set at the bare,bare minimum amount you need in
order to just be able to function day to day, I guess.
(02:58):
But it is far too low if you want optimal health, if you want
to maintain your muscle. And like I've said a few times
so far through this video, maintaining your muscle mass is
super, super important as you age.
It's going to mean that you're going to be at a lower risk of
injury, so you'll be less likelyto fall, you're going to be more
stable, you're going to be less likely to fracture or break
(03:21):
bones, and it's going to supportyour metabolism more.
You're going to be able to use the energy in your system more
efficiently. It improves insulin sensitivity
as well because your muscles actually store glucose.
So if you have more muscle mass and you have more room to store
glucose throughout your body andthis improves your insulin
sensitivity. So having more muscle isn't just
(03:42):
about looks. It's not just about being
strong. It's about supporting our
metabolism and everything that comes along with that.
So the general recommendations for protein intake, if we're
talking your weight in pounds, if you look at your ideal body
weight, it's about .36 grammes per pound of your ideal body
(04:03):
weight. And I think it's about .8
grammes per kilo of your ideal body weight.
Far, far too low. You should be aiming for one
gramme of protein per pound of your ideal body weight.
So if the ideal body weight for your height for your gender is
£150, you should be aiming to get 150 grammes of protein in
(04:25):
every every single day. And so for kilos, that's going
to be 2.2 grammes per kilo of your ideal body weight.
So if 70 kilos is your ideal body weight, then you want to be
aiming for, oh God, like 145 grammes of protein.
And this is what's been shown inthe research to be the optimal
amount. And it's you can get away with a
(04:48):
little bit less when you're younger if you're sedentary, if
you're not active and working out that frequently.
But as you age, it becomes even more important to hit this
threshold because like I said, your body isn't digesting and
metabolising it as efficiently. So what you're eating, your body
isn't able to use all of that. But also the quality of protein
(05:10):
makes a big difference as well because and what I'm talking
about here is basically plant protein versus animal protein.
The protein that we get from meat and animal products, it's
more bioavailable. Our body is able to utilise more
of it than the protein we get from things like beans and
legumes. The protein in beans and
legumes, it's some of it is bound to anti nutrients and
(05:33):
that's why our body isn't able to use it.
And anti nutrients, if you're not familiar, they're basically
exactly what they sound like. They hold on to nutrients so our
body can't use them. And there are ways to, I guess
like deactivate them. If you think of something like
spinach, which on paper has a decent amount of iron in it, but
(05:55):
I'm sure you've probably heard that you have to cook spinach in
order to be able to use the ironthat's in it.
And that's because the iron is initially bound to anti
nutrients. So by cooking it, you're
actually able to use more of it when you eat the spinach.
So it's kind of a similar concept when it comes to protein
that we get from plants. Things like soaking and
(06:16):
sprouting beans, legumes can deactivate these anti nutrients
and make the protein a little bit more bioavailable.
But it's a lot easier and more straightforward to just focus on
animal foods as a protein sourcebecause your body can actually
use them and absorb them a lot more efficiently.
(06:37):
Let's sidestep a little bit and talk about signs that you're not
getting enough protein. One of the biggest ones is that
you are constantly hungry and have cravings throughout the
day. Protein is extremely safe and
it's because protein is so important for our bodies.
It has so many functions that wewill remain hungry until our
(06:57):
protein needs are met, if that makes sense.
And that's why it's so easy to overeat things that are low in
protein. Things like potato chips or
French fries that are mainly carbs and or fat.
You can be completely stuffed from a meal and still picking at
those French fries. And the reason that you're still
able to pick at them is because they don't have a lot of
(07:19):
protein. Meanwhile, something like
chicken or steak, it is very hard to overeat because once you
meet your protein needs, hunger kind of switches off.
So if you are still hungry throughout the day, if you're
hungry in between meals, if you're someone who always needs
to snack, you're probably not eating enough protein at your
meals. And that's a sign that you
(07:39):
should be eating more. Hair loss, hair thinning,
brittle nails, These are also signs that you're not getting
enough protein. You need protein to not only
maintain contain your muscle mass, but all of the tissue in
your body. So this includes your hair, this
includes your nails, this includes your joints, your
bones, all of that. If your muscles get really sore
after you workout and it takes awhile for them to bounce back
(08:03):
and not be sore anymore, that's another sign you're not eating
enough protein. You're not giving your body the
raw materials it needs to repairyour muscles after you work out.
If you find that your metabolismis really slow, if you are
counting calories, which I don'trecommend, but if you are
counting calories and you're eating something like 1200 and
you're still gaining weight, you're not losing.
(08:25):
This is a sign that you're not eating enough protein.
Low energy throughout the day aswell.
Well, protein isn't a Direct Energy source.
Not eating enough can leave you feeling a little bit sluggish.
