Was it a bowl of cereal? Maybe a banana, some coffee, and nothing else? Now here’s the real question how much protein was actually in that? If you’re a woman middle aged over trying to lose build strength, or simply stay strong as you get older. Protein deserves your attention. You’ll hear people say women only need 46g of protein. Then you’ll hear someone online say, you need 150g of protein, and somebody else tells eat one gram per pound of body weight, or eat a half a gram per pound of body weight. And you’re sitting here just thinking, can’t somebody just tell me what I’m supposed to eat? the truth is, there isn’t one perfect protein number for every woman.
Welcome back. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Vanessa Carlton fitness podcast. I’m Doctor Vanessa Carlton, physical therapist and founder of Vanessa Carlton Fitness, where we help busy women become stronger, healthier and more confident 1% each day. Getting better without spending hours in the gym. Question for you. Can I ask you a question? What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
Was it a bowl of cereal? Maybe a banana, some coffee, and nothing else? Now here’s the real question: how much protein was actually in it? Because if you’re a woman middle aged over 40, trying to lose weight, build strength, or simply stay strong as you get older. Protein deserves your attention. But how much do you actually need,
Do you need protein shakes? Should you be eating enormous chicken breasts at every meal? Can you eat too much? Today we’re going to clear up some of that confusion and talk about how to make protein simple. Keep it simple, silly. But first I want to know something. Which meal is hardest for you to eat? Enough protein. Is it breakfast?
Lunch? Dinner?
Which meal is hardest for you to get enough protein? Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Or maybe, honestly, you have no idea. You have no idea how much protein you’re eating. Tell me in the comments. I’m really curious, and I think you’ll probably discover a lot of other women struggle with the exact same meal. You’re in this together. You’re not alone.
All right, everyone. Let’s dive in. First, Let’s talk about why protein matters. Protein isn’t just for bodybuilders. And it isn’t just for people trying to put on huge amounts of muscle. Your body uses protein for important functions throughout your body. And we’re talking. And when we’re talking about fitness, protein is especially important for maintaining and building muscle. And as we get older, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important because strength isn’t just about how much weight you can live.
Strength helps you climbing the stairs. Carry groceries. Carry groceries. Climb the stairs. Pick up your grandkids. Play with your grandkids. Play with your children. Pick things up off the floor. Travel. Maintain your independence and continue doing the things that you love. Now here’s where things can get confusing. You’ll hear people say women only need 46g of protein. Then you’ll hear someone online say, you need 150g of protein, and somebody else tells you, eat one gram per pound of body weight, or eat a half a gram per pound of body weight.
And you’re sitting here just thinking. You’re sitting there just thinking, can’t somebody just tell me what I’m supposed to eat? But the truth is, there isn’t one perfect protein number for every woman. Your needs can depend on your size, your age, your activity level, your goals, and overall health. There is a minimum recommended amount for generally healthy adults, for sure.
But here’s something important. Minimum doesn’t necessarily mean optimal for your individual goals. If you’re active strength training, trying to maintain muscle, or working toward changes in body composition, your needs may be different. And if you have certain medical conditions, particularly kidney disease, or you’ve been given dietary restrictions, talk with your physician or registered dietitian before making major changes to your protein intake.
I’m so grateful to be in this industry for over 20 years, and I’ve worked with women who told me I’m eating plenty of protein, however. So when we actually look at their day breakfast, coffee and toast, lunch, a salad, it would be like the salad would just have a tiny amount of chicken. Okay, then the afternoon, maybe some crackers and then dinner.
Finally, a good serving of protein. And that’s when they realize most of all, their protein was coming from one meal. They weren’t necessarily avoiding protein. They simply weren’t thinking about it throughout the day. So let me ask you something else. If you wrote down everything you ate yesterday. Where was your protein? Think about it. Was there some at breakfast, lunch, dinner?
Your snacks? Or did almost all of it show up at dinner? You don’t necessarily need to obsess over numbers. Yes, they do help. But sometimes simply paying attention can teach you a lot. One strategy I really like is thinking about protein at each meal, instead of getting to the end of the day and realizing, oh no, I barely a any protein.
