Protein, Protein, Protein

Protein is one of the most powerful tools for fat loss, muscle tone, metabolism support, and appetite control — yet most women aren’t eating enough of it.

In this episode of the Worth the Weight Podcast, I break down why protein matters, how much women actually need, and simple ways to increase protein intake without making meals complicated.

If your goal is to lose fat, feel stronger, and create sustainable results, understanding protein can make all the difference.

Consistency creates transformation — and your best life is waiting on the other side of it!

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Transcript

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Welcome to Worth the Wait Podcast, where we talk about the mindset and habits behind real transformation, because transformation is earned and your best life is waiting on the other side of consistency. I'm your host, Coach Courtney, and today we're talking all about protein, why it matters, how much you really need, and why most women aren't eating enough of it. Protein plays a major role in fat loss, muscle tone, hormone balance, metabolism, and appetite control. So if your goal is to lose fat, feel stronger, and finally see progress, this episode will help you understand how protein can make the biggest difference in your results. Something I truly believe is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized tools when it comes to fat loss, toning, and overall health is protein. Most women are not eating enough protein, not even close. And the truth is, when protein intake is too low, it can make fat loss harder, it can make muscle tone harder to achieve, it'll make energy levels lower and hunger levels higher. So today I want to break down protein in a way that is simple, practical, and realistic so you can actually apply it to your daily life. What is protein? Well, protein is one of the three main macronutrients our body needs. So if you hear people talk about macros, it's just short for macronutrients. And protein is one of those, along with carbohydrates and fats. So protein is made up of amino acids, which are basically the building blocks of your body. So protein supports muscle repair, metabolism, hormones, immune function, hair, skin, and nails, and just overall feeling fuller after meals. When women tell me that they want to tone their body, what they're really saying is that they want to lose body fat while maintaining or building lean muscle. So protein is essential for that process. Without enough protein, the body can lose muscle along with fat, which slows metabolism and makes it harder to achieve that lean tone look that you have. And it also is the factor that gives people that skinny fat look. They've lost fat, but they've also lost their muscle along with it. Protein is so important for fat loss because it plays a huge role in it for several reasons. Protein helps control hunger, is one of them. Protein keeps you full way longer than carbs alone. When meals are low in protein, people often find themselves snacking more, craving sugar, feeling hungry again quickly, and overeating later in the day. And what protein does is help stabilize your blood sugar and reduce those intense cravings. Another thing that protein does is it helps support your metabolism. Your body burns more calories digesting protein than it does digesting carbs or fats. So this is called the thermic effect of food. Protein literally requires more energy for your body to break down and utilize. And it also protects muscle during weight loss. So when you're losing weight, we don't just want the scale to go down. We want body composition to improve. And what does that mean? That means more muscle equals higher metabolism, more muscle equals tighter, firmer look and overall aesthetic, and it helps preserve muscle so the weight loss or the weight that you lose is more likely to be body fat rather than muscle. So, how much protein do you actually need? Most women are only eating around 40 to 60 grams of protein per day. And I've seen this over and over with my clients when they first come to me and I look at what are you doing now? Let's track a week and see, you know, what is your regular routine that you're doing and how what are you eating throughout the day? When they start tracking it, it will average out. Some days are even lower than that, but it'll average out to around 40 to 60 grams of protein per day, which is by far not enough because most women trying to lose fat need closer to 90 to 130 grams of protein per day, depending on their size and depending on their goals. But you want to try to get 25 to 35 grams of protein per meal. That should be what you target. If you eat three meals per day, that usually gets you into that right range. Examples of protein amounts could be four ounces of chicken breast. That's about 35 grams of protein. Three eggs is about 18 grams of protein. One scoop of protein powder, depending on which powder you're using, but it usually ranges about 20 to 25 grams of protein. Three-fourths of a cup of Greek yogurt is about 15 to 20 grams of protein. And one cup of egg whites is about 26 grams of protein. So many women are eating meals that only contain 8 to 12 grams of protein, which is simply just not enough to support what you're saying you want. A common protein mistake that I see a lot of women make are only eating protein at dinner. They do not hardly have any protein for breakfast or lunch, and they'll try to pack all of their protein in at dinner. And our bodies benefit more when protein is spread throughout the day. Mistake number two is relying mostly on carbs. So, what do most breakfasts look like? We see cereal, toast, muffins, pop tarts, bagels, all of those things are carbohydrates, and they leave us feeling hungry pretty soon after we eat them. They do not leave us feeling very full. Adding protein to breakfast can dramatically improve energy and appetite control. Mistake number three: thinking protein has to be complicated. And I know that we it can get so complicated in what you hear, and you hear so much conflicting information from so many different people, and you're you're just kind of left grabbing your head, not knowing what to believe and what to do. But protein does not have to be complicated. I mean, it's actually very simple. Protein can be things as eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, protein shakes. All of that will work. And that's not hard, and you don't have to have a ton of ingredients to make that. Single ingredients items. And what do I always say? Consistency beats complexity every time. So, what are some practical ways that you can incorporate this into your diet and daily schedule? Well, you could start your day with protein. So, examples of that could be eggs with egg whites, it could be Greek yogurt bowl if you like Greek yogurt, it can be a protein shake, it can be protein oatmeal. And something that I have heard a lot more about here lately and that's becoming a lot more popular is protein coffee. So building meals around protein first, instead of asking what carb can I eat, ask what is my protein source? What protein source can I start with for breakfast? And if you prep that protein ahead of time, it's going to be so much easier in the mornings when you're trying to get ready, get the kids ready, get them to school, get yourself to work, get started for the day. Being able to just grab protein as you're headed out the door will help a lot. And keep convenient options available. So keep protein powder, keep the Greek yogurt, keep deli turkey, keep string cheese. All of that, again, it's just something that you can grab and go because we all have find ourselves in a situation where we're in a hurry. This took longer than we thought. We've the kid forgot to tell you that he needs to be at school to take a test in the morning that you didn't know about, so you're already behind. Having these things on hand in order to grab them really quick is beneficial and can help keep you and stay on your goal throughout the day. So keep it simple. You don't need fancy recipes and you don't need repeatable habits. Protein is not just for bodybuilders, and it's also not going to make you bulky. There are many clients that I have that I've had conversations with in the past, and I did the same thing before I knew what I know now. That I was afraid that eating protein and uh lifting heavy was gonna make me really bulky, and I did not want that bulky look. I wanted more of a lean look. But I can promise you, protein is not going to make you bulky. Uh, it in fact it will help you lose body fat, it will help you feel stronger, it increases your metabolism, it balances your hormones, it helps lower cortisol levels, it reduces food cravings because it keeps you fuller longer. And all of those things together, it helps build your confidence. Small improvements in protein intake can lead to significant improvement in results. Consistency over perfection, I say it all the time. Consistency over perfection. Small habits repeated daily create transformation over time. And because your best self is not a quick fix, she's worth the wait.