So if any of these kind of rang true to you, that might mean
that you need to take a look at how much protein you're eating
and increase your intake. And the thing with protein is
(08:45):
that it is so beneficial for supporting our metabolism
because it takes more energy forour bodies to digest than
carbohydrates or fat. When you eat protein, about 20
to 30% of the energy that's in that food, it takes your body to
digest it, if that makes sense. I worded that kind of weirdly,
but basically what I mean is if you eat 100 calories of protein,
(09:08):
it takes about 20 to 30% of thatto digest it.
So the net calories that you're actually consuming is 70 to 80
calories, whereas with carbs it's 5 to 10% and fat it's like
0 to 3%. So it doesn't take much energy
to digest carbs and fat, but forprotein, it does take more
energy. And this is actually a good
(09:28):
thing. It just supports your
metabolism, kind of keeps it firing.
And if you don't eat enough protein, here are some of the
side effects you might experience.
Muscle breakdown. Like I said, you're going to
have less muscle mass, which is really important as we age,
especially after 40 and beyond. It's also going to increase your
risk of insulin resistance. When we go through menopause or
(09:49):
andropause, we actually become more insulin resistant
naturally, and that's because there's changes in our hormones.
But also losing muscle mass increases insulin resistance
because, like I said, our musclestores glucose.
So if you have more muscle, you have more room to store glucose.
You eat something high in carbs,it's broken down into sugar, it
enters your bloodstream and yourbody wants to shovel that to
(10:12):
your cells. So if you don't have a lot of
muscle mass, there's not a lot of room to put that in.
But if you do have more muscle mass, it can be spread out,
which means less insulins neededall at once.
Your blood sugar is going to be more stable, all good things.
You're going to be less likely to be insulin resistant or it's
going to improve it to a degree because as we age we become more
(10:34):
insulin resistant naturally. So if we were insulin resistant
before 40, it's only going to compound, which isn't ideal.
Yes, it's going to happen to some degree, but there are
things you can do to minimise it.
And eating enough protein, maintaining your muscle, these
are going to help. But beyond that, you also are at
(10:55):
a higher risk of falls, fractures.
You're going to be more frail. And later in life, one big fall
can significantly reduce your longevity and how long you're
going to live. And that's why it's so important
to stay on top of this as we ageand not wait until we've kind of
reached that point where we're not able to be active anymore,
(11:16):
where we're not able to stay moving.
Once you have a fall later in life, it's it can be pretty
dire. And there are ways to prevent
that. And eating protein, it's so
easy, but it just makes such a big difference.
And that's really the point thatI want to stress in this
episode. Also, if you're not eating
(11:37):
enough protein, it decreases your immune function.
And it also means longer healingtimes.
So if you do have that fall, it's going to take longer for
you to bounce back if you bounceback now.
I'm not talking like hopefully if you're just past 40, you're
not at the point where one fall can kind of make or break things
for you. But this is really a turning
(11:58):
point when things start to decline more rapidly, and
anything you can do to stay ahead of it to keep yourself in
better shape is going to help you further down the line.
It all adds up. And it doesn't have to be like
you don't need to be a marathon runner at 40 or anything like
that. Just stay moving when you can
and eating enough protein. Such a big difference.
(12:19):
Another thing that happens if you're not eating enough protein
is weight gain because you're eating less protein, but you're
probably eating more energy to feel full.
So you're eating more carbohydrates and more fat and
anything that your body isn't using immediately for energy,
it's going to be storing. If you're under eating protein,
but you're still eating enough to kind of feel energised
(12:41):
throughout the day, you're probably over consuming energy
and that's going to lead to weight gain.
And once you start to become insulin resistant and once it
progresses after 40 and after menopause and andropause, then
it becomes really difficult to lose weight because your insulin
levels are higher at baseline. And when insulin levels are
high, this is signalling your body to store fat and energy and
(13:03):
not to burn it, because if insulin's high, that means
there's energy readily availablein your body.
That's what it would look like for someone who is metabolically
healthy. So even if the energy is there
by your insulin resistant, your cells aren't taking it
improperly, so your body doesn'trealise that it needs to tap
into your stored body fat. You are more likely to be
(13:25):
gaining weight instead of losingit, and you're more likely to
gain weight around your midsection as visceral fat,
which is a whole different issue.
I mean, it is related to insulinresistance, but it is an
inflammatory type of fat. It's not just stored energy.
It actually causes inflammation in the body and increases
disease risk and other things like that.
(13:47):
But it all starts with higher insulin levels.