Start asking yourself, where’s my protein source? Eggs? Greek yogurt. Cottage cheese. Chicken. Turkey. Fish. Lean beef. Beans. Lentils. Tofu? Or is it another protein source that works for you? You don’t need the same thing every day, thank goodness,
I know I like variety, and yes, protein shakes can be helpful. I do enjoy my protein shakes as well, but they’re not magic.
They’re convenient, especially when you’re busy. That’s the benefit if you’re there. Convenient,
If you’re rushing out the door and a protein shake helps you get something nutritious instead of skipping breakfast entirely, great. But you don’t have to live on protein shakes. Food should still be food. Let me say that again. Food should still be food. I’ve seen women make one very simple change.
They didn’t overhaul their entire diet. They didn’t eliminate carbohydrates completely. They didn’t swear off dessert. They simply started being intentional. Excuse me? Intentional about protein. Maybe they added eggs or Greek yogurt at breakfast. Chicken or tuna at lunch, a balanced dinner, and suddenly, over time, their meals became more satisfying. They had a better foundation to support their workouts, and most importantly, it was something they could actually maintain.
They were building better habits based on their goals. So, and if this connects to something we talked about in the last episode, if you heard the last episode, in the last episode, if you’re over 40. Remember I said, I don’t want your goal to be weighing less. I want you thinking about preserving muscle and building strength, supporting your bones, maintaining your independence, and preparing your body for the decades ahead.
That’s where protein and strength training work together. Can I encourage you healthy eating? Does it need to become another source of stress? You don’t have to measure every bite of food. Have I done that before? Yes. When I was training meant for my physique show, or just wanting to shake things up and different seasons of my life, I have done that and that works.
But you start to pick up on ways you can improve little each meal, little things over time,
You don’t have to measure every bite of food, and you don’t have to eat perfectly. And you certainly don’t have to compare your plate to somebody else’s on Instagram. What I’m going to do is look at what your body needs and then take care of it.
I love coming alongside women and helping them figure this out.
I’m not going to just tell them what to do. I can say, hey, this is what I hear you saying. This is what I think based on my knowledge and my experience. And we come together and create a plan. Okay. I also don’t want you focusing so much on protein that you forget the rest of your nutrition.
It’s kind of frustrating for me when so many people are especially on on the news or on on different outlets of social media as like carbs and protein, carbs and protein, carbs and protein. Got it. But I don’t want you to forget the rest of your nutrition. We still need vegetables, fruits, healthy fats. Avocados, please. Carbohydrates? Yes, fiber.
Hello. Can we get some fiber, please? We still need those things. Vegetables, fruit, healthy fats, carbohydrates, fiber, water, and a variety of nutrients. I tell my I remind my kids, which is a reminder for me. Your plate should be colorful,
Do we get in our colors today? Protein is important, but it’s just one piece,
Protein is important, but it’s one piece of a bigger picture.
Okay, so here’s my final question for you. What’s one meal where you could improve your protein this week? Could it be breakfast? Maybe you can add eggs or Greek yogurt. Maybe it’s lunch. Maybe you add a good protein source to your salad. Your snack. Maybe you choose something that actually keeps you satisfied. What’s yours if you’re comfortable? Put it in the comments below, because you don’t have to change your entire diet or way of eating tomorrow.
Start with one meal. That’s the takeaway today. Start with one meal. Okay, here’s your challenge this week for the next seven days. At each meal, ask yourself one simple question. Where’s my protein? That’s it. Don’t obsess. Don’t try to be perfect. Just pay attention. One. Pay attention to that one meal and each meal. Ask yourself, where is my protein?
And if you discover one meal is consistently lacking. Start there. Add something simple. Something you enjoy. Something you can actually maintain. I’m all about simplicity. Then it’s doable,
I truly believe taking care of your bodies is an act of stewardship. Food isn’t something we need to fear. It’s nourishment. It tastes good. It’s fuel. And yes, it’s something we should be able to enjoy.
God has given us these incredible bodies, and part of caring for them is giving them what they need. Give your body what it needs and it will take you places,
Giving your body what it needs to remain strong. If today’s episode helped you share it with another woman, maybe another woman who’s confused about protein because there’s a lot of conflicting information out there, and sometimes we just need to bring things back to the basics.
