Didi (00:23.054)
Welcome back to another episode of the DCA podcast. This podcast episode is to help you hit 100 grams of protein a day without overthinking it. Now, one of the most common things I see in my clients is they think they're eating enough protein, but they're often falling short.
Protein isn't just for bodybuilders. It's essential for everyone, especially women looking to grow their muscle mass, which let's face it, a lot of us are, especially as we age. We all know that hormones start to change around 30 and that's something that we need to prioritize for our longevity of life and when we're 60, 70, trying to get out of a chair. Balancing our blood sugars and reducing cravings is hugely correlated to protein. I don't think enough of...
I don't know, social media or nutrition coaching emphasizes that. Improving satiety, some meals actually do keep you full. And supporting hormone production and repair. We've got to think that protein is the amino acids. It is the building blocks to repair. So what are you repairing if you don't eat enough protein? Correct, nothing. Because let's think about it. Where is protein made in the body?
Carbohydrates, well that's stored in your muscle glycogen, your liver, and it's circulating in your blood. Fats stored in adipose tissue, we can use that readily. But where's protein? Oh no, no, no, protein is anabolic, it's in your muscles. Do you want to break that down? I don't think so. So no, we're going to hit 100 grams a day with these and not overthink it. Okay? Generally, 100 is a realistic sustainable goal for many women, but what does that actually look like in practice? Okay? 25 to 30 grams per meal, three to four times a day. I'm going to repeat that.
25 to 30 grams of protein per meal, which equates to three to four times a day. Quick maths. So three eggs and Greek yogurt, that's 30 grams. What else is 30 grams, DD? Glad you asked. 120 grams of cooked chicken. Usually a chicken breast, right? A salmon fillet, probably about 30 grams of protein too. Cottage cheese, 200 grams. Half a pot of skewer.
Didi (02:33.55)
make one of the big ones. Most pots of like those protein yogurts do have about 20 grams because it says it pretty clearly on the labeling. But it doesn't take long for you to just gain that awareness and that education around where protein is in food. I'm not saying you have to live on my fitness pal, but just looking at the back of a packet and understanding, oh, I thought this had like 25 to 30, it's actually only like nine or 10. And then adding protein rich snacks can help you hit your target. So a handful of nuts, you can generally get like maybe five to six, a boiled egg,
Six to seven grams is a pretty decent hit there, but the issue is how many of us only eat two eggs for breakfast? How many of us are women consumed with diet culture restriction, yo-yo dieting that think two eggs is enough? Seven, 14. Quick maths here, we're missing the extra. We're about six grams short. You need three eggs. Or you're gonna have to add in another ingredient or something alongside it. Protein bar, generally 15 to 20 grams.
I'm not the nutritionist you're gonna come to that's like, seed oils, artificial sweeteners. I work with real people. I work with clients that live in the real world that don't wanna be consumed by the health halo and scaremongering and fear-mongering. And I'm not saying that those things aren't detrimental when you consume so much of them. This is personal. Like if you feel like artificial sweeteners don't agree with you, whatever, fine. But a lot of my clients find a lot of benefit and a boost in protein by actually incorporating
supplements or whey protein powders. So protein bars, whey protein, a scoop. Usually you're get about 20 to 25 grams there. Edamame beans are really good if you're kind of in the Asian fusion sushi sections. Edamame beans are really good to also add in extras like stir fries. You can get single packs in most frozen aisles now in supermarkets. And so a practical tip right for meal planning here. Prioritize your protein first.
When you are planning your meals, let's talk about like meal prepping and planning, build the rest of your plate around your protein. It's not about obsessing, it's just about making sure that your body is actually getting what it needs to thrive. So start there, small adjustments, consistent habits, that is actually where you're gonna day after day get closer and closer to your goals. So protein is essential for more than just muscle. I think we say muscle.
Didi (04:56.514)
we think protein, say protein, we think muscle. It's more than that. It is literally the building block and the repairing of all of your tissues. Your hair falling out all the time, well, how much protein do you eat? Your mood, well, how much protein do you eat? Your hormones, how much protein do you eat? Enzymes, hormones, and your immune system require building blocks, and that is your protein. It's also critical for stabilizing blood glucose. As I mentioned previously, it slows the digestion of carbohydrates.
So you can't just have carbohydrates and expect your blood sugar not to spike when there's nothing else attached to that. And I don't want to say the word like naked carbs, but just isolating simple sugars all the time in processed foods, which let's face it is also going to have high fat content because most things do contain both. You're just going to get nowhere. You're literally on a hamster wheel of nothing. So for women, getting enough protein is so important to support your hunger and your fullness levels, to support your lean mass, because you don't want to be losing
You don't want be eating into your muscle mass each day unintentionally because you're just not hitting any protein target. And you want to manage your hormones. That's my area of specialty, right? I'm dealing with women that struggle with PCOS, menopause, endometriosis. Like all of these things require protein. And especially throughout your menstrual cycle and all of these phases and chapters of our woman's life, we need them. It's not just for men going to the gym or bodybuilding.