I mentioned this earlier, but aswomen especially, we tend to
under eat protein. We have this misconception
that's kind of been drilled intoall of us that protein is for
bodybuilders. If we're eating too much, we're
going to get bulky. Need to focus on having lean
protein sources. A lot of women, and I think this
(14:08):
is kind of shifting to a degree,but tend to gravitate towards
chicken and whitefish and avoid anything that's red meat or
heavy in our minds at least. Also, whenever we've been
promoted like a low calorie weight loss plant, it's always
low fat. So it's always just lean sources
of protein. And that's actually not what we
(14:30):
want. And that's especially not what
we want if we have insulin resistance, which we're more
likely to have after 40. Because if you eat lean protein
without fat, it actually can be converted into glucose because
you're not giving your body an energy source with your meals.
So the body is kind of used to running on carbohydrates.
(14:51):
You're not getting any carbs with your meal or you're not
getting a lot of them, and then you're not getting any fat
because you're focusing on lean protein.
So the body's going to convert some of that protein into
glucose. Now, this doesn't happen for
people who are metabolically healthy.
This is only really seen in those who are insulin resistant,
but it's an easy fix. If you have your protein within
a fat, then your body uses that fat for energy instead and uses
(15:15):
the protein where it's actually needed for maintaining muscle
mass, maintaining tissue, that sort of thing.
But just in general, we as womenare under consuming protein and
this really catches up to us later in life.
It really is even more importantafter 40 to be making sure that
you're eating enough and eating even more than you might have
(15:35):
when you were younger. And it's not about eating more
volume in general. It's just about being smarter
with your meals. At the end of the day, every
meal should be focused around protein because it is the most
important macronutrient that you're consuming, fat and carbs.
Those are just energy. And yes, you need some fat to a
degree for hormone function, that sort of thing.
(15:55):
But carbs you can cut down quitea bit and not have any negative
side effects. Protein you absolutely cannot
skimp on. It really needs to be the centre
of every meal. At the start of this video, I
mentioned having a goal of 1 gramme of protein per pound of
your ideal body weight. But honestly, most women, most
people in general are probably getting around 50 grammes of
(16:18):
protein a day, nowhere near enough.
So a good starting point if you are really new to this and
you're finding it hard to get enough protein is to aim for 100
grammes in a day. If you can get 100 grammes,
you're going to feel a whole lotbetter.
And then from there, you can tryto increase it.
And I do have other videos that talk about how to get 100
(16:38):
grammes in a day and other videos that talk about hacks to
add to your meal to increase your protein intake.
So I'll link one of those up above or in the description box
if you're listening on Spotify. But as a rule, protein the
centre of every single meal and try to get at least 30 grammes
of protein. Now when I say 30 grammes of
protein, I am not talking about the weight of the food.
You're not just eating 30 grammes or I don't know what
(17:01):
that is, 2/3 ounces of meat that's or is it even less than
that? Sorry, my conversions to ounces,
I don't know answers at all. But I'm not talking about the
weight of the meat. When I say 30 grammes of
protein, I'm talking about the amount of protein that is in
that. So a chicken breast or a steak
that's about the size of your hand is going to have 30 grammes
(17:22):
of protein. Any protein source from animal
products, it's about the palm ofyour hand, not the palm of your
hand. About your hand without your
fingers, that's going to be 30 grammes of protein.
So you want to be getting at least that amount in with every
meal. So this can be beef, this can be
chicken, this can be fish. If you're having eggs, you need
to have about 5 eggs in order toget 30 grammes of protein, which
(17:45):
I know not everyone wants to eatfive eggs at once.
So that's where you can pair protein sources.
Have some chicken with your eggs, have some sausages without
an added filler or without addedsugar.
Even bacon is a good protein source.
Just make sure again doesn't have added sugar.
Eggs and smoked salmon. If we're talking breakfast, you
can pair these protein sources, but you just want to make sure
(18:05):
that you're getting 30 grammes at every meal.
And if you're doing that, then you're going to be close to that
100 grammes, which is bare, bareminimum.
Some other ways to increase yourprotein at your meals.
Cottage cheese is a great protein source.
Greek yoghurt, you can use this in sauces, dips, that sort of
thing. That's going to increase your
protein content. If you're really, really, really
(18:27):
struggling to get enough proteinin, then protein powder can be a
good option. Food should always be your first
choice, but a high quality whey protein can be a good way to get
a decent amount of protein in and help you to reach your goals
and help you to maintain your muscle mass and keep your
metabolism firing. It is hard to find one without
fillers, so I'll link to a couple in the description box
(18:49):
down below that I recommend thatI personally use that are good
brands because like I said, there's a lot with added sugar,
artificial sweeteners, which we want to avoid.
Those can raise insulin just like weird ingredients in
general that aren't necessary. The fewer ingredients, the
better. And yeah, there's one brand
called Equip that's based in theUSI do think they ship to most
countries. They're really good.
(19:11):
It's basically just like whey protein is the main ingredient
and maybe a bit of like stevia and maybe a bit of cacao powder
depending on the flavour you getor they have a plain 1.
So that's a really good brand that I'll link to down below.
