I’ve touched on in the past, the importance of protein intake in ones diet. But increasing the amount of protein you consume in a day can be challenging, especially if you’re not used to thinking about it.

Protein is vital for overall health. It works to build up hair, skin and nails. And functions to rebuild damaged tissues and promote healing. In addition, it is crucial for increasing lean mass and building muscle. Protein also has thermogenic effects, meaning that it requires energy (calories) to digest, and therefore can boost your metabolism during the digestion process.

Contrary to popular belief, protein powder on its own will not “bulk you up” as a woman. Females don’t have the hormonal makeup like men do to drastically increase their muscle mass, that and eating more protein on it’s own doesn’t cause your muscles to grow–that requires a lot of conditioning and focused weight training, with a lot of patience 😉

Please note that I’m not saying that you should ONLY consume protein in your diet, the body needs a balanced intake of all three macronutrients (see previous post) . Consuming a diet that is too low in carbohydrates can result in what’s caused ketosis, which can be dangerous long term. But increasing your overall intake of protein can provide plenty of health benefits. Protein is more satiating and therefore can help with appetite control, it helps with immunity and recovery from exercise.

So now the big question is how or what does one do to increase your protein intake?

Whey protein is a great place to start. Drinking a protein shake is an easy, and can be extremely delicious way, to increase your protein intake. And whey protein provides a host of benefits besides just the protein. Finding a delicious, high quality whey powder can boost daily intake quickly and easily (this is one of my favorite brands, minimal ingredients, great macronutrient profile, and excellent flavor and mixability.)

Whey provides health benefits like boosting immunity, supporting bone health, and overall wellbeing (studies have shown that protein can boost serotonin levels).

Women especially need all the help they can get to keep their bones strong and supportive. Plus overall health is not a bad thing either. Whey protein also is full of amino acids, because amino acids are ‘building blocks’ for the human body they are sometimes used speed up the healing of wounds or burns.

Other high protein food sources include chicken breast, tuna, egg whites, lean beef, wild game, bison, turkey and cottage cheese.

There are a lot of varying opinions out there on just how much protein is enough, for me personally I like to aim for 1g/lb of bodyweight (if you are overweight, aim for 1g per pound of your goal/ideal bodyweight).