My ladies ask me all the time! And most of the time, these ladies come from a background of restricting calories which means, they are definitely not getting enough protein!
Protein is a building block for muscles. I use the example of baking a cake without having any flour, sure you can do it, but the end product won’t return quite the same result, ya know?
And for women over 40, getting enough protein is crucial for good health and to help negate the loss of muscle mass which begins after the age of 30.
As we get older, muscle mass starts to go. Strength training can help negate some of that, but, having more muscle mass as we age is important because muscle helps support our bones.
If we don’t get enough protein, we can’t rebuild, maintain, or grow our muscles.
So how much protein do you really need after the age of 40?
Here are the guidelines:
Women 40-64 years old: 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight daily
Women 65+ lightly active: 1 to 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight daily
Women 65+ very active (especially if you strength train): 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight daily
Don’t want to waste your mental energy figuring out your protein requirement?
Use this nifty protein calculator to spit out your daily gram recommendation!
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/nutrition-calculator
Wondering if you could provide the reference for those guidelines, thanks!
I use the Precision Nutrition recommendations as a general reference for my clients.
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-protein
If they wish to have specific recommendations, I refer them to the Beth Danowsky, RD CLC at Imua Ortho here in Honolulu.