Adding a collagen powder to yourcoffee or adding a whey protein
powder to your coffee. That's a good way to get a extra
dose in. Now, in general, I don't
(19:33):
recommend snacking. I recommend focusing on two to
three good quality meals every day because when you're snacking
all day long, even if it's low carb, high protein snacks, your
insulin is going to be going up to some degree.
And if you're eating and snacking all day long, that
insulin doesn't have a chance tocome back down to baseline.
And that's when insulin sensitivity improves.
(19:54):
That gives your body and your digestion a break.
So if you can give yourself a few hours in between meals,
that's going to help you just like across the board.
And that's why I recommend focusing on.
On quality meals and not really snacking in between.
If you are eating enough protein, you're not going to be
hungry in between your meals forsnacks, so that's an added
(20:16):
bonus. But if you do need to snack,
something like a whey protein powder, Greek yoghurt, cottage
cheese, tinned fish, that sort of thing.
If you have some leftover chicken or beef, these are all
great options for snacks. Even cheese, it's high in fat
and in protein. That can be a good choice.
These are all really good protein sources, and if you are
(20:37):
going to snack, these are going to be your best option.
But honestly, you don't need to overhaul your whole diet in
order to get more protein in andto reap the benefits of having
more protein. It's as simple as just making
sure you have a protein source at every single meal and making
sure you're getting at least 30 grammes at every meal.
Now, if you really have no idea where you're at in terms of how
(20:59):
much protein you're eating, track for a few days and see.
So you can use something like MyFitness Pal and just kind of
weigh out your protein, weigh out your food and see how much
you're getting. It might be really eye opening
to see the numbers that way. I am not someone who recommends
calorie counting long term, but it can be a good tool if you
(21:20):
have no concept of what the macros are in different foods.
It can be a good tool just to learn and understand what you're
eating and what foods are high in protein and what foods
aren't. Also, if you track something
like plant proteins, you'll see just how little protein there
are in things like black beans, lentils, legumes, that sort of
(21:43):
thing in comparison to carbs. These are recommended as plant
protein sources, but they all have more carbs and than
protein. So in order to get a decent
amount of protein you have to eat a lot of them.
You have to eat a lot of carbs and a lot of calories to get 30
grammes of protein, which is shocking to a lot of people
(22:03):
because they think something like chickpeas are a good source
of protein and they're really not.
So if you really want to understand this a bit more, just
track for a couple of days. Don't do it long term, but just
use it as a tool to kind of understand where you're at and
you can build off it from there.Like I said, it doesn't need to
be a complete diet overhaul. Just make a few simple changes.
(22:26):
Swap to mainly animal protein instead of plant protein.
Focus your meals around protein and your are already going to
start feeling better and you're going to notice the difference
in your mood day to day. You're going to notice that
you're maintaining more muscle. You're going to feel better,
you're going to feel sharper. Your joints might not hurt as
much because after 40, skimping on protein is really a non
(22:47):
negotiable. You can't be doing it.
It is so, so important as we agefor longevity, for overall
health, and if you want to keep feeling your best for as long as
possible, you need to be eating enough protein.
But anyways, I am going to wrap this up here.
I hope you guys found this helpful.
I hope this kind of shed some light on why protein is so
important after 40 and beyond. And I hope you learned something
(23:12):
about how to get more protein in.
I want to hear from you guys. Let me know in the comments down
below how much protein you try to eat in the day and have you
ever tracked it before? Is it hard for you to eat this
much or you find it pretty easy?Let me know in the comments down
below, either on YouTube or on Spotify.
Thank you guys for watching and then we'll see you in the next
one. Bye.
Let me know if this sounds like you.
You hit 40 and it feels like your metabolism has slowed down.
You don't have as much energy, you're gaining weight despite
your best efforts to lose weight, and you don't feel like
you've really done anything differently.
Part of the solution might be easier than you think.
A lot of these things are causedby not eating enough protein,
(00:21):
which we actually need more of as we age.
And this goes for men and women,but for women it's even more
important. So many women, no matter what
age, are under eating protein and don't even realise it.
And especially after you hit 40,your metabolism actually starts
to slow down. You lose more muscle and fat
becomes harder to burn, especially around your
(00:43):
midsection. So in today's episode of the
Healthy Not Complicated podcast,I'm going to be talking about
why protein is so important, especially after 40, signs that
you're not eating enough, how toget more into your diet, all of
the good stuff. We're going to be talking about
it today and let me tell you, just making this one, one simple
change can make such a difference.
I have seen this with myself in my results in the gym.
(01:06):
Obviously I'm not over 40 yet, but protein is important at any
stage of life and I've noticed the differences when I've
incorporated more into my diet and I've seen it with so many of
my clients especially who are over 40, because that's when it
really makes a big difference. Your body doesn't metabolise it
as efficiently, so you do actually need more as you age.