And if you’d like hub creating a fitness and nutrition strategy that fits your body, your goals, and your real life, I’d love to walk alongside you. Visit Vanessa Carlson, or you can reach out to us at (207) 467-5509 to learn more about our one on one live coaching, live virtual training, and supportive community. Thank you so much for spending time with me today, and if these episodes are encouraging you and motivating you and helping you become healthier.
I’d love to have you join us. Consider subscribing so you don’t miss future conversations. We release new episodes every weekday and I’d love to continue this journey with you. Until next time y’all. Keep moving, keep smiling, keep getting stronger. And remember, you don’t need a perfect diet. You need healthy habits that you can actually maintain. God bless you and I’ll see you in the next episode where we talk about cardio versus strength training.
When you’re in that middle age after 40, which is better for weight loss?
Can’t wait to talk about that ciao for now. Until next time.
Vanessa Carlson, and I am the owner of Vanessa Carlson Fitness. I am Raider Carlson and I am the general manager. At VC fitness our first goal is our fun first approach with all of our clients. Working out should not feel like a punishment at all, and we strive to make it the highlight of their day. The workouts are tailored.
I love using my background as a doctor, physical therapy to make sure that we’re meeting our clients where they’re at, to help them to get to where they want to be. And I think the third thing is the accountability and communication. So not only do we have one on one sessions with our clients in person and via zoom, but with the app, we are communicating with our clients almost on a daily basis so that they feel confident.
Those companies don’t have a doctor of physical therapy on staff. And so obviously Vanessa is a doctor of physical therapy and highly sought out around the country. And that brings me to my next point that we are the highest rated, the most reviewed personal training company in Portland, Maine, where our headquarters are located. However, we train virtually nationwide through zoom, through live zoom sessions, and so it doesn’t matter where you live.
You can work with Vanessa. And then the third thing is our very first session with Vanessa is only a dollar. We call it the region rise assessments, where basically it’s a meet and greet where she looks at your body using her Doctor of physical therapy skills to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your session and make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
I mean, obviously, we know that we can work with anybody, but obviously it’s got to be a good fit for you. So when I was a child, my grandmother had breast cancer and I was very close with her and was with her for a lot of her appointments with chemo, radiation, all the things and kind of seeing how that affected her.
And I just knew early on I wanted to do something to help people with their health. I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. Fast forward as a child, I remember getting my first Barbie workout video working out with Dance Barbie, and that just was a core memory for me. It closed the door, worked out, felt great, and then fast forward some more.
I knew that I wanted to do something in the health and medical field, and had really great mentors and teachers that helped direct me where I knew I wanted to have a gym one day. I didn’t know how I was going to look, and we had our opportunity. As I was a physical therapist to open our first gym, I just went for it and just really wanted to help people learn how to take care of their bodies.
I just knew that fitness was my passion. And just over the years, it just all worked out together. And here we are. The rest is history. So here’s the thing you don’t have to figure this on your own. And I totally understand how exercise can be overwhelming. We all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise and work out on carve time for it, and don’t feel like you have to know it all.
Do it all by yourself. And even if you’re feeling unmotivated, know that you’re not alone. So my my message to you is surround yourself with someone who is motivated. For someone that is passionate about exercise and eating well and building a positive habits, good healthy habits. I don’t know how to paint, but if I want to make a canvas painting, I’m going to go to a place that the person is a great teacher and passionate about it.
And I’m going to come out with a beautiful painting. Same thing with this. Take the shame. Take the pressure off of your shoulders. You’re not alone in this. Many people I work with all the time don’t know where to start, and I am honored to come alongside and help you figure it out. And just start building that momentum and get in your stride.
And I promise you, you won’t regret it. So anything that we’re saying resonates with you. Don’t wait. Just call the number. Or you can put your information on our website and someone will get. Get back in touch with you very, very quickly. I mean, you got to do it so fast and you don’t know what you’re doing because your mind, which I get in the.
So don’t let them get in the way. Only it’s only $1 to try, Vanessa. And it might be the most impactful hour in 15 minutes of your life. Here at VC fitness for your first consultation, it’s only $1. The assessment is going to just go over some things that are on your heart. Give me a good idea of your body awareness, your mechanics and see if we are a good fit and it only costs $1.
So you can find us at BC fitness. Or you can call the number (207) 467-5509. Again, that is (207) 467-5509. And you can look at us and VC Fitness dot live. And one more time you can call (207) 467-5509. And we are waiting for your call.