Protein is so important to our bodies, not only our muscles, but protein plays an important role in our energy level, hormone balance, immunity, and enzyme levels. Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle repair, or just to add more protein to your diets there are several different forms of protein that we can incorporate in our diets, especially pre-workout and post workout. It is important to remember that women require less protein per serving than men, so make sure you are watching your portions and read labels, so that you are incorporating what's right for your body.
There has been a big surge in the use of protein powders, and to be honest I'm pretty new to the whole protein powder thing, so I thought I'd break it down. The most popular protein on the market these days seems to be whey protein, This may be the best powder for women looking to lose weight. Whey powders contain high levels of BCCA's, which are basically the building blocks for our muscles. The more muscles you build, the more calories you will end up burning, which will help in the area of weight loss.
Another type of protein great for women's weight loss is soy protein. This is a great choice because soy protein has fat-free properties. In addition to that, soy protein also helps in supporting our immune system and also helps our bodies maintain healthy cholesterol levels. However, a drawback to soy protein is that that the body doesn't absorb it as easily as it does whey protein.
Casein protein powder is also another option. Casein protein is considered a slow digesting protein and it releases amino acids over a longer period of time. It it fairly common that women who choose to use casein protein powder opt to use it at night time, which allows the protein to repair and rebuild muscle during sleep.
Another wonderful powder based product that should be incorporated into everyone's diet is Shakeology. This is a product that is sold through Beachbody. This powder does so much more for you than protein powder alone. It is packed with 70 natural ingredients, which included essential nutrients and vitamins from the fruits and veggies that we should all be eating daily. Shakeology has so much to offer from supporting healthy digestion, immunity, and cardiovascular health, to weight loss and curbing those cravings for sugar and junk food. Not only does this product offer so many great health benefits, but the taste is absolutely AMAZING. Probably the best tasting powder I have ever tried.
There are other ways to incorporate protein or extra protein into your diet aside from powders. Protein is especially important pre-workout and post workout as it fuels our bodies and our muscles. A great post work out snack includes both smart protein and carb combos. This helps refuel the body post workout as well as aide our muscles. Here are some tasty and quick options:
Yogurt and Fresh Berries
Greek Yougurt and 1/2 cup fresh berries
Peanut Butter and Bananas on Rice Cakes
1/2 banana
1 tblspn peanut butter
2 brown rice cakes
*I'm personally not a big fan of rice cakes, so alternative would be to use 1/2 a piece of multi-grain flat bread
Tuna on Whole Wheat
1 slice whole wheat bread
4oz. water packed tuna
Classic Milk and Cereal
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup whole grain cereal
Some smoothie/shake ideas:
Protein Shake w/ Bananas
1-2 scoops protein powder
1/2 banana
combine w/ soy or almond milk and blend
Sweet Potatoe Pie Shake
1 scoop cinnamon flavored protein
1/4 cup diced, cooked sweet potato
1 cup ice
1 cup vanilla or soy almond milk
Green Monster Smoothie
4 cups spinach
1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
1 cup almond milk
1 banana
1 tblspn peanut butter
ice
Protein is so important to our bodies. Make sure you are getting enough in your diet!
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