(01:28):
But we'll get into that all today and we'll talk about the
risks of not eating enough and what it means for your long term
health. But let's start off by talking
about why you need more. Over 41 of the main reasons why
we need more as we age is because after 30 we start to
lose muscle mass. And this is really important to
hold on to. This isn't just about
bodybuilding or strength in the gym, or even about aesthetics.
(01:52):
Muscle is a metabolic hormone, so it's really, really important
for our metabolism. After 30 we start losing more
and more muscle mass and this accelerates when we hit 40, when
we hit 50. And one of the reasons why we
lose it at an accelerated rate is that our body isn't
metabolising protein as efficiently and we're not
compensating and eating more of it.
(02:13):
So it's a pretty easy fix if you're looking big picture.
Another reason that you need more protein is because of
hormonal changes as you age. Declining oestrogen in women and
declining testosterone in men mean you hold on to less muscle
as well. You have to fight a little bit
harder to maintain it. And yeah, just because we aren't
able to digest it as efficiently, we need to eat more
(02:36):
quality protein and make sure we're getting it from the right
sources in order to meet our needs and be able to hold on to
this and support our hormones efficiently.
Now, the recommendations for protein are far too low.
They are really set at the bare,bare minimum amount you need in
order to just be able to function day to day, I guess.
(02:58):
But it is far too low if you want optimal health, if you want
to maintain your muscle. And like I've said a few times
so far through this video, maintaining your muscle mass is
super, super important as you age.
It's going to mean that you're going to be at a lower risk of
injury, so you'll be less likelyto fall, you're going to be more
stable, you're going to be less likely to fracture or break
(03:21):
bones, and it's going to supportyour metabolism more.
You're going to be able to use the energy in your system more
efficiently. It improves insulin sensitivity
as well because your muscles actually store glucose.
So if you have more muscle mass and you have more room to store
glucose throughout your body andthis improves your insulin
sensitivity. So having more muscle isn't just
(03:42):
about looks. It's not just about being
strong. It's about supporting our
metabolism and everything that comes along with that.
So the general recommendations for protein intake, if we're
talking your weight in pounds, if you look at your ideal body
weight, it's about .36 grammes per pound of your ideal body
(04:03):
weight. And I think it's about .8
grammes per kilo of your ideal body weight.
Far, far too low. You should be aiming for one
gramme of protein per pound of your ideal body weight.
So if the ideal body weight for your height for your gender is
£150, you should be aiming to get 150 grammes of protein in
(04:25):
every every single day. And so for kilos, that's going
to be 2.2 grammes per kilo of your ideal body weight.
So if 70 kilos is your ideal body weight, then you want to be
aiming for, oh God, like 145 grammes of protein.
And this is what's been shown inthe research to be the optimal
amount. And it's you can get away with a
(04:48):
little bit less when you're younger if you're sedentary, if
you're not active and working out that frequently.
But as you age, it becomes even more important to hit this
threshold because like I said, your body isn't digesting and
metabolising it as efficiently. So what you're eating, your body
isn't able to use all of that. But also the quality of protein
(05:10):
makes a big difference as well because and what I'm talking
about here is basically plant protein versus animal protein.
The protein that we get from meat and animal products, it's
more bioavailable. Our body is able to utilise more
of it than the protein we get from things like beans and
legumes. The protein in beans and
legumes, it's some of it is bound to anti nutrients and
(05:33):
that's why our body isn't able to use it.
And anti nutrients, if you're not familiar, they're basically
exactly what they sound like. They hold on to nutrients so our
body can't use them. And there are ways to, I guess
like deactivate them. If you think of something like
spinach, which on paper has a decent amount of iron in it, but
(05:55):
I'm sure you've probably heard that you have to cook spinach in
order to be able to use the ironthat's in it.
And that's because the iron is initially bound to anti
nutrients. So by cooking it, you're
actually able to use more of it when you eat the spinach.
So it's kind of a similar concept when it comes to protein
that we get from plants. Things like soaking and
(06:16):
sprouting beans, legumes can deactivate these anti nutrients
and make the protein a little bit more bioavailable.
But it's a lot easier and more straightforward to just focus on
animal foods as a protein sourcebecause your body can actually
use them and absorb them a lot more efficiently.
(06:37):
Let's sidestep a little bit and talk about signs that you're not
getting enough protein. One of the biggest ones is that
you are constantly hungry and have cravings throughout the
day. Protein is extremely safe and
it's because protein is so important for our bodies.
It has so many functions that wewill remain hungry until our
(06:57):
protein needs are met, if that makes sense.
And that's why it's so easy to overeat things that are low in
protein. Things like potato chips or
French fries that are mainly carbs and or fat.
You can be completely stuffed from a meal and still picking at
those French fries. And the reason that you're still
able to pick at them is because they don't have a lot of
(07:19):
protein. Meanwhile, something like
chicken or steak, it is very hard to overeat because once you
meet your protein needs, hunger kind of switches off.
