Getting Enough Protein

 

I love to sneak in extra protein to my meals and one of my favorite hacks is egg whites. When making waffles or any baked goods instead of adding water I add egg whites. 

One of my favorite recipes is with Birch Bender Waffles I use 1/3 a cup of mix and then just a little less than 1/3 a cup of egg white. Throw that in a waffle iron and you have a protein waffle. Pair this with a cup of egg white and 2 sausage and you're talking about 50g a protein in just that meal alone. 

For high protein snacks some of my favorites are uncured meat sticks, Epic pork rinds, Tuna pouches, or smoked salmon, and hard boiled eggs (sometimes just the whites) 

As women age we need more protein than we did before because our bodies aren't as efficient at using protein to build and maintain muscle. 

Protein helps us maintain bone mass as well as provide amino acids that help produce immune cells and anitbodies to help us have strong immune systems. Protein also helps produce hormones which is important during the hormonal fluctuations of menopause. Most importantly it helps us build muscle which is one of the most obvious signs of menopause due in part to the natural decline in estrogen levels. 

For me personally the benefit I enjoyed the most was the satiety the feeling of being full. A high protein diet has been found to help reduce hunger which helps you eat less. Gone are the days where we followed these starvation diets walking around hungry all the time. There was actually a study done that showed those that consumed a higher protein diet ate about 500 calories less a day and combined with weight lifting lost weight while actually gaining muscle. 

The recommended amount for women over 50 is .54 - .72 grams of protein per pound I personally shoot for at least 1g per pound and sometimes even a bit more than that. Check in with your nutrition and take a look at how much protein you are getting a day.