And research shows that consistently higher protein meals can reduce the cravings and help regulate your appetite hormones. We're talking ghrelin, GLP-1. I think people know what GLP-1 is now because there's Zazenpik and all of these fat loss medications that kind of hack that now. So it's becoming more aware in the science-y world, but these are your natural hunger hormones that are supposed to be regulated. So fewer blood sugar crashes, less of the hangry like 11 a.m.
I need a donor or you're making another coffee run for caffeine because you're living off caffeine and air and vibes. Let's start fueling ourselves properly because you can't be surprised when you're emotionally eating and your protein target is about 10 grams for the day. Let's just be honest. Like, let me not hold your hand when I say this. You've not eaten enough protein. If you are and you have receipts evidence proof right for that, fantastic. If it's something you're intentionally and conscientious about.
Didi (07:21.09)
Fair play, I'll back down. But 100 grams a day, it's not about rigid dieting, it's not even about dieting or calorie management. This is about supporting what your body needs. And giving real world examples and real meals is super important, I get it. But if you're saving a million posts of high protein days on Instagram by all these aesthetic influencers, fitfluencers, and you're not actually applying it to real life,
What we doing? Let's be honest. And I know that you know that consistently including enough protein is one of the simplest, most evidence-based ways to support your energy, your appetite, long-term health. But the issue is behavior, why are you not doing it? Why have you not crossed that bridge from awareness, the education and the information that's stored within you to behavior change? Let's dive into that. Let's talk about cognitively, because my world is CBT and I specialize in psychology. Why you aren't? Well...
Do you not think you identify as somebody that needs it? Do you not want to get too bulky? What are the thoughts and beliefs you have around protein? Do you not like the taste of it? Have you kind of got some memories of it? Have you got a disordered eating or yo-yo dieting pass where you went too hard on it and proteins all you ate? there's, you like, are you sensory, quite sensitive to things? I'm obviously neurodivergent for myself and a lot of my clients.
Are there autistic preferences or sensory experiences that are modeling or creating your day of eating that's making it hard for you? Do you get the ick of a chicken, right? What are your beliefs and your thoughts around protein, if I say that to you? Is it literally just information that you don't have? Like, I don't really know where protein is in food. Fantastic. That's a simple fix, right? If you're listening to this and you've been in this world for many, many years and you're still not showing up consistently daily with 100 grams of protein in your diet, what's happening? Where are we going wrong?
Where's the behavior change? What happened? Talk to me. Like, is this a sourcing issue? Does your partner eat all the protein? Do you not think you're worthy of that? Like, do you think something is gonna happen if you consume enough or do you just not know what that is? Is it a calorie thing? Is it a volume thing? Do you think you're eating too much if you eat 100 grams? And I say that in reference to like the two egg situation, right? Let's be honest, for a lot of women going against...
Didi (09:44.812)
restriction, going against dieting core values of reduce, reduce, reduce. Feels weird for me to say add, eat more, expand. Expansion feels a little bit uncomfortable. So maybe it's resistance to that, but you're going to have to find out what the resistance is or you're going to not get to your goal. I continue to have conversations with people on social media or in this world. It's like, yeah, I find it hard to hit 100 grams a day. But why? Cause it's actually pretty damn easy. You know, like sure.
Is it an aversion to supplements that could make your life easier, but you think it's anti-inflammatory and you heard some influence to talk negatively about it, or you've listened to a Huberman podcast, or I don't know. What is it? Find it, write it, journal about it, discover it, because we're not getting closer to you supporting your muscle mass if we're not showing up each day doing that. If you're not looking at your meals and going, where's the protein in this? Because living off convenience food is a highway to nothing.
But that just reflects to me emotionally where you're at and emotionally like how you view yourself that you don't think that you're worth supporting and worthy enough of making those changes in your nutrition. But I'm going off on a tangent here because it's more, the nutrition science is great, right? I spent nearly the best part of five, six years before I delved into becoming educated and getting qualifications in CBT and psychology to understand this more for my clients. But information is great. If you're not,
implementing it and there's a gap here, Bridget. If you need more help, reach out to me. You can always email me or just shoot me a message on Instagram. Let me hold your hand and hold a space for you to get to this magical number of 100 grams of protein a day, okay? I'm gonna love you leave you for this episode. I hope you found entertainment and some help in it and some ideas. I hope you go away and feel inspired and creative.
to review your online shopping orders or when you're next in Tesco, Sainsbury's, wherever you are in the world, let's get some protein in, okay? Love you, take care, bye.