So if you are still hungry throughout the day, if you're
hungry in between meals, if you're someone who always needs
to snack, you're probably not eating enough protein at your
meals. And that's a sign that you
(07:39):
should be eating more. Hair loss, hair thinning,
brittle nails, These are also signs that you're not getting
enough protein. You need protein to not only
maintain contain your muscle mass, but all of the tissue in
your body. So this includes your hair, this
includes your nails, this includes your joints, your
bones, all of that. If your muscles get really sore
after you workout and it takes awhile for them to bounce back
(08:03):
and not be sore anymore, that's another sign you're not eating
enough protein. You're not giving your body the
raw materials it needs to repairyour muscles after you work out.
If you find that your metabolismis really slow, if you are
counting calories, which I don'trecommend, but if you are
counting calories and you're eating something like 1200 and
you're still gaining weight, you're not losing.
(08:25):
This is a sign that you're not eating enough protein.
Low energy throughout the day aswell.
Well, protein isn't a Direct Energy source.
Not eating enough can leave you feeling a little bit sluggish.
So if any of these kind of rang true to you, that might mean
that you need to take a look at how much protein you're eating
and increase your intake. And the thing with protein is
(08:45):
that it is so beneficial for supporting our metabolism
because it takes more energy forour bodies to digest than
carbohydrates or fat. When you eat protein, about 20
to 30% of the energy that's in that food, it takes your body to
digest it, if that makes sense. I worded that kind of weirdly,
but basically what I mean is if you eat 100 calories of protein,
(09:08):
it takes about 20 to 30% of thatto digest it.
So the net calories that you're actually consuming is 70 to 80
calories, whereas with carbs it's 5 to 10% and fat it's like
0 to 3%. So it doesn't take much energy
to digest carbs and fat, but forprotein, it does take more
energy. And this is actually a good
(09:28):
thing. It just supports your
metabolism, kind of keeps it firing.
And if you don't eat enough protein, here are some of the
side effects you might experience.
Muscle breakdown. Like I said, you're going to
have less muscle mass, which is really important as we age,
especially after 40 and beyond. It's also going to increase your
risk of insulin resistance. When we go through menopause or
(09:49):
andropause, we actually become more insulin resistant
naturally, and that's because there's changes in our hormones.
But also losing muscle mass increases insulin resistance
because, like I said, our musclestores glucose.
So if you have more muscle, you have more room to store glucose.
You eat something high in carbs,it's broken down into sugar, it
enters your bloodstream and yourbody wants to shovel that to
(10:12):
your cells. So if you don't have a lot of
muscle mass, there's not a lot of room to put that in.
But if you do have more muscle mass, it can be spread out,
which means less insulins neededall at once.
Your blood sugar is going to be more stable, all good things.
You're going to be less likely to be insulin resistant or it's
going to improve it to a degree because as we age we become more
(10:34):
insulin resistant naturally. So if we were insulin resistant
before 40, it's only going to compound, which isn't ideal.
Yes, it's going to happen to some degree, but there are
things you can do to minimise it.
And eating enough protein, maintaining your muscle, these
are going to help. But beyond that, you also are at
(10:55):
a higher risk of falls, fractures.
You're going to be more frail. And later in life, one big fall
can significantly reduce your longevity and how long you're
going to live. And that's why it's so important
to stay on top of this as we ageand not wait until we've kind of
reached that point where we're not able to be active anymore,
(11:16):
where we're not able to stay moving.
Once you have a fall later in life, it's it can be pretty
dire. And there are ways to prevent
that. And eating protein, it's so
easy, but it just makes such a big difference.
And that's really the point thatI want to stress in this
episode. Also, if you're not eating
(11:37):
enough protein, it decreases your immune function.
And it also means longer healingtimes.
So if you do have that fall, it's going to take longer for
you to bounce back if you bounceback now.
I'm not talking like hopefully if you're just past 40, you're
not at the point where one fall can kind of make or break things
for you. But this is really a turning
(11:58):
point when things start to decline more rapidly, and
anything you can do to stay ahead of it to keep yourself in
better shape is going to help you further down the line.
It all adds up. And it doesn't have to be like
you don't need to be a marathon runner at 40 or anything like
that. Just stay moving when you can
and eating enough protein. Such a big difference.
(12:19):
Another thing that happens if you're not eating enough protein
is weight gain because you're eating less protein, but you're
probably eating more energy to feel full.
So you're eating more carbohydrates and more fat and
anything that your body isn't using immediately for energy,
it's going to be storing. If you're under eating protein,
but you're still eating enough to kind of feel energised
(12:41):
throughout the day, you're probably over consuming energy
and that's going to lead to weight gain.
And once you start to become insulin resistant and once it
progresses after 40 and after menopause and andropause, then
it becomes really difficult to lose weight because your insulin
levels are higher at baseline. And when insulin levels are
high, this is signalling your body to store fat and energy and
(13:03):
not to burn it, because if insulin's high, that means
there's energy readily availablein your body.
That's what it would look like for someone who is metabolically
healthy. So even if the energy is there
by your insulin resistant, your cells aren't taking it
improperly, so your body doesn'trealise that it needs to tap
into your stored body fat. You are more likely to be
(13:25):
gaining weight instead of losingit, and you're more likely to
gain weight around your midsection as visceral fat,
which is a whole different issue.
I mean, it is related to insulinresistance, but it is an
inflammatory type of fat. It's not just stored energy.
It actually causes inflammation in the body and increases
disease risk and other things like that.
(13:47):
But it all starts with higher insulin levels.
I mentioned this earlier, but aswomen especially, we tend to
under eat protein. We have this misconception
that's kind of been drilled intoall of us that protein is for
bodybuilders. If we're eating too much, we're
going to get bulky. Need to focus on having lean
protein sources. A lot of women, and I think this
(14:08):
is kind of shifting to a degree,but tend to gravitate towards
chicken and whitefish and avoid anything that's red meat or
heavy in our minds at least. Also, whenever we've been
promoted like a low calorie weight loss plant, it's always
low fat. So it's always just lean sources
of protein. And that's actually not what we
(14:30):
want. And that's especially not what
we want if we have insulin resistance, which we're more
likely to have after 40. Because if you eat lean protein
without fat, it actually can be converted into glucose because
you're not giving your body an energy source with your meals.
So the body is kind of used to running on carbohydrates.
(14:51):
You're not getting any carbs with your meal or you're not
getting a lot of them, and then you're not getting any fat
because you're focusing on lean protein.
So the body's going to convert some of that protein into
glucose. Now, this doesn't happen for
people who are metabolically healthy.
This is only really seen in those who are insulin resistant,
but it's an easy fix. If you have your protein within
a fat, then your body uses that fat for energy instead and uses
(15:15):
the protein where it's actually needed for maintaining muscle
mass, maintaining tissue, that sort of thing.
But just in general, we as womenare under consuming protein and
this really catches up to us later in life.
It really is even more importantafter 40 to be making sure that
you're eating enough and eating even more than you might have
(15:35):
when you were younger. And it's not about eating more
volume in general. It's just about being smarter
with your meals. At the end of the day, every
meal should be focused around protein because it is the most
important macronutrient that you're consuming, fat and carbs.
Those are just energy. And yes, you need some fat to a
degree for hormone function, that sort of thing.
(15:55):
But carbs you can cut down quitea bit and not have any negative
side effects. Protein you absolutely cannot
skimp on. It really needs to be the centre
of every meal. At the start of this video, I
mentioned having a goal of 1 gramme of protein per pound of
your ideal body weight. But honestly, most women, most
people in general are probably getting around 50 grammes of
(16:18):
protein a day, nowhere near enough.
So a good starting point if you are really new to this and
you're finding it hard to get enough protein is to aim for 100
grammes in a day. If you can get 100 grammes,
you're going to feel a whole lotbetter.
And then from there, you can tryto increase it.
And I do have other videos that talk about how to get 100
(16:38):
grammes in a day and other videos that talk about hacks to
add to your meal to increase your protein intake.
So I'll link one of those up above or in the description box
if you're listening on Spotify. But as a rule, protein the
centre of every single meal and try to get at least 30 grammes
of protein. Now when I say 30 grammes of
protein, I am not talking about the weight of the food.
You're not just eating 30 grammes or I don't know what
(17:01):
that is, 2/3 ounces of meat that's or is it even less than
that? Sorry, my conversions to ounces,
I don't know answers at all. But I'm not talking about the
weight of the meat. When I say 30 grammes of
protein, I'm talking about the amount of protein that is in
that. So a chicken breast or a steak
that's about the size of your hand is going to have 30 grammes
(17:22):
of protein. Any protein source from animal
products, it's about the palm ofyour hand, not the palm of your
hand. About your hand without your
fingers, that's going to be 30 grammes of protein.
So you want to be getting at least that amount in with every
meal. So this can be beef, this can be
chicken, this can be fish. If you're having eggs, you need
to have about 5 eggs in order toget 30 grammes of protein, which
(17:45):
I know not everyone wants to eatfive eggs at once.
So that's where you can pair protein sources.
Have some chicken with your eggs, have some sausages without
an added filler or without addedsugar.
Even bacon is a good protein source.
Just make sure again doesn't have added sugar.
Eggs and smoked salmon. If we're talking breakfast, you
can pair these protein sources, but you just want to make sure
(18:05):
that you're getting 30 grammes at every meal.
And if you're doing that, then you're going to be close to that
100 grammes, which is bare, bareminimum.
Some other ways to increase yourprotein at your meals.
Cottage cheese is a great protein source.
Greek yoghurt, you can use this in sauces, dips, that sort of
thing. That's going to increase your
protein content. If you're really, really, really
(18:27):
struggling to get enough proteinin, then protein powder can be a
good option. Food should always be your first
choice, but a high quality whey protein can be a good way to get
a decent amount of protein in and help you to reach your goals
and help you to maintain your muscle mass and keep your
metabolism firing. It is hard to find one without
fillers, so I'll link to a couple in the description box
(18:49):
down below that I recommend thatI personally use that are good
brands because like I said, there's a lot with added sugar,
artificial sweeteners, which we want to avoid.
Those can raise insulin just like weird ingredients in
general that aren't necessary. The fewer ingredients, the
better. And yeah, there's one brand
called Equip that's based in theUSI do think they ship to most
countries. They're really good.
(19:11):
It's basically just like whey protein is the main ingredient
and maybe a bit of like stevia and maybe a bit of cacao powder
depending on the flavour you getor they have a plain 1.
So that's a really good brand that I'll link to down below.
Adding a collagen powder to yourcoffee or adding a whey protein
powder to your coffee. That's a good way to get a extra
dose in. Now, in general, I don't
(19:33):
recommend snacking. I recommend focusing on two to
three good quality meals every day because when you're snacking
all day long, even if it's low carb, high protein snacks, your
insulin is going to be going up to some degree.
And if you're eating and snacking all day long, that
insulin doesn't have a chance tocome back down to baseline.
And that's when insulin sensitivity improves.
(19:54):
That gives your body and your digestion a break.
So if you can give yourself a few hours in between meals,
that's going to help you just like across the board.
And that's why I recommend focusing on.
On quality meals and not really snacking in between.
If you are eating enough protein, you're not going to be
hungry in between your meals forsnacks, so that's an added
(20:16):
bonus. But if you do need to snack,
something like a whey protein powder, Greek yoghurt, cottage
cheese, tinned fish, that sort of thing.
If you have some leftover chicken or beef, these are all
great options for snacks. Even cheese, it's high in fat
and in protein. That can be a good choice.
These are all really good protein sources, and if you are
(20:37):
going to snack, these are going to be your best option.
But honestly, you don't need to overhaul your whole diet in
order to get more protein in andto reap the benefits of having
more protein. It's as simple as just making
sure you have a protein source at every single meal and making
sure you're getting at least 30 grammes at every meal.
Now, if you really have no idea where you're at in terms of how
(20:59):
much protein you're eating, track for a few days and see.
So you can use something like MyFitness Pal and just kind of
weigh out your protein, weigh out your food and see how much
you're getting. It might be really eye opening
to see the numbers that way. I am not someone who recommends
calorie counting long term, but it can be a good tool if you
(21:20):
have no concept of what the macros are in different foods.
It can be a good tool just to learn and understand what you're
eating and what foods are high in protein and what foods
aren't. Also, if you track something
like plant proteins, you'll see just how little protein there
are in things like black beans, lentils, legumes, that sort of
(21:43):
thing in comparison to carbs. These are recommended as plant
protein sources, but they all have more carbs and than
protein. So in order to get a decent
amount of protein you have to eat a lot of them.
You have to eat a lot of carbs and a lot of calories to get 30
grammes of protein, which is shocking to a lot of people
(22:03):
because they think something like chickpeas are a good source
of protein and they're really not.
So if you really want to understand this a bit more, just
track for a couple of days. Don't do it long term, but just
use it as a tool to kind of understand where you're at and
you can build off it from there.Like I said, it doesn't need to
be a complete diet overhaul. Just make a few simple changes.
(22:26):
Swap to mainly animal protein instead of plant protein.
Focus your meals around protein and your are already going to
start feeling better and you're going to notice the difference
in your mood day to day. You're going to notice that
you're maintaining more muscle. You're going to feel better,
you're going to feel sharper. Your joints might not hurt as
much because after 40, skimping on protein is really a non
(22:47):
negotiable. You can't be doing it.
It is so, so important as we agefor longevity, for overall
health, and if you want to keep feeling your best for as long as
possible, you need to be eating enough protein.
But anyways, I am going to wrap this up here.
I hope you guys found this helpful.
I hope this kind of shed some light on why protein is so
important after 40 and beyond. And I hope you learned something
(23:12):
about how to get more protein in.
I want to hear from you guys. Let me know in the comments down
below how much protein you try to eat in the day and have you
ever tracked it before? Is it hard for you to eat this
much or you find it pretty easy?Let me know in the comments down
below, either on YouTube or on Spotify.
Thank you guys for watching and then we'll see you in the next
one. Bye.
Host
Kait Malthaner
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